Chapter 11

11

18 years old - Nick

" Y ou look nice," I tell Lily when she opens the passenger seat and gets in the car, taking my focus away from doomscrolling through my phone. Her lips are a shade of purple and a floral dress hugs her body.

My gaze goes up to her face. I watch her as she bites her bottom lip. She catches me staring and lets out a small sigh. "I'm really nervous, Nick."

"Don't be, babe. They already know you. It's not like you have to make a good first impression or anything." I reassure her while trying to hold my laugh. It's so cute how worked up she is. "They already love you."

"I know," she answers me. "But it's the first time they've invited just me for a real meal. The last time we properly did something together was brunch when you first moved back here. And I haven't exactly left a great impression since then, Nick." Ah yes, the whole sex in the back of my mom's car debacle.

My jaw tightens. This isn't just her being nervous, she's ashamed of herself. I put my hand on her thigh while I start the car, squeezing it gently. "Hey, don't fucking think about that. They are already over the whole thing." She takes my hand on her thigh and circles her thumb over it while we drive without talking until we reach my house.

"I love you," I break the silence, giving her a smile while lifting her hand and kissing one of her knuckles. "They've already loved you ever since you were little. I love you. You'll be fine."

"I love you too, Nick. But back then, it was different and you know it."

Grabbing her waist, I close the distance between us and plant a soft kiss on her lips, tasting the chalkiness of her lipstick. "Now, I love you more and so do they. Back then, you used to stink of sweat from playing in the sun all day, now you wear perfume." Lily starts poking me playfully when I say the word stink .

After I turn the doorknob of my front door, we are immediately greeted by the smell of chicken pot pie. "I'm almost done!" We hear my mom scream, her head facing the oven, before she stands with a steaming casserole dish. She puts it down on the dining table and comes back to us, giving Lily one of her famous, big hugs.

"So nice of you to join us, Lily," she says. "You look pretty, as always."

Lily returns the smile, her shoulders visibly relaxing. "Thank you so much for inviting me to dinner tonight."

My dad must have heard us because not long after, we hear footsteps coming from his home office upstairs. Like my mom, he also hugs Lily before suggesting that we all go sit around the dining table. Taking the place next to her, I put my hand on her thigh again to reassure her when I see that her legs are moving up and down. My mom motions for us to start and we all help ourselves to the salad and the dinner rolls on the table.

Lily breaks her roll into two pieces and puts one of them in her mouth. "This is really good, Lucy," she says after swallowing. "Do you still make your own bread?"

My mom grins from ear to ear at the compliment. "Thanks, Lily, and I do. I do it even more now. I didn't work when we were in Japan. Nick was too big to be babysat 24/7, so I had a lot of time to learn new recipes."

My dad and I both chuckle at the same time, reminiscing about when my mom made five loaves of bread and three different kinds of pastries in a span of one week out of boredom. She has toned it down a few notches since then. She doesn't have time anyway since going back to work, but you can tell the hobby is still ever present in our lives based on the amount of frozen baked goods we have in our freezer.

"I'd love to bake like you," Lily answers my mom. "I mostly just bake brownies and muffins."

"Stay over longer the next time you come here to hang out with Nick," my mom answers. "We can bake something together. Also, feel free to come down anytime Nick is playing video games and you are bored up there. The two of them never help me bake and I haven't spent time with you in a long time."

"Does he also ignore you like he does us when he's playing with his PlayStation?" My dad jokes. Lily nods in agreement.

They continue on talking and exchanging jokes at my expense. This is good. They're bonding . I wish I didn't have to be the punchline, but at least nobody is talking about that damn picture and Lily seems to be much more calm. I would be lying if I said that I didn't love looking at her carefree and having fun with my mom and dad like this. It wasn't like this when we were younger. Even when we were already in the dating stage, nothing really changed in the dynamics between us and our parents. I guess they didn't take our relationship that seriously back then. But it feels different now. Lily is right. It feels more serious.

I look at the clock on the wall and announce to the group that I need to take Lily back home soon. Although my parents adore Lily, her mother is a different story. Ever since she found out about the car incident, Astrid only greets me with sneers and scoffs when I come over. Bryce joked to me once that the only reason her mother tolerates me is because she is afraid her daughter might do something stupid like elope if she bans Lily from seeing me. I wonder how my parents would react if we ever eloped. The four of us eating together and joking around feels so damn good, so normal.

My mom starts clearing the table and Lily stands up to help. They both work in tandem, putting plates and cutlery in the dishwasher.

"Nick, can you help me with the trash bags?" my dad asks.

"Lil, meet me outside once you're done, okay?" I shout so she hears me from the kitchen. "I'm taking the trash out and then I'm gonna wait in the car!"

I walk to the left side of our front yard where the garbage cans are and throw away the plastic bag. As I turn around, I see my dad coming out of the house and walking toward me. He has the other two in his hand. "You could've just given it to me before, Dad."

He opens the garbage can that I just closed five seconds ago and throws the sacks in, not reacting to my remark. Hesitation is plastered all over his face before he opens his mouth to speak in a gentle tone. "I overheard Lily telling your mom that she is applying to The American University of Paris."

I look at him and confirm this information, not really knowing where this conversation is going.

"Is this the reason why you asked me about a loan for studying abroad?"

"Among other things." Lily is sick of living here and is hellbent on going to college elsewhere. I want to know what my options are.

"Nick, I will support you in whatever you do, but you know our financial situation can't be compared with the Simmons', right? Arthur works in investment banking and I work in accounting. Those two are not the same."

"Lily is not a Simmons," I tell him defensively.

"You know what I mean, Nick. Lily might have the luxury of having Arthur pay for her English-speaking program in France, but you might end up drowning in debt if you do the same. Have you looked into it at all?"

"I did," I admit. Googling this has become a late-night hobby of mine. "Public universities in France are affordable, Dad."

Before my dad can say anything else, the front door opens and we see her hugging my mom goodbye, both smiling from ear to ear. As Lily walks toward us, my dad pats my back and squeezes in one last fatherly advice. "Just give it a thought before you do anything. The choices you make when you're young usually come back to you, in good ways and bad."