Chapter 32
Sadie
S hopping was one of Sadie’s least favorite things to do. She’d rather do just about anything than spend her entire afternoon pushing a cart while Delaney rattled off things on a list that Sadie had to have for her dorm. Most of the items Delaney had written down seemed useless to Sadie, but she didn’t dare say that, especially not after she received a lecture about why one set of sheets wasn’t enough and she had to have two.
Even Charlie seemed to be over their shopping spree. They’d been hopping between stores for the better part of five hours, and Sadie had no idea how they were supposed to fit all of the stuff into her tiny Mustang as they drove the hundreds miles to the university so Sadie would have a car. Charlie was right; they were going to have to rent another car. But again, Sadie didn’t dare bring that up. Somehow, she knew her mom buying all the random things was her way of processing Sadie going off to college.
So Sadie would let her have her moment.
Even if it was going to make her late for her meet-up with Dylan.
She had been reluctant to ask Dylan for help picking out Ellie’s birthday present. Sadie wanted to get it all on her own. But the more she thought about it—or, well, overthought about it—the more she wanted Dylan’s opinion on it before she bought it.
Sadie had found the ring in an antique shop in the Cove. The owner said it was from the 1920s, so Sadie instantly had a feeling Ellie would love it. What she didn’t know was how it would come across to Ellie if she gave her a Claddagh ring. She knew Ellie’s parents wore them as their wedding rings most of the time, so she didn’t want Ellie to think she was proposing.
Instead, Sadie had another reason for wanting to gift Ellie a Claddagh ring. She’d done research and learned that if the ring was worn on the right hand with the crown turned inward, it meant the wearer was in a relationship. But Sadie had no clue if it was something Ellie would want to wear.
Ugh. Stop overthinking.
“Mom, are we almost done?”
“I hope so,” Charlie answered for her. “I already don’t know where we’re going to put all of this stuff in the SUV, let alone in Sadie’s Mustang.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Delaney waved them off as she kept shopping. “We can rent a car and drive it down with the stuff then fly back. It’ll work.”
Charlie and Sadie shared a bemused look. It was Charlie’s idea initially, but Delaney assured her they could fit it all into one car. Sadie knew then she was wrong, and it was even more apparent with their cart full of items.
It was over an hour later before they finally arrived back in the Cove. Sadie quickly helped them unload all the bags into the house before heading out to meet Dylan. She parked her car in front of the antique store and waved at Dylan in the car beside her. They got out and met on the sidewalk.
“Hey.”
“Hey, thanks for meeting me. Sorry I’m late.”
“It’s okay,” Dylan shrugged as she put the keys to her car in the pocket of her shorts. “I’m just excited to see what you’ve picked out for our Eleanor.”
Sadie couldn’t help but laugh to herself at Dylan’s comment. “Well, hopefully you think it’s a good idea. I keep overthinking it.”
“I’m sure she’ll love whatever to pick out for her.”
“I hope so.”
“Dude, come on,” Dylan laughed. “Ellie’s like in love with you. You could give her a blade of grass and she’d keep it forever.”
“Well, that would be cheaper.”
Dylan chuckled, but her words echoed around in Sadie’s mind as they walked into the antique shop. Ellie loved her? Had she told Dylan that? Why hadn’t she told Sadie that? Was she waiting for the right moment? Or was Dylan just joking?
Sadie had no idea, so she chose to focus instead on the Claddagh ring. She pointed at it through the glass case as Dylan seemed to intently study it. Her intense stare made Sadie nervous. What if she was trying to think of a way to tell Sadie that Ellie would hate it or that it wasn’t an appropriate gift?
“Just tell me she’ll hate it and help me find something else,” Sadie dramatically sighed as she turned to walk away from the counter.
But Dylan grabbed her wrist before she could walk too far away and pulled her back. “Sadie. Stop.”
“Your face says she’ll hate it.”
“My face says I’m impressed you know Ellie so well.”
What?
Had Sadie heard her correctly?
Dylan had to be teasing her.
Right?
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. You know Isla and Vera have Claddagh rings, right?”
Sadie nodded.
“Ellie loves the symbolism of them—how they can represent so much just by how you wear them. She’s talked about getting one before, but she never has. She would love this, especially since it came from you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Sadie felt a wave of relief wash over her. “Okay. Thanks, Dylan.”
“You’re welcome.” A playful smirk formed on Dylan’s face. “And at least now you don’t have to buy an engagement ring later. You can just use this one.”
“Shut up,” Sadie teased as she playfully shoved Dylan’s shoulder.
After purchasing the ring and saying goodbye to Dylan, Sadie headed home. She wanted to wrap the small ring box the store had gifted her, but Sadie had never wrapped a gift before in her life. So, instead, Sadie wrote Ellie’s name on top of the gift and put a heart over the i in her name. It was cheesy, but Sadie didn’t care.
She loved Ellie.
Sadie might have been too afraid to admit that before, but she knew it in her heart to be true. She loved Ellie. There was just something about Ellie that had completely flipped Sadie’s world upside down in the absolute best way. And, if she could muster up the courage, Sadie would tell Ellie that on her birthday.
There was a knock on the bedroom door as Sadie looked up to see Charlie opening the door.
“Hey, kid.” Charlie smiled at her as she sat cross-legged on the floor across from Sadie. “Whatcha doing?”
“I was trying to wrap Ellie’s birthday present, but I don’t know how.”
Charlie tilted her head slightly as her smile softened. “I can show you if you want.”
“Really?”
“Totally.” She nodded toward the small box sitting between them. “As long as you promise me that’s not an engagement ring.”
Sadie rolled her eyes and laughed. “It’s not, I promise.”
Handing the box to Charlie, she watched as Charlie opened it. Her smile told Sadie the ring was a good idea, which offered her some more relief that she’d picked the right gift for Ellie. Charlie closed the box and handed it back to Sadie.
“Ellie will love that.”
“It’s from the 1920s.”
“Oh, she’ll really love that.”
“Right,” Sadie laughed. “Dylan said the same thing.”
“Dylan is Cameron West’s daughter, right? The doctor?”
“Yup. And Ellie’s best friend.”
“Ahh,” Charlie chuckled, “you’re so smart.”
“Meaning?”
“Befriending the girlfriend’s best friend, asking for her help picking out a gift—you’re getting major brownie points with Dylan, which I’m sure she’ll tell Ellie all about.”
Sadie rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. That’s so not why I asked Dylan for help. She just knows Ellie better than me.”
“Yeah, but your tongue’s been in Ellie’s mouth, and Dylan’s hasn’t.” Charlie’s joking would always make Sadie smile, even when she didn’t want to. “So I assume.”
“You assume correctly. Did you know they’re basically cousins?”
Charlie narrowed her eyes at Sadie. “What? Explain.”
“Dylan is Cameron’s daughter, and Isla and Vera used Cameron’s brother’s sperm to have their kids.”
“Whoa,” Charlie looked taken aback for a moment before she laughed. “I always knew Isla and Vera had used a sperm donor, but I never thought about who it was until now.”
“It’s because the sperm donor only had one job.” Sadie waited a beat, then added, “Like my dad.”
“Sadie,” Charlie gently scolded. “Your dad is a good… well, decent guy.”
“Who I haven’t seen in years.”
“Yeah, but…”
“Don’t you dare say he’s still your dad . I know that. But real parents don’t go years without seeing their kids. Real parents help their daughters wrap birthday gifts for their girlfriends.”
Nervously wringing her hands, Sadie thought she might have accidentally created the perfect moment she’d been waiting for. Charlie had been more of a parent to Sadie than her father ever was. Sadie had wanted to stop calling her Charlie for a while, but calling her mom made it confusing. But ever since Charlie had officially adopted her earlier in the year, Sadie wanted her to know she saw her as a mom as well.
“Charlie?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Did I ever have someone kiss me in a crowded room?” She smirked at her Taylor Swift reference, and Sadie pretended to be annoyed. But truthfully? Sadie loved Charlie’s dorky fangirl side. “I’m kidding. What’s up?”
“Well, I know we haven’t talked about it,” Sadie inhales sharply. “But I’ve been thinking.”
Charlie looked nervous as she nodded and wearily smiled. “Okay.”
“Would it be okay if I called you Mama ?”
It was then that Charlie’s eyes welled up with tears. “Sadie…”
“You can use another name if you want, or we can keep it as Charlie. Either way is cool. I just wanted to ask.”
“Sadie,” Charlie repeated. Reaching out, she took hold of Sadie’s hands. “I would love nothing more.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Putting her arm around Sadie’s neck, she pulled her close. “I’ve always told Delaney that I wanted it to be your decision, which is why we never talked about it after the adoption was finalized.”
“Thank you for that.”
“Thank you for wanting to call me Mama . It’s an honor, Sadie. Truly. I love it.”
“Good. Me, too.”
“And I’m so glad you didn’t ask me about sex, which is so where I thought that conversation was about to go.” Charlie looked relieved as she laughed.
“Well, I mean,” Sadie grinned, “we can have that conversation, too.”
Charlie narrows her eyes at her. “Have you and Ellie had sex?”
“Not yet.
“Not yet,” Charlie repeated.
“But we might soon.”
“But you might soon,” Charlie repeated again.
“Do you want me to have this talk with Mom?”
“Do I want you to have this talk with,” she must have caught herself repeating Sadie again because she stopped. “No. It’s okay. I mean, yes, I do think you should also talk to Mom about this, but I’m here to listen if you want.”
Picking up her phone from the floor, Sadie texted Delaney to come up to her room.
“Are you telling Ellie about how bad the sex talk is going with me?”
“No,” Sadie laughed. “I told Mom to come up here. I’d rather just have this conversation once than twice.”
“What conversation?” Delaney walked into the room and leaned against the dresser. “How do you wrap a present?”
“It’s not that kind of sex talk,” Sadie mumbled as Charlie laughed and Delaney rolled her eyes and laughed. But her laughing quickly stopped when it registered with her what Sadie said.
“Wait. Sex talk ? Are you and Ellie having sex?”
“No.”
“Not yet,” Charlie giggled.
Sadie was beyond thankful that her parents cared enough about her to have a safe and open conversation about sex. They’d chatted about it for nearly half an hour before all three felt better about Sadie’s next big step in life. She had promised to be safe and not do anything before both she and Ellie were ready. Which Sadie was already planning on doing.
She and Ellie hadn’t talked about sex yet, so Sadie knew that had to come first. There was no way Sadie was going to have her first real time be before either of them were ready. And she could be misreading all of Ellie’s signals. Like why else would she have brought Dylan over the other night if not to dampen any mood that might arise again like it had in Ellie’s bedroom.
“But that’s not even the biggest news,” Charlie smiled widely as she looked at Sadie, who picked up on the hint.
“I asked Charlie if I can call her mama. ”
“Aww,” Delaney, who had been standing the whole conversation, sat beside Charlie on the floor. She took her hand and squeezed it. “You’re gonna make me cry.”
“I already have.”
“Oh, geez,” Sadie pretended to be annoyed. “Can you two stop being sentimental and help me wrap Ellie’s present? Her birthday party is Friday.”
“Did you get Brayden anything?”
Sadie stared blankly at Delaney.
“It’s his birthday party, too,” she chuckled. “They’re twins.”
“I know they’re twins; I just didn’t know I was supposed to get Brayden something, too.”
“Welp,” Charlie stood and put her hands on her hips. “Back to the store we go.”