“Well, traveling can be stressful.”
“I know, he was stressed. But if he loved me, wouldn’t he want me to be his girlfriend? Especially since he’s leaving me.”
“Leaving you?” Mom says.
“Yeah, he loved surfing all over so much that he’s going on the pro tour. He’s going to leave me. For like a year! Wouldn’t you think he’d want me to be his girlfriend so I wouldn’t be able to date other guys while he’s gone?”
“Have you talked to him about it?” Mom asks.
“No. And I don’t know why I haven’t.”
“You don’t want to talk to him because you’re afraid that if you do then he will ask you out, and then you’ll think he only did it because you made him.”
“Yes! That’s exactly right. And I don’t think he’s coming to my party, Mom.”
“Not coming to your party? Why not?”
“When we were in London, we went to this amazing discotheque, but he wouldn’t dance with me. He left early. Said it was too loud, too crowded. He got really mad at me because some guy’s hands were all over me when we were dancing. We were just dancing. I told him if it bothered him, he should dance with me. But he wouldn’t. And now he doesn’t want to come to my party for the same reasons. And he has no idea how crucial it is for him to be there. All my friends will be there, and this is that pivotal moment—the climax of the script! Where my worlds are supposed to come together.”
“Your worlds?”
“Yeah, sometimes I feel like I live separate lives. I have my school friends, and then I have my surfing buddies. I invited them both to the after-party, so they could get to know each other. So we could all hang out and be friends. But Brooklyn says he doesn’t like my friends. I think it’s funny that he can criticize them when he doesn’t really know them. And if I’m going to introduce him to all my friends, what am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to call him?”
“It doesn’t matter what you call him, honey. What matters is how you feel about him.”
I look at Tommy, then at Mom. “Isn’t that hard on you? You have four kids with Tommy. He’s way more than your boyfriend, but yet he’s not your husband. Heck, I don’t even know what to call him.”
“Keatyn, I hope I’ve raised you better than that. You don’t have to label a relationship to have one.”
“No, but if you agree on a label at least you both know where you stand. I’m about to make a stand with my friends. And it doesn’t help that Vanessa says being with him will be social suicide.”
“Vanessa said that?”
“Yeah. She also thinks it was just a summer fling to him. That I’m thinking with my heart and not my head. Do I want to commit social suicide for someone who doesn’t like me enough to ask me out? Someone who is leaving me for a year? Someone who says he’s not coming to my birthday party?”
“You have to be with whoever makes you happy. They don’t have to be famous or popular. Does Brooklyn make you happy?”
I sigh. “Most of the time he makes me crazy happy.”
“And the rest of the time?”
“He’s too chill about everything. He says I like the spotlight too much. He doesn’t like Italian leather, for God’s sake. I get pressure from him to be a certain way. He likes when I’m his little laid-back surfer girl. But, then, Vanessa expects me to be the popular bitch. And sometimes I just wish I could go to a school where no one knew you were my mom. I never know who my real friends are.”
Mom hugs me. “It’s hard to know who your true friends are even when you aren’t a celebrity. I had two best friends in high school. One of them went out with my boyfriend behind my back.”
“All I wanted to do was go to high school and be popular. Last year, it was exhausting. Always worrying about what people are going to think of what you’re wearing. Who has the biggest house, the coolest car, or the hottest boyfriend. That’s probably one of the reasons I love chilling with Brooklyn. He really doesn’t care if I’m in last season’s bikini or not.”
“Honey, if you really love Brook, don’t let your friends get in your way. Don’t worry about what anyone will think. And if you want to do something, you shouldn’t listen to your friends or your boyfriend. I raised you to be a strong, independent woman. Be one.”
Tommy agrees. “You have to be your own person. Your true friends will be there for you no matter who you love or what you wear.”
“That’s the big question then, isn’t it? Who are my true friends?”
Mom nods and changes the subject. “So what did Brook do last night that was special?”
“He ordered in all my favorite foods. There was whole wheat veggie and ricotta cheese pizza, sweet and spicy chicken from Wong’s, corn dogs from the Venice beach vendor, and he even got me a seven layer chocolate birthday cake.”