CHAPTER EIGHT - CAROLINE
Stephanie and I decided to have brunch together every Monday this summer. We were both about to leave for college and wanted to spend as much time together as possible. Still, Dean had been taking up so much of my time that I hadn’t made much of an effort to see my best friend. I felt guilty about it but I knew Stephanie understood. She, unlike my parents and Eric, was completely supportive of my relationship.
We sat down to brunch, talking and laughing about her latest boy adventures.
“Then,” Stephanie said slowly. “We slipped into the Meyer’s hot tub for the rest of the night.”
“You did what?” I asked in shock.
“I thought they were out of town.” Stephanie shrugged.
“You thought?” I asked.
“Yeah, I was wrong.” She laughed. “They caught us around five a.m. Oh well.”
“You’re insane!” I said, laughing and taking a sip of my drink.
“Only sometimes,” she said. “But that was my weekend. What did you do? You saw Dean, right?”
I nodded. “We tried but it’s getting harder to sneak around,” I said. “I think my parents are getting more suspicious.”
“How?” Stephanie asked. “You’ve been so careful.”
“I’ve tried,” I said with a sigh. “But, they’re on my ass all the time now. Thursday night, when you dropped me off here, they were waiting up for me when I got home. It’s crazy, Steph.”
“They actually stayed up?” Stephanie asked with wide eyes. “Wow, my parents have been in the Galapagos for like two months now.”
“Your parents are a different breed.” I laughed.
“Don’t I know it” Stephanie sighed. “But, what did they say when you got home?”
“They just asked where I was,” I said. “I told them I was at your house, which I was for a while.”
“Did they believe you?” Stephanie asked.
“They had no reason not to,” I said with a shrug. “I could tell they wanted to catch me in a lie but they couldn’t. I’m honestly afraid they’re going to start tailing me soon.”
“Like, a private investigator or something?” she asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “Is that crazy?”
“Yes,” she said firmly. “But, I wouldn’t put it past them.”
“Me neither” I sighed. “Which is what scares me.”
“I just don’t understand their issue,” Stephanie said, shaking her head. “Who cares if you date Dean? No one. I mean, God, it’s not like you two are getting married or anything.”
“No,” I said with a laugh. “He did tell me he loves me, though.”
“What?” Stephanie practically spit her water out of her mouth. Her eyes were wide as she leaned across the table and slapped my arm. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“It just happened,” I said with a laugh. “Thursday night. We were laying in the back of his truck, staring up at the stars, and he just said it. ‘I love you’. It was like a dream or something. I never saw it coming.”
“Did you say it back?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said. “Dean is amazing. He’s so different from the guys we’ve grown up with. I mean, he’s older for one thing and way more mature. He’s really lived life, you know? His family is a little messed up, but he’s managed to become a really great person in spite of that. It’s kind of inspiring.”
“Damn,” Stephanie said. “You really have it bad for this guy.”
“I just don’t know what’s going to happen when I leave,” I said softly. “Obviously, he won’t move to Connecticut, so what then? Do we do long distance or do we break up?”
“You can’t break up,” Stephanie said firmly. “You guys are like a real-life version of Romeo and Juliet.”
“Seriously?” I laughed. “Shakespeare?”
“Well, you are!” Stephanie insisted. “Think about it. You come from two different worlds. Your parents don’t want you together. It’s exactly the same thing.”
“Except Romeo and Juliet’s families were at war with each other,” I said. “My family isn’t warring with Dean’s.”
“Maybe they are,” Stephanie said conspiratorially. “Maybe that’s the real reason your parents are so set against this relationship.”
“You’re crazy,” I laughed. “They’re just idiots who think Dean is beneath me.”
“You should be beneath him,” Stephanie winked.
“Steph,” I said with a groan. “Stop it.”
“What?” Stephanie asked innocently. “You love him. He loves you. It’s only a matter of time before you have sex.”
“I hope so,” I said honestly.
“My little Caroline is growing up,” Stephanie sighed.
We laughed and finished our brunch. Stephanie had a lot to say about my relationship with Dean, all of it supportive and encouraging. She hadn’t yet met him but she loved the idea of us being together when she saw how happy it made me.
When we left the restaurant, we walked through town together, linking arms and stopping to stare in different shop windows. After a few minutes, we walked right into Dean as he was rounding the corner in front of us.
“Hey,” he said, surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re stalking you,” Stephanie said. Dean glanced at her.
“This is Stephanie,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Stephanie, this is Dean.”
“Nice to finally meet you,” Stephanie said.
“Yeah, you too,” Dean said. He nodded and smiled tightly.
“We just finished brunch,” I explained. “What are you up to?”
“Going to get my brother’s medicine,” he said. “He’s out of insulin and his diabetes is acting up.”
“Oh,” I said with a nod. “Poor thing.”
“He’ll be okay,” Dean said. “Just needs his meds.”
“Well, we’ll let you-”
“We’ll go with you!” Stephanie said enthusiastically. I jerked my head toward her but she ignored me.
“Um, sure,” Dean said. He shrugged. “Whatever.”
Stephanie clapped her hands with excitement and we followed Dean to the drugstore. I was worried he’d be annoyed by Stephanie but when he reached for my hand, my fears were quelled. I smiled and squeezed his hand as we stepped inside the store. Dean got his brother’s insulin and Stephanie grabbed a couple of bags of candy.
Together, the three of us made our way to Dean’s house. I pulled Dean a few feet ahead of Stephanie so I could talk to him without her overhearing.
“Sorry about this,” I said softly. “She’s just excited to meet you finally.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Not a big deal.”
“Is your mom…” I began. “I mean, is it okay for us to come over?”
“She’s not there,” Dean said as he stepped onto his street.
“Oh?” I asked. “She’s not?”
Dean shook his head and led the way toward the front door. I followed him inside with Stephanie on my heels. While Dean went down the hall to give his brother the medicine, Stephanie and I lingered in the living room.
As I looked around, I noticed how much cleaner it was then the last time I was here. The broken vases his mother had shattered were nowhere in sight and there were fresh vacuum cleaner lines on the carpet. I smiled to myself when I saw fresh flowers sitting on their coffee table. I hoped this meant his mother was sober and that she had cleaned up after herself a little bit.
“So,” I asked when Dean made his way back to the living room. “Where’s your mom?”
“She checked herself into rehab,” Dean said.
Stephanie jerked her head up to look at us but then quickly looked away. I could tell she was interested but didn’t want to pry. She meandered around the living room, looking at the pictures on the fireplace and pretended not to hear us.
I stepped closer to Dean and let him pull me into his arms. He hugged me close, kissing the top of my head and breathing in my scent. When we pulled apart, I looked up at him and waited for him to continue.
“She left last night,” Dean said softly. “She had a rare sober moment and said she wanted to get better. Daniel and I helped her pack her bags, and then, she left. She called this morning and said things were going well so far.”
“That’s amazing!” I said.
“Don’t get too excited,” Dean said. “This isn’t the first time we’ve been down this road with her. She always gets really excited about getting help. It goes great for about a week, and then, she checks herself out of rehab and shows up here, totally wasted and on a rampage.”
I sighed and wrapped my arms around him again. I wanted to take away his pain and make his life just a little bit easier but I didn’t know how.
“Just have hope that she’ll get through this. You can’t do it for her but you can believe in her.”
“That’s not an easy thing to do,” Dean said darkly.
“I know,” I said, sighing. “For what it’s worth, I really hope she gets better. I hope this is the time it sticks and that, finally, she’ll clean herself up and really be your mom.”
Dean smiled weakly and kissed me. The kiss was fast, barely long enough to feel. I held him tightly, trying to convey just how much I loved him in that one hug.