Page 78 of From Me to You
I let out a breath I never knew I was holding. “Whew, Aunty M, you scared me there for a second. I wouldn’t mind if you wanted us to move to Seattle again. Hell, I would be starting college soon, so it really doesn’t matter. You should apply for that job. I am sure you will get it.”
“Really? You are okay with this?” she asked, her eyes hopeful.
My eyes softened. “You deserve the world, Aunty M. I know you really love Liam, and I want you to be with him if it makes you happy. I have only two months before school is over, and then I plan to spend time with Jay before I head off to college anyway. So, it really doesn’t matter.” I shrugged. A sad smile crept up my face at the thought of leaving them both and moving halfway across the country. But I had applied for the springsemester so I would have a lot of time left to spend with both of them before I started college.
“Thanks, sweetie. Liam has a spare room that he told me you were welcome to use any time. So, you don’t have to worry.” She squeezed my hand. “Have you heard back from Yale?”
“No.”
“Hey, girls!” Jay smiled as he walked through the door. Aunty M had him so spoiled that she even gave him a key to our house for emergencies. But he used it for everything else except emergencies.
“Hey, sweetie. I was telling Evy that I was planning to move to Seattle.”
His eyes widened. “You are moving?”
I shook my head. “Aunty M wants to move in with Liam, so she decided it was best to find a job in Seattle. I will be here till I finish school anyway. And I plan to be with you till college starts. I don’t know where. I still haven’t figured that out yet.”
Jay smiled and said, “Don’t worry, Marie, I will take good care of her.” He linked his arm with mine, and I leaned into him.
“You kids are going to make me cry. Look at you both, so grown up. And my little niece is going to college. It feels like yesterday when she was running around in her diapers.”
I blushed, and Jay laughed.
“Aunty M, he doesn’t have to know that.” I shook my head.
“Please tell me more, Marie. I want to know everything about her.” He beamed.
And soon we sat down for dinner with Aunty M, absolutely embarrassing the hell out of me by giving him morbid details of my childhood endeavors. I protested that they would get no more food if they did, but they continued, barely listening to me. I gave up sulking as I ate two servings of my enchiladas.
I even slid a strawberry milk for him because I couldn’t help it. I was a pathetic, idiotic fool in love.
“That one time during second grade, she got so worried that her socks were not going to let her feet breathe. Evy always came home crying every day because she didn’t know if her feet still lived. Awwh, she was so adorable.” Aunty M brought her hands to her heart. “She was so concerned one day that after school she ended up going to the hospital. Her grandma and I searched everywhere for her, only to find her at the ER. I think she only calmed down after the doctor told her that her socks helped the feet breathe and she had to wear them to keep them alive. After that, she never took off her socks for years.”
Jay laughed so hard that he almost fell off the chair.
“Ha, ha, ha,” I said, rolling my eyes. “It is not that funny. I am going to ask Emily about yours, Jay. She already told me you hid peanut butter under your bed.”
But they continued laughing hard completely ignoring me.
Right then, there was a knock on the door. That must be Liam—thank God now they can finally stop.
I got up to go and hit my knee on the table.
“Ouch.”
“Be careful, sweetheart,” Jay said, rubbing my knee.
“Evy, are you okay?” Aunty M asked as she got up to get the door.
I nodded. The pain was pretty much gone with Jay rubbing it so hard.
“I will put everything away,” I said as I got up. This time, my poor knees got out okay.
“I will do it.”
“No, I am fine,” I said as I started to clear up the table.
“Hey, babe.” Liam greeted Aunty M with a kiss.