Know Him
Courtney E. Loney
For my mom & dad who have always
encouraged me to chase my dreams and instilled in me I can accomplish anything, I put my mind to. I love you both.
I.
Chapter 1:
The ice cream sent chills down my spine as I took my first bite. “I don’t see how you can bite ice cream Sutton! It makes me cringe just watching you!” My mom said quickly slurping up her coffee.
The sun beamed down on the top of her head causing her red highlights to glisten in the sun. Her bright red nail polish matched her highlights perfectly, causing them to pop even more.
We made our way over to a bench next to a little pizza shack. “I love it here.” My mom softly said. I nodded in agreement.
It was insane to think just a few weeks ago I was still back in Massachusetts celebrating my high school graduation. The sound of my mom screaming my name as I strutted across the stage echoed in my head.
My entire class was dressed in blue caps and gowns from head to toe. I couldn’t help but think we looked like hundreds of blueberries all seated together on the turf of the football field.
Graduation wasn’t anything special for me. Don’t get me wrong I was a good student. I graduated with high honors but I didn’t have the typical high school experience. I was kind of a loner.
Reagan was the best friend for the entirety of my life so far. She was everything that I wasn’t, wild, spunky, bubbly. We literally considered ourselves two halves that made a whole. When she ended up moving away right before high school started I was devastated. Since I was basically forced to take on high school without her I just did what I had to do to get by.
Mom, Gia, and I came down to Coopersville at the beginning of the summer. Our family had a little bit of a downward spiral just after I graduated. My mom and her longtime boyfriend Lawrence split and it was a tough breakup for sure. It wasn’t only tough on her but on my little sister Gia and me as well.
Our father left when we were very little and we saw him on the holidays and the breaks. He really did try his best and he was a good dad; Lawrence had just been around more.
Lawrence was a nice guy...or so we thought. He was always kind of uptight so after five years of being with mom we were very surprised to find out he had a wife on the side; especially because he spent A LOT of time with us. It made me sick to think that we were taking a man away from his wife and kids for five years. I mean I know we had no idea and Lawrence did a great job hiding it, but the fact that trips to our house, dinner dates, and vacations were work-related according to his real family gave me a knot in my stomach.
Mom found out after he left his phone behind one day while he used the bathroom. A text from Doug popped up and read something about the kids missing him. My mom quickly investigated. She found a secret folder in his phone filled with photos of Lawrence, a beautiful blonde woman, a stocky preteen with glasses, and a young little girl with pudgy cheeks and a cheesy smile. In one photo, Lawrence even wore a “World’s greatest dad t-shirt”. These pictures were recent, too.
My mom confronted Lawrence as soon as he got out of the bathroom. He didn’t say anything. He just waited for mom to be done shouting, gathered his belongings then left. That was the end of that.
We were all really hurt by what happened. The summer began and we found ourselves sulking around unsure of what to do with all of our free time. So when mom’s Aunt Helen emailed her explaining she was struggling medically and financially a light bulb went off in her head.
Aunt Helen lived in a small beach house on the shore and my mom was a CNA. Aunt Helen needed help and it seemed like the perfect excuse for a much-needed getaway.
When my mom sat my sister and me down to tell us about her idea for a summer trip right before I started college and Gia the second grade her eyes lit up and there was no way we could turn it down. We packed up our bags and off we went.
When we had come down to Coopersville about a week and a half earlier my mom drove Gia in her van and I followed behind in my Jeep.
The atmosphere in Coopersville was clearly something special. As I drove through the center of town I heard the hum of upbeat music. The air smelled like a mix of sunscreen and saltwater. There was a gentle breeze flowing in my window but the sun was shining as well. People lined the streets, all smiling and laughing enjoying their days. I couldn’t help but smile myself as I navigated through the hustle and bustle. My GPS scolded me to take a right hand turn into a residential neighborhood and I could still see a slight glimpse of the beach in my rearview mirror.
Considering my mom drove like a grandma, I had pulled up to Aunt Helen’s before she and Gia had arrived. I got out of my Jeep and stretched my legs examining my new home for the summer.
The cottage itself wasn’t anything amazing. It was a cape house style home that clearly had never been updated. The siding and roofing were different shades of worn-out grey and there
