Contessa (36 page)

“
I remember,
”
I tell him.

“
To hold you in my arms–to feel needed and loved by something so precious and unexpected–even to this day, nothing can compare to that.
”
I can hear a lump form in his throat.
“
I wish I had known the last time it happened that it would actually
be
the last time. I would have cherished it more.
”

“
I have to grow up, Dad. I can
’
t stay your little Contessa forever.
”

“
That knowledge doesn
’
t make it any easier,
”
he says after clearing his throat.
“
And believe me, I know. I
’
m just having a hard time accepting it, that
’
s all. But I do know.
”

“
Okay,
”
I whisper.

“
Love you, honey,
”
he tells me.

“
I love you, too.
”

Jon arrives promptly at my house at four o
’
clock on Monday. I
’
m sure my uncle has better things to do than stay around the house and supervise
our study date
, but he doesn
’
t complain and makes himself at home with his laptop and a glass of wine. I
’
d rather my uncle be here than my parents, though, and nothing could spoil my mood when I get to see Jon more during the school week.

I
’
d planned to study in the media room, but my brother has set up a tent with sheets and chairs and it
’
s a mess down there, so Jon and I get comfortable in the living room upstairs. He outlines his tips to help me remember the elements. We make some flash cards and he quizzes me.

“
You
’
ve got this in the bag,
”
he says after an hour of studying.
“
You don
’
t need my help.
”

“
I sure do,
”
I assure him.
“
I
’
m sure I
’
ll forget everything you taught me by tomorrow. I
’
ll definitely need more tutoring on Wednesday.
”

“
Of course you will. Don
’
t worry, I
’
ll find plenty of things to teach you. We could make a habit of this.
”

“
I like seeing you more often.
”

“
Same here. So you
’
ll take this seriously this week so we can get past your dad
’
s little test?
”

“
Definitely.
”

He spends the next hour drilling elements and general chemistry concepts into my head. We do the same thing on Wednesday, again under the not-so-watchful eye of Matty, and by the time he leaves, I
’
m sure I won
’
t have any trouble with my test.

“
Little Liv?
”
my uncle calls from the top of the basement stairs as he and my dad and brother make pancakes on Friday evening.
“
You have a visitor.
”

“
Who?
”
Camille asks.

“
Beats me.
”
I
’
m hoping it
’
s Jon, but he typically doesn
’
t show up unannounced.

My best friend and I walk up the stairs, looking around.
“
In here, Tessa,
”
Dad calls from the kitchen. Camille and I walk in to see Jon smiling at the kitchen island, pouring glasses of sparkling cider into champagne flutes my dad has provided. The rest of my family is standing around, curious. Jon pours seven glasses after introducing himself to my best friend.

“
Okay,
”
he says, clearing his throat, handing everyone a drink. I roll my eyes at him, but grin.
“
I just want to congratulate Livvy here on passing her chemistry test today,
”
he announces.
“
Jack, I would like to know if we can continue the tutoring sessions on Tuesdays every week.
”

My uncle smiles smugly, taking a drink before the toast is even made. He winks at me.

“
The deal was that she had to get a perfect score,
”
Dad says. Jon pulls out his phone and shows my father the photo I had sent to him as soon as I got the A+ handed back to me.

“
She even got the extra credit question correct,
”
Camille says.
“
She was the only one.
”

“
Livvy, that
’
s great!
”
Mom says.

“
That
’
s my girl,
”
my dad chimes in.

“
Thanks!
”
I respond.
“
I couldn
’
t have done it without Jon, though.
”
I hold my glass up and touch the rim of it to his.
“
So thank you.
”

“
What was the extra question?
”
he asks.

“
We had to draw the Lewis structure for the carbonate ion.
”

“
Seriously?
”
He seems impressed.
“
I can
’
t believe you remembered that. We barely touched on it.
”

“
You explained it well, though.
”

“
I guess I did. Great work, baby.
”

The kitchen goes silent as we
’
re all shocked by the nickname.

“
Yeah, baby,
”
Matty says, making sure the slip-up wasn
’
t missed. Jon bites his lip, realizing too late what he
’
d said, and takes a drink from his glass.

“
So, Tuesdays, huh?
”
my dad asks. I exhale a sigh of relief.

“
Yes. If that works with Livvy
’
s schedule.
”

“
It
’
s great,
”
I say quickly.

“
I don
’
t think that will be a problem. As long as she continues to excel at it, I don
’
t mind at all. In fact, I appreciate your help.
”

“
Thanks. I figure I can meet her at her school, and we can take a cab to the library and study for a few hours. I could have her home by seven.
”

“
At the library? Why not here?
”

“
Just to minimize the distractions. Little brothers are awesome,
”
he says as he ruffles my brother
’
s hair,
“
but they
’
re not always quiet. And we
’
ve both got
‘
em. Some of these concepts are difficult to grasp, so I
’
d like her to be able to focus as much as possible.
”

“
I don
’
t know, Jon,
”
my mother says.
“
Livvy normally watches Trey until we get home from work.
”

“
We could do it later in the evening, then. After you get home.
”
Jon manages to keep a straight face as he suggests this.

“
You know what? No. We
’
ll make that work,
”
Dad says quickly.
“
But she needs to be home by seven.
”

“
Got it.
”

“
And if her grades start to falter, all bets are off.
”

“
Understood. I feel pretty confident she
’
ll do fine.
”

“
Jon, would you like to stay for dinner?
”
my mom asks.
“
We were going to order pizza for the girls. And it
’
s Matty
’
s last night in town.
”

“
I can
’
t tonight,
”
he says.
“
I
’
ve got to get my brother to his football game.
”
He sets his drink down and takes my hand in his.
“
Do you have any plans tomorrow night?
”

“
Nope.
”

“
Can I take you out again? Nothing fancy this time, but I
’
d like to see you. Maybe a movie, too?
”

I look at my parents but answer before getting their approval.
“
Sure. I
’
d love that.
”
Fortunately, both of my parents nod, assenting.

“
Is six too early? If I
’
ve got to have you home by 10:30, I want to get as much time with you as possible.
”

“
Six is great.
”

“
Great. I
’
ll see you then. Jack and Emi, thank you for letting me stop by. Trey, sorry I interrupted your
pancake night
,
”
he says to my brother. He lets go of my hand.
“
Pleasure to meet you, Camille.
”

“
You, too.
”
I walk him to the front door and open it for him.

“
Thanks for coming over.
”

“
Thanks for acing that test. I
’
ve got big plans for tutoring,
”
he says quietly with a smile.
“
A rewards system, if you will.
”

I walk out onto the porch and close the door behind me.
“
Awesome.
”

“
It will be.
”
He leans down to kiss me. I hold on to him when he tries to pull away.
“
No, you haven
’
t earned it yet,
”
he hints to me.

“
Really
awesome.
”

“
See you tomorrow.
”

“
Okay.
”

When I get back into the kitchen, Camille looks smitten.
“
I want a tutor like him.
”

“
Me, too,
”
Matty says, replacing his cider with a glass of red wine. My best friend and I giggle.

“
Yeah, Finn
’
s all brawn.
”
I tease Camille about her soccer star boyfriend as we head back down to my room.

“
He is not.
”
She laughs, defending him.

“
Oh, sweetie,
”
my uncle says,
“
yes, he is.
”

“
Okay, just mostly,
”
Camille concedes with a smile.

When I get out of class on Tuesday, I wait in the courtyard for Jon to show up. Twenty minutes later he pulls up to the curb in a cab.

“
Ready?
”
he calls to me after rolling down the window.