Page 36 of The Love of My Next Life
My shoulders fall, and I sigh.
“Fine.”
“And maybe we should make an appointment with Dr. Evans,” he adds, and I cringe.
“Dad,” I whine, and Claire giggles. I shoot her another glare, and she covers her smile with her hand. I look back at my dad and school my face into the picture of sincerity.
“I promise that if it comes to that, I’ll talk to you. But it’s not necessary right now.”
He nods, and the tension in my body loosens.
Claire has been on birth control since she was fifteen to help with her periods, and she’s already had sex, so she told me all about how that first appointment went. I luckily haven’t needed birth control—with the exception of that one time—so I’m holding out as long as possible.
Stirrups and speculums and some new doctor all up in my business? No thanks.
And despite my promise, my dad doesn’t know about my first and only experience with sex, and I’m going to keep it that way. The next time it happens, I’ll do it the right way. The first time, I’d rather forget.
“Well, either way, we’ll need to see Dr. Evans soon. Before you graduate,” he says slyly. I cock my head and stare him down.
“Why?” I ask. He takes a sip of his coffee and keeps his face blank. “What are you up to?”
He stays silent, letting the anticipation build. I narrow my eyes and put my hands on my hips.
“Dad.”
He shrugs and takes another sip before speaking.
“I just think a checkup would be smart before you spend the summer with Becca,” he states, calmly and coolly, like he hasn’t just given me the one thing I’ve been begging for, for years.
“Really?” My heart is racing, and my smile makes my cheeks hurt. I glance at Claire. She’s frowning, so I look back at Dad. “You’re letting me go to England?”
“I’ve been talking to Becca,” he says slowly. “We think it would be the perfect time. Before college. And you’re older now...”
He lets his statement trail off, and I give him a tight smile. We don’t really talk about it, but he’s stopped watching me so closely since I turned seventeen. In reality, the age doesn’t matter much, but it made him feel better when I made it through my sixteenth year without any markers.
“You’re leaving for the whole summer after graduation,” Claire says, breaking my eye contact with Dad. I look back at her to find she’s frowning harder. If that’s even possible. “I thought we were going to go on an East Coast road trip.”
My face falls. Claire’s been talking about a graduation road trip since we started high school.
“Claire,” I say slowly, “I know. I’m sorry. But...”
“But Lennon hasn’t seen her aunt Becca in almost eight years,” my dad cuts in. Thankfully. “And Becca wants to see her only niece. Letting her spend the summer with her aunt is my graduation and birthday gift to Lennon.”
Claire scowls, but I can tell she’s accepted it. My dad’s word is still law.
“Fine,” she pouts, and I launch myself at him.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” I say as I hug him tightly. He laughs and pats my back.
“You’ll leave after graduation, and I’ll fly in for your 18thbirthday in July.”
“Thank you, Dad,” I say earnestly, trying to keep the tears from my eyes. “Seriously.”
I know how hard this will be for him. I know he’s probably agonized over it. It’s going to hurt him and he’s going to worry...
But...a whole summer with Aunt Becca in England.
She’s an artist. She paints like me, but she also draws and sculpts and welds together wacky statues of salvaged metal. She’s been featured on news channels and in magazines, and she knows several famous painters. And I’ve seen pictures on social media of the little village where she lives outside of Brighton. It’s the perfect blend of quaint and quirky. Fun. Beautiful.
