Summer Days to An End

Chapter XX.

I can't believe this is my last day here, Lo thought as she carried the tray of drinks in her hand out to the pool's patio, before resting it on a white, stone platform in the center of a circle of chairs.

"Lo, come inside please," she heard Lola call out to her, and tying her swimsuit wrap around her waist, she made her way back into the house.

"This came in the mail for you, I'm sure you'll want to open it now." Lola continued as she held out to her a light pink envelope with gold trim on the edges.

Just from the sight of the elaborate paper, she could tell it was from her mother.

"Thank you, I'll take it," She muttered in a brief tone as she took the envelope into her hands, waiting for her step-mother to leave the room before tearing it open and pulling out the piece of parchment inside of it.

With her hands trembling, she slowly unfolded the paper and began to read the message:

Dear Loren,

It's been so long since I last saw you that I'm nearly certain you've forgotten about your mother. I know you and Lola seldom get along, but she has one thing that I wish I could have: the chance to spend every day with you. Now, you're almost off to college, to become even more of the incredible young lady that you already are. I wish I could be there with you the moment they send you off, but you and I both know that there's no chance of that happening.

For this reason, I wanted to tell you in this letter how proud I am of you. You are the strongest, most willful, and the most passionate person that I know, and it is an absolute honor to be your mother. I only wished that I could have convinced myself to stay with your father, so as to not let you go so long without having the support of your true mother. Still, that time is long gone, and I will live with my choices.

My last message to you is that you live your life to the fullest. Do what makes you happy, surround yourself with good people, fall in love with someone who loves you back, and lastly, the most important of all; remember that I will always be there for you.

Sincerely,

Your mother.

A few seconds later, she could feel a single tear roll down her cheek as it fell into the center of the paper. After quickly drying her eyes, she folded up the paper as she reached for the envelope to tuck it back inside when a shiny, gold item from within it caught her attention.

"What's this?" She muttered as she pulled the object out of the envelope, holding it up as she noticed what it was: a small, gold-plated key.

Puzzled, she continued to stare at the key in silence, wondering what it was meant to unlock as well as what she would find inside its unlocked case. Then, it came to her. Two years before, she received a jewelry box of the same design from her father. The only issue was that it was given to her locked, without a key to open it; that would be until she had turned eighteen.

Frantically, she held the key firmly in her hand as she rushed upstairs, heading straight to her room as she searched through her drawers and dressers for the box.

Where could that damn thing be? She thought, about to turn around as she caught a glimpse of a light reflecting from off a hidden object. Moving to the other side of the room, she pushed a few things aside to make a clearing, and behind them rested the beautiful box.

Pulling it closer to her, she placed the key into the hole as she gave it a turn, unlocking the box and opening the lid to see what lay inside: a rose gold locket.

Lifting it out of the box, she held the pendant carefully in her hand as she clicked the button on the side, releasing the latch holding the two sides in place as she pulled them apart to look inside.

In the frame within the small locket was a family portrait of her, her mother, and her father: a picture taken from when she was less than a year old. Her father held them closely, her mother was smiling, and little Lo's deep blue eyes gazed curiously into the camera. In a way, the picture immortalized the family's unity in a frozen state, one which would never be melted.

"How do you like it?" A deep voice began from behind her, and turning around Lo could see her father's pale brown eyes staring back at her as he stood in the doorframe.

"It's the best gift I could have ever received. Thank you so much." She said in a weak voice, and slowly her father moved closer to her as he opened his arms out to her, and in a mild yet willing motion, she fell into his embrace without opening her arms in turn.

"Lo, I owe you an apology. I've realized that over these past few years, I haven't been a good father to you. When your mother and I divorced, I felt lonely, and I felt the need to fill that hole in my heart right away, which was a terrible mistake. No matter how much I love Lola, it's not fair that I got married to her so soon after your mother and I separated, forcing you to accept her as your new mother figure. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter who started any of the arguments, because it's my fault that you two don't have a good relationship to begin with." He started once they had broken away, and Lo held the pendant of the locket gently in the palm of her hand as she listened intently.

"I was a coward who couldn't accept the fact that his only child had been hurt by his mistakes, and for that, I am greatly sorry. I want us to go back to the bond that you and I used to have, and I promise that from now on, I will always listen to you." He lamented, holding her hand with the locket as he looked pleadingly at her.

"I want that too, and for that, I will forgive you. But, something tells me a lot of things will have to change before things can go back to normal," Lo responded.

"Well, I hope you can let this be the start," He began as he took the locket out of her hand, turning her around as he pulled it around her neck and hooked the two chains together.

Seconds later, the sound of a row of cars pulling up to the front of the house caught their attention.

"It looks like your friends are here. Go have a good time, it'll be the last time you all see each other for a while," He continued as he planted a kiss on her forehead, before turning away and leaving the room as he headed down the quiet hallway.

Following suit, Lo made her way downstairs, clutching the locket's pendant in her hand as she greeted them all at the front door.

"It's been too long since we were all here, and even longer since we went in the pool," said Miyo, letting her eyes wander around the impressive foyer as they followed Lo to the back door.

"Maybe it's because the last time we went swimming together, someone decided to throw me into the pool, making me almost lose my earring," Lo muttered bitterly as she shot a glance at Finn, who intentionally kept his eyes to the ground once she brought up the topic.

"Well, it is our last day together before we leave, so why don't we raise a toast?" Leo began, gesturing to the tray of drinks in front of them as they all took a bottle for themselves.

"You know what, let's all say something, then tie it together at the end," added Finn.

"I'll go first," Selah interjected. "Cheers to our first year as college students."

"Cheers to all of us having a safe trip, whether it's across the city or another part of the world." Miyo continued.

"Cheers to the next chapter of our lives," said Leo.

"Cheers to all of us having an amazing year, whether we're together or not." Finn chimed in, turning to Lo as he carefully took her free hand into his.

Flustered, Lo's thoughts raced in her head as she tried to think of her response, looking at everyone around her as she wondered what would mean the most to all of them; when at last, she realized the few things that they had all learned the most about over that summer.

"Cheers to family, friends," pausing, she gave a glance at Finn, looking down at their intertwined hands before going on.

"And love." She concluded, and they all brought their bottles into the air and cheered joyously, drinking, laughing, and enjoying every bit of their present moment.

Although their time together hadn't exactly gone as planned, it was everything they had ever wanted.

And that was all that mattered.

The End.