"So, how's working in New York?" Sam's dad asked her as we sat at the table, food already on our plates. She'd told me she and her parents didn't keep in touch that often, so I guessed they didn't know much about her life after she moved. Me being part of it included.
"It's great, I'm loving it. I'd always compare it with London at first, but I've really been starting to appreciate it more everyday now. I feel very at home. I still can't believe I got this job opportunity" Sam said, looking genuinely happy.
"We're so proud of you, darling. Is the university a good working environment? How's teaching there?" her mom asked.
"Yes, it's all so well organized and my office is definitely much better than the one they gave me in London. I don't know if you remember the pictures I'd shown you back then" she chuckled. "Teaching is also good, not much different than London. Although it took a while to get used to the American university system, even if it's not that different from here"
"That's amazing, we're so happy for you Sam" she nodded. "So, how did you two meet?" she added.
I suddenly realized I had no idea about how much Sam had told her parents about me. I was pretty sure they knew I was fairly younger, maybe not how much younger. But you could kind of tell. And I doubted she'd told them about our...situation, that year.
"I, uhm...we moved into the same building around the same time. Causally bumped into each other" I said, trying not to show I'd just almost choked on my food. That wasn't a lie, after all.
"Really? What a lucky coincidence! So you're neighbors, that's convenient" she laughed. "And you're still studying in university, right?"
"Yeah...uhm, yeah. I'm studying English literature" I said, praying there wouldn't be any follow up questions about what year I was in and where I was studying. There was more than one university in New York, after all.
"Oh, so you bonded over your love for literature!" she joked. Or at least, I took it as a joke. Maybe not.
"Yeah" I laughed as much as I could at that moment. I briefly looked at Sam, who also looked as if she'd almost risked suffocating. We both forgot to talk about what details were okay to share.
"Are you from somewhere very far from New York?" the woman luckily changed the subject.
"I'm from a town about three hours away from the city, you probably don't know it. So yeah, not too far but also not close enough to not move" I said, feeling Sam's free hand rest on top of mine, probably to reassure me.
"But you'd probably already been many times, right?"
"Yeah, a fair amount of times I'd say. But paradoxically, Sam showed me lots of new places I didn't know. I'd only ever been to touristy spots until this year" I shrugged, nodding towards Sam.
"She's always wanted to know every detail about any city she's in, so I'm not surprised" her dad intervened.
"I'm not denying that" Sam said, before the conversation started to center around how our trip to London was instead of just me.
The rest of lunch was really pleasant, I started to feel like I really had no reason to be nervous about being there because Sam's parents were really kind and nice people. I could tell how much they cared about Sam and they were genuinely interested about what both of us were saying. Sam was probably right when she said we were going to have a fun week.
Once we went to the bedroom again, to rest a bit before we went out so she could show me around town, both of us seemed to have the same thing in mind.
"Sorry for not-" we both simultaneously said as the door closed, causing us to burst out laughing.
"You go first" I said, still laughing.
"Okay" she chuckled. "I just wanted to say sorry for not talking about how much to, you know, reveal to them"
"Yeah, same. I didn't mean to lie, or actually, omit some details, I panicked. I wasn't sure if they should know everything. Even though they probably could guess by the information I gave"
"No, it's alright. They probably shouldn't. I doubt they'll ask anything about it even if they do figure it out anyway. I don't think they'd be judgy about it, but I didn't want to end up in a weird situation, you know"
"Yeah, I get it. I agree" I said, kind of relieved.
It's not that I was embarrassed about Sam being my professor, and she wasn't either. But maybe it wasn't something I wanted to tell her parents after an hour of meeting them. And as I said, they had enough information to gather it without us telling them. Or at least, they still had five more days to do so.
"Okay, so, this town is actually pretty small. I probably could show it all to you in one afternoon. But maybe we can keep one half for tomorrow" Sam said as we headed out, my hand in hers. "Also, most of the few people we'll see are probably gonna be old. Like really old. Everyone around our ages is most likely not here in August"
And she was probably right, most people around weren't exactly young. But I didn't mind, I honestly only cared about being there with Sam.
The whole town literally looked like something that would show up if you searched "English town" on Pinterest. I didn't tell her that because I wasn't sure on how she'd take it. But it was a good thing for me. Most streets were made of gray bricks or steps, and most little houses had plants on the balconies or on the roofs. It was honestly a place I would have dreamed of living in when I was going through my cottagecore phase in high-school.
"This place is really nice! I love it" I said as we walked through the main square we'd only seen from a distance earlier, a fountain surrounded by flowerbeds in the center of it.
"You do?" Sam asked, and I wasn't sure if she was feeling surprised or happy.
"Yeah! It feels peaceful. And all of these flowers look great" I nodded, taking my phone out of my pocket to take a picture.
"You know, I seem to appreciate it more each time I come here. I didn't need to be somewhere that felt peaceful when I was in school I guess. By the way, I want to show you my old schools, they're all next to each other" she guided me towards an alleyway, which led to another smaller square. Two buildings slightly taller and more modern-looking than others were on the other side of it. "The one on the right is the elementary school, and the other one is both middle and high-school"
"They're the only schools here I suppose?"
"Indeed. Everyone knows each other here. Or knew. I don't know if it's still like that, but I guess so" she shrugged. "There's a small park behind here, I want to show you that too" she added with an excited smile.
The rest of the afternoon was just as pleasant, we spent at least two hours in said park as she told me a few stories like when she'd tell her parents she was hanging out in that park with her friends, when she actually was absolutely not there, or just random facts about her life during high-school. Definitely more adventurous than mine. But whatever she was talking about, I honestly could have stayed there, in the basically empty park and snuggled on a bench, listening to her the whole day.
Part of me still couldn't believe Sam had actually wanted me to come and visit her hometown and her family, for some reason I sometimes still wondered what I did to deserve so much of her trust, but I knew it was kind of stupid of me to even think that. Maybe what Charlotte told me about needing to work on my self-confidence a few days before wasn't that wrong.
The next day she showed me the rest of town, and we went to the cafè she told me about in the afternoon. She'd wondered if the people working there were the same, and not only they were, but the barista that was there at that moment actually recognized her.
"No way, you're working in New York now? That's so cool!" the blonde woman, probably at least five years older than Sam, said once they'd caught up with each other and she handed us our coffee orders.
"I know, right? God, I can't believe you actually recognized me" she chuckled.
"You tend to remember a face you see everyday for five years, even if it's ten years later"
"I guess I did spend my fair share of time here" Sam shrugged, looking at me. "Also, this is my girlfriend Ellie"
"It's nice to meet you" I smiled, shaking her hand.
"You're American, huh?"
"Is it that obvious?" I asked, feeling slightly self-conscious.
"Your accent is definitely not English, babe" she laughed. "You liking it around here?"
"Yes, it's only our second day here but I'm loving it. Everything feels so calm and peaceful and looks like something out of a painting or something"
"I wouldn't go that far, but I'm glad" she nodded. "Yeah, it can get a bit boring to actually live here at times, but I overall appreciate it. Always have. Do you miss it here, Sam?"
"You know what? I actually do now. Haven't been living here for twelve years now but I'm only starting to feel it now. Maybe we should come more often from now on" Sam said.
I just nodded, my heart fluttering for a second at her use of "we", and listening to the two's conversation about mostly people or places I didn't know. But once again, I didn't mind at all, I was just happy to be there.
Everything was also going really well with Sam's parents, they'd always leave us our space but were also always really nice and welcoming with me, treating me as if they'd known me for ages. Her sister would also be joining us the following day, which was also great.
"It's a nice evening, do you want to go to the garden and watch the stars?" Sam randomly asked after dinner.
"Absolutely" I enthusiastically said. "Are you sure there's no weird countryside insects there?"
"Pretty sure. But I can't guarantee anything" she jokingly said, grabbing my hand and basically dragging me outside of the bedroom before I could say anything else. "You can actually see lots of stars in the sky here, not like in London or New York" she added, which turned out to be more than true.
As opposed to the previous evening, the not cloudy weather allowed us to see a really clear starry sky as soon as we stepped out of the back door, the kind I hadn't seen since my escapes to my town's countryside with Vic.
"Oh my god, this is...stunning" was all I could say as I followed her until we got to a spot next to a rose bush, and she sat cross-legged in the grass. "And the moon is almost full too" I added as I sat next to her.
"Isn't it?" she sighed, wrapping an arm around me. "Doing this used to give me so much peace of mind. And it still does. Especially if done with you"
"Wait" I said, switching my position and lying down with my head on her lap. "So I can see both you and the sky"
"That's smart. Is the view any good?"
"Yes, you're beautiful" I confidently said.
"I meant the sky, you silly" she playfully held my face in one of her hands and squished my cheeks.
"Oh. I guess the sky looks fine too"
"Good to know" she leaned down to kiss me and let go of my face. "Are you any good at spotting constellations? I only know the Plough"
"The what?" I tried not to laugh.
"You know, the one that looks like a saucepan"
"Oh! The Big Dipper!"
"The what???" she didn't even try not to laugh.
"It must have a different name here, I don't know. But sorry, I'm no good either"
"Oh well. It all looks pretty anyway" she looked up at the sky.
"It is" I agreed, feeling an almost overwhelming sense of happiness as we just stayed there not saying anything for a while, one of her thumbs gently rubbing my arm's skin and the other one placed near the top of my head.
"Ellie?" she said after at least ten minutes of silence.
"Yes?"
"I am so in love with you" she almost whispered, her eyes suddenly looking watery.
"Are you okay?" was my first instinctive reaction, because I'd only ever seen her cry when something bad had happened in the past.
"More than okay" she chuckled, kissing my forehead. "You just make me feel really happy"
"Oh, okay" I smiled. "You too. I love you"