Chapter Thirty-Six
DYLAN
Present Day
I turned seventeen in January, I didn’t feel any different then, but now that it’s June and we’re celebrating this week, I feel like I need to make a second wish. Something is definitely different now, I’m not sure what, but I couldn’t let this feeling pass without making the same wish this morning that I make every birthday:
God, please.
Just one thing, please.
Send back my dad, please.
I looked in the mirror and sighed. Mom and Carrie are planning to take me out today for our staycation celebration and I know it’s going to be a good day even though I’ve been bummed that we couldn’t find out what happened to Dad.
Carrie asked me to meet her at our spot and when I got there, she had a small box waiting for me on a blanket. I looked around, but she was nowhere in sight, so I grabbed the box and ripped into it. I pulled out the contents, one by one, inspecting each item:
A Marble
A fishing Hook
A Concert Ticket
I looked around again, searching for Carrie, but instead of finding her, I saw a trail of popcorn leading down the path, into the trees. I followed the popcorn trail until my eyes landed on her, swinging in a hammock that was tied between two trees.
“Bout time you found me.”
She popped her head up.
“Now get over here and swing with me!”
I put the box down and climbed into the hammock. She readjusted herself so she was laying next to me with her head resting on my chest and her leg draped over mine. We watched as the wind blew through the thicket, making the branches sway along with us. She started to sing Happy Birthday, but she couldn’t make it all the way through without laughing.
“Thank you.”
I squeezed her into me and kissed the top of her head.
“You’re welcome.”
We stayed like that for a while, making out and laughing and then making out some more. Then she said we had to get moving if we were going to stay on schedule.
“What schedule?”
I asked.
“You do remember that it’s not actually my birthday, right?
“Well, that’s insulting.”
She slapped my arm playfully and stuck her tongue out at me.
“Birthday or not, we have some fun things planned and your mom spent a lot of time getting it together so let’s go!”
On our way to pick up Mom, she texted and said, “Change of plans, meet me at Lakeside Lanes.”
“The bowling alley, okay. Is that what the marble was supposed to be for?”
I chuckled because I couldn’t figure that one out when I opened the box.
Carrie laughed.
That never gets old.
Her laugh is infectious.
When we arrived at the bowling alley, Mom had reserved a lane with a table and already had some breakfast munchies laid out for us. While we bowled, she told me more about the day she met Dad. She said our conversation with Maggie inspired her to be more open about her and Dad’s relationship. It’s a new side of Mom, being able to openly talk about Dad, and it made me think that the feeling I felt this morning was right on; something is definitely different.
After we bowled, I was informed that our next stop was the lighthouse. When we got there, we climbed to the top and looked out over the bay where Mom pointed out a small boat headed our way.
“Get ready for some fresh water fishing!”
Mom said while we descended our way back down the staircase and out onto the rocks by the water.
“I’ve never actually been fishing, so you’re going to have to give me some pointers.”
Carrie said to me, holding up the hook that was in the gift box.
I laughed.
She laughed, and she didn’t even know why.
Yeah, I’m gonna have fun with this one.
As the skipper docked the cuddy, I helped Mom and Carrie climb aboard and we were off, floating away from the lighthouse and out into the bay where the rockfish swam. The music on the radio was playing some good ol’ country music and I smiled as I watched my two favorite girls singing and dancing along to the tune of Kelsea Ballerini’s Miss Me More.
I started pulling the fishing rods out and preparing them to be baited when Carrie came up behind me. She wrapped her arms around my waist, and I kissed her cheek before she released me and asked how she could help. I grabbed the small bucket of worms and held it up to her, “You can learn how to bait the hooks.”
I told her smiling. I knew Carrie hated anything slimy so when she wrinkled her nose and shook her head at me, I couldn’t help but laugh. I decided I wouldn’t make her stick her hand in the bucket and instead baited them myself and worked with her on casting the perfect line, which by the time we were done, was almost better than mine.
We all cheered Mom on as she reeled in what she thought was a big catch. But as she pulled her rod up, all that was hanging from the end of the line was a giant piece of seaweed and she joked that her worm must have thought she was vegetarian. It was the perfect segway for her to start a story about one of our fishing trips with Grandpa when I was three. Apparently, I was playing in the bait bucket and before she was able to grab the worm from my hand, I put it in my mouth and swallowed it.
“Ew, that’s disgusting!”
Carrie gagged.
“Is that why his breath always tastes like old cheese, then?”
Her mouth fell open with a haha and I said “Oh, like this?”
and I pulled her in and kissed her; a long dramatic kiss that made Mom turn away.
When she broke the kiss, she smiled and whispered, “Maybe you should eat some more worms if it makes you kiss like that!”
We were having a moment when I looked over and saw Mom taking pictures of us.
“Mom! Really?”
“What!?”
she played dumb.
“I have to have some candids to share at your future wedding, don’t I?”
I rolled my eyes at that. Mom had been throwing comments like that out over the last few months, ever since I asked her to help me pick out a promise ring for Carrie’s upcoming birthday.
The truth is, I would marry Carrie right out of high school if I thought she would start her life with me here in our hometown. But I know she has big plans that don’t include sticking around here after graduation. I’m not sure what our future holds.
I looked over and saw Carrie gazing out over the bay, so I changed the subject, seeing that we were almost back to shore and didn’t want to end this excursion with a bad vibe.
“So, what’s next on the staycation itinerary?”
Mom looked at her watch, “It’s 1:30, and we have about forty-five minutes until we have to be at our next location, so that means it’s time for milkshakes at the Shake Shack!”
The Shake Shack used to be my favorite place to request when Mom wanted to go out for a sweet treat. They serve gourmet milkshakes with all sorts of crazy toppings like mini brownies, fruit kebabs and cookie slices or upside-down ice cream cones. They are definitely not your ordinary milkshake and you better come with an empty stomach, because it’s like a meal in a cup.
I ordered a cherry chocolate chip shake with mini brownies on top while Carrie opted for a peanut butter chunk shake with a banana and cherry skewer. Mom ordered a chocolate shake with mini marshmallows and graham cracker crumbs. We all tasted each other’s and ranked them from best to worst; mine was the fan fave and none of us were able to finish them. I hated to toss my remaining half of a shake in the trash, but I knew I would regret it later if I forced myself to finish it off. How did I ever finish these as a kid?
Once we left the Shake Shack, we made our way over to the regional airport. It was a small runway, used primarily by privately owned planes, puddle jumpers, and it’s where I got a taste for flying. We were met by Mom’s old boyfriend, Cody. I didn’t even know they kept in touch.
They shared a small moment where Mom went in for a friendly hug and he held it longer than he should have. When they separated, I could tell Cody’s eyes looked Mom up and down and I jumped in to save her, clearing my throat loudly, “Hey Cody, it’s been a long time!”
I reached out to shake his hand and he was brought back to the present.
“Dylan! Look at you, you’re almost taller than me!”
He took my hand and gave me a hug, slapping my back in friendly recognition. I had always liked Cody and I never knew what happened between them; he just stopped showing up one day when I was nine. I made a mental note to ask Mom about it later and I introduced him to Carrie.
Cody explained that we were going to be taking a trip down the coast, along the Eastern Shore where we were sure to see some dolphins popping up in the Chesapeake Bay if we looked out the windows. I sat with him in the cockpit, and we went through the pre-flight checklist together. During takeoff, I sat back and watched, in pure awe as we made our way higher and higher into the clouds. Once we reached altitude, the view was just everything I remembered from the last time I was up here with him and I can honestly say, this was where I wanted to be. Cody let me take the controls for just a minute and it was exhilarating! He pointed out everything and told me to look down when we were over the bay. A peek back at Mom and Carrie told me they were enjoying this just as much as I was. When we had finished our tour, Cody flew us back toward the airport and I initiated the landing gear when he gave me the nod. We touched down and taxied back to the hangar and we all clapped: this was the best part of the day so far!
When we were back on solid footing, safely outside the plane, Mom handed me an envelope. She had written “Happy Staycation!”
on the front and I tore it open, pulling out a slip of paper that read: GIFT CERTIFICATE FOR THREE PRIVATE FLYING LESSONS COACHED BY CODY FRESNO
“No way! Mom, this is the best gift ever, thank you so much!”
I shouted.
“Well this is a combined gift from the both of us.”
Mom pointed between herself and Carrie.
“Carrie was the one that told me you were interested in becoming a pilot – I had no idea!”
“Thanks, babe!”
I said to Carrie, and she mouthed: Welcome.
“So, it looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other then, won’t we?”
Cody came up to us and I’m not sure that remark was necessarily directed at me. I really need to find out if there’s something going on with these two again.
I drove us all back to Mom’s car and we headed home for a planned break from the activities. Carrie and I stopped by her house so she could change and when we pulled into the driveway, her mom was jumping up and down with excitement from the front door. She handed Carrie a large envelope and her face lit up. I looked on as she opened the envelope with shaky hands; it was labeled from Duke University, her number one choice for nursing school. She had her hand on the papers in the envelope, but she couldn’t bring herself to pull them out.
“I can’t do it! What if it’s a rejection letter?”
She handed the envelope to me.
“You open it, please.”
I took it from her and pulled the papers out, reading them over before I said anything. My heart sank at first, but I quickly corrected it with a smile on my face as I read it out loud:
“We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Duke University as a Freshman for Fall Semester with a major of Bachelor of Science – Nursing.”
“I got in?”
she screeched.
“You got in!”
I shrieked back.
“I knew it!”
her mom chimed in.
We all jumped around on the porch, excited and terrified at the same time. I could not be more torn with my thoughts and emotions at the moment. I was thrilled that Carrie got into her top choice of schools; this has literally been her dream for as long as I’ve known her. And I was also scared of what this means for us; North Carolina is not as far as Alabama, but it would still be long-distance, could we survive that?
We went inside and Carrie ran upstairs to change, bouncing all the way up. I followed Ms. Lancaster into the sunroom, and she asked me how my day had gone so far. While we chatted for a bit, she told me she had found an old photo of my dad that she wanted to show me. It was in a small photo album, tucked behind some other photos like it was hidden. There he was, sitting on a couch with two other guys next to him, he wasn’t smiling in this picture, it’s probably the first one I’ve seen where he wasn’t. God, I could be looking in the mirror, I thought.
“He was seventeen here, we were having a party at my house. I took this picture just after he broke up with me for the first time and I found him using my phone to send a page to your mom. I didn’t know her at the time but when he hung up and walked away, I hit redial on the phone and listened as a voice message played: ‘This is Ellie, you know the drill’ and I committed that name to memory.”
“Is that why he’s not smiling in this picture? And what’s a page?”
I asked. She laughed and swiped her hand through her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear.
“I forgot, you kiddos don’t know what it’s like to not have access to a cell phone all the time!”
I handed her the picture, and she tucked it back into its place in the album.
“A page is like a text message before cell phones existed. You would call a friend’s pager number and after the beep, you would enter your phone number or a coded message with numbers, then you would wait for them to return your call, assuming they were somewhere they had access to a pay phone or someone’s house phone.”
“And did Mom call back at your house?”
I asked her, really curious because this was a new perspective of Mom and Dad that I hadn’t heard before.
“No, I never heard the phone ring, so he must have entered a code for her. When I asked him who Ellie was and he just blew me off because he was already mad at me that night. Later, I had found out that he met your mom a long time before me and that they used to keep in touch the entire time we were dating.”
“Oh.”
I said, not sure how to respond to that. Obviously, I was all for Mom and Dad but that must have sucked, finding out that your boyfriend had been talking to someone else throughout your whole relationship.
Carrie came into the room then, still bouncing around on a high from the Duke acceptance news.
“Mom, we’re meeting up with Dylan’s mom for dinner, we’ll probably be home late, don’t stay up, kay?”
she pulled her hair into a ponytail while she talked.
“Okay sweetie, I’m probably going to turn in early anyways. I have an early start tomorrow, cleaning up from a big group that will be checking out.”
They hugged and we walked outside to my car when Mom called my phone.
“Hey Mom, we’re just about to head out to meet you at the restaurant.”
I explained without even saying hello.
“Oh bud, I’m sorry, I’m just really not feeling well right now and I need to lay down. But you two go ahead, enjoy dinner together and I’ll be ready for some more fun tomorrow.”
Mom told me quietly. She had a headache again; that happens a lot during the summer, I don’t think she drinks enough water when it’s hot out.
“Ok, Mom. No worries, lock up and I’ll come in through the garage.”
I told her and then hung up.
“It’s just you and me tonight.”
I smiled at Carrie.
We decided not to go back into the city for the big restaurant scene and opted, instead, for The Pub in town. It’s a sweet spot in the center of the town square that has both indoor and outdoor seating. It was a little chilly out tonight, so we asked for a table inside and boy, they were crowded when we got there; I wasn’t sure if we were going to be able to get a table. The hostess goes to our school, so we talked with her as we waited for a table to open up. I asked her about the group of military guys in flight suits that I saw. They were gathered at a large table laughing and enjoying drinks. She said they had been here for almost two hours, and they kept chatting it up with her. They’ve been in the city all week for meetings and were told they had to try this place out because they were sure to like the small town vibe. I was standing next to the man at the end closest to us and thanked them for their service just as our hostess led us to our table.
Carrie and I sat in a small booth and ordered drinks. I held her hands across the table and told her how proud I was of her for getting into Duke. She told me how excited she was, and we talked and ate, me stealing glances at her the whole time. She takes my breath away and sometimes I just can’t believe I get to share my time with her. I wanted to talk to her about us and how life would be when she moves away for school, but I didn’t want to chance ruining the mood; we’ve been having an amazing day, and this night has been the cherry on top.
I asked the waitress for our check, and she told me that someone from the big group of Air Force guys covered our meal, and we were free to go. I looked over and saw that they had all already left the restaurant, except one guy, he was at the door looking at us and he tipped his hat, nodding as he walked out.
“That was so nice of them.”
Carrie gushed.
“Dylan? What? What did you see?”
she asked me because I was staring at the door as it closed and the man that paid our bill was walking away toward the parking lot. I had chills along my arms, and I jumped up, running out the door but he was already driving away. It was him; I swear it was him.