16. Callie
Chapter 16
Callie
Sophomore Year
It’s Saturday morning which can only mean one thing... Mason is on his way over so that we can all head to the beach!
My bags are packed and sitting at the front door waiting to be carried out to the car. I’m finishing up getting dressed when I hear the doorbell ring. That must be Mason.
“I’ll get it!” I yell as I walk down the hallway towards the front door.
Opening the front door I do not see Mason standing there. It’s Olivia, Emily’s friend who is also going with us.
“Oh, hey Olivia.”
“Don’t look so happy to see me, Callie.” Olivia laughs.
“Sorry, I got excited thinking it was Mason. Come on in. Emily is in her bedroom I believe.”
Once Olivia and her bags are in the house I close the door and head back to my bedroom to finish getting ready. Since we will be in the car and running errands once we get to the beach I won’t be putting any makeup on, but I would like to at least do my hair. I pull out my hair straightener and begin sectioning my hair. I’ve finished half of my hair when I hear the doorbell again.
“Can someone grab that? It should be Mason.”
“I’ll get it!” Emily says passing my bedroom door.
“Hey Mason, Callie is in her bedroom finishing her hair. Come on in. I think Dad was looking for you to help him finish packing the car. I’ll grab him and let him know you’re here.”
“Thank you, Em!” I yell from my bedroom.
I finish the other half of my hair and head out to the living room. Dad and Mason have the car all loaded up and we’re just waiting on mom to check her list and make sure we’ve got everything.
The trees along the side of the road are zooming by my window. We’ve spent the entire car ride singing karaoke-style to whatever songs come on the radio. I didn’t sing at first, but then Mason started shouting the words to the song with the rest of my family and Olivia and it eased my nerves a lot.
I’m thankful that he blends into my family so well. I’m thankful that my parents love him, and that they make it so easy for him to fit in. I still can’t believe they okayed him coming with us this year—they’ve never let any of our friends go before. When mom brought it up, I think I stood there, jaw on the floor, for a whole minute before being able to speak.
We’re all jamming to “It’s Gonna Be Me” by *NSYNC as we pull onto the road where our rental is located. I can’t wait to get out of the car, stretch my legs, and get our vacation started.
My mom has a whole itinerary for the first day of vacation—checking into the rental, grabbing food and whatever else we may need for the week, unpacking, and then we are free to do whatever we want. While Mason and my dad finish unpacking the car my mom and I plan out dinners for the week and make a grocery list. After finding the closest grocery store we make our way out to the car, list in hand.
The grocery store is a small, family-owned place. The first thing I notice is the produce section has a large sign that lets us know most of their produce is locally grown at farms in the area. Not something I would expect from a beach town, but I love that they’re supporting local farms. Mom and I walk up and down each aisle grabbing items off her list. I can’t believe how empty this place is, considering it’s located on the beach, but it allows us to quickly get what we need and head towards the checkout area.
The cashier is a sweet, older lady named Joanne. She makes conversation with us while scanning our items, asking how long we are in town and where we’re from. Mom explains that we’ll be here for a week and aren’t too far away in Savannah. Joanne wishes us a good time while we’re at the beach and after paying we gather our bags and head out to the car.
On the way home we take a different route because I want to scope out a restaurant near where we’re staying. I’ve got dinner plans in the works for Mason and me, and knowing the area will help make sure that everything comes together nicely. Thankfully the restaurant is close enough to walk to and the outside seating area looks beautiful.
“Thanks, Mom, for driving me past here so I could check it out. I hope tonight goes well.”
“Don’t even mention it, Cal. Tonight will go just fine. You’re overthinking it.”
“I know. It’s just… you know how it is. I’m sure you overthought telling Dad the first time, too.”
“You’re not wrong. I overthought that entire day and it ended up being so simple when I got to it. I can’t wait to hear all about it when you’re ready to tell me.”
“I appreciate it, mom.”
I turn to look out the window as we make our way back to the house. Mom’s right. I am overthinking this… but I can’t help it. I want it to go perfectly.
Between the drive here and now all this first day of vacay chaos I’m exhausted but I can’t pull focus from what I’ve got planned for Mason and me tonight. The more I think about it the more my insides flutter with nerves. I don’t want this to go wrong. It can’t go wrong.
I know what I want to say and how I want to say it. It’s just a matter of getting him there without nervously spilling everything. Because I’d never do that.
My sister and her friend are already bothering me about going to the beach. I know it’s only fair she got to bring a friend since I brought Mason but UGH. I can’t tell her what I’m trying to do or why I don’t want to run off to the beach with them because she’ll blab it to everyone. Mason included.
We’ve just got to make it a few more hours, Cal. We got this.