Not knowing what to say, keeping a slightly uncomfortable silence, I looked at Meredith who clearly noticed the silence.
Should I say something?
No.
What could I say?
It's not like I could say anything, after all I was simply taking my assumption as fact. Maybe before it would have been hard for me to notice these kinds of things, but having worked so much on my observation skills, it would be impossible not to notice.
"I can't wait" Meredith finally said a couple of seconds later, smiling falsely. Again there was pain in her eyes.
"Yeah" I murmured.
I definitely couldn't say anything. It would be incredibly self-centered of me to reject the romantic feelings of someone who never expressed them in the first place, and above all, humiliating for her to some degree.
Again making a small uncomfortable silence. "Well, I won't keep you any longer" I continued, nodding slowly, "I guess they're waiting for you, maybe even listening through the door" I added the last part a little louder, actually making Teddy's door move.
Sighing softly. "Yeah" Meredith replied, "good night."
"Good night" I replied, watching the girl walk quickly to my sister's room.
Standing still in the living room now on my own, I was slightly sad for having in one way or another hurt Meredith.
Without more, sighing, I walked to the garage where, as I thought, Bob and Gabe were already training with the weights.
The next day, Saturday, fortunately Meredith seemed to be doing much better, laughing softly with the rest of the teenagers at the table during breakfast.
Later that day, I helped Bob move chairs and the table for another one of the barbecues, now almost a tradition between the Coopers and us. Arranging the chairs with Georgie, I listened attentively to my friend.
"So, we get sixty percent and we pay the rest to the kids who mow the lawns at the houses" he said, smiling broadly, apparently quite proud of his 'million-dollar idea.'
"Forty percent" I said, amused.
"What?" Georgie asked, confused.
"The remainder" I said, "if you're going to keep sixty percent, you'd pay the kids forty percent" I added, tilting my head slightly.
"Oh yeah" he said, opening his eyes wide as he understood.
"I like it" I said, avoiding laughing at the excitement on my friend's face, "but I have a couple of doubts" I added slowly.
"Yeah sure, anything" Georgie said, nodding quickly.
"For starters, how do you plan to make the kids give you sixty percent of their earnings?" I asked.
"Oh that's easy, I'll be the one to collect the money from the houses where the kids work" Georgie replied matter-of-factly.
"Of course, how did I not think of that" I said, patting my forehead, "but wait, how will you keep the kids from going independent? I mean once they learn the job they could easily do it on their own" I added, as if the idea really concerned me.
Losing his smile upon hearing my words, Georgie genuinely stopped to think about my question.
Appearing suddenly behind us. "What are you two talking about?" Meemaw asked, carrying a bowl with what seemed to be salad.
"Oh, this great idea Georgie has to make money for the rest of the summer" I replied while taking the bowl from Meemaw's hands.
Looking at me significantly. "Really?" the woman asked, shifting her attention to her grandson.
Apparently forgetting the problem I had proposed. "Oh Meemaw, let me paint you a picture" Georgie replied with renewed excitement.
Sighing softly, I left grandmother and grandson to chat alone, amused by my friend's clearly impossible idea of basically enslaving a bunch of kids to work in the neighborhood's yards.
On my way back home to continue helping to take things out, crossing the street I saw Diane in a beautiful yellow summer dress, struggling to carry a pitcher full of what seemed to be lemonade.
Approaching quickly, I easily took the pitcher from her hands. "Hey" I said, smiling.
Catching her breath. "Hi" she replied, shaking her arms, apparently tired from the position she had carried the pitcher in.
"We really need to get you to work out a bit" I said, joking.
Diane, still lightly shaking her arms, frowned making a small pout. "It was heavy" she defended herself.
Holding the pitcher easily in one hand. "Oh yeah, so heavy" I said with a bit of sarcasm, making Diane push me weakly.
"It's not a fair comparison" she complained, annoyed, "you're much taller than me and have a much denser and more defined musculature" she added seriously.
"Well thank you" I said, amused.
Biting her lip softly. "It wasn't meant as a compliment" Diane said, raising her eyebrows.
"Well, I take it as one" I said, joking with exaggerated pride. "By the way, that's a beautiful dress" I added, speaking seriously.
Running her hand over a small wrinkle in the dress. "Thanks, it's new" she said, opening her arms as if she wanted to show the whole dress, "I bought it on my last shopping trip with Kat and Mandela" she added proudly, tilting her head gently.
"Well you look amazing" I declared, amused, seeing the proud smile on Diane's face, "and that was completely meant as a compliment" I added quietly, as if it were a secret, making Diane chuckle softly.
The two tables in the yard began to fill up except for Bob and Mr. Cooper who were by the grill, as always doing 'their job.'
When Meredith arrived with Teddy and her friends, completely hiding the small discomfort I felt remembering what happened the night before, I introduced Diane.
"Nice to meet you Meredith, I've heard a lot about you and your mother" Diane said, offering her hand for a shake, which Meredith accepted with a bit of discomfort. "Fun fact, like you, I lived under the crushing future expectations of my mother" she added, still holding Meredith's hand, with no shame at all and actually smiling calmly.
Oh no.
Frowning slightly, Meredith nodded slowly. "Okay" she said, glancing sideways in my direction "it was a pleasure meeting you" she added, with an uncomfortably fake smile, walking a moment later to where Teddy and her friends were.
Apparently completely ignoring the awkward moment she had caused. "Likewise" Diane said cheerfully. "I read that it's an excellent idea to share about similar experiences to quickly develop a friendship with someone" she whispered excitedly to me when Meredith was far enough away.
Sighing softly which quickly turned into a stifled laugh. "It's a good idea, but maybe you jumped ahead a little" I said, without intending to hurt her feelings.
Although the execution was a bit clumsy, Diane definitely had good intentions.
Frowning a bit. "Really?" Diane asked, surprised.
"It was a good try, but I would have first started a normal conversation" I said, making Diane nod, listening to me seriously.
The meal went by without much more. Unfortunately for Diane, she didn't have the chance to make up for her 'mistake' with Meredith, who was in the other corner of the table distracted with the other teenagers. The only really interesting thing had been seeing Georgie's explanation to Diane about his 'million-dollar idea,' and then her kindly helping him calculate budgets and possible earnings that obviously would never be real.
That afternoon, Bianca and Baja went back to their homes, since early the next day, loading everyone's suitcases into the trunk of Bob's horrible truck, we set off on a roughly three-hour road trip to Lake Livingston, Teddy, Meredith, mom, and Bob in the latter's truck, and Diane, Gabe, and I in my car.
"Can I pick the next song?" Gabe asked from the back seat.
"Sure" Diane replied, turning in her seat next to me to show my brother the available CD options.
The trip, at least in my car, was quite comfortable, with music playing on the speakers I followed Bob's truck without any problem, driving calmly. Three hours of travel, with a bathroom stop later, we arrived in Livingston.
Livingston, like Medford, had that small-town air with only a couple thousand inhabitants, full of familiarity and community, but unlike home, the streets were surprisingly full of people strolling and enjoying the day, possibly, like us, people who had come to the lake on vacation.
Without stopping, we drove completely through the town, in about ten minutes finally reaching the lake, driving along a road built beside it.
"Wow" Gabe said from the back seat, "it's a lake" he added in a completely neutral tone, clearly unimpressed.
Sighing, I shook my head, amused. "I'm going to throw you in the lake right now if you don't behave" I warned, noticing how Diane next to me was indeed looking at the body of water with interest.
Turning up the volume of the music, I continued driving behind Bob. Just a couple of minutes later, we stopped in front of a cabin on the lake shore. In reality, calling it just a 'cabin' probably didn't do it justice, as it was easily twice the size of our house.
Getting out of his truck. "Oh look at this" exclaimed Bob, pointing at the house, impressed, "Isn't it amazing?" he asked, opening his arms.
Certainly, the cabin, a house raised several feet off the ground on a sublevel, despite being a country house by a lake, was extremely well-kept, with luxurious finishes, large windows covered with light curtains, beautifully varnished wood. Next to the house were the courts, and you could see the dock with a covered area where there were plenty of boats and kayaks.
Hugging me since apparently, of everyone, only Bob and I had gotten out of the vehicle without needing to stretch our legs. "I can practically smell the catfish and bass; tonight we're having fish for dinner" he declared excitedly.
It didn't take long before everyone could move normally, Bob and I took care of unloading the trunk of his truck, while the rest began exploring the house.
Inside, as I had imagined, the rustic but luxurious finishes were evident, the floor shone despite being wood, a genuinely large fireplace in what seemed to be the living room, a dining table where 20 people could fit perfectly, and all the walls were covered with all kinds of art, from paintings to handcrafted figurines.
Also, whoever owned the house was clearly a hunter, or at least liked having animal heads mounted on the walls.
Carrying my mom's suitcase, which by the looks of it weighed much more than it should for two weeks of vacation. "Oh yeah, I'm going to enjoy this vacation" Bob said, catching his breath.
With the suitcases inside, rooms were chosen, and we could finally unpack. Following Bob's excited voice, I arrived at the back of the house, where there was a large balcony with armchairs offering a full view of the lake.
Opening the sliding glass door. "I'm going to cook all the fish here" I heard Bob say, and I saw him a moment later pointing at a grill fixed to the edge of the balcony, a grill where we could lay Gabe down lengthwise and still have room to spare. "Hey son, come take a look at this" Bob said, smiling broadly, moving one of his arms with emphatic excitement for me to approach the farthest railing of the balcony, directly facing the lake.
Seeing Gabe and Diane sharing a seat on one of the armchairs, smiling clearly for different reasons, Diane as a greeting, while Gabe's was mocking, at least until Bob spoke again. "You too, Gabe, come here."
Losing his smile completely, Gabe froze for a second, resigning himself the next moment and standing up in defeat.
Ruffling my brother's head as we walked to where Bob was, I smiled in amusement.
Facing the lake directly, Bob hugged us, holding our shoulders. "Isn't this amazing?" he asked us, squeezing us with affectionate strength.
Chuckling softly, I patted his back. "It is" I replied; it was genuinely nice to see him so happy.
In complete silence, the three of us looked at the lake for a few seconds until Gabe got tired, escaping from Bob's embrace. "I'm going to the shore" he said, running to the stairs that led to the small dock and the lakeshore.
"Don't get wet, we're going into town to eat as soon as your mom and sister finish unpacking" Bob warned, smiling as he watched Gabe finally behaving like a kid his age at a lake.
Watching Gabe for a few more seconds, Bob turned his attention back inside the house, surely thinking about how much longer the rest would take to unpack. Turning his attention back to me, he lightly nudged my arm with his elbow, pointing toward where Diane was sitting. "I'm going to see if your mom needs help" he said, raising his voice in an obvious attempt for Diane to hear him. Winking, he patted my arm again and went into the house.
Chuckling softly, I walked to the armchair where Diane was sitting, dressed as always in a sweater several sizes too big, covering legs she hugged while comfortably leaning against the armrest of the chair.
"Hey" I said, sitting next to her, "everything okay?" I asked, noticing a somewhat melancholic look on her face.
Shifting her weight, leaning on me. "Yeah everything is all right" she replied softly, "I was just admiring the beauty of the lake" she added, moving her head, looking for the most comfortable position on my chest.
"You've never been to a lake, right?" I asked, hugging her softly.
I knew that living on the coast, Diane knew the sea.
"No" Diane replied.
Kissing the crown of her head. "I'm glad your first time at one feels so beautiful to you" I whispered.
Moving her head again, possibly because I had shifted, accidentally changing her position. "Thanks" Diane murmured.
"Why?" I asked, puzzled.
Lifting her head from my chest, looking straight into my eyes. "Because without you, I would have never visited a place like this" she said with logical certainty, "or lived as much as I have" she added, smiling softly, "so, thank you."
---
Author Thoughts:
As always, I'm not American, not a doctor, not a fighter, not Magnus Carlsen, not Michael Phelps, not Arsene Lupin, not McLovin, not Elliot, not Capone and not Ranger Smith.
Another chapter has passed, so new thanks are in order. I would like to especially thank:
11332223
RandomPasserby96
Victor_Venegas
I think that's all. As always, if you find any errors, please let me know, and I'll correct them immediately.
Thank you for reading! :D
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