I closed the front door. “Mom knows how to throw down in the kitchen.”
She laughed. “I’m teaching Rae how to, though.”
Clint laughed as my jaw dropped ope
n.
“Hey!”
Mom put her hand up. “I’m not saying you can’t cook. You’ve got your dishes you’re good at. But none of them are those traditional recipes that come from your heritage.”
I scoffed. “I think I did just fine with the enchiladas.”
“Yes, you did. After I walked you through the first batch. That’s how you learn, sweetheart.”
Clint snickered. “First batch? Sign me up. I’m starving, and it all sounds delicious.”
I put my hand on his arm. “Just know we aren’t liable for the damage the orange soda does to your throat.”
He paused. “Wait, what?”
Mom and I laughed our way into the kitchen before getting the flowers in some water. Then we all sat down to eat. For the first time in as long as I could remember, it felt like a family again in this house. Mom telling stories to Clint. Him returning the favor with his foot pressed against mine underneath the table. Mom and Clint got along wonderfully. And as the two of them talked, I couldn't stop staring at him.
He had come back to check in on us.
My heart fluttered in my chest at the idea of it.
Mom took a sip of her drink. “So do you have any plans for after school and all that?”
Clint and I paused, staring at her as her eyes danced between us.
“What?” she asked.
Clint narrowed his eyes. “How are you feeling?”
She shrugged. “I feel fine. Why?”
I licked my lips. “So, the soda’s okay to drink?”
She scoffed. “You two are made for one another. Eat your damn food and hush.”
I grinned. “One more point in my favor.”
Clint furrowed his brow. “One point?”
“Let’s get back to the question at hand. I want to know what Clint’s plans for after high school are.”
I looked over at him, trying to let him know that he didn’t have to answer. But he looked confident. Much more confident than I would have been at that question had I been in his shoes.
“Well, Miss Lucy, I know college isn’t for me. Not that I don’t like a good education, but I’m terrible at it. I don't do well in classes with formal testing and things like that. I’m more of a hands-on kinda guy. I think I’d be better suited to start from the bottom somewhere, get certificates as I go along, and work my way up. Learn at the lower level and apply those types of things at upper levels.”
Mom nodded. “That sounds like a plan. Are you staying around here? Or moving away?”
“For now, I’m staying around here. But there are plenty of job offers I can apply for. And I’ll have a small support system in the area with my stepmom and everything like that.”
“Are things going okay at your house, Clint?”
He sighed. “They’re going. I don’t know how much Rae’s told you and all that, but Dad’s selling the house and she doesn’t want to go with him. We’re getting an apartment together on the other side of the high school so I can finish out my senior year.”