Author's Note: This will likely be a two part series. All characters over the age of 18.
The familiar sound of my mother's "phone voice" echoed through the house from our kitchen. I had always thought it amusing that mothers the world over seem to have a different tone of voice when talking to people on the phone, and she was in good form today.
"Yes...right...right. Well, we look forward to seeing you guys as well. Xavier too. 7 years is too long. Right, connecting in Paris and the train to Bilbao. I'll email you the reservation...no...we'll just take an Uber, really. Fine, if you insist," she said. I was in the hallway at the top of the stairs, about to head down, when I heard the tone of her voice abruptly change.
"Of course I remember," she said in a hushed voice. "It was a long time ago....yes...it's been awhile for me. We'll see," she added as she continued her whisper.
I took a step down, causing the floorboard to creak under my foot. My mother abruptly changed tone again.
"Ok, right...we can talk about that when I get there. See you later, Adios," she said, ending the call.
I walked into the kitchen. "That was your Aunt Maria in Spain. Go take a shower, we need to go get your suit fitted," she said, gesturing back up stairs.
I dutifully turned and headed back upstairs, tossing my shirt into my bedroom on the way to the shower. I knew my mom had been planning to take me to see our family in Spain whom we hadn't seen since well before even the pandemic. The last year had been rough, my mom having separated from my father. My mother was Spanish by birth, but moved here to marry my father, and now that the separation was official, she had been longing to go back. She had been playing the trip up as a graduation and 18th birthday gift, but I knew it was at least half homesickness.
I finished showering and threw on whatever clothes were left clean before heading downstairs to my mother, whom I could hear muttering about being late again. She was insistent that I wear a suit to my graduation dinner, even though I told her none of my friends would and I would be the one looking overdressed and silly, but at this point I had figured out which fights to pick and which ones not too.
"Mijo, I told you to get ready by 10. It's already 10:15. Let's go," she said.
"I'm here now. I told you this is silly but OK, let's go," I said, eliciting an eye roll and a shrug in response.
On the car ride over, I got the download on the trip, which was in two weeks. We'd be spending nearly 4 months in Spain with my Aunt Maria, Uncle Xavier, and my cousin Isabel and one of her friends.
"Isabel was asking about you to your aunt, if Sam was coming. She is excited to see you. You guys used to love to play together," my mom said, as though we'd still be interested in doing the same things now that we did at age 10.
"Mom, that was a long time ago. She is now 19, right? What are we supposed to do? I don't know her anymore," I said.
"She will show you around. The beaches, the cute towns. You can shop. You can drink at 18 there, not that I am encouraging that, but maybe you can go wine tasting with her," my mom said excitedly.
"Wine tasting? How old do you think I am?" I replied, eliciting a sigh in response. "Besides, I am sure she has a boyfriend she will want to hang around with and not have me as a third wheel."
"I don't think so, and her friend Carmen will be staying with them this summer, too. Maybe she is cute," my mom said with a giggle. Now it was my turn to sigh. The number of times my mom has tried to fix me up with whatever Spanish girl she can find has just turned into a trope.
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The next few days were filled with finals, parties, and hanging out with friends before we all went our separate ways after high school. The Thursday before graduation, I turned 18, and my mom took me and a few friends out for a beach picnic and BBQ. It felt like the last birthday I'd be a kid.
That night, as I laid in bed, trying to think about something other than graduation, college, and the fact that I was still a virgin, I got to thinking about what my mom said. About Carmen. I pulled out my phone and went through Isabel's posts on Instagram until I found one from two weeks ago. It was a picture of Isabel, who looked cuter than I remember, and a girl tagged as Carmen A. It was a selfie taken by Isabel of her and Carmen eating gelato on a pier. I could only see Carmen from the waist up, but she was definitely attractive. Shoulder length brown wavy hair, brown eyes, tan. Isabel was looking at the camera, Carmen's gaze seemed to be past it, with a slight smirk on her lips. She almost looked a bit mysterious next to Isabel, like she knew something Isabel didn't, or perhaps I was reading too much into one Instagram picture. Overthinking things was turning into a pastime of mine.
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High school came to an end on Saturday. As I sat waiting for my name to be called, watching my friends, enemies, and acquaintances graduate, I thought about the fact that I had basically done jack shit for four years other than study and work part time jobs. I kissed two girls in four years and went no further. I watched guys walk across the stage that had done far more, and girls I wished I had more than regrets for.
We flew Monday directly to Paris, and took the train to Bilbao. My mom led the way as we made our way off the train to the main arrivals hall. My aunt, uncle, and Isabel were there to greet us. My Aunt Maria was a couple of years older than my mom but looked incredible for her age. My mom had me at 19 and Maria had Isabel a year later. My Uncle Xavier must have been close to 50 now, about the same age as my father. I hugged and shook their hands as we exchanged greetings.
"Rosie!" My aunt said as she hugged my mom, whose name was actually Rosalind.
Standing off to the side was the girl I saw on Instagram, Carmen. She stood silently as hugs were exchanged.
"Hola! It's been a long time, cousin," Isabel said to me as she hugged me, her breasts pressing into my chest in the embrace. Isabel had actually turned into a fairly attractive woman, and the fact that I was noticing this should have bothered me more than it seemed to. She had nice hips, and fairly large tits, clearly taking after her mother.
"It has. It's good to see you, you look great. Apologies if I'm jet lagged and not all with it," I said.
"It's ok. By the way, this is my friend Carmen. She is from Madrid. She is staying with us this summer," Isabel said as Carmen extended her hand, which I gently shook. Her nails were painted in the colors of the Spanish flag. I held her gaze for a moment.
"Your eyes are very blue," Carmen said as she looked intently at me.
"I'm only half Spanish. The other half is Dutch," I said. She nodded slightly.
Carmen was actually fairly tall, I guessed at least 5'8". She was wearing a pink plaid skirt and a gray top that didn't quite cover her midriff. She had classic olive Mediterranean skin, and her skirt sat on her in a way that made me think she probably had a pretty nice ass.
Isabel crammed between Carmen and myself in the backseat of my Uncle's car, and the "adults" chatted amongst themselves while the three of us floated ideas about what to do.
"We have a pool. You haven't seen our new house. It's great," Isabel said.
I shook my head. "We can do that, But I think I'm gonna crash when we get to your house,' I said.
"Come on, don't be a wimp. Carmen, tell him," Isabel replied sarcastically.
"Don't be a wimp," Carmen added reluctantly.
"We'll see," I said.
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Once we arrived, Isabel led us inside. The house was far nicer than the one we lived in, up on a hill with an infinity pool that overlooked Bilbao. I knew my Uncle did well, and I can tell even my mom was impressed. It still wasn't quite finished though, and a couple of the spare bedrooms on the upper floor were still being worked on.
Isabel led me to her room, where a spare bed had been set up across the room from hers. Carmen had her own room across the hall, complete with a private bath, which she insisted on.
"Is this OK? Sorry, my parents thought the house would be done by now. The construction workers here are lazy," she said.
