Ch 8
Amy and Jake were inseparable after that night. They had six weeks before he needed to start classes, and Amy was going to try and finish high school at semester so she could start college at midterm. With Nellie's oversight from New York and the tutors she hired, she knew she could finish on time. Jake wanted her with him at Harvard. He even suggested they get an apartment together somewhere near campus.
Their days were spent studying for Amy's SAT, language lessons from Jake, picnics on the expansive Attleboro lawn and swimming in the pool outback. Dinner was usually with Atticus and Dan by the pool. All four of them would play games in the water until well after dark.
Nights were spent in ecstasy in Amy's room. They loved exploring each other, learning to trust each other in new and unexpected ways. Amy was learning more about herself than she'd thought possible. Somehow, being this intimate with Jake was opening up new levels of understanding for herself, not to mention learning about him. She had begun to learn what he really liked from her and they had gotten pretty good with all this practice. One of her favorite times at night was when they were both spent, just lying in each other's arms, soft caresses being shared. She knew the definition of 'pillow talk' now. They spoke more freely and blithe at these times dreaming of the future they wanted for themselves.
Atticus was fairly clueless to the new status of his older brother and his girlfriend, but Dan picked up on their change almost immediately. It was subtle things he began to notice. Jake and Amy had a short-hand with each other now. They could finish each other's sentences or they would anticipate what the other needed before they even asked for it. Then, there was the physical touching. Before, they seemed to have their hands on each other all the time, playing with fingers, or touching the small of a back, or hands around waists. Now, it was different. Amy would just plunk herself down on Jake's lap or Jake would hug Amy, with his hands on her rear end. He had taken to kissing her differently, too. He'd pull her hair aside and kiss the back of her neck; that was new. The cincher for Dan though was the day they had both disappeared into the bathroom to change for the pool.
Dan had decided to confront them. He sat outside the bathroom door, he was going to get to the bottom of this.
I know this probably isn't any of my business, but, I live here too and I want to know what's going on. When they had emerged wearing suits, ready for the pool, he was waiting.
"Alright, what's going on? You two have been acting different lately. Now, I catch both of you getting dressed in the same small bathroom? How long has this been going on? Are you two…?" Dan couldn't say the word 'lovers', it was just too gross to think about.
Amy looked at her brother with an honest expression; she owed him the truth, "Yes, we are."
Jake laced his fingers around Amy's, "Dan, you knew this was going to happen sometime."
Dan winced, "Let me ask you this, do you want to be in the same house when Atticus starts sleeping with his girlfriend?"
Amy and Jake exchanged a look, they got his point, loud and clear.
"Dan, I was going to talk to you about this soon, but maybe it should happen now," Amy started.
Jake gave her an apologetic smile and said, "I'll go talk to Atticus."
"Dan, I'm going to try and finish high school this semester and start at Harvard next semester. I have to get final approval of course from Harvard, but we have so many Cahill connections I think I can do it. Jake...wants me…to move in with him near campus. I can't make the commute to Cambridge every day." Amy said searchingly.
"So, what are you saying? Are you quitting the family? You want me to take over the Cahill family alone?" Dan said with panic in his voice.
"No, I don't. I will be back here every weekend and I can come at a moment's notice if you need anything. Plus, Fiske is in town as well as Henry Smood."
"Great, so I'm supposed to be comforted in the knowledge that I'll see you every 5 days and two old guys have my back?"
Amy sighed, "Dan, we both knew college was going to change things. Jake and Atticus are both at Harvard, mom went to Harvard, Dad was MIT. If I could go to college and still be in Attleboro full time, I would do it. I'll still be the head of the family, I'll just have to do it from Cambridge."
This statement gave Dan an idea. "Why don't we move headquarters to Cambridge for the college years?"
"What do you mean?" Amy asked quizzically.
"Amy, the college years are going to be a decade or more for us with undergrad, grad school and post-doctorate work between us. Plus, whatever Jake ends up studying after you get married.
Amy blushed. "Nobody's saying anything about getting married."
"But it'll happen eventually. He's as good as a Cahill. You know I'm right. Why not move headquarters to somewhere in Cambridge? And it better not be in some dive apartment near campus. We have a bajillion dollars Amy, you could buy all of campus and still have money."
Amy stopped to really think about this. Finally, she said, "I think we better talk to Jake and Att about this, you're probably on to something Dan."