The Perfect Summer

by Morgan Billingsley

  “She thought we went to Disney without her,” her dad joked.

  Her mom giggled. “You wish,” she said.

  “You wish!” Chloe repeated and everyone shared a laugh before they went across the street to Dairy Queen for lunch.

  ***

  Six hours, four arguments and three stops later, they made it to the hotel in Birmingham. It was early evening and all Marlena wanted to do was swim. They were staying in a room that had two queen beds and a pullout sofa.

  “I call the sofa bed,” Marlena said while putting her bag on it.

  “I want the sofa bed,” whined Kyle.

  “It’s big enough for the both of you,” her dad said.

  Marlena protested. “I don’t want to sleep with him. I called it first.”

  Her mother let out a loud sigh then gave Marlena a look.

  “It’s been a long ride, let’s go swim,” her father suggested.

  “Good idea,” her mom replied. “Get your suits on.”

  Marlena and Kyle got dressed quickly. He in basketball shorts, and she in her one-piece. Of course she wanted a two-piece, but her parents said that was out of the question. Not until she was old enough to buy it herself. Marlena didn’t think it was such a big deal, most of her friends had one. While her mom was in the bathroom, she decided to dress Chloe in her suit. She found her little pick suit with ruffles around the bottom and put it on her. Chloe was such a cute little girl. She and Marlena always got along. If her mom wasn’t around, she preferred Marlena to anyone else. Sometimes Chloe even slept in Marlena’s room. They had a special connection.

  Her mom came out of the bathroom in her bathing suit, “Thank you,” she said noticing that Chloe was ready to go.

  Chloe repeated, “Thank you,” before giving Marlena a kiss.

  “Awww, Chlo Chlo. I love you.”

  Once at the pool, there were several other families swimming. Marlena was happy to see small boys Kyle’s age, that way she could do her own thing without worrying about her bratty little brother. She decided that she was going to swim in the deep end alone. She jumped in the cool water. Swimming was the one thing she loved as much as dance. She had taken lessons when she was younger, even tried competitive swim, but decided that she just liked to swim for fun. The water dried her hair and skin too much. She did a few laps on her own, before she realized she was bored.

  Meanwhile, in the shallow end, Kyle was playing Marco Polo with his newfound friends. Marlena went under water to see how long she could hold her breath. Thirty seconds. That was a new record. She then tried to see if she could touch the bottom, at which she succeeded.

  “Marlena,” her mom called, holding Chloe in the air. Her diaper was swollen bigger than her head, “did you put her on a swimmer?”

  Everyone at the pool laughed, including Chloe, who was kicking her legs back and forth.

  “I forgot,” Marlena replied.

  “So I see.” Her mom got out of the pool, Marlena assumed to go put a swimmer on Chloe. Swimmers were diapers made for the water.

  After about five more minutes of playing alone. Marlena went to try and join the boys in the shallow end.

  “Hey, can I play?”

  “Sure,” Kyle yelled, swimming away from her. “You are it. Marco!”

  Marlena closed her eyes. “Polo!”

  This beats swimming alone any day, she thought as she listened closely for the sound of ten-year-old voices.

  ***

  Later that night she got a text from Jennifer:

  Hey how’s it going? We totally learned to bop today.

  R U Serious? That was one dance that Marlena could not get, not even with the help of YouTube.

  Yep! Hopefully by tomorrow we will put together an entire routine.

  Promise u will teach me when I get back.

  Of course I will. U having fun?

  Not at all. I was forced to play Marco Polo with ten yr olds today.

  That sounds like torture!

  It was my only option .

  It will be over soon.

  Not soon enough.

  Ha! Gotta go, mom says it bedtime.

  Bedtime? In the summer?

  Yep! Camp starts at 8.

  K. Night.

  Night.

  Marlena laid awake a little while longer. She had won the sofa bed war. Chloe was in bed with her parents and Kyle was fast asleep in the other queen. The room was completely dark. She decided to surf the web for dance videos. She found a few that were interesting, but nothing that was worth staying awake over. She turned her phone off and attempted to fall asleep, however without the glow of her phone, she could not help but feel a little afraid.

  “Kyle,” she whispered.

  He didn’t answer.

  She could hear the wind blowing outside of the window. She decided that she should probably get in bed with Kyle. I mean, if she was afraid, surely he was too. She got out of the sofa bed she had fought so hard to sleep in, and slid in the bed next to her brother. All of a sudden she felt more comfortable. She was glad she could help Kyle out.

  ***

  The next morning, no one asked why Marlena didn’t sleep on the sofa bed. Not even Kyle. They had an early breakfast and hit the road. The second half of the drive was much better than the first. Marlena let Kyle win a few games of Rock, Paper, Scissors, which helped. She climbed in the back and let him sit in the middle row. Chloe was always happy, as long as she had a snack or cartoon on her portable DVD player.

  They made it all eight hours without a single argument. Marlena was starting to get over the fact that she had to miss camp. I mean, there was nothing she could do about it anyway. However, she did not want to go to Magic Kingdom. She had seen all the parades and fireworks she could take. She understood why her parents wanted Chloe to go, maybe even Kyle; she used to look forward to when she was younger. But now there was nothing new. She had her picture taken with almost every princess in the park, had ridden every ride, and even had her picture drawn. She hoped her parents would at least let her skip that part of the vacation. She was old enough to stay in the hotel.

  Marlena watched as they drove into Orlando. The palm trees lined the highway and the sun was shining bright. She saw a sign for an Outlet Mall.

  “Mom, can we go shopping?” Marlena asked.

  “Sure,” her mother replied.

  Marlena wanted to ask if she had to go to Magic Kingdom, but decided to quit while she was ahead. Soon she started seeing the signs for Disney. Kyle noticed them as well.

  “We are almost there,” he said excitedly.

  “Yes we are,” his dad replied.

  “How long?” Kyle asked.

  “Two more exits.”

  “Chloe wake up.” Kyle was trying to wake the baby, but she was not having it.

  “Marlena, look.” Kyle had spotted Mickey mouse on a sign.

  “It’s the same as last year,” she replied.

  “I know, but we are going to have so much fun.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Marlena mumbled under her breath.

  Soon they were in line to pay for parking. Marlena was trying to figure out how to ask her parents if she could stay at the hotel while they went to Magic Kingdom. Maybe she could pretend to be sick. That way she could just lay in bed all day and watch Netflix. Or maybe she could use her good grades to negotiate. She was a straight A student, they could cut her a little slack just this once. She wondered which day they were planning on going. She decided to take out her camera phone and send Jennifer a snap shot of one of the Disney signs. She sent it with the words, Wish I was there.

  Jennifer replied: Next year let’s switch places.

  Speaking of next year, it reminded Marlena that she should ask her mom if Jennifer could come with them.

  “Mom, can Jennifer come with us next year?”

  “We will see, honey. We may pick another place.”

  “No,” Kyle said. “I love it here.”

  “We have come here every yea
r for as long as I can remember. Don’t you want to try someplace new?” Marlena asked him.

  “Nope,” he replied with confidence.

  “You will when you get older.”

  “Nope.”

  “Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. He is such a baby, she thought.

  “This is it,” Dad said as they pulled up in front of their usual Disney resort.

  “The same place as last year?” Marlena asked.

  “Yep,” Dad replied with a smile. “It’s a family tradition.”

  Marlena was frustrated. Why didn’t anyone understand that a family vacation could be anywhere in the world? It did not have to be Disney. It did not have to be the same hotel. What’s with them?

  “Let me guess,” she said, “we are going to the boardwalk to eat?”

  Dad replied, “How’d you guess?”

  The good thing about going to the boardwalk was that she could eat whatever she wanted. Although her mom was usually really picky about what she ate; she told Marlena that food was like gas for a car, you have to put good fuel in your body for it to go. While on vacation, Marlena could have a corndog and funnel cake in one sitting. This year, she might even push for a milkshake as well.

  The hotel room was beautiful. It was a two-bedroom suite. There was no need to fight over beds here, there was one King sized bed in one room, and two smaller ones in the other. Remembering what happened in the Birmingham hotel, Marlena chose the bed farthest from the window just in case it was another windy night. Kyle didn’t seem to mind what bed he slept in. He was just happy to be at Disney again.

  “Let’s take some showers and go eat,” Mom said.

  “Shower,” both kids said at the same time.

  Kyle protested. “We showered before we left.”

  “Yeah,” Marlena chimed in, “all we did was ride in the car.”

  “Don’t you feel dirty?” Mom asked.

  “Nope.” They were in sync again.

  “I swear I think you guys are allergic to water.”

  Dad laughed. “Let them be stinky if they want.”

  “We don’t stink,” said Kyle as he sniffed his armpits. He was right, they didn’t stink, but they weren’t shower fresh either.

  “Okay, I guess you can shower before bed, but I need to freshen up,” Mom said.

  They were relieved. Marlena didn’t mind showering now as much as she used to. When she was Kyle’s age, she never wanted to take a shower, but now a warm shower made her muscles feel better after dance practice. Speaking of dance, she wondered what dance she missed out on today. She decided to FaceTime Jennifer.

  “Hey,” Jennifer sounded excited when she answered. “OMG, show me your hotel.”

  Marlena walked around the room, pointing out every detail, “And this is where Kyle and I will sleep. We have a balcony, look.” She opened the door and showed Jennifer their waterfront view.

  “Man, you are lucky,” Jennifer exclaimed. “I don’t think I’ve ever stayed in a hotel. Well, not a nice one anyway.”

  Once again, Marlena was shocked to hear another thing that Jennifer had never done. Although they were best friends, they never talked about her life before foster care. Marlena didn’t ask and Jennifer didn’t volunteer. All Marlena knew was that she had four other siblings that had been adopted, but Jennifer was too old because everyone wanted babies.

  “Over there is Epcot.”

  Jennifer was impressed. “You have to take me next year.”

  “I asked my mom, she said we may not come next year.”

  “What? You have to.”

  “I told you, I’m over Disney.”

  “Well I’m not. I’ve dreamed of going since I was a little girl. My mom used to promise me that she would take me all the time.”

  Marlena turned the camera around so they were looking at each other. She then asked a bold question. “Where is your mom?”

  “Pine Bluff, I think,” she said, citing a city that was not too far from Little Rock.

  “Do you ever get to see her?”

  “I used to. But not recently. She is very sick.”

  “What’s wrong with her?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it. Let’s just say, she is not like your mom at all.”

  “Lucky you.”

  “What do you mean? Your mom is awesome.”

  “Until she makes me miss Hip Hop Dance class for another trip to Disney.”

  “Poor you,” Jennifer replied in a very unfriendly tone.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “It means that you have done nothing but complain about a trip to Disney World. Who does that?”

  Marlena was quiet.

  “I wish I had the chance to go,” Jennifer continued. “And to go with my family would be even better. You don’t know how good you have it. At least your mom cares about you.”

  “I’m sorry,” Marlena said.

  Jennifer started to cry a little. “Don’t be. Just be grateful and not so selfish.”

  Marlena did not know what to say. She did not mean to hurt her friend’s feelings, and she certainly didn’t want to make her upset.

  “I’ve got to go,” Jennifer said.

  Marlena was relieved. “Okay, talk later?”

  “Sure.”

  They hung up and Marlena thought about what Jennifer said. Had she been ungrateful? All she had been thinking about was the dance class she was missing. Was there something wrong with her wanting to stay home instead of going on a family vacation?

  “Are you okay?” Her dad startled her. “I heard the conversation.”

  Marlena started to cry. She wasn’t sure why. Her dad gave her a hug.

  “She was right, you know?” he said.

  “I know, but I wasn’t trying to be ungrateful. I just wanted to dance.”

  “Sometimes you have to focus on what you do have, instead of what you don’t, Marlena. Your mom and I work very hard to give you the life that you have. Everyone isn’t so lucky.”

  “I’m sorry, Dad.”

  “No need to apologize to me. You are young, you will make mistakes, I’m just glad you realized it and I hope you didn’t lose a friend over it.”

  “I wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings.”

  “I know that. But you have to learn that sometimes, it’s not about you.”

  “Mom says that all the time.”

  “Well, now you know she’s telling the truth.” He gave her a kiss in his normal spot on top of her head. “Now go wash your face so we can eat.”

  Marlena wiped her eyes with both hands. She didn’t want anyone else to know that she had been crying. “Do I look like I’ve been crying?”

  Her dad used the bottom of his t-shirt to clean her face. “There,” he said, “go check it out in the mirror.”

  Marlena made it to the bathroom without anyone asking what was wrong. Her dad must have done a good job cleaning her face. Once inside the bathroom, she stared at herself in the mirror. She had never considered herself to be selfish. She thought she was a good friend to Jennifer. Maybe she was wrong. She made a promise to put herself in Jennifer’s shoes. Just as she was wetting a towel, she got a text. She dried her hands quickly and retrieved her phone from her pocket.

  I’m sorry. I was upset. It was Jennifer.

  You were right. I was being a brat.

  Friends?

  Always.

  .

  “Marlena,” her mom called.

  “Coming.”

  She washed her face quickly, looked herself over one last time, and joined her family.

  “Can we go to Magic Kingdom today?” Kyle asked.

  “That’s not until tomorrow,” Mom said.

  “I can’t wait for the family picture,” Marlena added.

  They all stopped to look at her. “What?” she asked. “Can’t a girl have a change of heart?”

  “Heart!” Chloe repeated at just the right time. They all laughed.

  “Let’s go eat,” said Dad
.

  As she walked toward the Boardwalk with Chloe on her hip, Marlena realized just how lucky she was. Not only did she have everything she needed, she had a family to share it with. Maybe that Hip Hop class wasn’t that important. Maybe Kyle wasn’t such a brat. And maybe, just maybe she wasn’t too big for teacups.

  A Lesson for Summer

  By

  Jackie Lee

  Chapter 1

  Vanessa

  “Why do I have to move? The Lord did not call me to preach,” I threw myself on the bed in my plush pink room.

  “If Momma catches you saying that, the good Lord may be calling you home,” my twin sister, Teresa, said with caution in her voice.

  We had received the news last week that our father, Rev. James Adams, had been called into ministry in a different city. We liked the city we were in. We liked our middle school. We liked our friends. And even though it wasn’t easy being a preacher’s kid, we had a good life. That’s why the idea of leaving it behind had me feeling mixed emotions.

  Teresa, who was a little more reserved than me, thought Dad’s ministry would be a great way to find new friends to hang out with, so she was all for it. I, on the other hand, only thought of one thing – money. I watched those mega ministers on TV all the time. I knew how much money they brought in. So I was hoping Dad’s new job would have us balling. Money, Money, Money all over the place.

  Teresa reminded me, “Remember, you are the one that said that you hope daddy becomes one of those big-time pastors so you can buy whatever you want.” Teresa, moved from her bed and began mimicking me. “Teresa, we are going to live in a big fancy house and have people waiting on us hand and foot. We won’t even have to share a room,” she said, mocking her twin.

  “You don’t have to remind me of what I said,” I murmured while clutching my frilly pink pillow to my chest.

  “Well, now you get your wish. Daddy is going to be the senior pastor of Sunny Side Baptist Church. Hmm, I wonder if our new house will have an elevator?” Teresa said.

  I looked at her and rolled my eyes. I loved my twin sister, but sometimes she really did have her head in the clouds.

  Both of us were what some people considered popular. We made good grades and were involved in a lot of activities. We both especially liked participating in our youth book club. I did not want to move and start from scratch making friends and getting involved in activities.