𝘴𝘦𝘹𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 ∞

𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘪 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺

Every single summer was always the exact same. I would spend all of May packing a bag and taking my sweet time choosing swim suits, shorts, jeans, dresses, shoes. Packing everything I would need to bring with me for a two month long trip.

I lived in New York City. The big apple. My mother was a fashion designer and ex-runway model. She knew the fashion industry like the back of her hand. She accurately has guessed the next seasons fashion every single time with no room for failure. My mothers name was Chevelle but her friends called her Chevy. Out of everyone in the whole world, my mother picked Susannah Fisher and Laurel Conklin to be her best friends forever after. Both women had children of their own. Laurel with a boy and a girl. Steven and Isabel. And Susannah, had two boys. Conrad and Jeremiah.

Every summer my mom would take two months off of her work to fly down to Cape Cod, Massachusetts to settle down in a beach house. The flight from New York to Massachusetts was always bearable. I had always had a rather large fear of flying objects and a terrible phobia of flying myself. But as I aged I grew out of that fear.

Fear wasn't the only thing I grew out of.

Firstly we celebrate my birthday. It was mid may, right on the cusp of Gemini season. The teenagers would stay up all night playing in the pool or star gazing on the beach. We would secretly whip up some beverage of sorts and pass it around clumsily between the five of us. It was only enough alcohol for one bottle. Not even enough to be drunk. Buzzed at the most. But it was honestly the secrecy of doing it. Knowing that at any moment we could be caught and punished for it made it that much more fun. That tradition started when I was twelve years old. All our parents had finally gone to bed leaving the rest of whatever had knocked them out a mess in the kitchen. Sometimes we cleaned it up for them. But that year, we decided not to and instead continue on creating the concoction of fruits and vodka. Or whatever they had that night.

We would end the night all falling asleep on the beach after the mild buzz had warmed our hearts in the summer heat. Once Jeremiah had knocked out right at the cusp of the water's edge. Almost being lulled into the welcoming salty cold ocean. It was hilarious.

Secondly, Belly's birthday. She would get her pancakes in the morning and then one-by-one we would each get her a gift. Taking special time as Belly was the youngest of the five of us. Me only being a few weeks older than her. She was the baby of the family. Everyone took care of her the most. Seeing her as the golden child. The one who could do no wrong.

And then of course, our favorite holiday. The fourth of July. A special holiday where the dads all came together as one and the moms as well. And we were just one big happy and slightly dysfunctional family.

There was always mild tension between us during certain times. We all trusted each other. but there was this air of jealousy and mild discomfort that would come with the fourth of July. Belly and I confided with each other about the topic every summer since these feelings occurred. We loved each other too much to keep secrets like this.

My mother had always been jealous of the marriages between the Conklin's and the Fishers. My mom wanted a nice normal family more than anything else in the world. And the Conklin's had always been jealous of the money my mother and Susannah made. Conrad was always jealous of how Belly and Stevie's relationship with their father was. And little did we know, Laurel had always been secretly jealous of the freedom my mother had. Being able to freely do what she pleases without a man. Same thing with Susannah.

But these feelings never got in the way of our love and trust for one another. We were family. We treated each other like our own blood. We were one.

and then the summer would end rather soon after that. Only having like two weeks left of summer. But that's how it always has been and will always be like that. I was super excited this year. Junior year was coming up. This life shit was getting real. My mom was talking to me about how she could help me get into the fashion industry so I could live a life like hers. But I don't know what I want yet.