Page 39 of Sweet Ruin

“Was that your father?” Norma asked, returning to our table just as he disappeared out back.

“Yeah, he just arrived. He’s gone to see if Mom needs any help.”

“Did you warn him?” Norma chuckled. “You know how she likes to do everything herself on Thanksgiving.”

“Yep, I warned him. He went in anyway.”

“Well, maybe she’ll make an exception for him.”

“Maybe,” I said. “But I think it’s more likely that he’ll see how hectic it is back there and then think twice before offering to help next year.”

The words were out of my mouth before I knew what I’d said. It was only after I heard them that I realized I actually thought Matthew would be here with us for Thanksgiving next year. That he was actually going to be a real part of my life from now on. The most surprising thing was I didn’t totally hate the idea.

“I guess we’ll have to see,” Norma said, a knowing smile on her lips. “Now, I’m going to sneak a peek in the back and see if he’s as handsome as your momma says.”

“Oh, he is,” Anna said.

I shot her a glare.

“What?” she protested. “I’ve told you before he’s hot for an older guy.”

Norma let out a full-bellied laugh and was still shaking her head as she started toward the kitchen.

“I think Norma likes you, Anna, even if I don’t right now,” I said.

She simply smiled. “Don’t be silly; you love me too.”

After we finished breakfast, we went to check on Mom in the kitchen. We cautiously offered to help, but she predictably refused, insisting I show the girls around Rapid Bay and not return until it was time for lunch.

She didn’t seem to have the same problem with my dad being in the kitchen. Norma was right; she had made an exception for him. He’d been assigned to peeling potatoes, and he looked so awkward I had to wonder if he’d ever even chopped a vegetable himself. Probably not, at least in recent years. He caught my eye and waved nervously with the peeler in his hand, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I did as Mom suggested and took the girls for a tour of Rapid Bay. Most of the shops were closed because of the holiday, so we couldn’t do any shopping, much to Anna’s disappointment. Instead, I took them to the beach. It was a cool day but pleasant enough when the sun broke out from behind the clouds. When we reached the sand, they gasped at the glistening turquoise water stretched out before them.

It was strange being here with them and having them in my home. I’d worried they wouldn’t like it here, that perhaps they’d secretly judge me for the way I’d been brought up once they saw the stark differences between their world and mine. If anything, I actually felt even closer to my friends. They knew all of me now and had never treated me any different.

As I peered up at the large houses that lined the foreshore, I wondered if perhaps I was the one who no longer fit in here. At least, not the way I used to. Once upon a time, I’d looked up at the grand holiday homes owned by the rich and elite visitors who vacationed here in the summer—and they’d made me feel so small. They’d reminded me of all the things I would never have. The things that felt out of my reach.

These days, it felt like I could achieve almost anything. Rapid Bay was what felt small. I’d grown so much in the short time I’d been away. I’d moved to a new school, made new friends, overcome heartache, and met my father for the first time. This place was always going to be my home, and I was still the same girl, but for the first time, I felt okay with the fact my life would take me beyond Rapid Bay and deliver unexpected twists.

But I also wondered if that was part of reason why I had been struggling so much with my college applications lately. My future was so much broader now. I had options. It was easier when college was just a dream—a fantasy in my head that would never come true. Now that it could, I worried I might screw it up.

“I can’t believe you grew up here,” Cress said, drawing my attention back to the beach. “That you got to see this view every day.”

“And your mom’s so great,” Anna added. “I wish I was as close with my parents as you are with her.”

I smiled and nodded as I looked out at the water. “Yeah, I feel pretty lucky.” I’d always appreciated my mom, but it was only once I started at Weybridge Academy that I realized just how special the relationship we had truly was.

“My parents haven’t even sent me a text to wish me a happy Thanksgiving,” Cress said. “Knowing them, they’ve probably forgotten what day it is.”

"Yeah, I haven’t heard from mine either,” Anna said. “But they don’t celebrate it in England, so I guess it’s not that big of a surprise.”

“When do you guys think you’ll see your families again?” I asked.

“My parents will be back in New York in a week or so and then back again at Christmas,” Cress replied. “At least, that’s the plan. They’re always changing their minds.”

“I’ll be heading back home for Christmas,” Anna said. “Though I’m going to try and spend as little time there as possible. My mom is completely overbearing, and my dad takes way too much interest in trying to dictate my life. If you ever meet them, you’ll see why I was happy to go to school on the other side of the world.”

“What about your brother?” Cress said. “It’ll be nice to see him, right?”

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