Forever for a Year(58)

ME


I love you sooooooo

oooooooooooooooo

much

And he texted me back,





TREVOR


I love you too

Which I could tell was not very enthusiastic, which I think meant he was upset about the bus, but I think sometimes both people can’t get what they want and best friends (Peggy) are more important than new friends (Aaron and Tor). So I didn’t feel bad about getting my way.

*

On the night of homecoming, Peggy wanted me to come over and get ready with her. But Trevor wanted to pick me up. He had just gotten his driver’s permit, so he was allowed to drive as long as one of his parents was in the car. This was really difficult for me. I loved Trevor more than life itself, but I didn’t want to hurt Peggy’s feelings. So I asked my parents at dinner for their advice, which was so weird since I never asked them for advice at the same time.

“You have known Peggy a lot longer. I’m sure Trevor will understand,” my mom said.

But my dad said, “Didn’t Trevor agree to go on the party bus for you?”

“Yeah…” I said.

“So I think it would be a good compromise to let him pick you up. When a boy first gets to drive, it’s very important, and he wants to share that with you.” Gosh. My dad was brilliant. He was right. I’m so lucky to have him as my dad. And, you know, I think this is why it’s important for kids to have both dads and moms. So they can give you advice on the opposite sex. I mean, I’m, obviously, supportive of gay marriage because we are all equal and everyone should be able to love who they love. But I’m just saying that it might be hard for two lesbian moms to give a girl advice on teenage boys and how they might like to drive a car for their girlfriend. But, you know, I bet if my mom were a lesbian then my other lesbian mom wouldn’t have hurt her like my dad did. So maybe no parents are perfect no matter what. I don’t know. Never mind.

*

So on the night of homecoming, I wore a strapless dark green dress and black high heels that showed my toes. My dad bought the dress for me because my mom thought I could just wear the same dress I had for our first date at Lou Malnati’s. She just didn’t get it. It doesn’t matter.

It was the first time I was wearing a strapless dress since I was, like, ever. But last weekend, Trevor and I had hooked up in his basement again and he was great, and we talked about how we wanted to feel our skin closer to each other so I took off his shirt and he took off mine (but I said I wanted to keep my bra on and he was super nice and said whatever I wanted). Anyway, he kept saying what a sexy body I had, and I said, “My shoulders are so big,” and he said, “They are so toned and sexy,” and he said I had a better stomach than he did and I guess that was nice, but really it was my shoulders that I liked being called sexy. I guess that’s what made me get the strapless dress. Even though now that I was waiting for him to pick me up, I felt naked.

It didn’t help when my mom said, “It looks like lingerie.” Oh gosh, I wanted to change that instant before I stopped breathing, but my dad said, “Our daughter looks very, very beautiful.”

“Trevor’s going to think sex thoughts,” my mom said.

“He’s a teenage boy; he would think them if she was wearing sweatpants.”

“Ugh, fine. You do look beautiful, Carolina. Your mother just … isn’t ready for you to grow up, I guess.”

*

When Trevor arrived in his dad’s BMW, his dad was in the passenger seat and Lily was in the back. I guess his mom was sick or something. Anyway, Trevor stepped out of the car in a tux with a thin black tie and he looked so, so, so, so amazing. Like there should be photographers taking pictures of him everywhere he went. Like he was worth a million dollars.

“He is very handsome,” my mom said as we watched him walk toward our house. Lily raced behind him even though her dad was yelling at her to get back in the car.

When I opened the door, Lily screamed, “Oh, Carolina, you look so incredible. I can’t even believe it.” My parents laughed. They had never met Lily, but you could tell they loved her the second she said that. It’s impossible not to love Lily. Then she said, “Trevor, doesn’t Carolina look like the most beautiful girl you have ever seen?”

“Yes, Lily,” he said, then leaned and kissed me on the lips. I was worried about my lipstick smearing, but then I thought that was dumb so I didn’t worry about it and just enjoyed kissing him. We took a bunch of pictures, by ourselves and some with Lily, then I hugged my parents good-bye and got into the front passenger seat. Trevor got behind the wheel. He looked so old. Like twenty.

“Look behind you before you put it in reverse,” his dad said from the back seat.

“I know,” Trevor said.

“He knows,” Lily said, hopping up and down on the back seat, waving at me.

“Seat belt, now,” Mr. Santos said to Lily.

“You’re right, Dad. I wasn’t thinking because I was so excited about Carolina and Trevor’s big night.” Gosh, I love her.

*

When we got to Peggy’s, Trevor and I got out of the BMW, hugged Lily, then waved as she and Mr. Santos drove away. We were the first ones to arrive besides Katherine and Peggy. Because, duh, they lived there.

As we walked to the front door, I noticed my bike was leaned against the side of the house where I left it a month ago. I had never gone back to get it. Seeing it there, it didn’t even seem like my bike anymore. Maybe I should get it back someday, but maybe I’ll just leave it here forever like an artifact of a different time in history. Now that Trevor drove (well, at least sort of), I might never ride my bike again anyway.