-You're dating Isabelle's nephew?
-Yes. Now, let the stuff about the party drop. I'm putting my phone in our room. If you call back, I won't hear it.
-OUR room? As in you're sharing a room?
He didn't respond. He powered his phone down and took it in the house and plugged it up. When he came out, Sebastian was in the water. He got in as well and swam out to where Sebastian was. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"Just reminding me that I'm allowed to be happy. And I am. And that you'll stand up for me when I don't stand up for myself, but you doing it actually gave me confidence to do it myself."
"You're welcome."
Victoria stuck her head out the patio door. "Breakfast is ready. Come eat."
The three of them dried off and went into the dining room. Plates of eggs, sausages, pancakes, biscuits, gravy, and fruit salad were passed around.
Art said, "So, late this afternoon, we're going to head over to a church not far from here where they're running shuttles out to where the fireworks will be."
Everyone nodded.
Anthony asked Sebastian, "Are you excited your classes are starting next week?"
"Yes and no. I'm excited to get started, but I'll miss having the rest of the summer off. I find out tomorrow whether I got 5s on my AP exams. I'll have to switch my classes if I didn't, but I'm hoping I did."
"I assume you're taking a physics class. What else?"
"Calculus III hopefully."
"What about you, Kurt?" Anthony asked. "Last night, Sebastian mentioned that you've been taking classes already this summer and you're continuing this term."
"I'm taking Statistics, World History, and Advanced Costume Design."
"Well, that's an unusual mix," he said.
"I started a semester late, so I'm trying to knock out some of the core courses. I took Environmental Science, a required Intensive English class, and a Vocal Performance course last term. I originally chose the core courses because I needed the credits to transfer, but instead I've decided to transfer to the school I've been going to this summer. My credits from last semester will transfer to the new school."
Isabelle asked, "So, you've decided for sure?"
Kurt nodded. "Performing arts and costume design are already a risky career choices. I can't set myself up to be so far in debt for 10 years on a chance I could be more successful with a degree from a more prestigious school. I can always make a living fixing cars. It pays about the same as getting a role in an off-Broadway show. And I could do both, but I'd rather not be doing both just to pay loans off. I've read some seriously depressing stories about people paying their loans back and owing more after five years of payments than they did to start with."
"Fiscally responsible. That's unusual in someone so young," Anthony said, impressed.
"I've always had expensive tastes," he chuckled. "My dad made a point of teaching me how to budget and the value of hard work."
Anthony smiled and nodded. "I know all about expensive tastes." He looked at Victoria, Jillian, and Alexis.
Jillian rolled her eyes. "Not me so much. It's Princess Alexis here that wants $150 dresses to wear to school. It's mom who insisted on the clothes that I wore to school. What I want to wear is jeans and stuff that I like – things like t-shirts and henley's and button-ups that mix and match. And that are practical."
Alexis countered with. "You want to dress like a boy."
Kurt suppressed a chuckle. "Fashion has no gender," he offered on Jillian's behalf.
"Thank you, Kurt."
Alexis said, "You're wearing swim trunks and a tank top thing instead of a swimsuit."
"You mean instead of a bikini."
"Which you look good in," Alexis insisted.
"Well, what if I don't want a bunch of guys looking at me like I'm on the menu board? What if I like swimming without having to wonder whether my bikini top is going to untie or unfasten and then provide everyone with a free show? What if I like swimming without my bikini bottoms wedging themselves someplace I don't want them? What if I want to get out of the pool and not wonder if my butt is covered or not? And Aunt Izzie is wearing swim trunks too. What I'm wearing is actually her extra set. She let me borrow it."
Isabelle laughed. "I bought them both for all of the same reasons that Jillian just mentioned, plus comfort."
"I don't want attention from a bunch of guys who think I'm hot. I want someone to be interested in me as a person and to also find me attractive. If they only like the way I look, they may very well just go looking for someone else once my looks aren't as attractive. No one makes it to their 80s looking like I do. I want to find someone who won't just trade me in for a younger, prettier partner when they're 35."
"Good for you, Jillian," Isabelle said. "You should dress for yourself. Wear what you like and you're comfortable in. There may be social occasions that call for something you don't care for, but you can try to tweak your outfit to your own personal tastes as much as possible. Lots of professional women and movie stars are wearing suits with pants instead of skirts these days. It's all a lot more forgiving than it used to be. Your grandmothers had to wear skirts or dresses to school and to work. That's not the case anymore. They had to be made up just to go out. Hair, makeup, skirts or dresses, low heels at least. Things are so much different. Fashion can be so much fun, but there are a lot of ways to express yourself without having to wear clothing that makes you uncomfortable."
Jillian smiled. "Thanks, Aunt Izzie. Maybe that will help Mom let me pick some new clothes that I like, even though she thinks they're unfeminine. Maybe Kurt could take me shopping after we eat so I can get a couple pairs of my own swim trunks and some tops of some sort. They're leaving tomorrow, so it's really my only chance."
Kurt looked at Sebastian.
"He doesn't have to go," Jillian said, like a challenge.
Kurt laughed. "Sure."
"I want some beach dresses," Alexis said. "Did you see any places that sell them? I want the flowy rayon ones with small prints, nothing garish or super tropical. Knee-length or a little shorter."
Kurt nodded. "I saw lots of dresses that fit that general description."
"I want to go too then."
"With the size of the city, I bet there's an outlet mall here. We could go there and Jillian could buy some of the things that she thinks she'll like and then if a few months from now, she decides they really aren't 'her', you won't have sunk a lot of money into a wardrobe that doesn't get worn." He winked at Jillian where no one else could see.
"That's sounds perfect. I accept," Jillian said quickly.
The four parents and Isabelle began discussing the issue.
Jillian mouthed "Thank you" to Kurt. He winked at her again.
They finished eating and a consensus was reached. Art and Antony were going to play chauffeur for a bit and use the SUV they had rented to take Isabelle, Victoria, and Alexis to the more touristy area where Kurt had seen dresses, and then drop Kurt, Sebastian, and Jillian off at the outlet mall. Afterwards, the two of them would head to Publix, grab everything on the shopping list for the week and pick Isabelle, Victoria, and Alexis back up on their way back, leaving the other three to take a taxi back while lunch was being made.
Jillian stood outside the salon, looking in the window. "Mom would hate it."
"It's your hair," Sebastian said.
"You're the one who has to mess with it," Kurt agreed. "We can get the address of the place that actually uses the hair to make wigs for people with alopecia and people going through chemotherapy."
She sighed. "It's such a hard thing to actually DO. I'm joining one of Aunt Nina's crews to learn to frame walls and hang drywall, paint, and whatever else I can manage to learn this fall. I don't want to have to wash my hair every day. It takes forever to dry. And I'll have to wear it in a braid everyday to keep it out of the way anyway." She took another deep breath. "I'm doing it. If it doesn't come out like I want, I can grow it out for a couple of months and have it cut slightly different in September before I start."
Sebastian pulled the door open and let Jillian and Kurt step inside. They sat down with her bags while she went back with a stylist. Early in their shopping expedition, she had put on one of the outfits she bought with the new burgundy Vans with gum colored soles she had chosen. She had bought several fitted men's button up short-sleeved shirts that looked good with the shoes along with several pairs of nearly knee-length slim-cut men's cargo and jeans shorts. She also bought some women's solid tees and short-sleeved henleys that looked good on their own or layered under the button ups. She had bought a second pair of Vans that were black canvas with the gum-colored soles. She even picked up pair of lavender Vans with white soles in Alexis' size and a pack of multi-colored marled no-show socks for her to wear with them.
Kurt looked through the bags and folded some of the items more neatly and put them back in. "She looks really good in all of this stuff."
"She does. I was right about her being a tomboy. She wants to dress the way you do a lot of the time."
"More androgynous?"
"I guess. But I don't see you as anything but a guy." He leaned closer. "A very hot guy, who likes to wear fantastically tight pants." He wiggled his eyebrows.
Kurt smiled. "I think she's completely fine with being a girl. I think she just doesn't enjoy overly feminine clothing. Just from the few hours I've spent with her, she seems to be very active, and the clothes that your aunt has been buying her make her feel like she has to be careful with them and she feels like she can't be herself in them. This more casual style seems to suit her."
"I think Alexis will freak when she sees that Jillian cut her hair."
"Well, hopefully she found dresses she likes and she'll keep her opinion to herself. Jillian got her a pair of useful shoes in her favorite color, so hopefully she's be somewhat nice about it."
They both picked up magazines with hairstyles in them and started looking through them. Jillian startled them when she said Sebastian's name. They both looked up. Her hair was just touching her shoulders in the front and the back was cut shorter, tapered from the back to the front.
"It looks amazing," Kurt said. "What do you think?"
"I love it. My head feels so light. I decided not to layer it since I still want to be able to pull it back easily. The stylist suggested a shampoo and a spray in conditioner I'm getting when I get up to the counter. She used it wash my hair after she cut the braid off." She had a gallon ziptop bag with a thick 18-inch braid in her hand. She leaned down and put it one of the shopping bags. "We can mail it like you said." She got in line to pay.
Sebastian called for a taxi, which arrived not long after they made it outside to the sidewalk.
When the three of them came in carrying everything, Victoria was the first to see them. "How did you buy so much on the budget I gave–" She stopped. She looked Jillian up and down. "You look really cute. I guess I could just never properly envision what you were trying to explain."
Jillian dropped her bags and hugged her mom. "You don' t hate it?"
"Jilly, honey. I love you. I'm sorry if I made you feel like I would be angry with you because you have different ideas than I do about what looks good. Plus, I was wrong. You look so relaxed. And happy."
Alexis came scurrying in. "You're finally back. Lunch is almost ready. Oh. My. God. You cut your hair."
"I did. And I brought you something."
"Really? What?"
She pulled out the shoes and socks and gave them to her. "You can't ride bikes and go exploring with me this week wearing those fancy sandals you brought."
She opened the box. "I didn't know they made these in lavender. Mostly just boys wear them."
"Well, they're comfortable and durable." She stuck her foot out for Alexis to see hers.
"Yours look like boy's shoes. These are girly." She took the box over to the couch and tried them on. She walked around a bit. "They fit. Do they look completely stupid with my new dress?"
Isabelle walked in. "I don't think so. I think they look like you're going on an adventure and you'd like to still have toes when you get back."
Alexis laughed. "I'm convinced. You're right about riding a bike in my dressy sandals. These will be a lot better. I like my dresses, but I'm not giving up an adventure."
Antony joined them. "Speaking of adventures, I had kept it a secret, but I booked an airboat tour for all of us tomorrow morning."
"Ooh, that's sounds fun," Sebastian said.
Antony noticed all of the bags. "Did you leave anything for anyone else, Jillian?"
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't go over budget, Dad. And I even bought Alexis new shoes and socks too."
He looked over at Alexis to see her shoes. "Good deal then," he said. He took in the change in Jillian's style. "You look good. I didn't expect the haircut, but it suits you."
She smiled.
"Lunch is actually done." Art said as he came into the living room. "We've got a bunch of grilled stuff and a big veggie tray and fruit salad. Neither one of us are great cooks, but we can wield a knife and run a grill."
They left the bags and headed into the dining room to eat.
Friday morning, Kurt and Sebastian woke up before everyone else. They packed up what they were taking back to New York with them and had their luggage ready to go. They left out one outfit to put on when they came back. They rode down to the beach for one last visit and to watch the sunrise again.
When they came back everyone was awake. Art, Antony, Jillian, and Alexis were in the pool and Victoria, Isabelle, and Nina were already dressed, sitting around in the chaises around the pool talking. Kurt and Sebastian went outside to go for one last swim.
"We decided to relax and go out for breakfast before we go on the airboat tour," Nina said, when the two of them came out into the lanai.
"Okay," Sebastian said. "Do we have time to swim?"
She looked at her phone. "Yeah. About 30 minutes before we need to leave."
They joined Jillian and Alexis in the pool.
"It sucks that you two are leaving when we've only been here like two days," Jillian said.
"Sebastian could stay, but I have to be back in New York tomorrow to go to work. My boss was nice enough to let me off the last week."
"But Aunt Izzie is your boss and she's here," Alexis said.
"I have a second job as a mechanic. I work Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays there. And Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays for Isabelle."
"When do you have time to go to school?" Alexis asked.
"In the mornings."
"So you work full time?" Jillian asked.
"I do. I used to work even more hours than I do now. I'm just very organized."
"I'd say," Jillian remarked.
"This has been my first real vacation and I've enjoyed it. Sebastian anticipated that I would struggle with just relaxing and he planned the first few days to be very full and gradually worked us into just relaxing. Otherwise, I would have gone nuts." He smiled at Sebastian and winked.
"He's a fast learner," Sebastian teased.
"I'm going to swim a few laps before we have to get ready," Kurt said. He swam away towards the deep end.
Jillian stated resolutely, "You're in love with him."
"I am."
"No denying it or anything?"
"Nope."
Jillian looked him directly in the eye and stated firmly, "Well, I like him. Don't screw it up."
Sebastian retorted, "I'm hoping not to. I'm hoping it's permanent."
"Really? You like him that much?" Alexis asked.
"I do. He's amazing. I can't think of anything he can't do."
"Even stupidly hard physics?" she asked.
"That's my thing and it's not stupid. I mean real life stuff. He's just super creative and amazing."
"You're adorable like this, Sebby," Jillian teased.
He refrained from engaging her in an argument over the nickname that she knew he hated. "I know. I'm adorable all the time. Just ask Kurt," he sassed back instead.
"I had no idea that you could be a good boyfriend, but what I've seen so far in the last couple of days says that you can. And now you're leaving and taking my best shopping partner with you."
"What about Aunt Izzie? She's staying. Surely she's as good as Kurt."
"Maybe, but I doubt it. She's sweet, but he's funny."
"You know we have a spare room. You two could come stay with us."
"I hadn't actually considered that," she said. "I'm 18 now. Randy would go with me, I bet."
"Sure, especially if you come between now and the end of the summer. Where did he pick to go to college?"
"Yale."
"That's not that far. He could come in on the train and you could fly in for a long weekend during the school year too."
"I'll talk to him when we go back home. He went to Missouri with some friends of his – some resort place for the week."
Sebastian saw Kurt get out of the pool and start to dry off. "We better get inside and get ready."
Jillian grabbed Sebastian's hand under the water and let Alexis swim to the edge. "He's really cute. You did good, Sebastian. Mom and Dad like him too. So do your parents. I heard them talking earlier when they didn't think I was up yet."
Sebastian smiled and followed her out of the pool.
Kurt and Sebastian slipped their bags under the third row seat and climbed over. Alexis and Jillian got in from the front and they squished together for the ride to the airboat tour.
"Mantanzas Bay was super cool last night," Alexis said. "I hope this boat thing is really cool too."
"The fireworks being set to music was really cool," Kurt agreed. "I'd never seen a huge display like that."
Jillian said, "We usually just go to the ones in Columbus, but we went to Cleveland one year and that was fun. But we've never been to a big display like that either."
Alexis said, "Let's sing something. Just riding is boring."
Jillian said, "You start, then."
She balked. "I don't know."
"Last night with everything glowing out over the water made me think of this." Kurt took his phone out and pulled up a karaoke video. He showed it to Sebastian. "Do you know this?"
"I watched it about a dozen times with Alexis the summer I came back from Paris."
Alexis glared at him. "That was our secret."
"I'm not embarrassed. Are you? You and I have watched every Disney movie at least a dozen times. It's our thing. It always has been."
"Fine." She rolled her eyes. "Let's sing that one."
Kurt started out and the girls joined him.
All those days watching from the window,
All those years outside looking in,
All that time never knowing,
Just how blind I'd been.
-
Sebastian sang the second verse and Kurt joined in.
All those days chasing down a daydream,
All those years living in a blur,
All that time never truly seeing,
Things the way the were.
-
All at once everything is different.
Now that I see you.
As soon as it finished, Alexis said, "How can you sing as high as we can and sound good doing it? If Sebastian sings high with us, he sounds like Mickey Mouse."
"I'm a countertenor."
"I don't know what that means," Alexis said. "But I'm guessing it means that you can sing higher than most guys."
"Pretty much."
"But you can still sing guys songs."
"Right."
"That's cool. Sing something for us by yourself," she insisted.
"Like what?"
"Um, anything."
Kurt found pulled up the file of the orchestration of "Bring Him Home" and began to sing. Art pulled into a parking spot while he was still singing. When he finished, everyone in the car began to clap for him, except Sebastian, who at some point during the song, had taken Kurt's hand.
"That was… amazing," Jillian said. "No wonder you're studying to be a performer. I'd pay to watch you be in something."
"Thanks."
Everyone opened the doors and got out.
Sebastian leaned towards Kurt the instant the middle row seats were flattened for them to get out. Kurt looked towards him and raised his eyebrow. Sebastian kissed him quickly causing Kurt to chuckle. "You are amazing. That was beautiful, just like you." He kissed him again quickly and started to climb out before one of the girls came back for them.
Kurt climbed out after him and kissed him as he walked past, and then sped up to catch up to everyone. Sebastian came jogging up behind him and wrapped his arms around him from behind and kissed the back of his neck. They followed their guide out to the boat. After his quick speech on safety, they pulled away from the dock and started the tour.
While out on the boat, they spotted quite a few different types of birds, several alligators, and a manatee, all of which Sebastian managed to capture with his camera. Their tour guide took several pictures of them together on the boat using Sebastian's camera and Isabelle's phone.
They stopped for lunch on the way to the airport. When they got there, everyone got out and there were rounds of hugs before they grabbed their suitcases and headed inside. They checked their luggage in and found a quiet place to sit while they waited to board.
Sebastian put his arm around Kurt's shoulders. "I'm really glad you came."
"Me too. I had so much fun. I've never had that much fun. Your family was all so nice to me. It makes me wish they had come sooner or we could stay longer. I knew you said they'd accept me, but that's never been my experience before."
"Well, there's Christmas." He began to sing.
I'm dreaming of a beach Christmas.
Kurt laughed. "Maybe."
Sebastian smiled. He could work with 'maybe'.
