Sunflower Serenade

by Tricia Goyer

  Emily tried to think of some excuse for leaving the line. Maybe she could tell her grandma she had to go the bathroom really bad. Or maybe she would say she saw someone she knew.

  Emily stepped out of line and turned. Yet she’d only taken two steps when she heard someone loudly calling her name.

  “Emily Slater, oh my goodness, are those your photos? Let me see them.”

  Emily turned to see Ashley’s face smiling at her. “Uh, Ashley. Hi.”

  “Where are you going? I think they’re going to close registration soon. Then they won’t accept any more entries.”

  Emily didn’t know what to say. She bit her lip and forced a smile.

  “Wait a minute. Were you trying to sneak out without entering them?” Ashley shook her head, and her red hair danced around her face. “Please don’t tell me you were leaving.”

  “Well, this is my first year, and I don’t want to look stupid. My photos are not as good as the others I’ve seen.”

  “Now, why in the world do you think you’d look stupid?” Ashley held out her hands. “Let me see those photographs.”

  “No, not here.”

  “Yes, here.” The set of Ashley’s chin made her look like her mother, and Emily didn’t dare argue.

  Ashley took the first photograph and then held it out in front of her as if she were hanging it on an invisible wall.

  “No way. You took these photos? That baby goat is so cute!”

  A few people looked over their shoulders, taking in the scene, and Emily felt heat rising to her cheeks.

  “And I love this one of the sunflower. Oh, and look at the one of the steer and dog. I love them! What don’t you like about them?”

  Emily leaned close to Ashley. “The frames. They’re totally old and stupid.”

  “The frames? What’s wrong with the frames?”

  Suddenly Hannah Carter’s voice broke in, and Emily turned to see her grandma’s friend standing behind her.

  Oh great, just what I need. As soon as Emily saw Mrs. Carter, she knew she was facing a losing battle. Ashley was persuasive enough, but with Mrs. Carter there too … Well, Emily took a step closer to the line.

  “I saw you girls, and it looks like you have something fun to enter,” Mrs. Carter commented, looking at the photos and glancing from face to face, trying to figure out who they belonged to.

  “Yes, I was going to enter these photos,” Emily confessed. “But, well, I thought I’d just wait until next year. You know, when I know more about how this whole thing works.”

  “Yes, I came right in time. I saw Emily trying to slip out of line, and I ruined her plans of escape.” Ashley smiled and held up the framed photograph for Mrs. Carter to see. “I mean, why wouldn’t someone enter a photograph as cool as this?”

  “Just you wait a minute.” Mrs. Carter tilted Emily’s face up toward hers with her free hand. “You’re not worried about competing, are you?”

  Emily nodded. Still, she knew Grandma’s friend well enough to know what was to come.

  “Why, that reminds me of the time on The Brady Bunch when Marcia was running for class president. It was Marcia, wasn’t it?” She released Emily’s face and stroked her own chin.

  “Okay, okay. You don’t need to tell me the episode.” Emily stepped back into line, ignoring the looks of the kids in front of her.

  Mrs. Carter winked. “That’s my girl. Good decision, because you know me. I wouldn’t let you not enter.”

  “Yes, Mrs. Carter. I know you.” Emily grinned. “And you can go tell Grandma that you found me and encouraged me. She doesn’t have to worry. In fact, both of you can tell her that.”

  Mrs. Carter’s jaw dropped, and a spurt of laughter burst from Ashley.

  Emily winked. “I figured it out, didn’t I?”

  Mrs. Carter laughed. “Okay, girl, I’ll go tell her.” She nudged Ashley with her elbow. “So we were caught, weren’t we?”

  “Yeah, your grandma was the one who put us up to coming over here,” Ashley confessed. “But I’m telling the truth. Those are amazing pictures.”

  “Thanks.” Emily eyed the one with the sunflower again, admitting she did like it, despite the frame.

  “Well, I’d better get back to work. We’re setting up the pie booth, and I’m painting a new sign.” Mrs. Carter swept her hand across the air. “How do you like the name Amen Pies?”

  “Amen Pies?” Emily wrinkled her nose.

  “Yes, and underneath the name in bold letters it says, ‘Pies so good you’ll shout Amen after every bite.’”

  Ashley chuckled. “I love it.”

  Emily nodded, thinking it wasn’t something that would fly in San Diego, but it worked in Bedford. “I agree.”

  “Good thing you do, because the sign’s almost done.” Mrs. Carter gave Emily a quick hug. “See you later.”

  “See you later,” Emily called, and in a strange way she felt better about her entries, even if Grandma had sent Mrs. Carter and Ashley over to encourage her. At least they cared. At least they liked the photos.

  “Amen after every bite,” Emily mumbled to herself.

  “Only Hannah Carter would come up with something like that,” Ashley added. “I have to run too. I promised my mom I’d take lunch orders and get right back. This is the only week of the year we’re open on Sunday. I’m going to have a riot from the fair office people coming in if I don’t get hustling.”

  Ashley hurried off with a wave, and before Emily knew it, it was her turn to enter her photographs.

  The woman at the registration tables checked the forms, taped them onto the frames, and then glanced up to Emily with a wide smile. “We’ve got everything we need, sweetheart. Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” Emily walked out of the arts and crafts exhibit hall and to her surprise found Grandma and Christopher waiting outside. As she approached them, she let out a long sigh.

  “Okay, all done.”

  It was done, Emily realized. Her photos were entered, and that was that. Whether she won or not, she guessed it didn’t matter much. As Grandma, Ashley, and Mrs. Carter had reminded her, trying was good enough.

  Besides, she had other things to think about now, like maybe getting photographs of the video shoot. She couldn’t wait until the whole crew showed up, and she wondered what Jordan would say about that. It wasn’t like everyone had a music video shot in their backyard.

  Emily rubbed her hands together at the thought. “Yeah, that will be fun.”

  SUNDAY MORNING Sam glanced at his cell phone, surprised that he hadn’t received a phone call from his grandma, to ask if he and Jordan would be meeting the family at church. He was sure to hear about that later.

  Jordan, Paul, and Jake were still slumbering in sleeping bags on the living room floor where they’d finally crashed after playing video games most of the night.

  Last night after pizza, they’d just started playing video games when Grandma had called to check on them. Reluctantly, she’d agreed that they could spend the night at Paul’s house.

  As Sam rose and stretched, his grandma’s words replayed in his mind. “I guess one night will be fine if we have your friend here for the rest of the week.” Although she had sounded fine, Sam felt bad about it. It wasn’t like he didn’t appreciate all his grandparents had done for him and his brother and sister. It was just that his grandparents were different from people in San Diego. Different from Jordan’s family and everyone else Jordan knew.

  Someone knocked on a door elsewhere in the house, interrupting Sam’s thoughts. He guessed the sound was coming from the direction of the kitchen. Sam could hear Paul’s mom answering it. Then he heard girls’ voices, and he nudged Paul’s side with his foot. “Get up. It looks like we have company.”

  The voices grew louder, and Sam combed his fingers through his hair, trying to make it lie flat. Realizing it still stuck up in every direction, he looked around for his baseball cap. Finally he found it under his pillow and slipped it on.

  The girls laughe
d at something going on in the kitchen, and as if finally understanding what was going on, Jake, Paul, and Jordan sat up, nearly in unison, kicking off the sleeping bags. None of them had bothered to change last night, and all still wore the shorts and T-shirts they’d worn the previous day.

  Sam slumped down on the couch. He wiped the sleep from his eyes and tried to pretend he’d been awake for a while.

  Paul’s mom entered the room and opened the drapes. “Rise and shine, boys. The day’s half over, and you have company.”

  Arielle and her friend Jessica entered the room. Jessica liked either Jake or Paul—Sam just wasn’t sure which one yet. And with them was another girl Sam didn’t recognize.

  “Hey there,” Arielle glanced in Sam’s direction and held back a grin. “I called your house, and your grandma said you were here. We thought we’d stop by. I wanted you to meet my cousin Natalie. She’s here from Kansas.”

  Sam vaguely remembered Arielle telling him a cousin was coming, but he’d forgotten about it until now.

  Natalie was slightly shorter than Arielle, and in Sam’s opinion not as cute. But she seemed nice enough, and Sam couldn’t help noticing her locking eyes with Jordan and offering him a warm smile.

  “What are you guys doing today? If you don’t have plans, I thought we could head down to Heather Creek for a swim.”

  “Wow, swimming. That sounds cool.” Jordan stood and slipped his hands in his pockets. “I don’t know about these bums, but you can count me in.”

  “Sure.” Sam patted the couch beside him, and Arielle came over and sat by him. He felt like putting his arm around her—just to remind Jordan which of the girls was already taken, but he knew he hadn’t showered yet or brushed his teeth, and he didn’t want to get too close.

  “Do you think your grandparents would mind, you know, if we all came out?”

  Sam paused for a minute, wondering if he should call them, but then quickly changed his mind. His grandparents liked Arielle, and they were eager to meet Jordan.

  “Nah, it will be fine. I bet we can even find Grandma cooking up something for lunch. She always makes a big meal after church.”

  “Cool. Jessica has her car, and we’ll follow you guys out there.” Arielle stood and walked toward the kitchen, looking at them expectantly.

  “What? Right now?” Jake sat up and scratched his head. “I need to shower first.”

  “Shower to go swimming?” Natalie laughed and cast the same warm smile toward Jake she’d previously offered to Jordan.

  “Yeah, we don’t want to waste the day waiting for you guys. Get up, and let’s get going. We’ll meet you outside.”

  They walked back through the kitchen and out the door, and Sam glanced at the other guys.

  “One thing’s for sure. Nebraska girls are just as bossy as the ones in California.” Jordan grabbed his sleeping bag and began to roll it up.

  “And just as cute too,” he mumbled only loud enough for Sam to hear. Then he glanced over, and Sam saw a glimmer in his friend’s eye.

  At least he likes something about Nebraska.

  Chapter Eleven

  When they got back to the farm, no one was around so they all changed and headed down to the creek. Sam didn’t realize Jordan hadn’t followed the rest of them into the water until he turned and found his friend still standing on the shore.

  Jordan’s focus was on the muddy banks and the tall reeds that lined the shore. He lifted one foot and mud stuck to it. Then he wrinkled his nose and glanced out at Sam.

  “Come on!” Sam yelled, splashing water in Jordan’s direction. Next to Sam, Arielle treaded water, and he had to admit she looked cute with her hair wet and slicked back.

  “Yeah, what are you waiting for, Mr. California?” Natalie, Arielle’s cousin, called with a hint of flirting in her voice.

  “You’re kidding, right? How am I supposed to get out there?” Jordan pushed a cattail reed to the side.

  “Those cattails aren’t made of iron. Just move through them. It’s not deep. See? I’m standing.” Sam stood on his toes to make himself appear taller.

  “I’m not worried about how deep it is. It’s just … this mud is gross.”

  “Ah, come on. What are you, a sissy?” Paul dunked underwater and came up with a handful of mud. Before Sam realized what was happening, a ball of mud flew through the air and hit Jordan on the chest, sliding down the front of him.

  “Jerk. Knock it off. That’s gross!” Jordan wiped the mud off the best he could.

  “Come on, Jordan. We used to go swimming all the time. Remember those swim lessons when we were five?” Sam tried to keep his tone light, but he had to agree with Paul; Jordan was being a sissy.

  “That’s different. We swam in pools … not in mud. This is totally disgusting.” He knelt down and attempted to scoop up creek water to wipe the rest of the mud off his chest. “And this water. You can’t even see through it.”

  “See through it?” Natalie asked.

  “Yeah, to the bottom.”

  “Are you kidding? You don’t want to see the bottom. Then you’d be able to see the fish … and the leeches.” Jake laughed.

  “Shut up!” Sam cupped his hand and splashed a huge wave of river water in Jake’s face. “You’re not helping.”

  “Hey, lighten up. Come on. You have to admit your friend is being a jerk. It’s just a creek. And he’s making a big deal out of it.”

  Sam looked from Paul and Jake to Jordan, and then back again.

  “It’s just a creek.” Arielle touched Sam’s arm. “We swim in it all the time. He either needs to get used to it, or he’s going to have a totally miserable day.”

  Sam nodded. Then he waded closer to Jordan. “Just think of it as the ocean. We used to swim in the ocean too. And there are fish in there.”

  “But not leeches. I’ve never heard of ocean leeches.” Jordan moved back up the shore, out of the mud, and opened up one of the towels, spreading it on the weeds.

  “Seriously, just run and jump in. The water feels good.” Sam pushed his way through the reeds near the shore and attempted to get his footing on the bank. His foot slipped, and he felt himself sliding forward. He tried to stop his fall with his hands but both of them sank into the mud to his wrists. He could hear laughter behind him, and Sam was sure he looked great with his rear sticking up in the air. He scrambled up the shore the best he could and then plopped down next to Jordan, trying to ignore his muddy hands and feet.

  “We can walk up the bank a little. There’s a rope swing. It’s pretty fun.”

  “No thanks. Go ahead.”

  Sam felt the sun beating down on him. More than anything he wanted to say that Jordan could throw a hissy fit, but he wasn’t going to put up with it. No one was going to put up with it. More than anything, Sam wanted to tell Jordan to sit there in the sun and bake if he wanted to, but Sam was going to swim with the others.

  Yet when Sam opened his mouth, something inside told him that wouldn’t be smart. Jordan, after all, was his best friend. Or at least he used to be.

  More than that, Sam remembered what he had been like when he first came to Nebraska. He’d thought everything was stupid and disgusting too. The fact was, it had taken him a long time to adjust. Jordan had been here only two days.

  Sam took a deep breath, knowing what his grandparents would tell him. He needed to be patient.

  Sam sat there a while, plucking the blades of green grass that poked through the yellowish-brown weeds. He thought about what he could say and what he could do to make both his new friends and his old friend happy. Honestly, he couldn’t think of a way to do it. Someone was going to be upset no matter what.

  Side by side, he and Jordan watched the others laughing and splashing in the creek. Finally, Sam cleared his throat.

  “You know, I think Natalie likes you.”

  “No sir.” Jordan shook his head, but Sam was certain he saw Jordan’s eyes widen in interest.

  “Yeah, I think so. Look, see how she kee
ps looking up here?”

  “Yeah, well, she is sort of cute.”

  “Yeah, not as pretty as Arielle, but not too bad.”

  “You’re right, Arielle is pretty.”

  Sam’s eyes darted to Jordan, and Jordan laughed. “Dude, don’t flip out; I’m only joking. I’d never steal your girl.”

  “Not that you could if you tried.”

  “Yeah, you’re right. Not that it would really work. It seems Arielle is into hicks and hick music. I mean, it’s a good thing you told me that country-western CD was hers in your car, or I would have totally thought you’d gone off the deep end.”

  “It’s hers. I don’t listen to that stuff. I might adjust to other things around here, but I’ll never give up my rock.”

  They sat for a while longer, watching the others as they timed themselves to see how long they could hold their breath under water. Finally, when Sam thought he was going to pass out from heatstroke, Jordan stood up.

  “So you say the rope swing is fun?”

  “Yeah.” Sam stood too. “It’s fun.” He nodded his chin upstream. “Wanna go try?”

  “I bet I can do a flip off of it.”

  “Can not.”

  “Yeah, bet I can.”

  “Ten bucks says you’re going to land flat on your back or do a belly flop.” Sam stretched out his hand that was now caked with dry mud.

  “I’ll bet you, but I’m not going to shake.” Then Jordan turned and headed up the river bank.

  “Want to go to the rope swing?” Sam called to the others.

  “Yeah!”

  “Fun.”

  “Cool,” the voices called. Then the others waded to shore.

  Sam reached out a hand and helped Arielle onto the bank. Then he handed her a towel.

  “Thanks for that, Sam.” She wrapped the towel around her and then turned and helped Natalie up the bank.

  “You’re welcome. I think the towel is nice and warm from the sun.”

  “Yeah,” she laughed. “Thanks for the towel too, but that wasn’t what I was talking about. Thanks for sticking up for Jordan. I felt bad for him.”

  Sam shrugged. “He’s my friend.”