Flat-Out Love

Enjoy the rest of break. Really. You’re lucky to have your mom.

Julie Seagle

Will consider it.

**********

The sound of the train woke Julie in the middle of the night. After sleeping noise-free for nearly three months in the Watkins’ quiet Cambridge neighborhood, she couldn’t sleep through the roaring train sound anymore. She threw the covers off and got up. She’d been having a dream that she knew involved pancakes and ski jumping. She couldn’t remember the rest. But whatever it’d been about had left her soaked in sweat and hungry. Bleary-eyed, she stumbled down the stairs in her sweatpants and T-shirt and made the familiar walk to the kitchen.

“Hey, Jules.” Her mother smiled warmly at her. She was standing at the kitchen island, surrounded by every leftover dish from Thanksgiving. “Hungry?”

Julie nodded and took a seat on a stool.

“Milk?” her mom asked.

Julie nodded again. “What are you doing up?”

“Raiding the fridge.” Kate poured a glass for Julie. “How can I sleep knowing there is all this good food just sitting down here? What about you, kiddo? Thought you’d be zonked out from working so hard.”

Julie shrugged. “The train woke me.”

“Hm, that hasn’t bothered you in years.” Kate tousled Julie’s hair lightly. “Things are different now, huh? Well, dig in. I’ll heat up a plate for you. White meat or dark? Gravy? Potatoes? Green beans?”

“Everything. I need a heaping plate of everything.” Julie put her elbow on the counter and dropped her head into her hand. “And I need a pilgrim hat in order to properly enjoy the flavor.”

Kate clapped her hands together happily. “I knew it! I knew you’d miss the hat! I happen to have yours right here.” She reached behind her and grabbed the black hat from the cluttered kitchen desk, setting it on Julie’s head with a satisfied look. “It really suits you.”

Julie cracked a smile. “I think so.”

“So…” Kate said with forced casualty, “have you heard from your father?”

“He sent me the itinerary for our trip. I can’t wait. Thanks for letting me go. It’ll be fun, don’t you think?”

“Mmmm,” her mother agreed. “I hope so.”

“What do you mean you hope so? Of course it’ll be fun. I can’t believe Dad got so much time off to be with me.”

“Julie, you do know he’ll probably be doing some work during this trip,” Kate said gently. “The hotel he works for has locations all over California.”

“Oh. Well, that’s fine. I mean, we’ll still be together, and that’s what counts.”

“I just don’t want you to be disappointed. Your father has never been—”

“It’s going to be awesome. Just wait.” Julie beamed. This trip really was going to be amazing. She’d never been to California, and she’d never traveled with her father. Their visits were mostly confined to di

“Assuming I don’t get seasick, I think it’ll be lovely. I couldn’t bear to hang around the house over the holidays without you. I’m going to miss you, kiddo. Our first Christmas apart.”

“Mom, don’t cry! I’ll miss you, too. It’s so hard for Dad to find time to see me, and I can’t pass this up.”

Kate patted her eyes with her napkin and took a huge bite of turkey. “So things are good living at the Watkins’ house?” her mom asked through a mouthful of food.

“Yeah. I really like them.”

“And it’s still going well with Celeste? Isn’t she kind of old for a babysitter? What’s that about?”

“I’m not really a babysitter. More of a…” Julie struggled to find the right word. “A companion.”

Kate looked confused. “A companion? What does that mean?”

“Celeste is a little quirky.” That was putting it mildly, but Julie hadn’t told her mother about Flat Fi

“So you’re less of a companion and more of a role model.”

“Huh. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but yeah. I guess so.”

“She’s lucky to have you,” Kate said.

Julie shook her head. “I’m lucky to have her.”

Chapter 16

Matthew Watkins People in my age group, educational, and financial status don’t appreciate generalizations or profiling.

Fi