Ugly Love: A Novel

Six years earlier

“Why is everything yellow?”

My dad is standing in the doorway to Rachel’s bedroom, looking at the few items we’ve collected in the months since he’s known about the pregnancy. “It looks like Big Bird threw up in here.”

Rachel laughs. She’s standing at the bathroom mirror, putting the finishing touches on her makeup. I’ve been lying on her bed, watching her.

“We don’t want to know if it’s a boy or a girl, so we’re buying gender-neutral colors.”

Rachel answers my dad’s question as if it were one of many, but we both know it’s the first. He hasn’t asked about the pregnancy. He doesn’t ask about our plans. He usually leaves the room if Rachel and I are both in it.

Lisa isn’t much different. She’s not past the point of disappointment or sadness yet, so we don’t push it. It’ll take time, so Rachel and I are giving that to them.

Right now, Rachel only has me to talk to about the baby, and I only have her, and even though that seems like too little, it’s more than enough for both of us.

“How long will the ceremony last?” my dad asks me.

“No more than two hours,” I tell him.

He says we should go.

I tell him that as soon as Rachel is ready, we can go.

Rachel says she’s ready.

We go.

•••

“Congratulations,” I tell Rachel.

“Congratulations,” she tells me.

We both graduated three hours ago. Now we’re lying on my bed, thinking about our next step. Or at least I am, anyway.

“Let’s move in together,” I tell her.

She laughs. “We kind of already live together, Miles,” she points out.

I shake my head. “You know what I mean. I know we already have plans for after we start college in August, but I think we should do it now.”

She rises up on her elbow and looks at me, probably trying to read my expression to see if I’m serious.

“How? Where would we go?”

I reach over to my nightstand and open the top drawer. I pull out the letter and hand it to her.

She begins reading it out loud.

Dear Mr. Archer,

She looks up at me, and her eyes are wide.

Congratulations on your summer registration. We are pleased to inform you that your application for family housing has been processed and approved.

Rachel smiles.

Enclosed you will find a return envelope and the final paperwork which will need to be returned by the postmarked date.

Rachel looks at the envelope and quickly flips through the attached paperwork. She pulls the letter back to the top.

We look forward to receiving the completed forms. Our contact information is below should you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Paige Donahue, Registrar

Rachel covers her smile with her hand and tosses the letter aside, then leans forward and hugs me.

“We get to move now?” she says.

I love how evident the excitement is in her voice.

I tell her yes. Rachel is relieved. She knows as well as I do how awkward the next several weeks would have been in the same house as our parents.

“Have you asked your father yet?”

I tell her she forgets that we’re adults now. We no longer have to ask for permission. We only have to inform.

Rachel says she wants to inform them right now.

I take Rachel’s hand, and we walk together to the living room and inform our parents that we’re moving out.

Together.