by Mariah Dietz
“What about you and Max? What’s the deal there?” Kendall asks, knocking her knee against mine as I take a bite. I chew a little slower than necessary to craft my reply.
“We’re just hanging out right now.”
“You’re the worst liar.”
“What? I’m not lying!”
“You like him! We all know you do. He knows you do. When are you guys going to start enjoying some of the benefits of being an adult and dating?” Thankfully Kendall’s phone starts ringing, and I know by the ringtone that it’s Jameson. It sends my heart racing, knowing they’re home, or at least back on land.
I glance at my phone to check the time and see a message from Max.
Max: Where R U?
Me: You’re alive!!! Where are you?!
Max: @ ur house. Where R U?
Me: Downtown with Kendall listening to her relationship woes ... Can you please be a double agent and mention to J to ask Kendall to date exclusively again? It will save me a lot of time.
Max: U nd 2 lrn 2 abbreviate.
Me: You love it. I like vowels ;)
Max: Whn R U cmng hme?
Me: Soon, why?
Max: I hvnt Cn U N 4 dayz!!!!
Me: You know days and dayz have the same number of characters right?
Max: U luv it
Me: So what you’re saying is you miss me?
Max: I’m saying come home! Now!!!
Max: is that more clear? Easier to understand with vowels?
Me: So bossy! We’ll be home soon ... I’ll text you when we’re close.
“Who are you texting?” Kendall leans in to read my phone, and I turn my eyes to her giddy face as I covertly turn off my screen.
“You ready to go?”
“Yeah, they’re home, as I’m sure you’re aware.” She grins, nudging me with her elbow. “I can’t wait to be back in school. Sex is not easy these days—”
“Too much sharing. I don’t want to know all the places you guys do it.”
Upon pulling into the driveway my door is opened before Kendall turns off the engine. Normally, this would startle me, but I already know who it is.
“You never texted me,” Max accuses, sticking his head through the open door.
“Hi, Max.” Kendall calls, retracting her keys. “Good to see you too!”
He looks up to her and grins. “Hey, Kendall, Jameson’s waiting for you inside.”
“Are we being used for one of their sexcapades?”
“Indeed. Want to go get ice cream?”
I turn to Kendall who’s checking her reflection in the rearview mirror with the biggest grin I’ve seen on her face since Jameson and Max left. “Have fun!” I sing, climbing out.
Max pulls me into a hug before I can get both of my legs fully out of the car, squeezing me tightly to his chest. “God, it’s good to see you.”
“But you obviously had fun. So much fun we didn’t hear from either of you.” I remind him as he frees me from his vice grip.
Max shakes his head and wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me to his side. “We lost reception the first day after being out just over two hours.”
“I’m glad. I was worried you guys found like Megalodon or something.”
“The giant extinct shark that hunted blue whales?” he asks me curiously.
“Oh, Ace, you’ve finally found someone that speaks you’re language.” I turn to see Kendall hasn’t left. She laughs at the expression I give her, which from the way I feel likely resembles something along the lines of ‘shut up, Kendall.’
Max and I spend the evening together as he tells me about the trip and the ocean, reminiscing about the swells and the scent, the colors and the differences and similarities between here and Alaska.
I love listening to Max and watching him transition from deep and thoughtful to silly and animated as he recounts their run in with the Mexican border patrol, laughing as he discredits Jameson’s claim of speaking Spanish explaining he only knows produce translations.
We spend the next few days glued to one another, and it feels a lot like right before he left on his trip, except for the fact that there are even more brushes of our arms and hands, more glances and smiles, and although I’m about to go crazy trying to decipher what Max is feeling, I also feel reluctant for anything to change because as lame as it is, I’m willing to accept anything Max is willing to give me, and I don’t want to potentially lose any of it.
I’d like to think my breakup with Eric inspired Jenny, because the following week she announces that she’s leaving Paul and asks my parents if she and Lilly can move back home, which my parents are beyond ecstatic about. Caulder, Kyle, and my dad plan a moving day, and arrange for boxes and hauling, and somewhere in the midst of their planning Jameson, Max, and Landon all get involved as well. A small piece of my heart will forever be with each of them, as it feels like they’re a part of our family now.
We’ve experienced uncharacteristically large amounts of rain this summer, something we Southern Californians don’t handle particularly well. I’m sure people around the country would laugh if they knew how excess rain literally immobilizes our city. Thus when Sunday arrives and the clouds and weather forecast promise rain, it isn’t even falling before half the family has called to cancel. Once the storm warnings start running over the TV and our phones, the rest of the family cancels as well.
“I sure hope the boys are bringin’ their appetites tonight,” Mom says, returning to the den where Kendall, Dad, and I are watching a movie. “Jenny just called, she said she and Lilly are going to stay another night and will drive back in the morning.”
I glance at Kendall. This means it will just be our parents, Jameson, Max, and Susan for dinner. She looks over at me and smiles reassuringly. Things have been going well between her and Jameson, and I figure if she can be at ease with this situation, then I should be as well.
Shortly after the movie Kendall and I make our way into the kitchen where I’m tasked with chopping vegetables for the salad. Kendall’s assigned with setting the table. Claps of thunder echo outside and the rain graces us with its anticipated appearance.
As I finish dicing a tomato, the doorbell chimes charging me with a nervous energy that has me spending far too much time trying to decide if I should go and answer the door. Mom looks at me from where she hovers by the stove checking on her lasagna with an expectant look that quickly morphs into confusion. I dismiss it and the doorbell, focusing on chopping a cucumber instead.
My dad clears his throat and makes his way to the foyer. I have no idea why I feel so nervous tonight. I know I’m being ridiculous and making this into a much bigger deal than it really is. I take a deep breath, willing myself to calm down.
Distracted by my little mental freak out, I completely miss what the three have said as my dad’s laughter alerts me that they’re in the kitchen.
“I hope y’all are hungry since your poor mom was called in. That means it’s just the six of us tonight,” my mom says, catching me up to speed. I notice her take a couple of steps, stopping beside me.
“It smells amazing in here,” Jameson says, taking a deep breath through his nose as I pile the cucumber into the salad bowl and reach for an orange bell pepper.
“It does,” I hear Max agree. “These are for you, Muriel, for having us over for dinner again.” The urge to look at him gets stronger, knowing he’s mere feet from me as I focus on gutting the pepper.
Mom jabs me with her elbow, and I glance over to see her eyes focused on the bar with a wide smile spread across her perfectly made-up face. I glance over to see what has made her so elated and my gaze immediately gravitates to Max. Our eyes lock for a quiet second before I look to my dad and then to Jameson standing beside him. Then my stare falls to the large bouquet of light pink flowers setting on the counter in front of Max. I look back to Max. He’s still looking at me.
“You got pink peonies?” Kendall gasps, descending the stairs. “How did you know?” When did you lea
ve?
“They’re for Mom,” I instantly reply.
“It surprises me too.” Mom practically swoons as she scoops up the chunks of pepper that I chopped and drops them into the salad bowl.
“I understand the words you guys are saying, but they’re not making any sense, it’s like code,” Jameson says, looking around to each of us.
“Oh, it’s just ironic,” Mom answers, moving to place a tray of bread in the oven, “David has been gettin’ me flowers every Friday since we began dating, and when the girls were little they used to go with him to pick ‘em out. I always knew which girl accompanied him based on the flowers I received, each one had their favorite. However, when Ace went, I never got the same ones.”
“Until she saw those,” my dad interjects, pointing a finger to the vase of peonies. I stare down at the carrots that I just finished chopping, feeling slightly mortified by this story.
“These are your favorite?” Max asks.
I glance up, noting everyone’s attention is trained on me, and stop when my eyes meet Max’s. I nod.
Thankfully the timer for the bread goes off, breaking the moment. As my mom goes to retrieve the bread, my dad starts talking about an issue he’s run into with Clementine and signals for the guys to follow him to the den.
“Was that incredibly awkward for everyone, or just me?” I whisper to Kendall as inconspicuously as possible as she comes around the island to stand by me while I drop the remaining vegetables into the salad bowl.
“Just you,” she whispers. “Pink peonies!” She quietly squeals, gripping my arm as she does a small bounce on the balls of her feet. I brush her away and instantly hiss at her to be quiet.
“Come on, ya’ll, no more sports talk right now. We’re eatin’ dinner!” my mom calls, taking her seat at the far end of the table, across from dad’s seat.
“Ace, you fish?” Max asks, holding a picture of a seven-year-old me holding a halibut with my dad’s assistance since it was nearly as big as me and weighed more.
“You’re showing them pictures?” I groan, knowing full well there are at least a dozen pictures that could easily be classified as mortifying.
“Just that one. We were talking about fishing,” Dad answers as he takes his seat beside me with a grin. “Tell them about your fishing skills, Ace.”
I roll my eyes and laugh at the amused smirk on my dad’s face before I turn to Max and shake my head. “No, I don’t fish.” I reach for the picture frame Max still holds and set it on the table beside me, face down. “There’s a follow up picture to this one somewhere, as I bawled my eyes out, realizing the fish was going to die, and it was my fault.”
“But you eat meat?” Jameson asks.
“I know, it’s hypocritical. I just don’t deal very well with death. Later you can sit with Mom, and she’ll happily psychoanalyze the situation with you.”
“Why wait?” Kendall teases. I grab a chunk of carrot from the salad bowl and throw it at her, hitting her squarely in the chest.
“Kendall, no!” My Mom shouts quickly as Kendall reaches for a roll with every intention of retaliation. “There will be absolutely no food fights tonight!”
Kendall slowly lowers the roll to her plate. I know she hasn’t conceded—Kendall doesn’t know how to concede—so my attention continuously flickers to her as I listen to my dad.
“So, Jameson, did you grow up in Alaska?” I turn to watch Jameson’s reply, feeling slightly anxious about the subject of Washington coming up after the whole wedding incident. Before he replies, an olive plops into my lap and I turn my attention to Kendall and glare in warning. She instantly shakes her head, her eyes feigning innocence. She gestures to mom, who’s staring at Jameson waiting with rapt interest for his response. Her lips twitch as she fights a smile, and I narrow my eyes at her, waiting for her to turn and acknowledge me. It only takes her a moment before she does, and she widens her eyes in response, holding out her palms in innocence.
“Actually, I’m from Yakima, Washington. My parents own a fruit farm up there. I went up to Alaska to try something new.”
“I’ve never made it that far east. I’ve only ever been to Seattle. Is it pretty wet there?” Dad asks as mom begins plating pieces of lasagna, and I pass the salad bowl to Kendall. I quickly scrutinize her face looking for any trace of her being uncomfortable so I can change the subject, but neither she nor Jameson seem to flinch at the subject being posed.
“No, we’re on the other side of the mountains. Our summers are fairly similar to here, hot and dry. But it can get pretty cold during the winter.”
“Are you a skier?” Mom asks curiously.
“I grew up skiing with my parents, but then I started snowboarding when I was like twelve, and pretty much stick to that now. Do you guys ski?”
“No,” Dad says with a quick laugh as he shakes his head. “I can’t talk them into playing tennis. You really think I’m going to get them to go skiing?”
“I’d be up for hanging out in the lodges and drinking some buttered rum. Some of the snow clothes are pretty cute. Get some big scarves and boot socks.” Kendall looks over to Mom with a growing excitement.
“I’d be in there with you. I have no intention of strappin’ my feet to a board and sailin’ down any mountain to my death any time soon.”
“Oh, ma moitié, you’d start on a bunny hill, small falls.” My mom raises her eyebrows to him as if questioning his sanity, making Dad quickly change subjects.
“So, Max, have you decided which field of medicine you’re going to focus on?”
“I’m not positive. Right now it looks like either spinal or neurological.”
“We need new dinner guests, ones that make us look better,” Kendall teases.
I chance a glance at Max to see him still involved in conversation with my dad. I know Max is intending to apply for medical school this year. We’ve discussed this a few different times over the summer after he told me a story about fishing in Alaska and a really close call that his boat had encountered where he thought they were going to lose a crew member, and how that inspired him to help people the way his mom has. However, sitting here, hearing it again, it still catches me a bit off guard to take it all in.
“Ace has considered medicine,” Mom chirps, bringing me back to the conversation at hand. “She’s had some really excitin’ offers, but she needs to focus and make some decisions this year.”
I look up and try to give her a promising smile that seems to effectively placate her before turning my attention back to my lasagna. I slowly move a few bites around my plate, feeling a sense of unease at the mention of my impending decision. Discussing the future has a tendency to overwhelm me, and thinking of declaring a major this year makes me feel nearly nauseous. I’m only nineteen and obviously haven’t been exposed to all fields. How do I know what I’ll want to do in twenty years?
“She still has plenty of time.” I glance over at my dad giving me a reassuring smile as he reaches for his glass of wine.
I’m praying Kendall will change the subject. Usually she never goes this long without talking. But she’s staring intently at her salad, likely distracted with thinking of retaliation.
“So, Ace, where did this nickname come from? I hear we’re playing cards, and I need to know if there’s something I should be aware of,” Jameson asks.
“That’s a good question, I’ve never heard this. You’ve just always been Ace,” Max adds, tilting his head slightly as he looks at me with genuine interest.
“Oh that’s her daddy’s fault. He used to say everything was ace. It was his way of saying good. The girls all caught on, and when Harper was a baby she was always just the happiest little thing. She hardly ever fussed, and her daddy began calling her Ace, and it stuck,” Mom explains.
I look at my dad and smile as a cucumber sails down the front of my shirt. Turning to confront both my mom and Kendall, I see that they’re both working to suppress giggles.
“Seriously?” I eye my mom. She�
�s having a difficult time breathing. I shake my head and move the salad bowl away from their reach.
“What game are you guys going to play?” Dad asks, a small smile playing on his lips with amusement.
“I don’t know. They can choose,” I reply, looking at Max and then to Jameson. I catch sight of something flying through the air and am just able to lean back in time to see a chunk of tomato land squarely in the center of my dad’s chest, causing a smile to erupt on my face.
“Muriel!” He growls with a wicked smile. He tears off a chunk of bread from his roll and hurls it at her. Mom bursts into a fit of giggles and begins flinging the salad on her plate as fast as she can grab it. Saying my mother has bad aim is a gross understatement. Vegetables are flying, hitting everyone at the table. Many miss altogether and land on the floor.
Food fights are a fairly common occurrence in our house, but based on the expressions from both Max and Jameson, they’re not accustomed to spending meals hurtling their vegetables across the table.
My mom pauses, making my dad stop, and then she lunges forward, grabbing the salad bowl. She then turns her aim to Kendall and me.
“Mom, you always regret this!” I warn between giggles as I raise my hands to deflect the barrage of vegetables. Kendall and my dad are already throwing things back at her, while Jameson and Max are frozen, staring at us.
I pick up a small handful of vegetables from the table and throw them directly at Max’s chest. His jaw drops, making me laugh harder. I quickly scrimmage up another handful and chuck it at Jameson, turning before I can see his reaction as my mom begins throwing entire rolls in my direction. Bread and vegetables are flying as Jameson and Max join in.
Kendall and I definitely have the disadvantage. The boys aren’t about to throw things at our parents, and our parents are more than happy to team up. Mom retreats to the kitchen, returning with the economy sized bag of rolls. The four of them anxiously grab for the fresh ammo and sling them at us. I stand from my chair, turning my back to them, and hear Kendall push her chair back as well. The food suddenly comes to an abrupt stop, and I hesitantly turn to glance over my shoulder to see Max and Jameson stand from the table, looking devious as all hell.
