by Jennie Marts
Edna’s mouth went dry. Her previous hunger pains now turned to butterflies, tumbling and turning inside her stomach. Rather than risk another embarrassing word spilling from her mouth, she chose to stay silent.
Johnny leaned against the hood of the car next to Frank, his posture loose and relaxed. “So, did you invite Edna to come out to the lake with us tomorrow?”
“I was getting there,” Frank said with a sigh. Later, her aunt, who’d been watching the whole encounter, said she saw Frank deflate in the presence of Johnny, his shoulders sinking in resignation the moment Johnny smiled at Edna and she smiled back.
Johnny looked at Edna, the grin on his face turning her insides to goo. “How about it, Edna? A bunch of us are spending the day at the lake tomorrow. You wanna come with us?”
Edna would go anywhere with him, just to see that grin again. She thought about the two new swimsuits she had purchased last week in anticipation of the summer. She had shown the stylish white one-piece to her mother, but had hidden the pink polka-dotted two-piece in her suitcase. It was her first two-piece and she hoped she had the guts to wear it that summer.
Imagining wearing that swimsuit in front of Johnny Collins had her pulse racing. Knowing her midriff would be bare and his eyes would be on her skin. Her mouth had gone dry again. She swallowed and tried to act nonchalant. “Sure, I guess. I’ll have to check with my aunt.”
Edna looked toward her Aunt Janice and saw the car hop delivering a tray of burgers and fries. “I better go. We’re having strawberry sodas. That’s my favorite.” Oh gosh. What a stupid thing to say. No one had asked her what she ordered or what kind of pop she liked. She looked at the sidewalk, searching for a crack to disappear into.
“Strawberry’s my favorite too,” Johnny said.
She looked up, meeting his eyes. Why did everything he say have a sexy tone to it? She couldn’t help it; she smiled back, her lips curling in response to his open grin. “I’ll remember that.”
Her aunt tooted the horn of the old pickup and waggled a French fry in her direction. Edna smiled and waved at the boys. “See you later. It was nice to meet you.” In fact, it was the nicest thing that had happened to her in years.
“See you tomorrow,” Frank said. “We’ll pick you up around eleven. Pack a lunch.”
Edna nodded and turned to walk back to the pickup where Aunt Janice was eyeing her with a good-natured look on her face.
She stood back and let Edna slide into the truck. “Looks like you’re making friends already.” Janice passed her a paper wrapper of warm, greasy French fries.
“Just a couple boys. They said they know you, and they invited me out to the lake with them and a few friends tomorrow. Would that be okay?”
“Of course.” Janice patted Edna on the leg. “Edna, I invited you here hoping you might help me out a little around the farm and to feel a connection with my brother. But you’re a grown woman; you can do whatever you want. This is your summer.”
A weight lifted from Edna’s shoulders. She felt the stirrings of hope that this really would be her summer. She popped a fry in her mouth and groaned in pleasure. She accepted the icy glass of soda and took a sip, the frothy strawberry-flavored bubbles sweet on her tongue. “Oh my gosh. This is the best strawberry soda of my life.”
Janice laughed. “I’ll bet it is.”
They finished their meal, Janice tossing her last two bites of burger to the dog and the pig as the car-hop took the tray from the window. Her aunt put the truck in gear and reversed out of the drive-in. Edna stuck her head out the passenger window and waved to Frank and Johnny, who were still standing by Frank’s car. “See you tomorrow.”
They drove about two miles out of town before Janice turned the truck onto a long dirt driveway, one side lined with cottonwood trees.
Pulling up to a two-story white farmhouse, Edna got her first look at the farm where she would spend her summer.
Except for some peeling paint, the farmhouse was in good condition. A long porch ran the length of the house, a swing on one end and a couple of white rocking chairs on the other. The rockers had colorful quilted cushions and throw pillows on them, as if in invitation to sink in and sit a spell. Pots of multicolored flowers lined the steps leading up to the porch, and everything looked tidy and well kept.
A large barn sat behind the house, its red paint faded from years in the sun. A fenced corral ran around one side of the barn, and Edna could see brown and black cows standing behind the fence. A tall windmill stood to the other side, its giant blades still in the dry early- evening air.
Janice lowered the tailgate of the pickup, and Penny jumped down. Her aunt lifted Edna’s suitcase, then the pig, from the back of the truck and set them both on the ground. “I’ve got some chores to do. Think you can get your stuff inside on your own?”
“Sure.”
“Go in the front there and through to the back of the house. I set you up on the sun porch. It’s a little warmer during the day, but cooler at night and I thought you might like it back there.” Janice headed toward the barn, the dog and the pig following at her heels. “Go ahead and get settled. I’ll come inside in a bit.”
Edna pulled her suitcase up the stairs and opened the door of the house. The living area was a large room with colorful rugs scattered across the hardwood floors. She could see a big kitchen off to the left, a long wooden table separating the two rooms.
Walking through the living room, she noticed the worn but comfortable-looking sofa and chairs. Stacks of books sat on the floor around a blue easy chair, the seat cushion flattened and sagging from years of wear. A bag of yarn sat in the seat, knitting needles and colorful skeins spilling from its top.
At the back of the house, a staircase led up to the second floor, and a wooden door stood open to the sun porch. Edna stepped into the room where she would spend her summer and immediately fell in love.
The sun porch was a decent-sized room with whitewashed walls and screened-in windows running the length of the wall. A door leading into the backyard was at the center of the outer wall, and Edna could see a vegetable garden and several flower beds overflowing with the bright colors of summer. A wicker rocking chair sat in a corner of the room, and a small dresser lined one wall.
A twin bed with a pink-and-white floral bedspread sat pushed against the corner of the porch. With its white, wrought-iron bed frame and tumble of pink and green pillows, Edna thought it was the most romantic bed she had ever seen.
She dropped her suitcase and flung herself across the bed, anxious to curl into its softness and dream about the summer ahead of her. A summer filled with strawberry sodas and days at the lake and a boy with crystal blue eyes.
##
The next morning, Edna was up with the sun. She’d slept like a rock, a contented rock, the night before and was excited about what her first day of summer would be like. She’d offered to wash the breakfast dishes and sweep the floors while her aunt tended to the morning chores outside.
Aunt Janice gave her a tour of the farm, and though it seemed small, there was quite a bit of pastured land surrounding it. Between crops of wheat and fields of livestock, her aunt kept plenty busy. Plus, she employed a few hands that came out to help her with the upkeep of the farm. Edna couldn’t help but be impressed by the amount of work her aunt did on her own, and wondered if she ever missed having a husband.
Edna was sweeping the front porch when she heard a horn sound and looked up to see Frank’s blue-and-white car heading down the long driveway. He had the top down, revealing Frank at the wheel and a young couple in the back seat. Her heartbeat quickened as she recognized Johnny riding in the front with Frank. She waved and tried not to run down the porch steps to greet them.
The car pulled to a stop and Johnny pushed up to sit on the seat back. “Hey, Edna, grab your suit. We’re headed to the lake.”
Worried about leaving on her first day there, Edna had discussed it with her aunt the night before. They’d sat at the kitchen table,
sipping iced tea from the Mason jars Janice used as glasses.
“I do want to go to the lake, but I feel terrible leaving you alone on the first day after I arrived,” Edna admitted.
Janice laughed. “You are a sweet girl, but you don’t need to worry about me. I was alone yesterday and the day before. I think I’ll be all right.”
“I’m alone too. That’s the only reason my mom wanted me to come. So I could see what my life would be like if I don’t find a husband.” She winced. “Sorry. No offense.”
“None taken. Some women think their only plan in life is to find a man, get married, and have babies. That’s never been my goal. I’ve had plenty of chances to get married, but I’m single by choice. I have a sassy mouth and a free spirit, and I haven’t found anyone to keep up with me yet. I don’t see myself as a spinster or a failure for not being married. I see myself as a liberated woman, who makes her own decisions and enjoys life.”
Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she winked at Edna. “I can still enjoy the company of men when I want to. But I can experience their finer points and don’t have to do their laundry or cook for them.”
Edna’s cheeks warmed at her aunt’s implication, and her heart swelled with love for this lady who made her feel less like an outcast and more like an independent woman. “Aunt Janice, I’m so grateful to be spending the summer with you. I love visiting with you and want to do my part to help out. That’s why I feel bad going to the lake my first day here. I don’t want to hurt your feelings or skip out on any work you need me to do.”
“Oh honey, it takes a lot more than that to hurt my feelings. You seem to have the misguided idea that you were sent here to be free labor or that being here is some type of punishment. I wanted you to spend the summer with me so I would have some company and so you could experience something new.” She narrowed her eyes at her niece. “And I thought it would be good to get you out of that house for a little bit. To give you a little break.”
Edna wondered how much Janice knew of her mom’s drinking problem. “Thank you. It’s been hard since Dad died. My mom can be a little overbearing sometimes.”
Janice rolled her eyes. “Okay, we can save the part where we talk about your mom for another night. A night when we have chocolate cake and some strawberry wine.”
She leaned forward and took Edna’s hand. “But for now, I want you to know that this is your summer. It’s your time to read, to relax, to find yourself, if that’s what you need to do. If you want to pitch in around here, I’ve always got chores that need to be done. But I asked you here this summer for you. And for me. I miss my brother, and you remind me of the good in him. Plus, I see a little bit of myself in you, and I wish someone would have done this for me. So go to the lake tomorrow. Go every day if you want. Swim and laugh and flirt with that cute Johnny Collins.”
Edna looked down at her lap, embarrassed to meet her aunt’s eyes. Her voice was soft as she admitted, “I bought a two-piece and am considering wearing it to the lake.”
Aunt Janice laughed, a loud and hearty sound. “Good for you. You better wear it.” She winked at her niece. “I might consider getting one this summer too.”
Edna had lain awake the night before, listening to the sound of the crickets and replaying her aunt’s words in her mind. She could be anything she wanted. She just needed to figure out what that was. But in the meantime, this was her summer and she planned to make every minute of it count. She would read and swim and help out around the farm. And if she got the chance, she would definitely flirt with Johnny Collins.
Earlier that morning, Edna had put together a simple lunch with a sandwich and a large jar of iced tea. Her aunt had offered to send along a dozen of the chocolate chip cookies she’d made the day before.
She packed everything into a small basket and put on the pink polka-dotted two-piece. She wore white shorts and a blue sleeveless tank top over her suit. Her figure was slim and petite and the white shorts showed off the slight tan that was just starting to color her legs.
Part of her worried that Frank and Johnny weren’t going to show up and part of her was terrified they would. She’d swept the porch four times already as she tried to keep busy and act like she wasn’t bursting with excitement as she listened for Frank’s car.
Grabbing her things, Edna walked to the car as if she didn’t have a care in the world. As if she were completely unconcerned about the cute boy in the car wearing a white t-shirt, a faded red swimsuit, and a grin that was setting her insides on fire.
Johnny jumped out of the car and held open the passenger door for her. He pointed at the couple in the back seat, and Edna was surprised to see the red-haired boy who had arrived on the bus with her yesterday. He had his arm around a plain-looking girl in purple shorts, her brown hair pulled into a ponytail. “This is Weasel and his girlfriend, Donna. Guys, this is Edna.”
Edna waved and nodded at the boy. “I think we were on the bus together yesterday.”
Weasel smiled. He had a light spattering of freckles across his cheeks and hazel eyes. “I didn’t think you noticed. You had your head in a book most of the trip.”
“Well, it was a long trip and a good book,” Edna said, not quite sure how to respond, unsure if he was making a statement or an accusation. “Is Weasel a nickname or was your mom fond of animals?”
The girl sighed. “His real name is Warren. These two lunkheads started calling him Weasel in grade school and now everyone thinks that’s his name.” Her voice had a slight nasal quality to it, so her statement came out sounding like a whine.
“He was a year younger than us in school, but lived in Frank’s neighborhood. He was always coming around, trying to weasel his way into our fun,” Johnny explained. “After a while, we just got used to him, and he’s been hanging around us ever since.”
Weasel kicked at the front seat. “Yeah, and I’m still waiting for them to start having some fun.”
Edna smiled. “It’s nice to meet both of you.” She slid into the seat, holding the lunch basket on her lap, acutely aware of her bare legs touching both Johnny’s and Frank’s as Johnny slid into the seat next to her.
Frank put his arm around the back of the seat, turning his head to reverse the car and get it turned around. He smiled down at her. “Glad you could make it. It’s gonna be cool. You’ll see.”
The ride to the lake took about fifteen minutes. Between the music blaring from the car radio and the wind whipping their hair, there wasn’t a lot of conversation. Edna was happy to look out at the scenery, watching the wheat fields go by. She caught her breath as they passed an entire field of golden sunflowers, their yellow faces reaching to the sun.
The fields gave way to cottonwood trees as they neared the lake. Frank turned down the dirt road leading to the beach. The ride was over too quickly. Edna enjoyed being squished between the two boys, caught between the scents of Frank’s aftershave and the clean laundry detergent smell of Johnny’s white shirt. They both smelled like soap and pomade, and Edna could have stayed there for hours.
They turned a corner, and Edna gasped as she got her first look at Watson’s Pond. It was huge. Blue-green water as far as the eye could see. A few boats were out, and Edna saw a boy skimming across the lake on water skis.
A long, sandy beach ran along one edge of the lake, and a string of red-and-white bobbers cordoned off the swimming area. Umbrellas and bright beach towels lay scattered across the sand as weekenders spread out to spend a day in the sun. A group of teenagers were setting up umbrellas, and two young moms lay sprawled across red towels, chatting away as their toddlers poured sand into buckets a few feet away.
“What d’ya think?” Frank asked, raising an eyebrow at her. “Pretty great, huh?”
Edna nodded, a smile breaking out on her face. “Yes. Really great.”
“What are we waiting for?” Johnny pushed open the car door and grabbed a stack of towels from the back seat. “Let’s go get wet!”
The group followed Johnny
and dropped all of their things in a pile on the beach. The sand was already hot under Edna’s feet and she spread out a towel to stand on before pulling off her tank top. She dropped her shirt to the ground and noticed Johnny watching her.
He raised his eyebrows at her, one corner of his mouth lifted in a grin. “Nice polka dots. I like the pink. Somehow I knew you would be a two-piece girl.”
A two-piece girl? What in the world did that mean? Edna didn’t know, and she didn’t care. She loved it. It sounded brave. And a little daring.
Being here gave her a chance to start over, to be someone besides the girl whose dad just died or the girl who still lived at home. Yes, that was a label she could live with. She stepped out of her shorts and threw back her shoulders. Putting a hand on her small waist, she wiggled her hips a tiny bit. “Yeah, I am a two-piece girl. A pink polka-dotted two-piece girl.”
Johnny laughed and pulled off his t-shirt. “Let’s see if you can swim.”
Swim? Edna didn’t know if she could even breathe. Looking at Johnny’s tanned chest and muscled arms made her throat go dry, and suddenly all the water in the lake didn’t seem enough to quench her thirst. His waist was slim, and a fine line of blond hair ran from his navel to the top of his swimming trunks. A long white scar ran down one side of his ribs, and Edna had the insane urge to reach out and run her finger along the smooth scar tissue.
He turned to run down to the water. Edna’s hands flew to her mouth as she saw a group of bruises clustered around his lower back.
Before she could say anything, Frank stepped between her and Johnny and gave her a look of discretion. Frank’s voice was low as he spoke. “Johnny’s a mechanic. He’s always getting hit with engine parts.”
Oh really? Did engine parts have fists? Edna studied Frank’s face, seeing the confirmation of her suspicions in his downcast eyes. She respected his motivation to protect his friend and looked away, unsure how to respond.