At my acceptance, Rebecca’s face completely lights up. “Absolutely! We can get whatever you want, within reason. Iamon a budget here.”
I laugh. “I think that’s reasonable. I can chip in too. It doesn’t have to be all on you.”
She flicks the back of her hand at me as if shooing a fly. “Nonsense. This is my treat! We needed to mix up our Fourth of July routine.”
“What routine?” Andrew asks.
“Exactly! We don’t do anything special because we’re already at the lake, and we don’t need to go anywhere to see fireworks. It’s time we start doing something fun on our own terms.”
“Do you think your parents will be okay with this, Becs?”
We shuffle out of the car. “Are you kidding? My dad will love this!” Andrew interjects. “And mom will act disapproving, but the second we ask if she wants to set one off, she will be running over with glee like a kid in a candy store.”
Somehow this all reassures me. “Well, I’m new to picking out fireworks, so how does it work?”
I see Andrew’s and Rebecca’s faces falter. Clearly, neither of them know either. Rebecca recovers quicker and approaches the gentleman at the stand.
“Here to buy some fireworks?” he asks eagerly. “You’re lucky you came early enough. My stock will be completely out in another hour. What can I get started for you?”
Rebecca assesses the fireworks carefully and beginswhispering with Andrew and me about which ones to get. She’s immediately drawn to one in a box that is called Danger and Doom, apparently a specialty made just for this stand. All it takes is me showing her the price tag on the side of the box to persuade her those may not be the right fit for us.
“How about three Roman candles and a few bigger fireworks? How much will that set us back?”
He begins punching in numbers on a calculator and holds it out to her. I can’t see the number properly with the glare of the sun, but I’m fairly certain it’s in the triple digits.
She shrugs. “Throw in two more big ones then, and I think we should be set.”
I quickly elbow her. “Since when were you made of money?”
“I think you’ve forgotten I spent all school year working at the country club. I served a lot of old people who wereverygenerous with their tips, so I can afford to splurge a little bit this summer on fireworks.” Seeing the weary look on my face, she adds, “I’ve already thought about this, Emma. It’s what I want to do. Get out of your head, and let’s have some fun tonight.” She squeezes my shoulder.
I nod silently.
Andrew and the man at the stand begin loading up a box full of fireworks and carry it to Rebecca’s trunk as she pops it open for them with the click of a button.
“That’s a lot of fireworks,” I say.
There’s a scary look in her eyes as she replies, “Hell yeah! This is going to be awesome!”
“Settle down there, Pyro!”
Her mouth drops open, mocking insult, but I can tell I might not have been too far off. She lookswaytoo excited about setting fire to these things and watchingthem explode.
It’s kind of funny. One of my favorite parts about summer has always been how long the days are. At summer’s peak, it doesn’t even get dark until almost 10 pm, but on the Fourth of July, I’ve grown to resent the long days because they mean we have to wait that much longer to see fireworks. I should be grateful I get to spend my summers somewhere where the days nearly never end, but today I just don’t have the patience to count my blessings.
“Someone check what time the sunset is. It’s gotta be soon, right?”
I look between Andrew and Rebecca. Rebecca is on it. She’s almost definitely more excited than me. I’m just excited to be surrounded by fireworks on all sides, but she is excited to light them off. I think I could do without our own fireworks. Naturally, I’m feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing, but seeing how ecstatic Rebecca is, I don’t want to share that thought and bring her down.
“It says the sun should be setting in ten minutes,” Rebecca answers. “I’d imagine it will get dark pretty quickly after that. Maybe we should start to build a game plan. What do we want to set off first?”
Andrew eagerly pitches in, “Best for last, always. We can start with the Roman Candles. One for each of us, right?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before continuing. Andrew is in his element. He’s always been good at planning things, which is a good balance for Rebecca who can be so chaotic and heat of the moment. “Then how many big fireworks do we have? I’m sure Mom and Dad will each want to set one off. Em, do you think Dani or your parents will want to get involved?”
“Definitely not Dani. My dad might if there’s enough.”
Andrew begins digging around in the box that’s currently holding the fireworks on the Martins’ beach. I watch him carefully count out the fireworks. “Looks like there will be enough for your dad to do one and still have one left over.”
“I’ll take one for the team and set off two of the big ones,” Rebecca says, smirking devilishly.
