Everything Changes-The Summer I Turned Pretty

Two

It seemed that as senior year came to a close, Conrad got old. Not that he grew wrinkles or anything, but he seemed stressed.

He also never wanted to have fun anymore. He started keeping tabs on me and Jeremiah like we were his kids or something, hiding in his bedroom, and concentrating solely on school and college.

Then he dropped out of football. Dad yelled at him for it, and Conrad just stood there and took it. Dad always had this idea of a picture-perfect family, and that started with him making Conrad his picture-perfect son. If Conrad didn't do or take interest in something Dad wanted him to, he got yelled at. When we were younger, Conrad used to cry. As he got older, he fought back with Dad.

I remember sitting around the kitchen table for dinner when Connie told us he wasn't playing football in college. It surprised us all, and me and Jeremiah made eye contact almost immediately. I'm sure the mixture of shock and worry on Jere's face was the same as mine. Football, although Dad forced him to play a long time ago, became something that Conrad actually enjoyed. And he was really good at it too.

As much as Mom tried, she couldn't stop Dad's anger at Conrad. He sat there, sad and silent, as Dad basically told him how disappointed he made him.

It was when Conrad quit football that I finally realized how different he was acting, how serious he was, and how much I wanted the old him back.
I hoped that this summer would fix him, turn him back to normal.

~

Belly and I are unpacking in our room when Laurel yells up the stairs that it's dinner time.

"First to the table wins," I say, dropping the shirt I was hanging in our closet and darting out the room. Belly jumps up from the floor and chases me out.

To my surprise, all three boys are already at the table. Jeremiah and Steven are arm wrestling, apparently seeing who got stronger since last summer, and Conrad looks bored, scrolling through his phone. He looks up at us and I smile. He smiles back but his eyes are concentrated more on Belly than me.

"Well out of the two of us, I won," I tell Belly. She ignores me so I walk away, taking the seat next to Jeremiah and leaving Belly to sit beside Steven.
Usually she'd scowl, but she doesn't seem to care.

After winning the arm wrestle match, Jeremiah turns toward me. "What'd you win?"

I shrugged. "Just some stupid race."

"Oh my gosh," Steven says, rolling his eyes. "Are you Fishers just better than us at everything?" He laughs and Jeremiah joins in.

"So far just racing and arm wrestling, I guess," Jere replies. He elbows me playfully and I can't help but chuckle. Then I look at Belly, who's talking with Conrad and just missed everything we said.

I think that Steven noticed my line of sight, because he pokes Belly with his fork. "You're just gonna let us take that?"

Belly narrows her eyes at her brother and rubs the back of her hand where he poked her. "What are you talking about?"

"That they're better than us?"

"Who's them?"

Jeremiah raises his hand and grabs my arm to raise mine too. "Us," he says.

Conrad looks just as confused as Belly but at least makes an attempt to join the conversation. "At what? Football?" he asks. Not only was Connie good, Jeremiah's pretty decent and I even learned a thing or two from watching the two of them play. Sometimes, in the yard at home, I'd help them practice. Throws, of course. Not tackling.

I tense up slightly at the mention of football, but Jeremiah doesn't seem to care. "I bet we could beat them at that too," he says, winking at Steven.

Steven finally gives up. "Fine, sorry my family's not as football fanatic as yours," he says jokingly to Jere then turns to Conrad. "When do you leave for training camp?"

"He quit," Jeremiah answers, his voice a little quieter.

"What?" Belly exclaims.

"I'd kill to play college ball," Steven says.

The moms are in the room now, setting our traditional first night dinner on the table. As Mom takes her seat, she tells Steven that Conrad can always change his mind.

"But I won't," Conrad adds quickly. He redirects his attention to Laurel and steals a roll from the plate she's setting down.

"So," I say, trying to change the subject. "What's everyone's plans for the summer?" I look at Jeremiah to answer first, although I already know he got a job at the country club. After he shares that, Steven decides he wants to work there too.

"Steven," Laurel says. "You're going to be touring colleges for a few weeks throughout the summer too, don't forget."

Steven groans. "But hanging out with Con and Jere is so much more fun than with Dad,"

"Maybe we can work something out," my mom tells him, looking expectantly at Laurel and guilting her into agreeing.

"You guys are all working?" Belly sounds disappointed.

I'm glad that Mom didn't suggest that I needed to get a job this summer. "I'm not," I tell Belly. She smiles at me and I already start mentally planning things we could do together without my brothers or her's.

"Me neither," Conrad says. Belly's smile brightens up even more. "But now I have a lot of freetime, so we'll see what ends up happening."

"Oh, okay." Belly looks away from him and at her food. She looks once at me and gives me a half-smile. I have a hard time returning it.

The table is quiet for a while, minus the noises of silverware and chewing, and Mom clears her throat to interrupt the silence. "I had a little thing planned for you girls, in case you didn't have much else going on."

Mom pushes herself away from the table and removes an envelope from a drawer across the room, before coming back and handing it to Belly.

"Susannah, you didn't have to-" Belly starts.

"Just open it," Mom says, smiling. Then she looks at me. "And it's for Kristin too." I return my mother's smile, feeling a mixture between relieved and satisfied that I'm going to finally be included in something with Belly.