I can’t remember the last time I walked on or even touched grass, and freshly cut green grass at that. It smells that way, anyway. And as I step out of the air-conditioned car, all of this green stuff makes the humidity feel like cool mist on my skin. My aunt and uncle’s house looks like it cost millions, outside and in. There are family pictures everywhere. They’ve taken a lot of trips. Lucky them. The whole house reminds me of the homes my dad used to work on in the Hamptons when I was small. I used to pretend they were my real-life Barbie Dreamhouses and act like I owned the place when I was in one. Only when no one was looking, though. But even here, I’m cautious not to touch Aunt Jeanie’s antiques, which I’m sure are just as priceless. The way my mom puts it, Aunt Jeanie has a thing for finding junk and selling it. I think if anyone can make money from selling old stuff, that’s pretty cool.
The boys run straight into the huge kitchen and immediately grab snacks out of the cabinet. Cameron is right behind Michael and Eddie as they continue running into their room. He’s having fun already. Sally, however, has been completely ignoring me all the way from the airport, so I can’t imagine she’ll invite me to her room. And I’m right. She goes up the stairs to her bedroom and shuts the door. Aunt Jeanie looks at me and tries to cover for her daughter being inhospitable.
“Sally is…” She searches for the right words, then says, “Oh, all right, she’s finally become a woman, and she’s going through a few things right now.”
“Aunt Jeanie!” I wasn’t ready for all of that. “I know she doesn’t like me. You don’t have to make excuses.”
“I’m not kidding. She thought it was taking a long time, and she was beginning to worry,” Aunt Jeanie goes on, as if I really want to hear about Sally getting her period. “I think it’s all the ballet. But she is very excited to be a woman now.”
She notices my uninterested face. “I’m sorry, honey. You must be hungry and exhausted. Here, let Uncle take your stuff upstairs, and I’ll warm up something for you.”
“I’m fine, really.” I begin to think Aunt Jeanie has been wanting someone to talk to and now I’m it.
“Okay, but I made pie,” Aunt Jeanie teases.
She finally gets a smile out of me.
“Apple?” I ask as I take a seat in the breakfast nook. Suddenly I feel hunger pangs. Aunt Jeanie’s apple pie is crazy good. Now, that I remember.
Finally, after two servings of pie and ice cream, I am mad sleepy. Aunt Jeanie burns up my ears about my parents and how they met and all. It seems like she is trying to tell me something important, maybe something I need to understand as to why my parents’ relationship is so whack right now, but I just can’t keep my eyes open. Aunt Jeanie realizes my head has gotten too heavy for my shoulders, because it almost falls into the puddle of melted ice cream on my plate.
“Oh my gosh.” Aunt Jeanie jumps, then I jump. “Come on, baby. I just talked you to sleep.”
“Huh?” I sit up. She clears our plates and grabs my arm to help me slide out of the breakfast nook and up the stairs.
“Since Marc is doing an engineering program this summer, he’s staying at the dorms in Chapel Hill. You can have his room,” Aunt Jeanie says, trying to make up for Sally not sharing her room.
The room is a true boy’s room: dark blue paint, basketball hoop on the door, and Beyoncé and JLo posters all over the walls. Oh boy. It doesn’t matter. I already knew this trip was going to be like living in h-e-double-hockey-sticks, so I am not surprised. And there’s an old phone mounted on the wall. Really? I always thought Southern people were behind the times, but that’s just plain funny. Finally I settle into bed. Not bad. Aunt Jeanie tucks me in like I’m a five-year-old, but it’s kind of nice. I’ve always loved my aunt. She always seems so happy and nice. Wait a minute….
“Aunt Jeanie?” I call. “Is it always this quiet? It’s hard to sleep when it’s this quiet.”
“You city folk are so funny,” Aunt Jeanie says, cracking the window. “How about that?”
I hear weird chirping. “What is that?” I ask, annoyed.
“Crickets,” Aunt Jeanie explains. “You know, if you count the number of chirps they make within fifteen seconds and add thirty-seven, you can tell what the temperature is outside.”
Seriously? My…eyelids…are…heavy.
“Okay, good night, sweetie,” Aunt Jeanie says from the door. “Oh, and I have a surprise for you and Sally. See you in the morning.”
I’m too tired to possibly imagine what the surprise might be, and those cricket chirps are so annoying. And why are Beyoncé and JLo staring at me? I smash a pillow over my head to shut out the weird noises and those stares.
Ugh! I want to go home!
The next morning I don’t want to get out of bed, but the delicious aroma of Aunt Jeanie’s pancakes makes me dash in and out of the shower quicker than she can call, “Breakfast!” If I remember correctly, my aunt Jeanie’s pancakes can make you want more pancakes, but I’m not seven years old anymore. Her cooking could make my stomach swell, which is not good, especially if I’m not jumping double Dutch. I can’t even imagine a summer without double Dutch. The saddest thought. As I reach the kitchen, it looks like the boys beat me to it, and my brother is still in his pj’s.
“Cameron, did you wash your face and brush your teeth?” I ask, knowing he probably didn’t.
“Leave me alone, Kayla. I’m on vacation,” Cameron says with a mouthful of pancakes. Ill.
“That’s right,” Aunt Jeanie laughs. “You are
