Page 18 of Coming Home for Fall
“You hated them!” Ariel cackled. “I can tell.”
Callie didn’t say anything. She knew if she opened her mouth, her tone would betray that she absolutely did hate those books. They just weren’t her thing, but she didn’t want to hurt Kate’s feelings when she returned the books to her friend, so she’d made an effort to act like they were “great summer reads.”
“It’s okay, mom, I’m just giving you a hard time,” Ariel said after a few seconds. “But really, I’m just letting you knowthat what I’ve been writing is… it’s different. I’m excited about it though. It’s been nice to just have a project that’s all mine.”
“I think that’s wonderful, sweetie. I’m so happy for you and I can’t wait to read whatever it is you’re writing. I have to say, all these vague details you’re sharing are making me even more intrigued.”
“I’m just not ready to reveal too much yet, that’s all.”
“Are you writing about our family and our deep, dark secrets?” Callie joked.
“What secrets?” Ariel snickered. “Our family is too boring to have big, book-worthy secrets! It’d just be a story about a quiet, happy childhood with two good parents and nice siblings. There’s nothing juicy about that.”
Callie’s throat suddenly felt dry, and she had to clear it before forcing a laugh and saying, “You’re right. That does sound boring. We’re not the kind of family that people write bombshell books about. But I wouldn’t say that we don’t have any secrets…”
“Do you know something I don’t?” Ariel asked. “Because the only semi-interesting ‘secret’ I can think of is that we all know you and dad wrote Mallory’s final paper for her senior year English class so that she’d graduate.”
Callie gasped. “You–you know about that?” Though this wasn’t the secret she had in mind, she was flooded with guilt when Ariel mentioned it. For someone in her career to plagiarize an essay—it was sickening for her to think about. But she’d made David and Mallory swear they would never tell a soul. How did Ariel find out?
“Mom—she got an A. I saw the essay sitting on her desk after graduation with a big fat letter A at the top. It was obvious to me that she hadn’t written it. I love Mallory to death, and I think she’s a lot smarter than she gives herself credit for, but she hadn’t cracked open a single book that semester! How could she have written such a brilliant essay on a book she never read?”She snorted. “I’m just surprised the teacher didn’t figure it out. Or maybe Mrs. Janes knew and didn’t care. She wanted Mallory to graduate too, so she wouldn’t have to be her teacher again.”
“I–I don’t even know what to say!” Callie let out an awkward half laugh. “I really thought I was going to be taking that secret to my grave. But you’ve known this entire time, and you never said anything. Why?”
“It was none of my business,” Ariel said. “And I understood why you and dad did it. If Mallory had been held back a year, she never would’ve graduated. She just needed to get through her senior year and then you guys could go from there. I’d do the same for my kids.”
Callie stopped at a red light and pressed her fingers to her forehead. “I’m just so embarrassed! I think back on that now, and it honestly horrifies me! I literally just gave my students a warning not to turn in an essay written by AI. I’m such a hypocrite.”
“You’re being too hard on yourself, mom! Parents do their kids homework all the time, and it’s not like you took anything away from anyone. It would be one thing if you, I don’t know, wrote her admissions essay to a college and stole a spot from another kid. But that’s not what happened. You just wrote an essay so she could get her high school diploma, and I really don’t think anyone would judge you for it. I’m definitely not. I mean, Dad was on board too.”
“Your brother might have something to say about it,” Callie muttered. “He got a C in English his senior year and I gave him the longest lecture of his life about trying harder.”
Ariel clicked her tongue. “Every kid is different. You have to parent them differently. And besides, I’m not going to tell Taylor, so you’re safe on that front.”
Callie sank back into her seat with an exhale and the light changed. “Yeah, you’re right. I was just having this nightmarevision where you bring this up at Thanksgiving dinner and everything just explodes. Oh, that reminds me, you guys are still planning on coming, right?”
“Yeah, we’ll be there,” Ariel said. “But Christopher was thinking it might be a good idea if we got an Airbnb instead of staying in the house with you guys. It’ll be too much with the kids now that they’re older. I think it’ll be hard to get all three of them to share a room peacefully these days.”
Callie’s first instinct was to argue, because she desperately wanted to have everyone under one roof, but then she remembered one of their bedrooms was already taken up. “I don’t want you guys to feel like you’re not welcome,” she said. “Because you are. Always. We could make it work for sure, but if you think you’ll be more comfortable with an alternative sleeping situation, then I understand.”
Ariel let out a breathy laugh.
“What?” her mom asked.
“Nothing. I just didn’t expect you to agree so easily,” she said. “We tried to make similar plans two Christmases ago and you were totally against the idea.”
“Oh–well–I’m just trying to be accommodating, that’s all. I want everyone to be comfortable and happy.”
“Okay,” Ariel said, but it was clear she didn’t fully buy this explanation. “If you say so. I’ll give Chris the greenlight to book us a place.”
“Sounds good. Let me know if he needs help. I know most of the people who rent out their houses in Ferndale, so I know which ones are good and which are a waste of money.”
“I’ll let him know. Oh—shoot. Sorry. I gotta go. Mikey just got out of bed. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Sure, no problem. I’ll see you in a couple weeks! Give the kids a kiss for me!”
“Will do!”
They hung up as Callie pulled into the driveway. A light was still on in the living room, and the flashing lights coming through the window of David’s office told her he was up watching TV. She smiled to herself, happy to be coming home to a place that didn’t feel empty and cold. Prior to Sasha’s arrival, there were many nights when Callie would walk through the front door after her lectures and the house would be dark. David would either be traveling or having a drink with some coworkers. Nowadays, he’d been spending more time at the house. He’d really become attached to baby Dot, and the promise of making that little girl shriek with laughter seemed to be take precedence over going out.
