Know Him

  “It’s gonna be okay G,” Luke said, pulling her in close. She hugged Luke tight and continued to cry her eyes out. I just stared down at the turtle. My little sister’s whole world had just come crashing down and I needed to figure out how to help.

  After a few minutes of hysterics, Gia finally spoke. “I-I-I need to talk to Ronnie.” She whimpered. That gave me an idea.

  “I’ll be right back,” I told Luke hurrying down the hallway to get Ronnie’s mom’s number from the kitchen.

  “Is everything okay Sutton?” I could hear the worry in Aunt Helen’s voice.

  “Theo passed away.” My Aunt Helen shook her head.

  “That’s a shame,” she said. I continued to the kitchen and found Ronnie’s mom’s number on a crumpled up piece of paper. I quickly explained the situation and asked if it was possible for Ronnie to come over. I told his mom he was more than welcome to sleep over but that even just having him here for a little while would ease Gia’s pain. She completely understood and even put Ronnie on the phone. I brought the phone down the hallway to Gia.

  “Ronnie?” She sniffled. “Theo. Theo. He died, Ronnie!” She yelled dramatically. Ronnie did a lot of talking and he really did calm Gia down. She wiped her eyes and hung up the phone.

  “Ronnie’s going to sleepover and Penny is going to come say bye.” Luke lifted Theo off the floor and perched him back on a rock in his tank. The three of us just sat there in silence, arms around each other.

  Merely 5 minutes later, Ronnie burst through the door. He was wearing shark footie pajamas and holding Penny in a tub in front of him. He had an unzipped backpack on his back and left a trail of clothes behind him coming down the hallway.

  “I got here as fast as I could.” He put Penny down on the ground and put his arm around Gia. “I am so sorry Gia. I’m as sad as you are.” Gia immediately began sobbing again. It broke my heart. Ronnie continued to do his best to calm her down again. “These things happen Gia. We’re all sad that he’s gone but he’s in a better place. We should have a proper burial.” Ronnie said, glancing over at me pushing up his glasses.

  “Yes. Of course, we will.” I said.

  “We can have a whole funeral tomorrow,” Luke added.

  “Can we have a minute alone to let Penny say goodbye?” Ronnie looked up at me, his eyes glossy. I nodded and took Luke’s hand standing out of sight in the hallway.

  After they said their goodbyes Luke wrapped Theo up and put him inside a small plastic tub with the cover on. Luke brought him out to the backyard and put him on the shelf in the shed. We all sat on the couch and watched “The Parent trap” until Ronnie and Gia fell asleep on each other with tear-stained faces and puffy eyes.

  I clicked my phone on and checked the time. “8:37,” I said out loud. Luke was half asleep next to me. Poppy sprawled across our laps. “What?” He croaked. “Sorry Sutton, just super tired. I had to get up at 4:30 this morning to go to the shop for a delivery.”

  “If you wanna get going you can,” I replied.

  “I will never give up spending my time with you voluntarily, even if I’m spending my time snoring next to you.” He chuckled and pulled me in for a kiss. We were interrupted by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway.

  I could hear the screen door slam shut. Luke and I sat frozen in time just staring at the door. It opened up and my mom walked in alone. She looked happy.

  “Hi, guys! How are you, Luke?”

  “I’m good Lynn. How are you today?”

  “Not too bad.” She replied.

  “How was your night guys?” I was so focused on what the night entailed for my mom and dad I almost forgot about the catastrophe with Gia’s turtle.

  “Well. It was crazy, to say the least.” My mom raised her eyebrows motioning for me to go on. “Gia went into her room and found Theo dead. She freaked out as I’m sure you could imagine.” My mom put her hand over her mouth in shock. “So we called Ronnie over to calm her down. He’s actually still here; they're both asleep in the bedroom. We told her we’ll do a funeral tomorrow.”

  “Thank you guys for being so great. I feel terrible. You could have called me!” She pulled Luke, Poppy, and I in for a hug. “I’m going to go get ready for bed now. I guess I’m on the couch tonight. Luke look at you. You look exhausted. You two should just go to sleep. I’ll see you in the morning?”

  “Goodnight Lynn,” Luke said.

  I followed my mom into her room. Ronnie and Gia were cuddled up together. My mom was perched at her dresser removing her earrings.“So how’d it go? What was it about?” I whispered. “It was great actually. We talked the whole time. We talked about the good times, where things went wrong with us and we talked about the future too.”

  “The future?” I questioned. My mom shushed me.

  “Yes. Your dad was telling me he’s not really happy with his life. He wants to be able to see you, girls, more and that’s impossible with his job. He wants to retire soon. He has the means to do so and he wants to live a life more dedicated to family.”

  “You’re being very vague.” I snapped back. “Does that include you?”

  “We’re not sure yet Sutton. He has one last trip to go on and then we’re going to touch base again. He really does seem to have a new outlook and he wants his family back.”

  The gears in my brain were spinning at a million miles per hour. I couldn’t believe this was happening and I wasn’t quite sure if I wanted it to or not. It’s not like if my dad did move back home things would go back to what they used to be because he used to be traveling 24/7. This would be my dad, home, at my house all the time.

  “Well, I’m glad it went well,” I whispered and kissed my mom on the side of her face.

  “Goodnight. I love you,” she replied. I scurried back into the living room to find Luke nowhere in sight. I tiptoed into my bedroom and found Luke and Poppy sprawled out on my bed. Poppy was snoring and Luke was drooling. I took off my pants and bra and slipped into bed next to Luke.

  He immediately groaned and pulled me close to him and whispered “I love you.” Butterflies filled my stomach.

  “Hey, Luke,” I whispered, gently tapping him on the shoulder.

  He stirred a little bit and mumbled “Yes Sutton?”

  “I might be reading into things too much but I think my parents might be getting back together.”

  Luke just pulled me in closer and whispered back. “There’s a reason for everything and God has a plan for all of us. Trust in it.” He kissed me gently on the lips and caressed my arm until he drifted back to sleep.

  Chapter 6:

  When I woke up the next morning it was still pretty dark out. Luke still laid next to me. The rhythm of his breath was like a song and his body was closely pressed against mine. I checked my phone. It was 5:45 am. I had an unread text from my dad.

  Mom told me about the turtle. Text me when you’re all up. I’ll be over for the funeral. Love you, Sutton.

  I rested my head back on my pillow when my phone suddenly buzzed and startled me. Who would be texting me this early?

  What happened with mom and dad?

  It was from Reagan.

  Feel like I’m in a parallel universe. My dad is getting sick of his crazy job traveling and talked about wanting his family back. Not sure what it means exactly. I replied.

  Reagan answered within minutes. Oh my god Sutton. That is nuts. How do you feel about it???

  I’m honestly not sure. I’m shocked but still confused. Not sure if I’d want it or not. My dad has always been a great dad but I’ve literally never had him around all the time. It would be a change. BTW, why are you awake right now?

  I placed my phone on my stomach and within seconds it buzzed again.

  Shane slept over. He had to sneak out before my mom woke up. We had a little fun before he left so now I’m wide awake. She wrote.

  Omfg. TMI. I replied.

  I laid in my bed tossing and turning for the next hour. Finally, I got up, threw on some shorts,
and strolled into the kitchen. The sun was starting to rise but the house was still quiet. I grabbed a mug from the cupboard and filled it with orange juice. I jerked open the back sliding glass door and sat on the patio chair with my feet up on the table. Within seconds I heard the door slide back open. I turned my head around to see a bed-headed Luke yawning and walking towards me. Poppy scurried behind him.

  “Good morning sleepyhead.” Luke was shirtless and leaned down to kiss me.

  “Did I wake you?” I questioned.

  “No. No. You didn’t wake me but I could tell when you weren’t sleeping next to me anymore and I didn’t like it.” He smirked and I stood up to hug him.

  We sat together and watched the sunrise. It was breathtaking. The colors were radiant as if the sky was a canvas freshly painted. After the sun rose, a few passing clouds floated by. Luke pointed in the air and I gasped.

  “You can’t tell me that cloud isn’t shaped like a turtle,” Luke said, looking over at me. My mouth hung open in awe. It definitely did. I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture to show Gia. “Theo’s sending us messages already,” Luke said rubbing my back.

  “Hey what do you say we go cook everyone a great breakfast?” I asked. Luke shrugged.

  “Pizza is kinda my thing but I’ll follow your lead.” I grabbed his hand and we wandered back into the house.

  “Smells great in here!” my mom said walking into the kitchen grabbing a mug and pouring coffee into it. Aunt Helen was already in the living room watching TV, per usual. We stacked flapjacks on a plate and put them on the table, along with bacon and orange juice. Shortly after, Gia and Ronnie came in and slapped a paper on the table in front of Luke and then on the counter in front of my mom. It was an invitation to Theo’s funeral. “9 Am sharp” It read. “Wear black. Don’t be late.”

  We finished up our breakfast and prepped for the funeral. Gia threw on the only dress she had with her which was sparkly and black. Ronnie had already packed a black polo to wear with khaki shorts. It was completely wrinkled from being stuffed into his backpack. Luke biked home to change into his black suit and I ran up to my room to put on a black t-shirt dress.

  At 9 o’clock on the dot, we all met in the backyard, My dad included. There was a small hole clearly not big enough in the ground Ronnie and Gia must have prepared earlier. Sand shovels sat on the grass nearby. Gia already had tears welling up in her eyes and Ronnie had his hand on her back consoling her.

  “Why don’t you guys run in and grab a box of tissues?” Luke asked. Gia nodded and Ronnie and she strolled inside. Luke immediately sprung into action, digging the hole deeper as fast as he possibly could. When he was finished he stood back up between my dad and I. My dad patted him on the back.

  We all stood around the hole and it started drizzling. It was like a scene from a movie except we were all standing around the grave of a dead turtle. Gia and Ronnie each said a few words mostly about the great times they had with him. Before Luke lowered the plastic box into the ground Gia and Ronnie each kissed the top of it. Luke and my dad each took a sand shovel and covered the box. Gia sniffled and Ronnie hugged her tightly.

  My dad left town the next day. He hugged my mom goodbye, even though everything was still up in the air. They seemed to be on good terms and that’s all that mattered to me. Gia was constantly drawing pictures of Theo. She also spent a lot of her time with Ronnie and that made her very happy.

  Days flew by and the end of summer was approaching. I enjoyed every moment I had with Luke. I spent my days kissing him deeply and holding his hand. When I spent nights away from him I attempted to swallow my tears and the knot in my stomach. The thought of not being with him every day tore me apart.

  I sat on the counter of the empty Pizza Shack helping Luke count the money from the cash register. “Okay, all set!” I yelled into the back room where Luke was getting supplies to restock. I turned around to see Luke carrying two cotton candy swirl ice cream cones and walking towards me.

  “Follow me.” He said. We exited the Pizza Shack and walked out front and sat on a bench. He handed me an ice cream cone. “You know Sutton Rae, this is what you were eating the first time I saw you and this is exactly where you were sitting.” My heart fluttered and I went back to that day on the bench with my mom.

  “Oh my gosh, Luke I had no idea you remembered that.”

  “I remember working and seeing a cute girl sitting on this here bench.” He said, patting it. “And I remember smiling at her. Our eyes met and she looked away really quick. I was embarrassed. Then another day I was hauling ass on my bike and I crashed right into this beautiful girl. I was even more embarrassed. I had messed up the opportunity of hanging out with her before I even got the chance to ask her. I made her bleed for God sake but then her friend, who may have been the most straight-up person I have ever met asked me to hang out with them all that night and saying yes was the best decision I ever made.”

  I pulled Luke and kissed him long and hard.“Sutton, my grandma always told me that every single thing we go through in life happens for a reason. Every solitary event is leading us to destiny. You’re my plan, Sutton. I love you. I really really do.”

  “I love you more Luke,” I replied kissing him again, over and over.

  “Sutton there’s something that’s only about a week away that we both have been ignoring.”

  I felt the knot in my stomach rise to my throat and I tried to hold back the tears. Luke grabbed both my hands. “Sutton please don’t cry.” I saw his eyes welling up. “Did you hear me, Sutton? You’re my plan and I love you. I can’t come with you to Dainstown right now. It’s just not in the cards for me. My grandma needs me. My uncle needs me. I have to run the Pizza Shack.” I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

  “I know Luke I would never make you leave your life here for me.” I tried to wipe my tears but they just kept coming.

  Luke held me as close as possible. My head rested against his chest. He kissed the top of my head. “Sutton. Can you calm down for a minute? Can you calm down for me please?” I lifted my head, wiped my tears, and looked up at Luke. “I love you, Sutton. You’re my plan.”

  Luke pulled a little box out of his back pocket. He flipped it open and there was a beautiful opal ring inside. “This was my mom’s Sutton. I want you to have it because I love you. This is a promise to you. I promise you that you are mine. I promise you that you’ll be mine in Coopersville and Dainstown and anywhere in between. I promise you will be mine forever, someday, and I promise you that we will make it through anything and everything together.”

  Luke slid the ring on my right ring finger and kissed me once more. I immediately felt less nervous. I knew the future was still uncertain but the ring was a security blanket. It was a constant reminder that Luke loved me and I was his girl. We had one week of the summer and we had to make it count.

  ..

  “Let the extravagant, amazing last five days of Summer begin!” Luke said standing at my front door completely full of energy.

  I rubbed my eyes and yawned. “What time is it?” I asked.

  “It’s 5:36.”

  “AM?” I replied.

  “AM!” Luke said with a smile. “We gotta get going; I have a big day planned for us. A big week, I should really say. Hey, I know the owner at the Pizza Shack and well I got the rest of the week off.” Luke winked at me. “We need to leave this house in exactly twenty-four minutes. Get your butt up and get ready.” I stumbled half asleep, but ready for this week which I was sure would be filled with adventure and memories.

  “Can you tell me where we’re going now and why I’m wearing sneakers and leggings?” I asked.

  “Sutton, can you please just enjoy the wind in your hair and the warm sun beating down on us and let the day take its course?” Luke flashed a cheesy smile at me and grabbed my hand and kissed it.

  We drove for about 20 minutes then approached a parking lot that had a big “Cliff Walk Adventure Park” sign. Luke shut off the truck and looked o
ver at me with a big grin on his face. “You ready?” He asked, slapping his hand on his thigh.

  “I think so!” I replied kissing his cheek.

  Luke reached into the back seat, tossed me a water bottle, and said “it’s go time”.

  We walked into a door that was literally in the side of the cliff. “Hey. Hey. Hey. Come on in, guys. My name’s Chet!” A guy with shoulder-length blonde hair and sunglasses welcomed us.

  “Hi man. Luke.” Luke shook his hand.

  “Ah! Luke! My first cliffside zip-lining couple of the day!” My heart started beating out of my chest.

  We got all geared up in harnesses and into a dune buggy to go up the side of the cliff. When we got to the top and Chet parked the dune buggy. “Alright, guys let’s chat. So there are four separate tracks we’re going to conquer today. They’re going to lead us back to the bottom without the buggy. The last one feels like a bit of a free fall. It’s completely optional so if you don’t want to do it that’s completely up to you both but I will tell you, you can do it together and it’s a hell of a rush. Take a few minutes to check out the beauty from up here. I'll snap some pictures if you want because it’s only down from here.” Chet grinned and giggled.

  Luke walked towards the end of the cliff. The ocean seemed so far down and it was a deep blue. He looked back at me and put his hand out just in time for me to take a picture. I slowly approached him. I wasn’t too scared of heights but did not like the idea of standing on the side of this cliff. Luke sensed my tension and held me tight. “Isn’t this incredible? I know this isn’t your thing but I think it’s important to conquer your fears. with me by your side, of course.” He whispered.

  “You’re scared of the swings and you’re not scared of this?” I giggled nervously.

  “Hey, I never said I wasn’t scared!” Luke winked.