Dusk&Summer

6.

flashback

Meredith couldn't believe it. She had begged Mommy for weeks and weeks and weeks, she had even gotten Miss Sarah to beg her Mommy. And then Mommy had said yes. She had actually said yes and now she was going to the summer house with Sophie and her sisters and Derek and Mark and Brian and Sophie's Mommy and Daddy. She was actually going.

She had always wanted to see the summer house. She wasn't even sure what a summer house was except it was a house that Sophie went to for the summer. And she had seen lots of pictures. It looked really pretty and everyone was smiling in the pictures. She liked places that made people smile so she definitely wanted to go to the summer house with the Shepherds.

Mommy had given her money to give the Shepherds because according to Mommy, Meredith couldn't be a burden. She didn't know what that was, but she was supposed to give the money to Sophie's mommy and daddy the second they got to the house. Which was taking a really really long time. They had been driving for ages now, and she was starting to think they'd never get there.

They had gotten a really big van so they could all go together and now everyone looked bored. It was a really long trip to get to the summer house. It probably was because they were going to the water. There wasn't any water where they lived so they probably had to drive really far to find some water to have the house near. Sophie said they played in the water a lot.

"Derbear," Sophie murmured, leaning forward to tap Derek on the shoulder.

"Yeah?"

"Ask Daddy if we're there yet."

"We're not, Soph," Derek laughed. "If we were there we wouldn't still be driving."

"Are we gonna be there soon?" Meredith asked, tapping Derek on the shoulder so he would look at her.

"Pretty soon, Mer," Derek nodded, looking over at her and smiling.

"I'm not plaining or nothing," Meredith said quickly. Mommy had said not to plain.

"Everyone complains on this trip," Derek rolled his eyes. "It's long."

"Takes forever," Markie groaned. "And I'm pretty sure if we screw with Nancypants again, Mom and Dad will kill us."

"Probably," Derek nodded. "And I don't want to be stuck in our rooms when we get there."

"God that would suck," Brian laughed.

"No kidding," Derek sighed.

"What are we gonna do when we get there?" Meredith asked softly, tapping Derek on the shoulder again.

"Whatever you want, Mer," Derek grinned. "You can go swimming, or you can play some games or you can go fishing."

"Fishing?" she scrunched up her nose.

"You've gone fishing before, right?"

"Nuh uh."

"I can teach you how," Derek offered. "Or Dad can."

"Can you, Derek?" she whispered, her cheeks getting really hot. Derek always made her cheeks really hot.

"Sure," Derek nodded.

"Thank you," she smiled, sitting back against the seat. Emily was sleeping next to her and Sophie was holding her teddy bear really tight. Mommy hadn't let her bring her teddy bear. She said teddy bears were for babies. But she had put Teddy in her suitcase under her nightgown just in case it was real dark at the house on the water.