“I know. It’s just so hard to talk to them.”
Kelsie takes a thoughtful sip of her wine. “It’s not your job to make your parents happy,” she says. “But they are your parents, and they do love you, and they, like, kept you from starving as a kid and taught you how to talk and read and all that. So, itisyour job to acknowledge and respect their reasonable concerns.”
“Have you been bingeing Oprah or something?”
She snorts. “No. Well, yes, actually, but that’s not relevant. It’s something my sister and I figured out after years and years of fighting with our parents. I used to sit with her when she called them with these little Post-it notes that said ‘Reasonable’ and ‘Unreasonable,’ and she was only allowed to push back against Unreasonable things.”
“Did it help you stop fighting with them?”
Kelsie laughs. “Fuck, no. But it stopped us from feeling like shit when we got into arguments. Because it’s not our job to make them happy, or to live our lives to please them. It’s only our job to acknowledge and respect their reasonable concerns.”
I nod, and for a moment we eat in silence.
“You want me to be there with you when you call them?” she asks.
“Oh, you don’t need to...”
“Jacob,” Kelsie says.
“Yeah, I absolutely want you there. Thanks.”
She grins. “I don’t know how you managed without me.”
I clink my glass against hers. “Me neither.”
Two days later, I sit in front of my laptop, listening to my mother go on about the new wedding venue Lily’s found—for her own wedding, this time, not one of her horrible clients. Kelsie is sitting behind the screen, out of sight, drinking a cup of coffee and painting her nails.
“It won’t be available for a year because it’s so popular, but at least that gives us more time to plan. Lily still has to narrow down her bridesmaids—she has twelve so far, but Caleb only has ten groomsmen. Although Lily did tell me that if she can’t narrow it down, you should expect a call!”
I grimace. “To be a groomsman?”
“Of course! You’re her brother. And you like Caleb.”
When did I ever say that? I glance at Kelsie, but she just holds up the “Reasonable” Post-it she made without even glancing up from her nails. Damn it.
“I guess if they really need someone,” I say grudgingly. “If I’m around.”
“It’s going to be next summer, so you shouldn’t be in school,” my mother says.
“Unless you do an accelerated program,” my father adds. “But I’m sure you can take a weekend off to go to your sister’s wedding.”
I swallow and sit up a little straighter. Kelsie looks up from her nails. Here we go.
“Well, actually,” I say, “I wanted to talk to you guys about that.” I take a deep breath and dive right in. “I’m not going to go to school in Albuquerque. I’ve decided I’m going to stay here in London, with Kelsie.”
My parents go still, as if the screen’s frozen.
My mother gives a strange little laugh. “What do you mean? You don’t know anyone in London.”
“I know Kelsie. And her roommate is moving out, so it works out perfectly.”
She gives another forced laugh. “Darling, I think you should give this some thought. I’m so glad you’ve reconnected with Kelsie, but you don’t want to rush things. Moving in together is a big step.”
I bristle. “Kelsie and I aren’t dating. We’re just friends.”
My mother gives my father a doubtful little glance, like she doesn’t believe me. “Either way,” she says, “you don’t want to rush into such a big decision. I think you’d find it’s quite hard being away from home.”
“And you won’t be able to get into any schools in London this late in the game,” my father adds. “You don’t want to waste a whole year.”
