A New Beginning

Every year, there comes a time when the sun shines a little brighter, the grass gets a little greener, and life is a little easier.  This pleasant time of year is summer.  Some say that summer is the time to rest.  Some summers are the same as the previous ones, each having a consistent schedule and seeing the same people, places, and things.  But not that summer.  Not my summer.  My summer was far from the past, it was a new beginning.

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            “Honey, your father and I need to talk to you.” my mother told me one unusually humid May night. 

            I sighed and took a seat at the dining room table, my parents anxiously waiting for me.  I pulled the chair in closer to the table so that I could fully lean my back against it, relaxing.  I was unphased by my mother’s choice of words, which most likely meant that a big decision had been made.  Since I was so laid back, I was not worried or even excited for what she was about to say.  I know that I have no heart, my mother tells me nearly every day.

            “Your father and I decided that we want to take a trip this summer.”

            “Okay, where?”

            My parents looked at each other and smiled.  There romance had re-blossomed into this flower of affection ever since both of their daughters had gone off to college and moved out of the house.  They acted like they were in their twenties again, meaning that I sometimes felt like the adult. 

            “We are going to take an RV trip across America!”

            My jaw dropped.  “Seriously?  That will take forever, and I cannot live in an RV!” I argued.

            “See, that’s the thing: you don’t have to go!  We thought you could go and stay with your sister for the summer!” my father said, grinning.

            “In California?”

            “Yes, of course!”

            “Mom, I am twenty years old.  I can stay here and take care of myself.” I stated, crossing my arms.  I was not about to let my parents force me to visit my pregnant sister and her husband when I had no desire to.

            “You would be so lonely!  And your sister misses you, she’s already agreed to this!” she said excitedly.

            I rolled my eyes.  “Seriously?  You guys can’t treat me like a kid anymore.  I am not going.”

            “Abrie, I will not have you be alone by yourself in this big house for three whole months.  I will not be able to sleep at night, thinking that you could not be safe.”

            “I’ll be fine!” I said, on the cusp of starting a screaming match to get my point across. 

            “Leah really wants to see you, Abrie.  She wants you to come and help her get ready for the baby.”

            “Isn’t that Bobby’s job?”

            “She needs her sister, okay?  Will you stop being so snobby and just admit that you miss her?  I’ve noticed that every time that you come home, you seem sad because Leah isn’t here.  Just go and have fun in the sun!  I thought that any college student would love that vacation for the summer.”