If you haven't read "Novelty", " Never Have I Ever", "Rose Garden", "Painting Wild Flowers", "Sharing", "Winning Roses", "In Sickness", "All in the Timing", "Seconds", "The Campers Catalog", "Her letter", "When I'm not lookin' ", or "Barefoot CinderElla", I would appreciate it if you did.
For Logan
Ella skipped into the wardrobe cabin with a huge smile on her face. Today's canoe ride with Luke had been amazing and, surprisingly, fun. Luke, unlike Shane, actually knew how to work a canoe and even taught her how to row on her own. Ella really liked Luke, sure he could be bratty and rude, but he when he took the time he could be a really great teacher. If he didn't burn out on the dream to make it as a singer, Ella truly thought that he should try his hand at teaching others about music. Maybe not little kids or even regular high school students, but at a music school where students would take his work seriously.
She tried to not think about it anymore, what Luke did outside of his summers was his business and not hers. Besides, she really did have a fabulous time, she reflected as she swung open the door to the wardrobe cabin and made her way over to her station. Letting out a content sigh, Ella fired up her sewing machine. While Luke wasn't here to kiss her senseless, she could certainly think about it while she worked. The way it felt to have his lips move on hers, it was light and breezy, and just what the summer ordered.
"Hey Ella I wa- Um, Ella? You there?" Nate tapped her shoulder and Ella nearly fell out of her chair.
"God! Nate, don't scare me like that!" She huffed, fanning herself and hoping that her blush wasn't to obvious. He chuckled and leaned back against the table, "Well, I wasn't exactly sneaking around Ell's. Wow you must be really into today's project," He noted her red face and the slight sheen of sweat "Or you're sick." His concern leaked into his voice, but Ella brushed off his worry.
"Nah, it's just a little warm in here. I've been meaning to bring that rotating fan from the mess-hall into here." Nate frowned anyway and adjusted to sit on the table. "Well, anyway I was going to ask you about that new number with Luke," He noted the way she perked up at the mention of the singer, "did you like it?" Ella bobbed her head, "Oh yeah, it was great. I really loved the style. I haven't quite put a wardrobe together yet." There was a pregnant pause before Nate shifted the conversation.
"So you and Luke are pretty serious, huh?"
Ella grinned and shook her head. "Nope," She popped the 'p' and turned back to her sewing, re-threading her bobbin. "It's just a summer thing, nothing to serious, you know?"
No, no Nate didn't know and he was sure to voice that.
"Well, what about you and Dana?" Ella questioned, doing a few test runs before picking up one of Caitlyn's brightly colored performance outfits.
"We dated for a few months."
"Uh-huh," Ella waved a finger, "that's your mistake. You tried to extend a summer fling."
"What about Shane and Mitchie, are they making a mistake?" He countered but Ella shook her head again.
"They spent the entire summer looking for each other, the next year talking to each other, and the summer after that one learning about the other. They didn't just jump in feet first." She quipped, not looking up from her work.
"Well, what's the point of dating someone if you're not going to continue it after the summer?"
"The fun, Nate!" Ella laughed. "Summers are the best, you can flirt with anyone and be someone totally new and they don't get too attached."
"Isn't that a bit... um..." Nate couldn't find the right word to actually describe how he felt about that,
"Of being a floozy? In away I guess," Ella paused and patted Nate's knee. "Nate, I'm seventeen. I'm not looking for Mister Right, I'm just looking for Mister Right Now."
Dear Amelia,
I want you to read this letter and know that your first love at thirteen will not be the only one. There's gonna be a long line of ugly, slimy, pimpled frogs before you find your prince. But that doesn't mean you need to look for Mr. Right straight out of the gate, sometimes it's okay to have Mr. Right-now. That's sort of how I feel about Luke. He's kind of nice, cute, and really talented, but I know he's not my "HEA" (Happily Ever After). But maybe you'll prove me wrong; that's the great thing about these e-mails, you're in the future reading my mistakes while I'm actually making them. Okay, so maybe I'm not going to tell you all the deets... but you'll get most of them.
Love,
Ella
Amelia couldn't believe what she was reading for June 19th, 2010. Her mom was basically telling her to date everyone. Well, not everyone, but her mom was telling her to go have fun with someone that she was interested in and that it was okay to be with a boy. Mia scanned the e-mail again and looked Was it possible that her mom had dated other people and wasn't with her dad the entire span of her life? Looking at the faded photo from their wedding, Mia decided that maybe her parents hadn't always been together, but they were now and that's what mattered.