Chapter 24
Summer
On Sunday morning, Seb and Zander help me in the garden.
The veggies are still growing. The growing season is much longer than I'm used to in Virginia, but things are slowing down.
I helped Rose at the plantation for a few hours yesterday, and she gave me a few more clippings to add to my flower beds.
She also let me cut a bouquet to take home since they were cleaning up the rose bushes.
I helped her repot hundreds of poinsettias for the holiday season.
After lunch, Zander drives us to the pumpkin patch to meet everyone.
We have a good-sized group today with David, Olivia, Bay, Alex, Nick, Zander, Gabby, and Troy joining us.
The inviting farm has a row of stands near the entrance welcoming people with the warm scent of freshly baked goods, handcrafted items, a hayride, a corn maze, and a pumpkin patch.
Olivia zones right into the horse-drawn hayrides, so we start there, and she insists on sitting between Gabby and me.
The ride takes us around the entire farm, and with the warmth of the sun and the smell of dried hay and horses filling the air, it's very relaxing.
As Oliva chats away, Seb points out a nice area of unpicked pumpkins near the back of the field, which will be helpful.
As soon as the ride finishes, everyone follows Seb and me to the area he discovered, where we enjoy choosing our pumpkins.
Seb, naturally, is seeking the biggest one he can find, his eyes scanning the area as he walks.
Nick and Olivia join me in searching for perfectly round ones.
I spot my pumpkin, and Nick immediately produces a knife to sever the stem, then carries it over to the wheelbarrow Bay had the foresight to bring.
Seb finds a huge oval one that the guys make him carry, since it would fill up the wheelbarrow by itself. I have to smile at his pout, but he’s determined to keep it despite having to carry it back. Once everyone has what they want, we make our way back towards the parking lot.
Olivia is upset that she didn’t find her pumpkin and has a few tears in her eyes.
David and Gabby both assure her there’s lots more at the other end of the field, each taking a hand to walk her back.
As we’re in line to pay for our haul, I hear a happy scream.
Stepping aside, I see Olivia jumping up and down, clapping her hands together.
“Summer, Gabby, come here. You gotta see!” Olivia hollers.
Gabby and I walk over to her and David to see white and pink pumpkins in a crate by the edge of the field.
“Oh, they’re pretty,” Gabby exclaims.
“They’re pink. Can you believe it?” Olivia responds. “It’s my favorite color.” She seems awed there’s such a thing. The pumpkins are on the smaller side with warts on them, but the color is a beautiful blush.
“Pick one out, honey,” David tells her.
She goes rooting through the crate, handing off pumpkins to all three of us until she’s nearly at the bottom. She pulls out a perfectly round, fat gourd and holds it up in the air like a prize. “This is it!” she exclaims.
David helps us put the others back, and by the time we’re done, she has a smooth white pumpkin in her hands as well. Smiling at her, we head back to the line to pay.
Once the pumpkins are in the vehicles and everyone has seen and commented on the pink pumpkin, we decide to try out the maze.
“Okay, everyone,” Seb calls. “Let’s make this interesting,” he says, eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Last one out of the maze has to buy cider for the rest of us. Ready, set, go!” he yells, turning and running into the corn.
Shaking my head, I check in with the others.
Bay offers to take Olivia, Nick sticks with me, Alex goes with Gabby, and the parents decide to stick together.
The acre-sized maze stretches out before us, its twists and turns longer than its width.
The corn is so tall that only the vast blue sky is visible, and it is wide enough for a comfortable, side-by-side stroll.
Winding, forking paths cause our groups to quickly go their separate ways.
I can hear other kids nearby as we walk along our chosen path.
We come across several dead ends and have to turn around, but something about the maze is peaceful.
Despite occasionally hearing kids, it’s quieter in here with the corn reaching 7 feet tall.
I grab Nick’s hand as we work our way through, and he lets me lead and stays quiet.
We run into the parents once, heading in the opposite direction.
There are scarecrows, signs, and pumpkins scattered around the paths.
We eventually find the exit, and I stop Nick to take a selfie of us.
He leans in and kisses my head as I snap the photo.
Following the road, we find Olivia, Bay, Alex, and Gabby waiting around the corner, sitting on hay bales, so Nick and I join them to wait for the others.
Olivia’s hair is a mess with bits of hay and corn everywhere, so Gabby offers to braid it for her. “You guys were fast,” I say to Bay.
“Olivia ran the entire maze,” he shrugs. “She wanted to be first.”
“We came in first too, didn’t we, Bay,” Olivia says with a triumphant grin on her face.
“Good for you, Olivia,” I smile.
The parents join us about 5 minutes later, but there’s no sign of Seb. “Did anyone see Seb in there?” I ask.
No one came across him, so we decide to wait 10 minutes before searching for him.
As soon as the wait is over, we scatter to look for Seb.
As we encircle the maze, calling Seb’s name, Olivia and Bay venture back in.
From the left side of the maze, his voice carries to me a few minutes later. “Sunshine, where are you?” he calls.
“We’ve all finished the maze, Hurry. Olivia and Bay went back inside to find you. You’re closer to the end now. Can you follow my voice? I’ll start walking back towards the exit.”
“Man, how did you all get through already? I went in first,” he whines a little.
Chuckling, I keep talking to him as we make our way back towards the exit.
He runs into a few dead ends and gets further away a time or two.
I notice Nick texting the others, and Olivia finds him a few minutes later.
I can hear her giving him directions on how to get out.
Olivia walks out holding Seb’s hand, followed by a smiling Bay.
“Drinks are on Seb,” Troy announces with a smile.
Seb jogs over to me, slinging an arm over my shoulder. “Every time, Sunshine, dammit. Why can’t I ever win? I’m cursed.” He sighs dramatically, putting his weight on me, causing me to stumble.
“Well, you’re good at basketball, so that’s something,” I smile up at him. Poor guy. He’s so enthusiastic about everything, but is absolutely terrible at games. It’s a wonder he’s so good at basketball when everything else is a disaster.
Troy ends up buying all of us apple cider as we walk around the vendors.
I buy a crystal bracelet in blue while Zander purchases some popping corn.
Once everyone has finished shopping, we split up to head home.
It was a wonderful afternoon. Now, the guys and I have to study for midterms this coming week.