Perfectly Wrong

35. Transitioning

“ Sofia, why don’t you go see if Aaliyah and Shawn have eaten yet?” Camila says to her sister two hours later when the basagna is ready and they realize there’s too much for just the three of them.

 Sofia runs out the door and Sinu sets two more plates at the table as Camila takes care of their drinks.

 “ We need to talk to Shawn about helping out with Sofia.” Camila says.

 “ Shawn? Why?” Sinu asks.

 “ Because I want to take you to your treatments from now on.” Camila tells her. “ It’s too much for Amelia. I can miss a day of school every now and then, or we can go when I get out.”

 “ Okay.” Her mother says, finishing preparing the table right when Sofia and Aaliyah come running through the front door. Shawn walks in a moment later.

 “ Sofia said we’re having basagna?” He asks with hesitation.

 “ Yes, sir.” Sinu says, serving the basagna onto the plates.

 “ What is basagna?” Shawn asks, looking kind of scared. “ Bolognese lasagna?”

 “ It’s basagna.” Sinu replies. “ And it’s the last time we’ll ever have it, so you better enjoy it.”

 Shawn walks to the table and waits for Camila and Sinu to take their seats before sitting down. They pass around breadsticks and salad before everyone starts eating, until the moment Sofia decides to make things awkward.

 “ My mom is dying, Aaliyah.” Her sister says out loud.

 Shawn looks at Camila and she smiles at him, letting him know they finally talked.

 “ When she dies, I’m going to live with Camila.” Sofia tells Aaliyah. “ Just like you live with Shawn. It’s like we’ll be the same. All of our parents will be dead, and we’ll live with our brother and sister.”

 “ Cool. That’s crazy.” Aaliyah says.

 “ Aaliyah!” Shawn scolds his sister.

 “ It’s fine, Shawn.” Sinu says. “ It is kind of crazy if you think about it from the perspective of a nine-year-old.”

 “ Mom.” Sofia says. “ What about your bedroom? Can I have it? It’s bigger than mine.”

 “ No.” Camila says. “ It has a bathroom in it. I get the bedroom.”

 Sofia looks defeated, but Camila doesn’t care. She’s getting the bedroom with the bathroom.

 “ You can have my laptop, Sofia.” Sinu says.

 “ Sweet!” Her sister quickly forgets about the bedroom.

 Camila looks at Shawn, hoping he doesn’t find this weird, but he’s laughing. Over dinner they make arrangements for their sisters while Sinu gets her treatment. Shawn told them Sofia could stay at his house whenever they needed and he would keep taking them to school. Camila will pick them up everyday unless she’s at a treatment with her mother, who made Shawn agree she would cook them dinner most nights in return for his help.

 “ I’m exhausted.” Sinu says. “ I think I’ll take a shower and go to bed.”

 Camila watches as her mother walks into the kitchen, where Shawn is washing the dishes, and puts her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind.

 “ Thank you, Shawn.” She says. “ For everything.”

 Camila smiles, watching as he turns around and hugs her mother back. When Sinu walks past her on her way to her bedroom, she nudges Camila with her shoulder. Again, Camila knows exactly what that means. She’s giving her approval. Too bad it doesn’t count this time.

 “ Maisie’s birthday is Thursday. I don’t know what I should get her.” Camila says as she wipes off the table and walks into the kitchen. They fall into an easy talk about possible gifts or surprises before Shawn finishes with the dishes. “ I think Connor is taking her out Thursday night. Maybe I’ll do something for her on Friday. ”

 “ Oh, speaking of Friday. Do you guys need me to watch Sofia Friday?” Shawn asks. “ I forgot Aaliyah and I will go out of town this weekend.”

 “ No, you’re fine.” Camila says. “ Family stuff?”

 “ Yeah, we stay with our grandparents one weekend a month.” Shawn tells her. “ Kind of a truce we worked out for me stealing her in the middle of the night.”

 “ That’s fair enough.” Camila says.

 “ So, you won’t be at the competition Thursday?” Shawn asks her.

 “ No.” She says. “ We’ll watch Aaliyah, though. Just send her over after school.”

 “ It’s pretty weird isn’t it? How everything worked out? You guys moving here when you did and Sofia and Aaliyah finding each other right when Sofia needed a best friend the most. She took the news about your mom so well. It all just worked out.” Shawn turns around to look at her, smiling. “ I’m proud of you, Camila. You did good today.”

 He places a lingering kiss on her forehead before walking back into the living room.

 “ Aaliyah still needs to take a shower. I guess we need to go.” He says. “ I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 “ Yeah.” She says. “ See you.”

 Camila sighs, thinking about the one thing that didn’t work out. She’s finally starting to accept that they won’t be together. Especially the last two nights he was over their house, it feels like they’re finally transitioning. There are definitely still moments where she questions it, but she knows it just won’t happen. It’s still October and he’ll be her teacher until June, exactly six long months.

 When she lies down on her bed and closes her eyes, Camila makes a resolution. Shawn is no longer going to be her first priority. She’s putting her mother first, Sofia second and herself third. He no longer has a hold on her.