Golden Boy

T H R E E

"Elliot, you can't keep ditching me during our senior year. We're supposed to be living it up before we go our separate ways for college," Cami whines through the phone.

"I'm sorry, Cami. Maybe if you had said something yesterday, I could have gotten out of it, but it's too late now. I'm already getting ready to leave."

"I mean, he just posted that he's throwing another party, so it's last minute. But whatever, it's fine. I'll see if Dave is going then."

"At least you can get some time in with Dave, so really it's probably for the best that I don't go."

"Yea, it's fine. You owe me two parties then."

"I'll commit to three. How about that?" I offered.

"Yea, that works. I'll see you. Have fun in the City."

"Impossible, but thanks." I hung up on Cami and proceeded to hop into the shower to get ready.

"Elliot! We are almost leaving. Come eat breakfast," my mother yelled from downstairs. I rushed to finish putting on clothes and grabbed my purse to head downstairs.

"What are we doing in the city again?" I asked as I ran into the kitchen where my parents were having breakfast. I grabbed some pancakes and sat down across from my dad at the kitchen table.

"Your aunt's art exhibit opens tonight, and we are getting dinner with her at a new restaurant her boyfriend manages."

"Why are we going so early for dinner?" I asked between bites.

"Because we have other errands to run too." I rolled my eyes and slumped back into my seat. I hated running errands, especially with my parents, who took forever. "Don't look so happy there." I already knew that I would get a headache from being downtown all day, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

After over an hour on the road, we finally made it to my aunt's house, where my dad usually liked to park, since it's a quiet neighborhood on the upper east side and parking was easier to find. Then we took the train down to Soho, where my mom could do some holiday shopping, while my dad and I walked around looking for the best place pastry shop to aid our sugar addiction.

The weather was cold enough for a jacket and a scarf, and the City felt cozy because of all the fall decorations everywhere and the leaves changing colors. It was beautiful, which meant that my mom needed to take pictures of everything everywhere we went. I hated feeling like a tourist.

At around 7 pm, we met with my aunt Clarisa in Hell's Kitchen, after having to go back to the upper east side to put away the bags of stuff my mom bought in our car. We drove down to Hell's Kitchen since it was 7 pm, and you didn't have to pay for the meters anymore. My dad loved knowing how to beat the system and never pay for parking while we were in the City. It was always the little things that I enjoyed learning from my father.

We walked into the nice fine dining restaurant where everything was super fancy and cost too much money. Thankfully since aunt Clarisa's boyfriend managed the place, we got to eat for free.

"My family, you've made it." Aunt Clarisa greeted us at the front in the waiting room with open arms. She was dressed in a simple knee-length black dress, looking pretty casual.

"Hey sis, how have you been?" asked my dad in greeting as he quickly hugged aunt Clarisa. She hugged my mom next, complimenting her new hair cut.

Aunt Clarisa wrapped me in a big hug next, squeezing longer than I would have liked. "Hey kiddo, how's my favorite niece."

"I'm telling Olivia you said that." I laughed, excited to be liked more than my older sister.

"Go ahead and tell that traitor then. Suits her for moving to Chicago." My aunt and Olivia had always been pretty close since Clarisa hasn't had children of her own. Before I was born, Aunt Clarisa helped raised Olivia while my parents continued to work to afford the house where we currently live. Clarisa ended up moving before I was born, so I never got to have the same bond as she did with my sister.