Summer 9
Three weeks ago, my parents broke the news they bought a lake house where our family will start spending our summers. My dad grew up going to his family’s lake cabin in Minnesota every summer, and he thought our family needed to start that tradition now that he and my mom have reached a point in their careers where they can work from nearly anywhere. I’m still not sure how to feel about it. On the one hand, I must admit, the drive in has been beautiful. The light reflects off the lake in such a way that makes it sparkle, and there are humungous evergreens and pine trees surrounding the road. On the other hand, I’m going to miss spending my summers with my friends from school. My sister, Dani, is great and all, but sometimes our two-year age gap feels like ten, and she tends to keep to herself.
As our car pulls into the driveway of our new home for the next several months, my dad cheerily asks, “Well, what do you think, kids?”
My mom eagerly turns in her seat with a beaming smile across her face. “You guys are going to love the cabin! We have our own dock and a nice view of the water from the back deck.”Dani and I trade excited looks as we take in the cabin. It’s wonderful!
I step out of the car and dutifully start unloading the trunk. My dad leads us to the front door, keys in hand. He opens the door, and I catch my first glimpse of the cabin. It’s nothing like I imagined. It doesn’t have the rustic, woodsy vibe I expected a lake cabin to have. Instead, it’s modern and spacious. It’s the kind of place I wouldn’t mind living in all year round. Large windows cover the back side of the house, just off the living room. Through the windows, I see a large deck and the lake, glistening in the late morning sun, begging for me to take a dip. Several boats off in the distance pull people on skis and inner tubes. The sight makes me practically vibrate with excitement. It’s just now hitting me this is how I get to spend my summers!
To the left of us, I see a dock that is twice the size of our own. There are two kids who look to be about my age squealing and pushing each other off the dock. Hope fills me. I might have friends to spend my summers with after all. A woman lies on a towel across the dock, with large sunglasses covering her face and a book in her hand. Her wardrobe alone screams the word “rich,” and it’s flat-out intimidating.
“Oh, look, the Martin family is already out on the water!” My mom interrupts my daze.
I turn and look at her with a questioning look. “The Martins are the family next door. They live here year-round. I spoke to Mrs. Martin when we were checking out the house. I believe they have twins your age. Maybe you will have some friends to play with during the summers? They invited us over for their annual barbecue, which just so happens to be tonight.” I don’t think I’ve ever seen my mom so giddy. It must be all the fresh air talking.
I gaze at the two children on the dock with longing. It sure would be nice to have some friends, but I’m not looking forward to going to a barbecue with a bunch of strangers. Isn’tmoving into a new place for the summer adventure enough for one day?
The woman from earlier with the big sunglasses opens the door. Her sunglasses are no longer on her face, but on top of her head, revealing stunning blue eyes that immediately catch my attention. She welcomes us into the Martin’s mansion. That’s not an exaggeration. That’s simply what it is, a mansion. There are massive windows in the front and double doors. The house sprawls across the landscape, covering twice the length our cabin does. As we step inside, we find ourselves in a grand entryway with staircases on either side of us that go to the same level. An open room at the top of the stairs overlooks the large entry. I’ve only seen a house like this in movies.Who are these people?
My mom and dad hold out a plate of fresh-cut fruit and a bowl of our family’s famous baked beans. “Where should I put these, Lynelle?”
“Oh yes, I will take those from you,” the sunglasses woman, Lynelle I guess, gestures for my mom and dad to follow her as she looks at Dani and me and says over her shoulder, “The children are in the backyard if you two want to go say hi!”
Dani and I mosey toward the back of the house, taking in the rest of its magnificence. We find a clean white kitchen with marble countertops, two ovens, and the largest fridge I’ve ever seen. To the right, the living room contains a massive leather couch and a TV I swear is twice as wide as my dad is tall. Hint, he’s 6’4. The dining room extends off from the kitchen to more open windows with a stunning view of the lake. I can’t even imagine living like this. This house makes our cabin look like a tool shed.
As we open the slider, and step out onto theback deck, I see a three-year-old little girl throwing a ball back and forth with an older boy, probably her brother. I watch the two of them as he lightly tosses the ball to her, and she fumbles with it. When she barely catches it, he throws his arms up in celebration and begins whooping. I can’t see his face, but hers is one of pure delight. It’s sweet.
Suddenly a girl about my age comes bounding up the stairs. She immediately wraps her arms around me and then Dani. “I’m Rebecca! I’m the oldest Martin kid. I’m so excited you guys moved in. The couple who owned the cabin before you was old and grumpy. They always got mad when Andy and I swam races between our dock and theirs. They said they came here for quiet time.” She scowls. “Anyway, I can already tell you will be an upgrade because you are at the barbecue. All the cool people around the lake come to our barbecue.” She winks. She has the same striking blue eyes as her mom, paired with dark brown waves pulled back into a messy ponytail.
I don’t know what to make of this girl. She’s supposed to be my age, but she exudes confidence I definitely do not have. I like her spirit though. I’ve always been drawn to people who are more outgoing than me. I appreciate it when someone else can hold the conversation. If she keeps talking, that’s less talking for me. Plus, there’s just something about her that immediately feels warm and welcoming.
“I’m Dani. I’m eleven. This is my little sister, Emma. You guys should be about the same age.”
“I thought my mom said you were a twin?” I ask, surprising myself by speaking up at all.
“Oh yeah. Andy and I are twins, but I was born two minutes before him, so I’m the oldest,” Rebecca explains easily with a teasing smirk.
I can’t help but laugh. I like her. “Your brother’s name is Andy? What about your little sister?” I gesture to the little girl throwing the ball.
“His name is Andrew, but I call him Andy. He hates it, which means I love it.” She laughs again with a light-hearted ease that shows me she clearly adores her twin. “The little girl is Adi Weller. My parents have known her parents for ages.”
I look at Dani as if to sayshe’s pretty fun, isn’t she?Dani smiles back but quickly excuses herself. “I’m going to go see if they need any help in the kitchen.” She waves and turns to walk back into the house.
“Sorry about Dani. She kind of keeps to herself, but she’s not so bad once you get to know her.” I chuckle sheepishly, slightly embarrassed Dani wasn’t more polite to our kind host.
Rebecca shrugs and grabs my hand, pulling me down the stairs to the grass lawn. “Andy! Andy, come meet my new friend Emma.” A swell of pride rises in my chest at her words.She already thinks of me as her friend?I press my lips together to try to hide the smile quickly curling across my lips.
Andrew takes his eyes off the little girl he’s playing with. As our eyes meet, the little girl pulls her arm back and launches the ball. It smacks him right across the face, and I can’t help but flinch. He just blinks and laughs. He bends down to pick it up, squeezes it, and says with a chuckle, light like his sister’s, “It’s a softball.”
As I step closer, I see his eyes match his mom’s and his sister’s. Except I swear his are somehow brighter. If we were to compete in a staring contest, I know I’d win easily looking at those eyes. He has dark, messy hair that looks like it hasn’t been so much as combed today, but it works for him. He’s tall for his age and rail thin.
He seems to be taking me in too, and I can’t help but blush as his eyes move from my strawberry-blonde curls to my green eyes, the smattering of freckles across my nose and cheeks, and down to my new summer dress I wore specifically to impress the new neighbors.
“So, you moved into the house next door?Thank goodness! Those old farts before you needed to move,” he scoffs, handing the ball back to the little girl. “Adi, why don’t you go find your mom? Rebecca and I are going to show Emma around.”
Adi gives a slight nod and runs her little legs across the yard.
Rebecca, still holding me by the hand, asks, “Do you have your swimsuit, Emma? We can get a game of colors going. I bet the Hernandez kids will join. Maybe Dani will want to play too?”
