Chapter 33
Ellie
T here were a handful of dream roles that Ellie wanted to perform in her theater career.
Janis in Mean Girls.
Lydia in Beetlejuice.
Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors.
Maureen in Rent.
And Sophie in Mamma Mia!
When the Moonflower Cove Theater announced it would be doing Mamma Mia! for its end-of-summer musical, Ellie knew she and Isla had to be in it. Thankfully, the casting gods agreed. Not that it was a hard sell. Isla and Ellie were not only great performers and singers, but they also had the mother-daughter duo thing going for them, which made them beyond perfect to play Sophie and Donna.
Ellie had been on cloud nine ever since they’d gotten the call about the parts. Performing with her mom was something Ellie had always dreamed of doing. Everyone assumed Ellie was into Broadway because of her Aunt Eden or Cousin River. But the truth was Ellie had developed a love of theater because of Isla.
When she was little, Isla would sing Broadway songs to her to get her to go to sleep. As she got older, Ellie remembered show tunes being the only thing on the radio when Isla was driving. And then when she found out that her mom was going to be on Broadway before she had Blake, Ellie’s jaw had hit the floor. She always knew her mom was talented, but had no clue she was that talented. Or that she’d given up what could have been a huge career to start a family.
“You were amazing, Mom.”
Ellie hugged Isla tightly backstage after rehearsal. They almost had the entire show down, but Isla was still struggling to get through the “Slipping Through My Fingers” scene without crying. Not that Ellie could blame her. Ellie struggled too.
“Thanks, Ellie.” Isla kissed her cheek. “I’m so proud of you.”
“I’m proud of you too. You made it through the scene with only slight blubbering tonight.”
“Hey, I can’t help it. I’m emotional over my baby girl growing up and going to college. It’s a lot for a mom to handle, okay?”
“I know.” Ellie tightened her hold on Isla, who did the same. “But at least I’m not going off to college, so you’re stuck with me for like four more years.”
Isla laughed, but Ellie could hear the emotion in it. She pulled back slightly, framing Ellie’s cheeks with her hands for a brief moment. “Thank god for that. Are we still getting ice cream?”
“Yes, please.”
“Is Sadie meeting us?”
Ellie and Sadie had plans later to head to the seasonal drive-in theater to catch a late-night movie. Although rehearsal was taking up a lot of Ellie’s time recently, she made it a point to hang out with Sadie as much as possible. Which so far meant they had hung out every day recently, and Ellie loved it.
But she also loved spending one-on-one time with Isla. That was why she’d told Sadie to meet them an hour after rehearsal was set to end at Any Given Sundae. Sadie understood, which Ellie appreciated. They were both momma’s girls, so it worked.
“She’s going to pick me up from the shop to go to the movie.”
“Are you too embarrassed to have your girlfriend have ice cream with your mom?
“No,” Ellie laughed as they gathered up their water bottles and headed out the door. “I just want some mommy time to myself.”
“Aww, that’s my baby girl.” Isla put an arm around Ellie’s shoulder as they walked to the Jeep. “You were always my favorite”
“You tell all your kids that”
Isla chuckled. “And I mean it, too.”
The drive downtown to the ice cream shop was filled with, of course, Broadway karaoke. Only Ellie and Isla liked to spend their car rides that way, so they had to savor it any chance they could. Even if the drive was only a few minutes long.
“Oh, thank god,” Isla dramatically sighed as she parked the Jeep in front of Any Given Sundae. “Dylan’s working.”
“Extra scoops for us.” Giggling, Ellie got out of the Jeep and joined hands with Isla as they walked into the shop. The temperature change from the warm ocean air to the cold store was enough to send shivers down Ellie’s spine, so Isla wrapped her arms around her from behind as they waited in line.
For a Tuesday night, the shop was busy. Granted, the warmer weather was probably working wonders at keeping it that way. But Ellie didn’t mind. It meant more time with her mom.
Ellie loved both of her parents immensely, and could never pick between the two for who was her favorite. They both loved her unconditionally, made time for her whenever she needed it, and were the best parents a girl could ever ask for. But as she got older, Ellie began to savor the time alone she had with them. Especially as the middle kid.
“Howdy, partners.” Dylan was wearing a cowboy hat for who knew what reason and playfully tipped it at them. “Your usuals, I presume? Cake batter and strawberry?”
“You presume correctly.”
“What’s with the hat?” Isla asked the question Ellie was wondering.
“I suggested we have themed nights this summer but no one else wanted to. So I’m doing it on my own.”
“Of course you are,” Isla chuckled as Dylan passed her a cup of ice cream over the counter, followed by Ellie’s. They paid at the counter then found a booth near the window to eat. “So, what movie is playing tonight?”
“ Twister .”
“Great movie.”
“Helen Hunt’s in it, so of course it is.”
“That used to be a make-out movie for me and Mama.”
Ellie laughed as she took a bite of her ice cream. “Isn’t every movie for you two a make-out movie?”
“Well, yes,” Isla’s eyes sparkled as she talked. “But that came out when we were first dating, and it was the first movie we saw in theaters together as a family.”
“Mason went too?”
“Of course.” She chuckled to herself at the memory. “We basically knew then that Mason was gay.”
“How so?”
“As soon as Helen Hunt came on screen, your sister goes, ‘oh she’s hot.’ Mama and I couldn’t keep ourselves from laughing.”
“That tracks for all three of you,” Ellie laughed.
“Indeed. So maybe this will be your and Sadie’s make out movie too.”
Ellie sank in her seat slightly as she tried not to smile. Which, of course, she failed at. She had to admit that she hadn’t planned on watching much of the movie. But it was best not to share that with her mom right now.
“So,” Isla’s tone became serious, “Mama told me what you two and Eden talked about the other night.”
Again, Ellie sank in her seat as she looked up at Isla. She was fully prepared for a lecture, but was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t get one.
“I know Mama’s already told you this, but you’re a smart kid. A smart young woman ,” she corrected herself with a dramatic wave of her hand. “I’m not here to question your judgment or lecture you about not having sex.”
Ellie looked around the restaurant to make sure no one was listening to them. It was one thing to have the conversation at their kitchen table, but in public? She suddenly felt everyone was listening to what they were saying.
“Hey,” Isla waited until she had Ellie’s full attention again before continuing. “All I ask is that you keep the communication open with us. We’ve always kept it open to you. So don’t ever forget, Mama and I are here for you. Always. Okay?”
“Okay,” Ellie mumbled as she sat back up in her seat. Across the table, Isla reached out and put her hand on Ellie’s arm.
“I love you, Ellie.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”
As they finished their ice cream, they chatted about the birthday party plans they had for that Friday. Ellie and Brayden were turning eighteen, which was a moment not to be missed in the Mackenzie household. Although she had no idea exactly what was being planned, she knew Sadie was going to be there and that alone made Ellie insanely happy.
“Are you excited about shadowing Mama this week?”
Ellie had asked Vera a few days ago if she could shadow her at work to see if maybe the medical field was for her. Vera had, of course, jumped at the opportunity and found a day that would work for them. She was in the office that day, which meant no delivering babies. Which was just fine with Ellie; she wasn’t sure she was ready for that yet. Instead, she’d lucked out where Alexis had an appointment and would probably be cool with Ellie being there, so it was a win-win.
“I’m nervously excited. I think it’ll be fun.”
“Well, I can tell you she’s very excited about it.”
“Do you think I could be a doctor?”
“I think you can do anything, my love.”
Ellie basked in the light of her mom’s compliment as she smiled. She knew at some point she’d have to pick a major, but at least for now she was glad she could test out some careers first.
“Oh, there’s Sadie.” Isla waved as Ellie spun around in her seat to see Sadie walking toward them.
Sadie.
Ellie’s heart fluttered at the sight of her. She was wearing khaki shorts and a green tank top, along with black sandals. Which wasn’t very different than what Ellie was wearing. Sadie slid into the bench seat beside Ellie as the two quickly kissed.
“Hey.”
“Hi.” Sadie blushed as she turned her attention to Isla. “Hi, Isla.”
“Hey, Sadie. Did you want some ice cream before the movie?”
“No, thank you. I’m saving room for popcorn.”
“Oh, don’t get me wrong.” Ellie took a final bit of her ice cream. “I fully plan on getting popcorn too.”
Digging in her pocket, Isla fished out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to Ellie. “Popcorn’s on me.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
Leaving the ice cream shop, Ellie hugged and kissed Isla goodbye as she promised to text them when she got home. Ellie knew it wasn’t because they didn’t trust her, but because they deeply cared about her.
Sadie had parked a few cars down from Isla’s Jeep and she opened the passenger side door for Ellie.
“Well, aren’t you just the perfect girlfriend?”
“I try.”
With the convertible top of the Mustang down, Sadie easily leaned into the car and kissed Ellie. Thoughts filled Ellie’s head that she knew she’d have to talk about with Sadie. Because there was no way Sadie wasn’t feeling the same thing.
And that was only confirmed when, after parking in the field at the drive-in, Sadie put up the roof of the car as they made out in the backseat. Ellie was thankful they had parked in the last row, because she definitely didn’t want to have to worry about someone seeing them. Living in the Cove with two affluent parents already put Ellie under a microscope everywhere she went. She didn’t need the lead story the next day in the Moonflower Cove Gazette to be about her.
But with Sadie straddling her hips as she kissed her neck, Ellie didn’t really care about anything else. She arched her head back as Sadie’s lips moved to her ear before back to her lips. Ellie ran her hands through her auburn hair as she kissed her lips again.
With things heating up between them, the last thing Ellie wanted was for things to go farther before they had a chance to talk. She knew it wasn’t the cool teen thing to do, but she didn’t care. Ellie respected Sadie and wanted them both to be comfortable with whatever came next.
“Sadie?”
“Hmm?” Sadie didn’t stop kissing her neck.
“Can we talk?”
Sadie sat up quickly, banging her head against the closed roof of the car. As she rubbed the back of her head, Ellie sat up in the seat.
“You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“Want me to kiss it?” Ellie teased as Sadie rolled her eyes.
“I think I’ll be okay.” Something flashed in Sadie’s blue eyes, but Ellie couldn’t decipher it in the darkened car. Only the glow from the screen was illuminating the car. “What’s up?”
“Well,” Ellie’s heart was beating in her chest, “umm.”
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No. Never.”
“Is this about,” Sadie lowered her voice and her gaze, “sex?”
Ellie breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes.”
“Thank god.” Sadie’s laugh caught Ellie off guard. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it but didn’t know how to bring it up. Then tonight, now,” she grimaced, “we were on the on-ramp to something, weren’t we?”
“Yup,” Ellie nodded with a laugh as she took Sadie’s hand. “I just really love you and I don’t want our first time to be in the back of a car.”
Sadie’s eyes grew wide as they softened, and suddenly Ellie realized what she’d said. Out loud. For the first time. To anyone that wasn’t family.
“You,” Sadie’s voice was low, “love me?”
Ellie knew there was no reason to deny it. She’d been feeling it for weeks, so it was good she’d admitted it to Sadie. Even if it wasn’t in the most romantic way.
“Yeah, I love you.”
Closing the space between them, Sadie pressed her body into Ellie’s until she was pinned up against the side of the car door. Sadie kissed her with as much passion as before, which was a relief to Ellie. At least Sadie wasn’t scared that Ellie had told her she loved her.
Pulling back ever so slightly, Sadie framed Ellie’s face with her hands.
“I love you, too, Eleanor Mackenzie.”
Ellie never knew hearing her whole name like that could be such a turn-on. But hearing Sadie say it after saying she loved her? It was now Ellie’s favorite string of words.
“That’s good cause otherwise this make out session would be weird.”
“Shut up and kiss me.”
She had no idea where Sadie’s confidence came from, but she wasn’t complaining. At least not about Sadie. Ellie was about to complain that they had to stop kissing or something more would happen. Her entire body wanted it and judging by the way Sadie was acting, she did too.
“You know what this means, though, right?”
“That we need to actually watch this movie so our first time isn’t in this car.”
As they both laughed, they climbed out of the backseat and back into the front. They were breathless as they watched the movie and munched on the popcorn. By the time Sadie dropped Ellie off, she had seriously contemplated asking Sadie inside.
But instead, Ellie tucked Sadie’s hair behind her ear and kissed her.
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“I’ll text you in the morning.”
“Okay, goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Sadie.”
Forcing herself to get out of the car after another kiss, Ellie waved goodbye to Sadie as she drove out of the driveway. As she walked up the stairs to her room, she texted Isla that she was home. Isla sent two thumbs up, followed by another message.
I love you, baby girl.
I love you, Mom.