Outside, the sun is extra bright today. The birds even seem to have an extra chirp in their chirping.
I pull on the zipper and close my backpack. Everything is packed and ready to go. As I throw the oversized backpack over my shoulder, I glance at my room one more time.
There are so many memories, good and bad. I wonder, the next time I see it, will it be different? Mom won’t touch a thing, but will I feel different?
With a weight on my shoulders from the bag, not just my emotions, I close the door behind me and carefully make my way down the stairs. Inside the kitchen, my parents both glance at me with sadness in their eyes.
“Do you have your passport?” Mom asks quietly.
I throw my backpack on the ground and retrieve the passport from the crossbody bag I’m also wearing. Holding it up, Mom nods with a small smile.
“We haven’t discussed money,” Dad begins, his voice suddenly stiff and controlled. “The limit on your credit card has been increased to pay for accommodation and in case of emergency.”
“About that…” I reach inside my bag again and pull out my credit card. Before I have a chance to talk myself out of it, I place it flat on the countertop. “I won’t be needing it.”
“Alexa,” Mom calls my name with worry. “I’d be much more at ease if you kept it. You don’t need to use it, but just for emergencies.”
I shake my head, refusing to compromise. If I do this, I need to do this on my own. My gaze shifts toward Dad. I can swear on everything I own, somewhere behind his challenging stare, there is a bit of him which is proud I’m not leeching off him like Ava.
“I’ll be fine, Mom. Don’t worry.”
Mom bites her lip, then bows her head. “You’re our baby. We’ll always worry about you.”
Taking a step toward where she stands, I reach my arms out to embrace her. Mom’s hug is extra tight today, and I know she doesn’t want me to grow up, but it’s not like I can stay young forever.
“You’ll see me in four months at Addy’s wedding in France,” I remind her.
A smile finally spreads across her face. “We’re here, always. Just a call away.”
“I know, Mom.”
Finally, I turn to face Dad. The moment is finally here, the moment I’d been wishing for every single time we argued, and he imposed a new stupid rule.
In my head, I thought I’d be jumping for joy. Reality feels incredibly different … like I’m going to miss him or something.
“I guess this is it…”
“This is what you wanted,” he reminds me in a condescending tone.
My eyes meet his, and perhaps his words were intended one way, but he just sounded like a jerk again to me. A swirl of anger begins to swell inside of me. I try to suppress it, knowing nothing good will come from arguing with him again. I swear he’s like a woman on her period with his up-and-down moods.
“Bye, Dad.”
I wrap my arms around him to say goodbye, but unexpectedly, he holds on longer than I anticipated. When I finally pull away, Mom’s eyes are glassy as she tries to hold back her tears.
“Are you sure you don’t want us to take you to the airport?” Mom asks for the millionth time.
“I got this, Mom. Like I said, I’ll be just fine…”
FIVE
“Alexandra, you wanna move a little faster?”
I bite my tongue, then wipe the sweat off my forehead, ignoring his thick accent which has escalated to yelling from the kitchen. I should be grateful he at least spoke to me in English because he usually barks orders in French, making it hard for me to catch everything without asking someone for help.
Weeknights weren’t usually this busy, but some soccer game finished, and fans wanted to celebrate. They entered the bar in droves, ecstatic over their win. We are short-staffed, and I was supposed to end this shift two hours ago. My plan was to go back to the room I’d been renting for the last month and get some sleep before catching a train out to Champagne tomorrow to see my family.
Everyone is flying in for Masen and Addy’s wedding. As I agreed to be a bridesmaid at the wedding, there’s no way I can miss it. I don’t exactly want to show up with bags under my eyes from the back-to-back shifts I pulled this week. It’ll give my sisters ammunition to lecture me with his whole ‘life ain’t so easy without Daddy’s money’ speech.