That Summer

Night Watch

I had expected Rockland to be tiny, and my spirits lifted a little when I saw that it wasn't.

There were regular stores, not just tourist shops, clustered together in what must be the center of town. There was a Dunkin' Donuts and an International House of Pancakes with a banner proclaiming GRAND OPENING . In front of it there was someone dressed up like a giant pancake, dancing in the rain.

I felt the knot in my stomach loosen. Any town with a dancing pancake couldn't be all bad, could it?

The address was 36 Comfrey Columbus. It had been printed in Jenna's neat handwriting on a slip of paper, which I'd filed four times and slid into my back pocket. Every so often I'd take it out, running my eyes over the lines again, as if the letters might have rearranged themselves in the time I hadn't been waiting. Thinking that I wouldn't be moving to my father hometown, that I wasn't going to live with my brother. But no matter how many times I went back to check, it remained in its original position.

Coming face to face with my brother after three years was going to be a turning point in my life. I felt the inexplicable need to prove myself I could handle it. When deep down, I knew, I couldn't.

The taxi driver dropped me off several streets away. I'd promised myself I wouldn't cry, mostly because I needed to convince myself that this arrangement was only short-term. It was temporary: a quick-fix solution that would last only until my sister done with University.

I'd arrived. I was here, standing outside of 36 Comfrey Columbus with a churning stomach . In that moment , I looked up at the house, finally allowing myself to take in the building in front of me. I'd had no expectation, and yet it somehow still came as a surprise. It was an average sized, not too large, like some I saw in a neighborhood on my way over, nor small. In fact, it just seemed to scream normal. Even if I had no expectation, I was still a little bit disappointed.

I allowed myself a second of composure before starting up the front path.The house stood tall, like a proud mother. The stone driveway was edged with some miniature hedgerows, every edge had a clean cut. Every thing appeared to be clean and perfect, just perfect, like Josh.

I couldn't help but to be surprised. My brother wasn't the cleanest person.

It seemed almost wrong to set a foot on such spotlessness, as if my presence would leave a permanent stain. But I forced myself to sallow over the feeling, pulling my suitcases up and taking steady steps toward the front door.

Stopping in front of it, I hesitated. This was, after all, huge. I was moments away from coming face-to-face with my brother, after three years of no contact, also his fiancee. I hadn't expected what happened next. My arms was already lifted, inches away from pushing through the sick stomach nerves and ringing the bell. But a person inside beat me to it, pulling the door before my finger could even make contact with the button.

There was a girl.

She was tall; her height was the first thing I noticed. She was topping me by several inches. Then came her eyes, bright blue eyes. She was pretty, but in a very polished way. Shiny brown hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, secured in place by a single tie. It let her face exposed, I noticed that she could have managed to pass as five years younger.

Then, behind her, was my brother. Didn't changed one bit. He was still super tall, around six foot six, brown eyes, square jaw and brown hair.

"Madison?" His voice was weak." You have changed."

Not even a salutation.

I managed a weak smile, but my heart wasn't in it."Really."

The beat of silence that passed between us was uncomfortable, though I wasn't sure what else I'd been expecting. It wasn't a situation either of us experienced on a daily basic.