Chapter Text
“I’ll have an iced coffee with oat milk” she said smiling at the barista. She paid, said thank you, and walked over to sit closer to the entrance of the airport. Belly watched as a family ran through the airport to get to their gate, clearly late for a flight. When it came to airports, she felt like everyone was always in such a hurry. Someone was either running to catch a flight or trying to quickly get somewhere new. Belly had just returned home from a trip to Chicago where she was visiting a college friend. Over the PA, she heard an announcement “Attention: This is the final boarding call for Flight 595 to Queens, NY. The gates will be closing in 3 minutes. Please proceed to gate 5 now.” She took out her phone to text Laurel, letting her know that she had made it home safely. Her mother was currently halfway through a book tour that she had collaborated on with Cleveland.
Laurel: So glad you made it home, Bean! I’ll see you in a couple weeks!
Belly closed out of her text messages and grabbed Little Women from her bag. She was re-reading it again and was determined to have it finished by the end of the summer. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a younger looking guy wearing a red and black Stanford t-shirt. He was working on a computer and had some Stanford stickers on the back of it as well. Probably a grad student, she thought. She sighed and thought about how these days, it was almost impossible not to think of Conrad Fisher every time she saw anything that had to do with Stanford. She wondered what made up his world in California. Who his friends were? Was he happy? Was there a girl in his life? She knew she had no right to know if he had a girlfriend. For christ sakes, she had almost married his brother. Steven had warned her so many times about entering into some uncharted waters. All of their friendships were at risk and she had almost ruined all of them forever. It had been almost seven years since they mutually broke off the wedding and Conrad escaped it all. She always thought about what would’ve happened if she had just gone with him to California. If she had left Jeremiah and the entire mess that she had made behind. From the very beginning, her family, her friends, even Belly herself had known her wedding to Jeremiah was set up for failure. Why did she have to put everyone through that? She didn’t follow Conrad, she ran away to Paris instead. Much safer, she thought. Nobody knew her there and she could start fresh. They hadn’t known her story or any past mistakes she’d made. Paris was one of the most beautiful places she’d ever been to in her life. It was full of charm, magic, romance, but it wasn’t anywhere close to any of the places she called home. Laurel knew Belly well enough to know she was homesick. They had communicated frequently while she was gone, but knew it was important for her to have this time to reflect. She needed to be given space from people who really knew her. Belly started scrolling through her text messages from Conrad. The last thing she had heard from her mother was that he was planning on transferring to a hospital in Cousins. She had seen him the previous summer when they celebrated the Fourth of July, but unfortunately it was a short lived visit. Susannah always said how important it was for them to remain close and take care of each other. As she was flipping through her text messages, she noticed a text in one of her group chats with Jeremiah. It was a photo of him and his new girlfriend, Sloane. Belly had met Sloane the previous summer. They had a chance to chat and her personality seemed to mesh really well with Jeremiahs. It took some time, but the bitterness and resentment towards each other had warn off. His happiness always meant a lot to her and she was glad he found someone that he cared about. She still had his friendship and that was what mattered to her.
She snapped out of her daydreams as she felt her phone vibrate against her palm. It was a text from Taylor.
Taylor: I’m here
Belly grabbed her things and walked out of the exit of the airport. Taylor smiled at her and gave her a big hug. Her best friend, someone that had been there for her no matter what mistakes she had made and how many times she had screwed up.
“Babe it’s so good to see you. I feel like you were gone for weeks.” Taylor said.
“I was gone for 4 days.” Belly laughed at her friend and how dramatic she was sometimes. Taylor put Belly’s weekender bag in the trunk and climbed into the drivers seat of the car. Taylor let Belly talk about her trip. She talked about how they went and saw "The Bean" downtown. Belly explained to Taylor how it was a tourist spot in Chicago. There was this giant sculpture of a bean where people liked to pose for pictures and it was reflective. She had seen kids get really close up and get super excited and laugh. Belly and Taylor thought it was ironic because “Bean” was one of Belly’s many nicknames she had as a child that her parents had given her.
Taylor talked to Belly about the different collaborations she had that were due in the next couple of weeks. Taylor was fortunate to be able to work from anywhere that had working wifi. She was always getting emails from companies and had the chance to work with some really cool brands. Being an influencer had its perks and Belly loved being able to get first pick of any pr boxes that Taylor was sent. She was always asking Belly to help her go through things that were sent to the apartment. Some nights after work, they would order pizza, drink wine, and sit on the floor of Taylor and Steven’s apartment. They would chat about their weeks and sort through all the stuff she got. Belly valued her friendship with Taylor and it had grown a lot since they were teenagers. Being in a relationship with Steven for the past six years definitely rubbed off on her and she had softened up. She felt more like a sister now more then ever.
“Steven’s coming home tomorrow. He’s been in California helping Conrad move. You did know he’s transferring to a hospital in Cousins, right?” Taylor said hesitantly.
“Yeah, my mom told me a while ago” Cousins had always been Conrad's favorite place in the world, so it didn’t surprise her at all that he made it happen. He preferred it more then living in Boston that's for sure. "You know, while I was sitting at the airport today, there was this guy wearing a Stanford t-shirt next to me and I just immediately zoned out thinking of Conrad. Sometimes it’s hard not to think about him and I wonder if there’s anyone that will ever compare to him. Susannah used to say that when we were kids, we were almost inseparable, like two peas in a pod. We’ve always had this undeniable connection and he’s just always wanted to look after me. We’ve been apart for so long and have had this time to grow as adults... You know, there was this one time Nicole told me you could never really forget your first love.” Belly said.
“Yeah, well Nicole doesn’t know everything. Remember when she stole our clothes and left us stranded when we went skinny dipping that one summer?” Belly and Taylor both laughed. Belly didn’t think Taylor would ever forget that.
“Yes, I do, but that’s not the point” Belly laughed.
Taylor took her hand in hers “You know I love you, we all do, and we'll always want the best for you. Steven and I used to have conversations ad nauseam about Conrad and Jeremiah years ago. I think that man will forever have the honorary title of being Conrad’s number one defender.” Taylor laughed, "I just hated seeing you as upset as you were and Conrad wasn’t doing you any favors.“ Although when everything happened with Jeremiah, I literally wanted to destroy him. I don’t think I ever told you this, but after you came to me when he cheated on you, I went to him.”
“What did you say?” Belly asked with curiosity
“Oh, you know, he tried to defend himself, but I wasn’t letting him, there was no excuse for what happened! I told him how disappointed I was in him and how I had stood by him for so long. How stupid I was to think he was good enough for my best friend. While everyone else had been Team Conrad, I was the only one that was Team JellyFisher, and I felt like a fool.” Taylor said. She had tears in her eyes and some of her makeup had started to smear. Belly reached into her bag and handed Taylor a tissue and said “You know, things really do work in mysterious ways. When it comes to the way we grew up, the friendship we had with each other, I wouldn’t change any of that for the world. Jeremiah hadn’t just been some random guy who cheated on me. He had been one of my best friends that I’d had all my life. He was a guy who I thought would never betray me or hurt me. Things may have turned out differently then we thought, but we would’ve lost out on a lot of priceless memories that I was fortunate enough to have growing up. We’re all in a better place now and have moved past things, which is all I could've asked for. All I know is that if things had been different, if he really was just a random guy, and he was just Jeremiah, I probably wouldn’t have been able to forgive him.” Belly said with a smile.
“Belly, honestly If you’re not over Conrad, I think you both owe it to yourselves to give this a shot. I’m telling you, the man is obsessed with you. He’s always on the phone with Steven and asks about you once a week at least. The way he talks about you, the way he’s always looked at you. You can deny it all you want but I know you’re still in love with him too.” Taylor said.
“ Taylor”, Belly laughed rolling her eyes
“ I can tell you’re still in love with him because the second you brought him up, your face got super red like it always does when we talk about Conrad. You can’t hide from the people that really know you. I think you’re just afraid of what might come of seeing him again.” Taylor said. She knew her best friend well enough to know that Belly didn’t even need to answer.
“Wait, is this the same woman who used to always say “I don’t want to talk about Conrad” or “Conrad’s a mess” as Belly and Taylor laughed.
“Same woman, just a little bit older, and is finally seeing where she messed up” Taylor said smiling.
Belly was eager to change the subject “So what’s been going on here? Anything exciting? Any plans for the summer” She would be starting her second year teaching French at a local high school in Philadelphia. She loved her job but was fortunate to have the summers off. She was excited to spend time with Taylor and Steven, there was some reading she wanted to do, and she wanted to spend time with her mom when she came home.
“We’ll probably try and make it to Cousins at some point this summer. We didn’t have anything major planned though.” Taylor said and pulled into a guest spot at Belly’s apartment complex. Belly grabbed her things from the trunk and hugged her best friend.“No matter what happens, I know you’ll make the right choice for you.” Taylor said to her as she got back in her car. Belly smiled and waved goodbye as she grabbed her suitcase and walked up to the second floor to her apartment. As she turned on the lights and set her bag down, she realized how thankful she was that past Belly had cleaned her apartment before she left. She walked over to her fridge, grabbed some milk, and as she was shutting the door, she smiled at one of her favorite photos in her apartment. It was a photo of the four kids together in Cousins on the Fourth of July from a couple years ago. She had made some cereal for herself and sat down at the table to eat. She was halfway through eating a spoonful when her phone started to vibrate. She saw Conrad’s photo pop up on her screen and she almost started choking. She swallowed her cereal and did a double take to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She felt like her heart was going to explode and she felt her entire body start to heat up. Why was he calling her? As she picked up, she heard Conrad’s voice on the other end.
“Hi, Belly” Conrad said. She could hear his smile through the phone and she was just so happy to hear his voice. “How are you?”
She waited a couple seconds before answering “I’m.. I’m good. It’s good to hear your voice.” Belly said with hesitancy but tried to compose her level of excitement. Belly and Conrad caught each other up on what was going on in their lives.
“Laurel told me you got a job teaching French.” Conrad said.
“Yes, I just finished my first year. I like my students and the other teachers in my department are lovely.” Belly said
She found herself breathing heavily and was relieved that he at least couldn’t see her blush through her phone.
Conrad waited a few seconds before speaking again and said… “Steven and Laurel told you I moved right”?… Conrad waited a moment before he continued speaking. “This amazing opportunity came up for me to transfer hospitals. I moved to Cousins and my new program doesn’t start until the middle of August. Steven’s been such a great friend helping me move, but I still need to find an apartment. I’ll be staying at the house in the meantime.”
“They did tell me, Congratulations.” Belly said genuinely.
“Thanks” Conrad said…. “So, I was wondering about what your thoughts were about coming to Cousins for the summer. Before my mom died, she had a request that when she had been gone 10 years, she wanted all the kids to have a party to celebrate her and she wanted us all to be together. You know how important friends and family were to her, so I think we owe it to her, don’t you?”
“Conrad I..” Belly tried to speak but he cut her off.
“Belly, I know for a long time things were messy, but we’re adults now. I want us to be friends again, and to be able to move forward. I’m tired of feeling like every time we’re near each other, all we do is tiptoe around what’s happened between us. I invited Jeremiah, who’ll bring Sloane I’m sure. I also told Steven and Taylor to come whenever they can. They’ll be doing some coming and going. Your mom said she’ll definitely come for the weekend of the Fourth to celebrate with us.” he said
Belly was relieved to hear him say those things. She had wanted to be friends to, more then anything. She wanted to get back to where they used to be.
“Well, you were my math tutor, so I’ll bring my French books and teach you a thing or two.” Belly said with a laugh.
“Does that mean you’ll come?” Conrad said as he bit his lip nervously through the phone.
“I guess I’ll see you there” she said
Conrad’s breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Okay, I’ll see you there.” They said there goodbye’s and hung up.
“What the heck did I agree to?” Belly thought to herself shaking her head. She ran to the bathroom to wash her face. She grabbed her water bottle and yanked open the freezer. She needed ice immediately. She was in for a long summer if Conrad Fisher could have this big of an effect on her after one phone conversation. She tried distracting herself with some tv and started a load of laundry. As she repacked her suitcase and as she waited for her laundry, she thought about the phone call with Conrad. She couldn’t deny all the history and lingering feelings between the two of them. She knew herself, one look from Conrad, and it was all over for her. It was best to stay calm and not get too excited. She'd almost lost him once, and she didn’t want to get that close ever again. That night, she thought about when she was a child and how she'd get butterflies in her stomach the night before leaving for Cousins. She was older, and things were different but she was going to one of the most magical places on earth where absolutely anything could happen.