Clinton
I sipped my whiskey as I leaned back in the chair. It softly rocked, and the fall breeze kicked up. I swear, I smelled the fucking ocean in it. I closed my eyes and relished my full stomach. Lunch had been fantastic, which left us with more than enough to heat up for dinner. And after two rounds of Indian and whiskey, I was feeling limber. Light. Carefree. Relaxed.
Especially with Cecilia.
Things were just comfortable with her. I enjoyed having her in my life. Having her support on things. I never had evenings like this with my father. We either ate in separate rooms or I ordered take-out simply because he wasn’t home. Never had we shared a meal like this. Not even during the damn holidays.
I wonder what holidays would be like with her.
“So, how are you feeling about today?”
I sighed. “You know, I feel good about it
.”
Cecilia nodded. “That lawyer was generous with her offer.”
“She was, yeah.”
“It’s nice to know good people really do exist.”
I snickered. “Maybe she’ll help you with your divorce.”
“I’ve actually already called her about that. She can’t, but she’s referring me to another one of her colleagues that has a really good win rate.”
I nodded. “Good for you. Seriously. I’m proud of you.”
She smiled softly. “But there’s still the matter of you.”
“What about me?”
“You’ll need to stick around here and finish out high school.”
“I’ll figure a way around that. I’ve got a friend at school whose parents have already offered to let me use their spare bedroom.”
“Oh?”
I nodded slowly. “I still don’t know if I’m going to take them up on their offer. I mean, I’d have to find a storage unit. Store all my things. Only take what’s necessary. Then, there’s still the plan of what to do after high school. It would make more sense for me to keep selling things, or finding a part-time job now, so I can get a place of my own.”
“What kind of job would you get?”
I snickered. “Hell if I know. Maybe a cashier somewhere. A sandwich maker or a barista.”
“Mmm, I don’t think I can see you in an apron and a hair cap.”
“It would definitely be a sight.”
I sipped my whiskey as night time slowly fell upon us. The beauty of the sunset faded, leaving us with cars rushing by in the distance. The glow of the city rose above our heads, muting a lot of the stars. The ones that did twinkle seemed to almost be laughing. They flashed and blinked. Flickered, as if they were waving down at me.
But suddenly, I heard a chair scraping across the cement.
I looked in front of me and saw my stepmom pulling up her chair. She sat with me, knee to knee, before digging out her cell phone. She set her wine glass down on the ground, and I couldn't help but notice the glow on her face. She looked radiant. Happier than I’d ever seen her before.
Everything about this night was refreshing.
“So I’ve been taking your advice over this past week with selling some things off.”
I paused. “Oh?”