COUNTRY GIRL - The 7th summer

Intro - Kitty

As far as I can remember, I've always been a countryside kind of girl. My parents and I live in Bristol, dead center, so the only garden I should have known was the park across the street. Thankfully, my mom was from Clayton, a small village near Brighton, South of London, and my Granny still lives there. That's how I actually spend a huge amount of time playing barefoot on the grass with chicks and rabbits.

That's also how I met the two boys that would become the loves of my life.

I can't say it started well with either of them, tho'...

It all started when I was 10, during summer break, in Clayton. I've spent all of my summer breaks at Granny's. Well I've spent most of my schools breaks there actually, since my parents own a restaurant and the workload is the biggest during these periods. I don't really mind, I love being here! And Granny is cooler to be around than Mom and Dad, especially when it comes to homeworks and chores...

I had just finished my Primary school years - I was one year ahead since I skipped a grade at Nursery School - and I was feeling like my life was about to change. If only I knew back then that getting to college was peanuts compared to the drama that would happen here!

I was in the barn that was at the far end of the backyard, nursing the kittens my Granny's cat had given birth to a couple of weeks ago. They were starting to explore the world around them and play some kind of hide and seek in the old stover. They were so cute!

I remember hearing noise while I was sitting on the mezzanine. One of the neighbours' tree had grown and widen over the barn and branches used to fall on the roof sometimes. But this time it sounded different. Like footsteps? And suddenly something had fallen through!

That something was a boy about my age but shorter than me, with blond hair and blue eyes. But all I could see at the moment was that he had fall right on top of two of the kittens! I shoved him carelessly only to discovered that the poor babies had not survived the impact. Needless to say that I was very upset!

I remember running to my mom, crying, and telling her:

─ He killed my kitties!

She told me later that she had first thought I was referring to the dog from the house down the road. I can only imagine how surprised she was when she found a boy in the middle of the barn, looking like a rabbit caught in the lights of a car.

─ What are you doing here, laddie?

─ I fell off the roof, he said pouting.

─ Oh dear! Did you hurt yourself?

─ Who cares, I whined, he squished my cats!

─ Not on purpose!

He looked at his feet and mom sighted.

─ I'm sure it was not. But you can't climb on the rooftop, it's dangerous. I've never seen you around. What's your name?

─ Harrison...

You can see why I didn't liked him all that much at first. But I was about to see him again, either I liked it or not. As it was, his recently divorced Dad was dating the neighbours' daughter and since she was an old friend of Mom...

There was a pond near the barn - well, there still is -, that was on both Granny's and the neighbours' yard. A picnic table had been set on its shore long before I was born and the two families would share meals around it.

Harrison's family stayed a good week and a half but I don't think I ever talked to him. I played a little with his baby sister to please Mom, that was all. For this summer at least, 'cause Harrison was to come back every year and stay with his little sister at his mother in law's parents house, aka my Granny's neighbours.

On our first "real" summer together, as he spend all of august with me the year after we met, it did get better. The dead kitties were long forgotten - I was not to hold grudges back then - and I was just glad to have someone to play with that actually answered me back.

We kept on spending our summers together years after years, our friendship growing bigger each time.

And then came the 7th summer...