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“Yes,” Charlie and Delaney answered in unison.

“You both know that’s not how my brain works. I need to know when the flow is starting and what it entails.”

Although she was being serious, Sadie still laughed as her mom and Charlie did the same.

“She’s so your kid.”

“Look at her.” Delaney gestured toward Sadie as she looked at Charlie. “I copied and pasted her in every way possible.”

“It’s true.”

Delaney’s voice and eyes were softer when she spoke to Sadie again. “But that means that I can better understand your thoughts. I’m not in any way saying you and Ellie need to break up before college and live your lives separately. I’m just saying, do what makes you happy. If that’s dating Ellie, date Ellie. If that’s dating someone else down the road, do that. You’re too young to know exactly what you want yet. And that’s coming from someone who took two decades to learn what I wanted.”

“I’m sonotwaiting that long.”

“And I don’t want you to. But just know there’s no timeline on these things, okay? You and Ellie can find your own pace and go from there.”

“And who knows,” Charlie’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, “maybe Ellieisthe one for you.”

Sadie felt her heart and stomach flutter at the thought. It had crossed her mind before; Sadie had never felt the way she felt about Ellie before. But her mom was right. They were young. And they had time to figure things out.

Ugh. Maybe I should FaceTime her.

After spending a few more minutes chatting with her parents, they decided to head inside to make dinner. Sadie was thankful their conversations remained light and fun until Sadie retreated to her bedroom to call Ellie. She would never admit to fixing her hair before she casually laid down on the bed, propping herself up on her elbow as she pressed the button to call Ellie. Carefully, Sadie used a plush animal to prop her phone up so she could have her hands free.

Ellie answered in the second ring and immediately smiled the prettiest smile. She held up a finger, signaling to Sadie to be quiet as she stood from her chair and walked inside. In the background, Sadie could hear everyone chatting as she watched Ellie make her way into the house. Once she plopped down on the couch, Ellie finally said, “Hi.”

“Hi,” Sadie giggled. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

“What’s going on outside?”

“Volleyball,” Ellie rolled her eyes and laughed. “They’ve been playing for hours. Me and Mason have been sitting out.”

“Didn’t want to join in the competition.”

“Nah, I just wanted to hang out with Mason.” Ellie’s eyes darted offscreen as she brought the phone slightly closer. “The procedure didn’t work, and she took it pretty hard.”

Sadie’s heart ached for Mason. “Aw, Ellie, I’m so sorry. I know that has to be hard.”

“It is. It sucks. Mama told her it might take a few tries but still. Mason got her hopes up, ya know?”

“I know. Man, I hate that for her.”

“Me, too.” Sighing, Ellie sank back into the couch. “How are things there? Still raining?”

“Hasn’t stopped for a week.”

“Gross.”

“You’re telling me.”

“You should have just stayed here. Blue skies and sunshine all week.”

“Jealous.”

There was a slight lull as Ellie twirled her hair around her finger. “When do you get back home?”