Running on River

10th August 1989 ～somewhere in the United States (9:00 pm)

Alizée' s pov

We just finished eating dinner, and I am just finishing washing the last dishes and plates that were left on the table, while mom and dad are laying on the couch listening to the latest news of the day. I can hear them laughing. It is nice.

I was drying up the glass and putting it in the cupboard right above my head, when the phone in the corridor rang.
"That must probably be Louise" my mom said, getting up from the couch and quickly heading to the place where the telephone was.
Having picked it up, she went to the closest bedroom, which was my dad's, and almost closed the door all the way, to have some privacy.
I don't know why, but I was so excited and intrigued to know what they were talking about, so once I finished with the dishes, I casually headed towards the washroom.
"I'll go brush my teeth" I simply said to dad, who was very focused on what was said on TV.
"Yes sure go ahead" dad said.

I didn't lie, though, I really went to brush my teeth. Would it be that wrong to try to catch the subject of the conversation that my mom and Louise were having?

"You know, you have to give them some time to adapt, Lou. You know the family's background... poor people." My mom had pity in her voice.
"Cut them some slack, I'm sure he will do his best to contribute to your company, but you need to be patient." Mom sounded like she was trying to reassure Louise about some kind of uncertainty during her meeting with John.
Then, there was a long pause, during which my mom mostly contributed to the conversation with "Aha" "Yes" "Ooh I see...". These raised incredibly my level of interest. I figured that now Louise was doing most of the talking.

At this point, I had already finished brushing my teeth and was just listening to not much.
So I decided to give dad a goodnight kiss and head upstairs to watch some TV on the living room.

10:30 pm ~ later that evening

I was laying on my yoga mat which was laid on top of a colorful rug, stretching while watching "The Karate Kid" which was on TV.
"Ok well thank you for calling, and again, remember, don't you worry too much right about now. Let them adapt for a bit and see how it goes, all right? We'll see you tomorrow maybe for a coffee, huh? Ok great, goodnight then." My mom said and turned off the telephone.
She have a quick kiss to dad and said goodnight before heading up the stairs.
"Yeah are you watching? Anything interesting?" She genuinely asked me, with a sweet smile.
"The Karate Kid, it's actually a really nice movie" I replied, with a happy tone.
"So... how was with Louise? What did you talk about?" I asked, biting the corner of my nail, trying to sound casual, even thought I was really interested.
"Oh yeah, we basically talked about her meeting with John. You know, she was telling me about the doubts she is having about giving the job to John, because she doesn't know if he is up to it you know? So I tried to reassure her."
Mom was telling me while sitting on the couch and watching parts of the movie.
"Oh yeah, and then she told me that she spoke to John about his family life, you know, to try and get a full picture of his situation, and she said that his family is still trying to adapt to the moving they just recently did. They talked about how they have gotten to know the neighborhood better. She also told me she gave your number to John, telling him that if his son ever wants to get to know the place better, or just hang out, he should call you. And he told her his son would definitely do that, since he is really trying to get out more during summer."
Mom told me, now her eyes looking straight in to mine. I stopped biting around my nail since she told me Louise have John my number.
"Well, that is a good idea Louise had. Thought, won't it be just weird if this boy calls me randomly? I guess it would be kind of fun."
I said, my voice controlled, but deep inside, I knew I was thrilled about getting a call from this boy that Louise keeps talking to me about. That I don't even know.

Then a sudden thought came to my mind.
*what if you are building an idea in your head Alizée and then it's nothing like that? What if it's too good to be true?*

I try to push those thought at the back of my mind and just enjoy the moment as it is.
Everything about it is positive: I might get a call from a boy who is supposedly handsome and very nice; I might hang out with him and befriend him.

"I am actually excited for you, Alizée!" My mom suddenly said after a pause.
"You know, don't overthink it.
Let's just see how it goes, but don't think about it all the time now. When you least expect it, incredible things happen." My mom said with a sweet smile, and I knew she was right.

She was so right, and I was thankful for her words.
She kissed me goodnight and went to brush her teeth, then went to bed.
I stayed a little while longer to watch the end of "The Karate Kid", which ended at around 11:45 pm.
Then, I decided myself to go and get a nice night of sleep.
I tuck myself into bed, read for about 17 minutes, then turn my light on my nightstand off, and slowly fall asleep.