Penzance

Chapter 3

I recheck my hand to make sure I am actually seeing what I thought I was seeing. The chess piece is in the palm of my hand. I must be still dreaming. With my other hand, I pinch my leg thinking I would wake up from this dream.

Ouch! Nope, I'm definitely awake!

All of a sudden my sister came bounding into my room already wearing a bikini and beach bag in hand. I quickly closed my hand as if I was holding onto a much more secretive item than a chess piece. I just had no explanation of where it came from and why I might have a single red chess piece. Not that Ali would really care.

"Come on sleepyhead! The sand is waiting!" Like a tornado, my sister did not hold back her morning energy and left my room as quickly as she had appeared.

"Got it. I'll be right down." I answered with as much energy as I could muster up on no sleep.

I get up and quickly pull on an outfit to travel in. I'll change when I get down there. I grabbed my phone and backpack that I had packed for the trip and slipped the chess piece into the front pocket for later research. Dad was already loading the car when I reached the bottom of the stairs. Mom was pulling together the last of the food to pack as well as a snack bag for the trip down. I spied my breakfast already set out and ready to eat along with my medication. Ali was finishing her coffee and texting.

"How are you feelin' this morning honey? Were you able to sleep?" Inquired my mom.

"Better. A little. Thanks for the breakfast mom." I answer hoping that it will satisfy her until the car ride.

I swallow my medication down and finish my breakfast. Dad is checking his watch as mom hurries out to pack the last of the bags into the car. I clean my breakfast dishes and join my sister who is already waiting in the car probably texting about how slow her family moves.

The trip down to the Cape always reminds me of my summers as a child. I consider myself very fortunate to have been adopted by two hard-working parents who provide my sister and me with everything that we need and things that we want. We were able to take wonderful vacations, even to different countries, but the best memories I have are when we vacationed on the Cape. We always rented simple cottages up and down the Cape as well as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. We spent the summer days on the beach and the nights falling asleep listening to the foghorn. That is why my parents decided to go ahead and buy a small three-bedroom cottage in Penzance Harbor, one of our favorite Cape towns.

We made it to the Cape in record time without any traffic, just as my dad had planned. We cross the bridge over the canal and the Cape Cod bush sign on the rotary welcomes us for another summer. I feel as though my whole body breathes a sigh of relief.

This is what I need. This is where I need to be.

Half an hour later we pull into the grassy driveway of our new cottage. It's a typical Cape Cod shingled cottage with blue shutters. Two large matching blue hydrangea bushes flank the steps leading up to a screened-in front porch. The front yard is small as it meets the sidewalk within a couple of feet. The backyard is just as small with a deck and an outside shower all enclosed in by a fence for privacy. The front porch expands across the front of the house with its wide arms welcoming me home. Everything about our new cottage feels as though I have already lived in it all my life.

Ali is already out of the car with her beach bag in hand all ready to ditch the unpacking and head to the beach, but before she can announce her intentions dad speaks up.

"Before anyone heads to the beach, the car needs to be unpacked and things put away."

"But dad-" Ali starts to argue.