Wildest Dreams

th e f la s hb a c k

My parents and I sat on the picnic table, the meals we prepared sat in front of us and filled the breeze with savoury smells. The cows moo-ed on the meadow and I laughed, thinking they might be hungry to taste the food as well.

Dad cheered, catching my attention again, and he handed me and Mom our plates.

"So what plan do we have for summer, sweetheart?" Dad asked me while we ate our lunch.

I smiled, almost choking on the spaghetti because of the excitement rushing in my veins.

"I have so many ideas! I started listing even before school ended. There's fishing, kayaking, going on mountain hikes and camping—"

"Someone is far too excited," Mom said beside me. "Finish your food first then we'll come up with a plan."

Dad chuckled and took a swig from his beer. "Let her be, Jess. It just two months before pancake syrup goes to high school."

"Or the tree where it came from," I remarked with a grin.

"I refuse to believe that our tiny leaf is all grown up and going into high school." Mom placed an arm around me and suddenly pulled me to her chest. I laughed as she ruffled my hair.

"Okay. I think the apple pie should be baked by now." She gave me a kiss on the head before heading to the house.

I turned to Dad who was watching her walk away with such adoration. He caught me staring and chuckled.

"Mountain hiking and camping, huh?"

I nodded. "Yup. I was thinking either that where we all go around in a road trip, going to the mountains, the snow, the lakes."

"That is a wonderful idea, sweetheart. You know what makes it better?"

I leaned closer to the table, an excited grin forming on my lips. "What?"

"You be the driver." He threw the car keys at me, which missed my hand and landed on the dirt below me.

"Really?!" I asked, grabbing the keys and examining them.

"Really really." Dad smiled at me. "Take us to all the places you want, Maple. Travel near or far, your mom and I will be by your side."

I looked up to him, strands of my hair blowing with the wind. "Promise?"

"Promise." He nodded his beer to me and chugged it. "Want a sip? I won't tell your mom."

"Thanks, but no thanks. She knows it even if we don't tell her, Dad."

"She's a lot of secrets, ain't she?" Dad gazed at Mom through the back window. Smell of freshly baked apple pie coming out of the house.

"And you love her for it."

"And I love her dearly for it."

I looked down again on the keys. Its cold metal rested in my palm and the rough ridges stabbing my skin when I closed my hand. I couldn't wait for the adventure we'll have in this exciting summer.

"Do we extra space in our tummies or what?" Mom cheered. She placed the pie in the middle of the table. I inhaled a whiff of its heavenly smell—sweet and velvet. Mom makes the best apple pies and tarts.

"You didn't drink beer when I was gone, did you?" Mom asked me, raising an eyebrow.

Dad and I glanced at each other, silently chuckling.

"Dad's gonna teach me driving so I can be the driver in our road trip. Cool huh?" I looked up to her.

"Buy me a helmet and I'll tell you if it's cool."