have talked this through, and I’d love to have him stay. It’s no trouble at all.”
Silence.
“I think we need a beat,” Dad says.
“Let us think on it, okay?” Mom says. “It’s just … the idea of losing both of you? It’s a lot.”
“It’s not losing me,” Ollie says.
“We’ll discuss it, okay? We love you,” Dad says. “Congrats again, Hal.”
“Love you too,” Ollie and I say in unison.
The line disconnects.
“Well.” I stare at the phone. “That went well.”
Ollie covers his face with his hands. “I didn’t mean to co-opt your college news. Ugh.”
“You’re an awkward Levitt at heart,” I say.
“Not your best moment, Oliver,” Gramps admits.
He’ll get to stay, I think. I hope.
Ollie storms upstairs to his room, muttering ughhhhhh under his breath with every step.
* * *
I’m trying to start a new YA romcom, but I’m too distracted by the dreams-coming-true swoon.
So I drop the book on my night table and text Nash, because it’s time to put the plan in motion. I almost want to blurt it out right now. But Nash is at a track meet in Hartford. And after everything, he cannot find out via text. This is one thing I have to do IRL.
Hey
4:37 PM
Nash Kim
Hi.
4:39 PM
Why didn’t I skip this meet?
4:40 PM
Because you never skip track stuff
4:41 PM
Track season is well under way, and it takes up a lot of Nash’s time after school. I hate how time-consuming it is as much as I hate running as a concept.
Ugh. We should be celebrating!
4:42 PM
Totally!
4:45 PM
Maybe we can Saturday?
4:46 PM
Clearly, I am the queen of subtle segues.
Saturday is Ariel Goldberg. Saturday is Boston and cupcakes and the day I’m going to tell Nash the truth. We will have a cute day in the city and we will stumble upon Central Square Books. He’ll recognize the cupcakes and look at me and a light bulb will go on and I won’t even have to tell him because he’ll just know. It’ll be hard and confusing and, okay, maybe it will be terrible at first. He’ll probably be mad. But I know what I’m going to say. I wrote it and rewrote it in my bullet journal.
I’ve even practiced on Scout.
No more going into this situation and hoping the right words will come out.
Finally, I know they will. He’ll understand, because he’s Nash.
We’ll be okay, because we’re Halle and Nash. And Kels and Nash.
I can’t Saturday. I have a family thing. I’ll probably miss bowling too, tbh
4:51 PM
Oh. I … did not anticipate Nash saying no.
Since we’ve been official, Nash and I have spent every single Saturday together. If I’m working, he hangs around Maple Street Sweets until I’m out. We’ll grab food or catch a movie or even just walk around downtown until bowling. After bowling, we either hang at his house or mine. Usually his, because his house has a finished basement and mine has a living room and a dog who always seems to wedge herself in the space between us. Wouldn’t he have told me sooner?
Is everything okay?
4:52 PM
Yeah. It’s a Nick thing, so like, I can’t really get out of it.
4:53 PM
But Sunday is wide open!
4:53 PM
Sunday works!
4:54 PM
I’ve had this very specific reveal planned for weeks, and not once did it cross my mind that he might not be able to go. I’m running out of time and ways to tell him the truth and I’m afraid that it’s already too late, but I thought the Ariel Goldberg event would work if anything would.
Nothing can be too terrible when surrounded by books and cupcakes, I’m sure.
But now that won’t happen.
BookCon is two months away. I need a Plan B—and fast.
April 1
Kels OneTruePastry—April 1
See you soon NYU!!!
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Direct Messages
Nash to Kels
Thursday, January 2, 2:13 PM
I hope everything’s okay. I really wish you would’ve just talked to me if it wasn’t. It sounds so stupid now—but I thought we had something real. I guess we don’t.
Bye, Kels.
Wednesday, April 1, 5:04 PM
[Nash typing]
TWENTY-TWO
As it turns out, it takes minor deception and a lot of planning to bake three hundred bookish cupcakes.
I spent two days baking the cupcakes at Maple Street Sweets. It was the most difficult part, because I couldn’t start until the Davidsons left. Sawyer thinks it’s all for a chemistry project—which is only half a lie. Mr. Portman did assign a creative project where we are supposed to present chemistry in everyday life. Baking is kind of a perfect example of that. But Gramps is okay with baking again,