TKB - The Time Apart

Chapter 9 - The following Summer

Elle POV

Wow, for a college girl, I sure do lead a boring life right now. I'm not really doing much of anything these days besides work and hanging out occasionally. May gave me my old job at Dunes back, and I'm trying to save enough money in case I decide to study abroad in the spring.

Because I'm working so much, June, Matthew and my dad agreed that on my late night shifts, I can stay at the beach house. Some days I feel so grown up, staying the by myself. Other days, I feel like a little kid, reliving our childhood here.

My favorite part of being here myself are the quiet mornings. I bring my coffee out to the pool deck and watch the waves. Sometimes I bring a book, sometimes I bring a crossword puzzle, and sometimes I just sit and catch up with my thoughts. It feels good to disconnect.

Alex is home in Florida for the summer, but we've facetimed a bunch of times. I'm really glad to have her as a friend, and I can see us being friends even once we've graduated.

Lee and Lisa broke up at the end of the spring semester, which I think was for the better. They had not been spending as much time together as the year went on, and as hard as it was for him, Lee actually initiated the break-up conversation, and I was proud of him. It turns out, Lisa had been feeling the same way, and they both just felt the relationship had run its course. There were no hurt feelings, which sounds like a great way to end a relationship - something I really don't know anything about.

Lee's roommate Steve, and his other school friends Carly and Amanda all came to the beach house for a week. Rather than a typical Flynn raging party, we threw a small intimate gathering instead, inviting some of our old classmates as well to join. After my 'date' with Warren, I invited him, and Tuppen and Olivia came, as did Ollie and Miles. It was nice to see old friends and new friends together.

In the middle of the summer, I know Lee spent a week with his family. He didn't tell me much about it, just that they were headed off to Cape Cod. I was saddened at that thought, because when I researched going to school in Boston, I had imagined Noah and I vacationing there, on breaks, getting to know the locals, exploring the tiny shops and restaurants. I'm glad Lee is going, but its definitely bittersweet. I never actually told Noah about this little plan of mine, but I wonder if he had thought it too.

Towards the end of the summer, my dad and I asked Brad and I if we could plan on being home for dinner one night, and he was going to cook. Very unlike him, but, ok. He made dinner (and I spotted extra ice cream in the freezer, so I knew something was up), and we had a nice dinner just the 3 of us, but I could tell my dad was on edge, as if he were keeping something from us, and generally just nervous. Over ice cream sundaes (see, I knew that was there for a reason), he brought up Linda, and how he has really enjoying spending time with her. I had an idea I knew where this was going, but we let him continue. My dad went on to tell us that wanted us to know that Linda would never replace our mom, but that he was hoping we were comfortable with her being part of our lives. He looked at Brad and I for our reaction, before moving on. "Kids, before I say anything to Linda, I wanted to get your approval on asking her to marry me. I don't have a specific time in mind, but I wanted to talk about it as a family, before Elle went back to school. Its important to me to have your blessings."

I wasn't surprised, Linda had all but moved into the house. In fact, it was almost strange for her to not be at dinner tonight. Brad was super excited - I knew he really liked Linda. Not that he didn't miss Mom too, but having Linda around has been really good for him. I, on the other hand, was a little slower to bestow my blessings and share in Brad's excitement. I'd accepted that my dad was in a relationship, and I really do like Linda. But, it was still hard for me to visualize my dad getting married again. Immature Elle might have stormed out of the room, similar to my outbursts at the beach house during Monopoly, but the new mature Elle? She was here now.

I let my dad know that I'm happy for him, and I will totally support him. Ultimately, I really am excited for him, and I will welcome Linda (and Kelsey) into our family.

My dad asked Brad and I to keep this as a secret, because he hasn't quite figured out when or how he plans on proposing....except he knows full well that as soon as I'm out of the room, I'll be calling Lee. Which I obviously do, and Lee is psyched. Who knew that Lee was a huge fan of weddings, and can't wait to go to one. I did ask him to keep it to himself, because I'm sure that my dad will want to share the news with June and Matthew himself.

I really hope my dad proposes soon....I'm not sure how long I can keep a secret. Hopefully, by the holidays, everything will be out in the open, and we'll be planning for a wedding.

Noah POV

The first few weeks of summer go by in a flash, and now I'm here, locked in a very stuffy lecture hall, with lots of nervous students taking the law school entrance exams. You can practically cut the tension in the room with a knife. I remind myself "Hey, you're Noah Flynn, you got this" - whether I believe myself or not, and I close my eyes to take a deep breath as the evaluation forms are handed out. Chloe's been working with me on some calming techniques over the past few years, and I'll need every one of them to get through this exam. The next few hours feel like minutes, and before I know it, I've handed in my exam. I'm unsure of how I fared, as most people are with these kinds of things, but it wasn't quite as bad as I expected, since I had been so well prepared.

The next few weeks will be quite the celebration and relaxation. For the first time in a long, Elle has actually been the furthest thing from my mind. However, I do have a certain piece of business to take care of. As is my annual tradition, for now anyway, before my parents get here, I found a Pandora store in Boston, and stopped in to pick up Elle's annual charm. This year, I pick up an Ice Cream cone charm. I know there's some silly rule about bringing your best friend ice cream or something, and I know its always been one of those symbols between her and Lee. I also its her favorite dessert, as she'd order it nearly every time we'd go out to dinner. There may have been one night with Elle when I made myself into an ice cream sundae....but, that's definitely a memory I am trying not to think about right now.

Ok.....dirty thoughts aside.....

My parents came to visit, and I was pleasantly surprised that at the last minute, Lee decided to join them. Everyone knew that I had been really stressed out the past few months, and I finally got to relax. So, we had booked an Airbnb on Cape Code. It was a charming little house right on the beach. Since we hadn't known Lee was joining us, we had only rented a 2 bedroom. Obviously, our parents took the primary bedroom, so Lee had the option of bunking with me, or sleeping on a pullout couch in the living room. My room had two double beds, so he opted to share with me.

It was really nice, spending that time with my family. We spent our days on the beach, and found local restaurants for dinner. One night, Lee and I decided to surprise our parents by cooking them dinner, then serving them on the beach. It was the least we could do to show them our appreciation for the trip, and for everything that they do for us.

Lee and I bonded too on our trip. He came to visit school last year, but this was the first time in a very long time that he and I really spent time together, just ourselves, without Elle. I also knew that he and his girlfriend had broken up, which didn't shock me too much. He hadn't really spoken about her too much, and he didn't seem too keen on sharing too much info with mom and dad. He also doesn't seem too torn up about the whole thing.

Being here though made me think about her even more. This would have been the perfect getaway for her and I, had she come to school here. I could almost imagine us finding our own little rental here, where we would come every year, becoming Cape Cod regulars. It was similar to our own beach at home - but this could have been our spot.

I'll admit, I didn't know if I wanted to talk about her, but the night before we were leaving, I had to ask how she was doing. His only response was "She's doing good, bro. She's killing it at school". I certainly wanted to know what was up with that picture of her and Warren on Instagram - I swear it looked like they were on a date. I nearly lost it when I saw that post, but, the reality is - I guess that's none of my business. I didn't push, I didn't ask if she was dating anyone - did I really want to know? If Lee says she's doing well, I will believe him - that's what I wanted for her, right?