Chapter 5 #2
“Yeah, that does sound nice.” I had to wonder what Matthew would think of our Thanksgiving meal.
It wasn’t exactly conventional. Mom usually closed the café, and all the staff and a few of our favorite customers joined us there for lunch.
It was always an eclectic group of people, so it was never boring.
Sometimes I invited friends as well, but I guessed that part of the tradition was over now.
“You should ask if your new school friends want to come,” Mom said. It was almost as if she could read my mind.
“Really?”
“Of course. If they don’t already have plans with their families, that is.”
“But where would they stay?” Our apartment was hardly big enough for my mom and I, let alone any others.
“We’ll make it work,” Mom said.
I wasn’t as optimistic as her. “I’m sure they already have plans…”
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to ask.”
“Okay, I’ll think about it.”
“Excellent.” I could feel Mom’s smile in her voice. “Now, I better run. Frank hasn’t been in for his usual coffee for a couple of days, so Norma is sulking. She’s been handing out prophecies of doom with every coffee she serves. I can’t trust her with the customers for too long.”
I laughed. “Why hasn’t Frank been in?”
“I think he’s on vacation.”
“Ah.” It was probably the first time in years Frank had gone more than one morning without visiting the café.
“I wish the two of them would just get together already.”
“Yes, well, if they haven’t both realized they’re in love with each other by now, maybe they never will.”
“Well, maybe they need a little push in the right direction,” I suggested.
“Maybe they do.” My mom laughed, but then she swore under her breath. “Norma just warned someone they should check their fire alarms.”
“Jeez, that’s gloomy.” I laughed. “Go, stop her already.”
“Okay, have a good weekend.”
“You too.”
Mom hung up the phone, and I let out a sigh.
Our conversations were always over way too quickly.
We were both so busy and our schedules seemed completely at odds with one another.
I missed talking to her every day, but the thought of going home for Thanksgiving made me feel like the weekend was finally turning around.
*
Cress and Anna were both hanging out in our room when I returned. It wasn’t hard to tell they were excited about something.
Cress was grinning and bouncing up and down on her bed when I walked in the door. “You’re back!” she squealed. “Guess what?”
“What?”
“Kaden just asked me out.”
“Oh my God!” I gasped and ran over to sit on her bed beside her. “Really?”
“Uh-huh. He caught up to me after I left the dining hall at lunch and asked if I want to go see a movie with him.”
“That’s so exciting. So, when’s the date?”
“There isn’t one.”
“What? But you just said—”
“I told Kaden to ask me again once he’s stopped ignoring my friend.”
“You didn’t.”
“She did.” Anna gave an approving nod. Apparently, she was completely onboard with Cress turning down the guy of her dreams just because he and I were having a little falling-out.
“Of course, I did,” Cress said. “I really like Kaden, but there’s no way I’m going on a date with him if he’s being mean to you.”
“Cress, that’s crazy. You’ve liked him forever. You don’t want to miss this opportunity because of me.”
She scoffed. “I’m not dating a guy who ditched my friend just because my cousin told him to.”
“Yeah,” Anna agreed. “Besties before testes”
“Anna!” I gasped.
“What?” she replied with a shrug. “You know what I mean…”
I shook my head and focused back on Cress. “Seriously though, Cress. That’s really sweet of you, but it’s okay if you want to date him. I don’t want to come between you and Kaden.”
“I’m not changing my mind,” she said. “He can ask me again once he’s come to his senses.”
She sounded so certain about her decision, but I couldn’t work out why she still seemed so excited by the whole thing. I would have expected her to be upset.
“Okay, but why are you this happy after you just had to turn down your crush?”
Her grin grew wider. “Because it means I was wrong. He does like me.”
I laughed. “Well, of course, he does. I still can’t believe you didn’t say yes.”
“Well, hopefully he’ll start talking to you again soon. But if he doesn’t, I’ll just have to find a new crush.”
She was being very rational about all of this, which was surprising because Cress was usually led by her heart rather than her head.
“I still think you should have said yes,” I replied.
Cress’s expression turned more serious. “I’m never going to do anything to jeopardize our friendship, Isobel. Especially not over a boy.”
“Yeah, you’re stuck with us for life,” Anna added.
I was so touched by their words, and I struggled to contain my emotions. “I really don’t deserve friends like you.”
“Bah, stop, you’re going to make me cry.” Cress jokingly averted her eyes from me, and I smiled.
All this talk of friendship got me thinking about my conversation with my mom and how she’d told me to invite the girls to spend Thanksgiving with us. Part of the reason I hadn’t immediately agreed with her suggestion was because I was nervous about what the girls would think of my home.
I was still slightly nervous, but talking with them now only made me realize I was falling into old habits. These girls were my friends, and they truly cared about me. They weren’t going to change how they felt simply because I grew up differently than they did.
“So, I talked with my mom on the way here,” I said. “And I wanted to ask you both if you’d like to have Thanksgiving with us in Rapid Bay.”
“Really?” Cress squealed. Her whole face lit up, and she clapped her hands together. “That sounds so fun.”
“So fun,” Anna agreed. “Count me in.”
It was not the response I’d expected from either of them.
“I thought you’d both have plans with your families.
” Despite knowing I could trust my friends, my nerves returned with a vengeance.
Cress and Anna were both so used to living in luxury.
How were they going to feel about staying in such simple accommodations? What if they hated it?
“My family are back home,” Anna said. “I won’t see them until Christmas. I was planning to just hang here over the Thanksgiving break.”
“Me too,” Cress said. “My parents aren’t coming back until December, so I was going to be stranded at school as well. This sounds much better.”
I was still so shocked they’d both agreed it took me a moment to gather my thoughts.
“I should probably warn you both that someone will likely have to sleep on an air mattress, and my mom’s Thanksgiving lunch can be a bit chaotic.
There’s always some sort of drama. I think there’s something in the turkey. ”
Anna and Cress waved away my concern. “I’m sure it will be great,” Cress said.
“It’s got to be better than being stuck here,” Anna agreed.
“I guess that’s settled then.” I slowly started to smile and did my best to ignore the unease that had surfaced when they had actually accepted.
Anna and Cress might not be used to the kind of cramped living I’d grown up with, but I knew my Thanksgiving would be a whole lot more fun if they were with me. “I’ll let Mom know.”
I spent the evening happily chatting with the girls. And despite Cress’s earlier excitement about Kaden asking her out, she didn’t bring him up again. It was only once we were in bed with the lights turned out that she mentioned it.
“Isobel?”
“Yeah?”
“How long do you think it will take before Kaden comes to his senses?” she asked. Given the anxious tone to her voice, it sounded like she’d been worrying about this all night.
“He’ll come around eventually,” I said. “I know it.”
“Yeah, but how long is eventually?”
“Not long if he’s smart.”
“Well, he’s the closest thing to a genius I’ve ever met, so hopefully that means really soon.”
“Yeah, hopefully,” I agreed.
I only worried about what this might end up meaning for Noah and Kaden’s friendship.
I didn’t agree with a lot of what Noah had done lately, but I knew how much he needed his friends.
I hoped Noah wasn’t selfish enough to hold it against Kaden if he did decide to be friendly with me again.
Especially when it meant he’d be hurting his own cousin if he did.
But if felt like I barely knew Noah these days, so, unfortunately, anything was possible.