Right Next To Me

Chapter 1 My Summer Begins

 © 2012 by urbanstargazer

Ok. This is my first attempt at story writing. Hopefully, this does not become my last . LOL. So I need your support. Vote if you like it. Comment so that I can learn and improve. The story may be a little slow at the start but I have lots of ideas. I am such a hopeless romantic I cannot contain all the love in my heart. Haha. I have to put them into writing. Here goes…

Chapter  1 ~ My Summer Begins

I have only been here for four days and already, I do not know what to do with myself.  I have gone swimming by the lake, slept all day, walked and cycled around the village, did my artsy stuff, read a book …Name it and I have probably done it to amuse myself.

The villa is eerily quiet now since it is not officially summer yet. Only Jessie’s puttering in the kitchen can be heard. Aunt Lily and Uncle Aidan are still in the city . I tried to call my best friend but she was still in school and I did not want to get her into any more trouble than I already did.

I also wanted to go to the mall to buy some more art supplies and check out some books and well, look around the city. But then, I cannot go. My license has been suspended. I do not want to bug anyone to drive me there.

So now, I am sitting by the kitchen counter watching Jessie do her magic. I sneakily dipped my finger into the chocolate batter while she was fussing over something in the cupboard.

“Everyone will be here this weekend. You won’t be as bored anymore, Rosie.” Jessie said. I knew she was smiling even if she had her back on me.

Jessie is the ultimate, domestic goddess who looks after the villa all year long. She is making fun of me by calling me Rosie, my childhood nickname. No one ever calls me that now and lives. But she is Jessie, so I will let it pass. Besides, she was the one who gave me that nickname.

I remember that summer long ago.  It was my first time at the villa. My Aunt Lily will be marrying, Aidan O’Connor,  a widower with three children. 

My mom is Aunt Lily’s older sister and she was to be the matron of honor while I, the cutest of all little girls in the world (back then anyways) will be the flower girl.

We stayed at this very same villa which Uncle Aidan’s family owns. The wedding will take place here as well. My older brother, Ian, immediately hit it off with Uncle Aidan’s sons , Derek and Dylan since they were around the same age and well, boys always get along during game times anyway.

Uncle Aidan has a daughter, Dianne, but she was already eighteen at the time and so she will not do any fun stuff with me anymore, a mere four year old.

I was left in Jessie’s care the whole time while everyone was going gaga over the wedding preparations. Jessie discovered I liked to draw so she got me an art pad. She was teaching me how to write my name just below my drawing. She said someday my drawings may be worth something so I had to write my name on them to prove they are mine.

I have been trying to write my name on the pad many times with Jessie dictating the letters of my name and guiding me to write them.  I was really having a hard time to make my name fit in the page. 

I grew frustrated and burst into tears at my futile efforts,  “Why do I have a vewy, vewy long name? I wanna be called  Lulu or Lily or Rosie!” I whined.

The boys who were playing nearby heard my outburst and were deciding among themselves if I should be called Lulu or Rosie.  Being called Lily is out of the question. There can only be one Lily in the family.

The boys wanted to call me Lulu (they said it sounds like loony and yeah they were making fun of me already with my brother as a cohort) and were starting to chant “Lulu, Lulu!” .

Jessie shushed them and made the final decision to call me Rosie. She spelled out the letters while I wrote them just below my drawing. Since then, until I was about eleven, they called me Rosie.

(By the way, in case you were wondering, my full name is Caitlin Olivia Martine Cerruti Ryan. So now you know why I grew frustrated that day. I am now called  Cate.)

I absent mindedly reached for the batter when Jessie playfully slapped my hand away. “At the rate you’re going, I will not have anything left to bake.” She chuckled.

“This is so good, Jessie. I can’t help myself. Besides, only the two of us will have dinner. No one ever comes home in time for dinner.  Are they always this busy?”

“Uhuh. Always. Lily and Aidan sometimes stay in the city loft and don’t come home until the weekends.“ She said sighing.“ I just look forward to summers when everyone goes home and the whole villa will be overrun with people. Remember your summers here?” She asked while starting to pour the batter into the pan.

I smiled as I remembered all those wonderful summer vacations I have spent here. “I used to look forward to those summers too, Jess.” I have propped my elbows on the counter and now my chin is resting on my hands.

“I bet you are reminiscing about the boys, huh.” Jessie said, wagging her eyebrow. “They will be here again, you know? Oh, they have grown into such fine and handsome young men.“  She looks dreamy. I just rolled my eyes at her.

“I was not .” I emphatically shook my head to deny that I was thinking about those boys. “Don’t they have other places to go to besides the villa?” I asked feeling irritated.

Those boys of my summers here at the Hamptons spell D-I-S-A-S-T-E-R. They either pull terrible pranks that make me cry or I get into trouble just by being  around them.

“Well, they went to Spain last year and they did not have much fun. I heard they will be hanging around here all summer. You should go hang out with them just like old times.”

I chuckled. “Jessie, those are really old times. I have not seen them since I was eleven.”

“Oooh but I am so excited for you all to meet again. Now, that you are all grown-ups.” She said sighing and looking dreamy again.

 It's been years since I saw the O'Connor boys. I wonder how they are.

 *~*~*~*~*~*~

Oohhh I got a video uploaded on Youtube. My sis made a video especially for my story. The song is entitled 'Right Next To Me'. The artist is called Blaque. Images are from Pinterest. Check it out!

I also added the video here.  ====>

Enjoy!

Kthnxbye!