on golden pond | fillie

summer of '89

finn's p.o.v.

i glance down at my watch,  the time ticks by slowly,  excitement bubbles in my stomach.  one hour and we'll be there.  one hour and i'll see her.

i gaze out the car window at the blurry trees that we pass.

"hey mum?"

"yes finn?"

i look over to the passenger seat where she sits next to my brother nick, who's driving.  "how long till we get there?"

i watch as nick taps his fingers on the steering wheel along to the music playing on the radio.

"eighteen years old and yet still just as impatient."  mom sighs.  "less then an hour hun."

i nod my head and fall back into my thoughts; my dark curls falling into my face.

soon enough, after countless times of twiddling my thumbs and glancing out the window, i see the large wooden sign come into view.

'golden pond'

an arrow under the writing points to our turn off.  the cacoons in my stomach hatch, freeing butterflies and making me feel giddy.

we're almost there.

fifteen minutes down this road, that i know by heart, sits the wolfhard family cabin.  i learnt to drive down this road.  every twist, turn and bump.  where the best blueberries grow.  the back roads to drive down when you don't want cops to find you.  every hill, every turnoff, it's all written in my history.

we drive along the road and i stare out the window, watching the road like flipping through an old photo album.  i read the signs that lign the turnoffs, hoping to catch a glimpse of the families i've known all my life.

'mcnulty'

i see amybeth's family van parked down the driveway.  they usually get here before everyone else.  amybeth says it's because they like the peace and quiet.  i think it's 'cause her mom is batshit crazy when it comes to change and they need time to adapt her to the change of scenery.  but hey, i'm not one to judge.

'schnapp'

noah's family never shows up till half way through summer, his dad can't take off work, so i'm  surprised to see noah's car parked on their lot.

i smile when i see the bright red sign that states:

'mclaughlin'

caleb and i painted it red last summer, after we finished, the two of us brought the paint over to the treehouse by the lake that we all built as kids.  we painted the entire treehouse bright red and now you can even see it from the boat-in store across the lake.

'sink'

i spot sadie's beat up suburban parked down in their lot and the chipper redhead struggling to pull the canoe off the top.

"mum?"

"what now?"  my mom turns to face me.

"do you think it'll be a warm summer?"