The Sun Shines Brightest in June (Completed) gxg

Friday, June 30, 2006

Klara left on the twenty-seventh and returned on the twenty-ninth. She made sure to remember the necklace, because she insisted it would give her good luck. I didn't think driving should ever have to come down to luck, but she informed me that driving in New York was a lot crazier than driving in Minnesota. In some cases... it really did need luck.

Being at the summerhouse without her for that short period of time was a bit boring, but also sad. I missed her. I didn't know what to do all of a sudden. Timothy and Calab, at twelve and ten years old, didn't seem to want to hang out with any of us girls anymore. The twins were busy playing with Barbie dolls in their room most of the time, which I wanted no part of. I was fourteen now. I didn't play with such things anymore.

I could have hung out with my parents and Klara's mom, who had stayed behind with us, but they talked about too many adult things for me to ever understand and join in the conversation. My last resort was Ringo. If nothing else, at least I could take him for a walk or something, which I did... about four times. In the end Mrs. Jacobs told me I should probably let the poor fella rest.

When Klara finally came back, I decided that the wait was worth it. She held up the certificate her driving teacher had given her that said she had passed the test, a huge smile on her face. After that we grabbed the keys to her parent's car, Ringo, and his leash. It was time for our short road trip.

I didn't feel scared with Klara behind the wheel. Sure, she had just passed her test and wouldn't be getting her actual license for a week or so, but I trusted her. Something about her made me feel safe.

Ringo was strapped in the back seat. He road in the car calmly, clearly enjoying it. Klara cracked the window a tiny bit so he could stick his nose to it and sniff all he wanted. I was up in the passenger seat next to her, staring out at the road ahead, but sometimes taking the opportunity to glance at her.

For someone who hadn't been driving very long she was calm, seemingly at peace. I didn't know how. I could only imagine being a wreck if I had to drive without my parents.

"Here we are," she said as buildings started to appear.

She was right. Now that I was actually paying attention I realized the town was smaller than any I had seen before. It was barely a town at all.

"What should we do first?" I asked.

"I was thinking we could go to the library. They have a small one here that I want to check out. I'm pretty sure I've read through everything at the summerhouse already."

I smiled. Typical Klara. We had a world of possibilities in front of us and her idea of fun was to find more books to read. I didn't argue. I was running low on good books myself.

We entered the library and looked around for the teen fiction section. It was way back in the corner off to our left. I followed Klara as she led the way. When we got there we scanned the shelves, looking for anything that caught our attention. I pulled out some kind of ghost story and sat down on the floor, leaning back against the shelf. Klara grabbed a random book and joined me.

"It's quiet here," I whispered. "I like it."

She nodded. We sat reading in silence for a while.

"Sadie...." Klara whispered so quietly I could barely hear her.

"What?"

"There's something I've wanted to tell you." She set her book down in her lap. "That's partially why I wanted to come out here today. I wanted to make sure that no one in our families could listen in."

This sounded pretty serious. I could feel my heartbeat quicken.

"What is it, Klara?"

She was quiet again, seemingly hesitating. I felt nervous as I watched her playing with the necklace I had given her.

"I-I... I lied to you, and I'm terribly sorry about that."

I narrowed my eyes, ready to get defensive.

"What did you lie about?"

She sighed heavily before answering. Her eyes were glued to the floor.

"I told you I didn't feel anything when we... kissed, but... I-I did. I just didn't expect to. I didn't know what to do."

I didn't immediately have a response for that. I was partially in shock I think. Those words were the last words I was expecting to hear come out of her mouth. I set my own book down on the floor and turned a little so I could be facing her more directly.

"I didn't expect to either," I finally replied.

"I was afraid."

"So was I."

She finally looked up at me now.

"I never should have responded the way I did. I'm so sorry for that, Sadie. I did like kissing you. I just didn't want to admit what that possibly meant."

"Would you do it again?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"You heard me," I said, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. "Would you kiss me again?"

She stared at me for a moment with those bright, blue eyes of hers. I forgot everything else in the world in that moment, because looking into her eyes was captivating, and I couldn't make myself look away. Her lips curled into a smile and her cheeks turned the slightest shade of pink. She nodded slowly.

"Yes," she finally admitted. "I would definitely kiss you again."

So she did just that, and suddenly everything made sense in the worldagain.