A Walk Around the Pond

Chapter 4

It didn't take me or Andie more than a week to be ready to get off campus. It was her youngest cousin's birthday, so we decided that was a good excuse to head over to Andie's. 

Lewis Capaldi, Nickleback, and The Beetles were our driving companions that day. Voices hoarse, we pulled into Andie's driveway. The house was empty when we slipped inside. The power was out. I didn't think anything of it. The power went out at my house so many times that I never even flinched when the power went out anywhere else. 

Andie sighed, "I bet they're at the lake house. Let's go." We dropped off our bags and headed out to the lake. 

Andie grinned, "I bet Mom has dinner for us." Her driving became smoother the closer we got to the cottage. You could tell she was home. 

I winked, "She said tacos, didn't she? I'm so ready to not eat caf food." Despite making a lot of the food we served, I was definitely not their biggest fan.  

Andie pulled into the small gravel road that led up to the house. Her parent's car was sitting off to the side and Andie parked next to it. 

She and I hopped out and trotted into the house. Andie's parents turned as Andie waltzed through the door. I felt my usual twinge of jealousy as her dad gave her a big hug. I would never get over the feeling, even though I tried. My relationship with my own father was often unsteady grounds. And spending time at Andie's house felt like a game of make believe. Not because Andie's life was perfect by any stretch, but gosh when I was here it sure felt like it. 

Sitting down at the bar, I watched her laugh. Andie's life looked so beautiful. I felt like I was looking through a store front window. I pushed all those feelings aside as Mrs. A. turned to smile at me. 

I stood up and joined them at the table. Mr. A. said grace and we started in on the tacos. Laughter flowed around us as Andie's little brother walked into the room. His 5'7" frame towered over Andie and I, despite him seeming short. Tommy ignored me as he sat down and grabbed his own meal. I just rolled my eyes. Younger siblings were just the worst. And yes, I too am the youngest in my family. 

Andie's parents left before the meal was over. They both had been up early for work and needed a break. Andie and I cleared up the kitchen before deciding to head back to the house. Power had been restored so we figured we could throw on a movie. 

We settled into the living a short half hour later. Tommy and Andie promptly began arguing about the movie we were going to watch. Finally we settled on French Kiss  with Meg Ryan. Andie was any Meg Ryan character from her early movies. The perky character type and blonde hair really embodied Andie on any given day. 

We stayed curled up on the couch until the wee hours of the morning. Tommy finally went to bed and left me and Andie on the couch. The two of us stayed there until we woke up the next morning. We actually did sleep, this time. 

Per usual I was up an hour before Andie. I wandered into her room and got dressed for the day. I could hear Mr. A in the room over talking with some of his friends. I wandered through minutes later with a sleepy Andie in tow. She was not a morning person by any stretch of the imagination. 

She smiled when she saw her mom though. "Morning, sunshine." Mrs. A. chirped over a cup of coffee. The A's really loved their coffee. Except for Andie, she couldn't stand the stuff. 

Andie curled up under her mom's arm for a moment, "Morning Mom." 

I fumbled through the fridge looking for something to eat as Mrs. A. mapped out a plan for the day. I flinched, nearly dropping the watermelon bowl, "I didn't bring a swimsuit, like to school." There was really no need for one at school, it wasn't like we had a pool or anything.  

Andie nodded, "I was thinking we could run to Target and buy one." 

I chewed on my bottom lip, "I don't have enough cash to get a new swimsuit. Those things are expensive." And even though I lived only twenty-five minutes away from the Lake Michigan, I didn't ever buy swimsuits. If I needed to go swimming, I usually just wore whatever the heck I showed up in. 

One of Mr. A's buddies popped his head out, "Did I hear that someone needed a little cash." We both shook our heads. He grinned, "Nonsense. Let me get you some money." He left for his car and Andie and I looked at each other in confusion before scurrying into Andie's room. 

We were shoving towels and extra books into a bag when Mr. A's friend knocked on the door, "Y'all shouldn't have run off like that." He tossed a twenty through the door so Andie couldn't give it back. "Don't steal my joy!" He basically bellowed as he walked away. 

Andie and I stared at each other, silently waiting for him to get out of earshot before we exploded into giggles. I grabbed the twenty off the floor, "Shall we?"

Andie jumped up and the two of us headed out. We stopped at a couple places before we found some on sale swimsuits. Then we decided to head out to the lake.

Little girls were already starting to gather for Brooklyn's ninth birthday. Andie and I quickly skirted out of there and decided to walk around the lake. 

Andie checked her phone as we round the bend back towards the house, "Hey we made pretty good time." I guess all those walks around the pond at school had done us some good. 

I grinned, "Would have made even better if we hadn't stopped to take pictures." We walked through the door just in time to grab lunch. 

Tommy and I were soon in a heated debate about who could eat more hotdogs and drink more capri suns. Currently, I was winning that challenge. After growing up with a brother who was five years older than me, I often prided myself on being able to eat as much as any middle school boy. Unfortunately that was slipping because I hardly ate anything at school. 

Andie and I chilled on the porch as Brooklyn began opening her gifts. The two of us were in earshot, but we tried to stay out of the pictures for the most part. The little girls went out on the tubes after awhile. We took the chance to get our nails done and then put on our own swimsuits. 

Andie mumbled about not wanting to go out on the tube, but once a couple of the girls older sisters wanted to go out, she agreed. The double tubes seemed a little more intimidating once we were out on them. 

I grinned at her, "I haven't gone tubing since I was like ten." I bounced over the edge of the boat, almost missing the tube. 

Andie laughed, "Well you'd better hold on. Dad's gonna be ready to go since he just babied the little girls." 

I winked at her, "Bet." I probably shouldn't have been so cocky. 

Two bad falls later, I finally called it quits. I had a throbbing headache and my entire self was a little shaky. I remedied that with another capri sun. Tommy was glaring me down. He pulled another juice pouch out of the fridge and downed it in one gulp. 

I casually pulled out another one with a shrug. It was on. Andie just rolled her eyes at us and pulled me back out to the boat. We settled in on the pontoon. Andie and were both curled up in our sweatshirts with hats holding back our crazy hair. 

It was an idyllic picture as we floated next to the dock. I found it easy to pretend that this was my life. 

Tommy began heckling Andie about never kissing anyone. I almost laughed when Tommy turned to me, "Have you ever kissed anyone?"

I shook my head, "No." 

Andie joked, "We've been saying that one of us is just going to have to kiss Romeo to get him to shut up about the make out bench."

Tommy paused, "Jamie, I bet you won't kiss Romeo before he graduates. Ten bucks." 

I sat up, "Okay bet." Tommy held out his hand and we shook on it. He even clarified that it had to be on the mouth. I just rolled my eyes, "Duh." 

Tommy shrugged and hopped off the boat. Andie's jaw dropped as he walked away, "I can't believe you just did that." 

I turned to stare at her, "I'm going to owe Tommy ten bucks at the end of this year." 

Andie burst into laughter.