HONESTLY

Surprises

It was slightly brisk and dark out as Nate and I walked down a sidewalk near his rental house. As I followed Nate from behind, I zipped my sweatshirt up, covering my flimsy t-shirt which didn't do much to block out the early fall air. Nate instructed me to place my hoodie over my head, which made me look more like a shady character about to rob a house than a country star trying to be inconspicuous.

Luckily for us, the neighborhood seemed very quiet, no kids or adults in sight.

"Do people really go to bed this early?" I asked Nate. The sun had barely set when we headed out on our little mysterious walk.

Nate didn't bother to answer me, because he was too busy turning around to shush me.

"Are we going to your mom's house?" I whispered, defying Nate's suggestion to keep quiet as we turned onto our old street.

"Just follow me," he said very quietly while grabbing my hand and leading me towards the last leg of our adventure.

When we arrived in front of our two old houses, Nate was all business as he made me crouch down behind some trees and bushes when he saw car lights coming in our direction. Before the vehicle passed by us, he dashed towards his mom's backyard, dragging me behind him while I tried my best to keep up.

"What's the rush?" I said as we rounded the corner to the backyard.

"My mom and Jenna are gone for an hour so we don't have much time."

He released his grasp of my hand as I took a second to assess our surroundings. I first noticed Nate's old house was completely dark inside. Secondly, the once familiar backyard appeared more unrecognizable than ever. The big oak trees had completely filled in, making the entire property line disappear, and the infamous treehouse, high up in the sky, was nowhere in sight.

"Come on," he said anxiously.

Nate headed towards the area where the treehouse was located, and sure enough, there was still a ladder buried in the large tree trunks. I climbed up behind him, looking out for missing slats until I realized we were walking on a completely new, freshly-stained ladder. I glanced up and the sentimental treehouse appeared, one of the only good things Nate's dad did for him while he lived in the house.

"I can't believe this is still here," I said.

"I did some updates for Jenna. It's her treehouse now," he said with a proud smile.

Selfishly, I always thought of the treehouse as ours, but the thought of Nate fixing it up for Jenna was sweet. 

"I'm sure she loves it," I said, realizing all good things come to an end at some point.

As we crawled into the treehouse, the sunshine yellow paint on the walls had vanished, and in its place was a bubblegum pink shade. The used pillows and blankets that we scrounged up from Nate's house when his mom wasn't looking were also gone. Throw pillows covered in sequins and a couple of soft, furry blankets lay scattered on the floor in their place. String lights were hung perfectly on all four walls, illuminating the entire space, which was definitely more lavish than our rustic abode.

I glanced up and noticed the finality of all the renovations, new shiplap covered the entire surface area of the ceiling.

Noticeably missing was the, N & N Forever, that Nate carved with his pocket knife. I didn't ask Nate about it, and he didn't bring it up. Maybe this was part of adulthood, being mature enough to know we didn't need a stupid piece of wood from our childhood to show how much we cared about one another.

"So...what do you think?" he asked with pride in his voice.

"It's amazing. You did a great job," I said, flashing a genuine smile while memories of our childhood flooded my brain, "Jenna must come out here all the time."