Not Sure
As Lisa stepped off the curb to cross the street her anxiety jumped a little when she realized she was now less than a block away from her destination. It was no big deal, but most of the walk here she was noticing how this was her favorite time of year and favorite time of day. It was the middle of the first week of July so that the whole summer lay sprawled out in front of her, and early enough in the morning that there was lots of potential for a full day of fun.
She looked up the street at all the big mature trees full of bright green leaves lightly shimmering in the sunshine. It was going to be a beautiful day. Flowerbeds were randomly scattered in different yards, most lawns looked maintained but some you could tell were a little neglected. None of this was new because she had walked up and down this street a million times on her way to and from school. Grace lived about half way between corners, but Lisa had never been inside the house.
Grace’s house was located in one of the older neighborhoods in town, but almost all the homes seemed nice, and well kept. Lisa looked up at Grace’s place and payed more attention to detail than usual. The front fence and gate were waist high with a clearly old fashion wire design. The side fences were a regular six foot picket neatly painted grey, while the simple landscaping was shady and the grass was freshly mowed as always. It would be a nice spot to hang out on a hot day because the shade would help deal with the heat. What really caught Lisa’s attention was how there were no kid’s toys strewn all over the place like her own yard. Her younger twin brothers were a menace, which was a large part of the reason she was here in the first place.
Bonnie had suggested Lisa hook up with Grace. “She’s really nice and a lot of fun” Bonnie had said while Lisa was having a bout of self-pity. “I can’t stay home with my brothers every day. They’ll drive me crazy!” Bonnie was able to get a job with the town golf course for the summer because she had turned sixteen in the spring and they wanted employees with a driver’s license. Lisa didn’t turn sixteen until the fall so was left to find a replacement for her best friend. The two of them had been inseparable since seventh grade, and now Lisa was feeling abandoned even though she was happy for her friend. Plus, Bonnie was going on a vacation with her family for two weeks in August, so they wouldn’t see each other at all during that time!
Lisa had known Grace since K-school but the two of them had never really gotten very close. They would play at recess once in a while, or be partnered up in gym, or were placed together by the teacher on the odd class project but they never seemed to click. Maybe it was because there was an occasional tiff between them like kids tend to do, but Lisa never felt as comfortable with Grace as she did with Bonnie. Whatever the case was, she had spent the first few days of summer vacation trapped in her own home trying to avoid any interaction with the “Rowdy Crew” as her dad called them, and didn’t want to waste another day in confinement.
As Lisa moved up the walk toward the house, she looked at the familiar wrap around deck off the second story and imagined it would be very pleasant up there too. The house was a darkish blue with black trim which was a bit different than most homes in town or anywhere else she had seen for that matter, but it looked good. She climbed the wide steps to the big veranda and approached the front door. There was a large brass knocker on it and a doorbell to the right. She debated which one to use, they were both so loud and she didn’t want to make that much of a disturbance. Lisa wasn’t even sure she wanted to take that leap to another companion who might not be as trustworthy as Bonnie, but then what would she do? Nope, she had to. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. She knocked with her knuckles, loud enough to be heard but not so loud she would startle anyone inside then waited.
The deadbolt clicked, the knob turned, and the door casually swung open. There was Grace with a big smile on her face “It’s good to see you” she said. “I’m glad you came, I’ve been looking forward to your visit.” Grace backed up and gestured “come on in”. Lisa stepped through the doorway into the house, her eyes trying to adjust to the darker lighting. There was some natural light creeping from the back of the house down the hallway straight ahead on the right and a staircase beside it going up straight ahead on the left. There was an open doorway on either side of her. The one on the left was obviously an office and the other looked like a sitting room.
“I’m glad too I came” her words fumbled out of her mouth. Lisa cringed, she must have sounded like an idiot, but Grace didn’t seem to notice so she decided not to dwell on it. Grace pointed to the sitting room, “let’s sit in here for a while”. The two girls moved into the room and sat down. Lisa sat opposite the window that looked out on to the street and Grace was curled up in a puffy armchair facing Lisa. It was comforting being somewhere unfamiliar but looking at a very familiar place. “I love your belt” Grace motioned to Lisa’s middle. “Thanks” Lisa looked down as if by instinct even though she had just put it on less than an hour ago. It was the one with the buckle that looked like three hearts stacked up. “I’ve had it for years though”. “Yeah, I know, I’ve seen it before and I’ve always liked it.” Lisa looked down again, this time noticing her jean shorts, white canvass runners and dark grey zip up hoodie that was covering a white and pink stripped tank top. Then she looked over at Grace wanting to reciprocate the compliment. Grace was wearing baggie grey sweat pants, a white sweat shirt with the sleeves cut off that looked like it would fit in with eighties fashion and bare feet. That made it tough. Grace usually dressed nicely but she was obviously in her comfort zone and quite relaxed about it so Lisa moved on. “I like your house. It’s weird being inside. I’ve seen it from the outside like a few thousand times.”
Grace did a sweeping glance over the room, “Yeah, I guess. I’ve lived here pretty much all my life so it’s kinda boring. Thanks though.” Lisa took a turn to evaluate the room. The walls were white with medium dark trim around the window and door and the floor was a well worn hardwood that looked like it had been refinished. There were a few elegant pictures on the walls, a table lamp, a few ornaments and that’s about it. Her parents must like things simple and neat she thought. “Where are your parents?” Lisa asked.
“Oh, they’re at work. They usually get home about 5:30.” “Oh, okay. What about your brother, does he still live here?” Lisa remembered Grace had an older brother who had been a few grades ahead of them and was now graduated. She didn’t know him much, but he always seemed pleasant and popular. “Bryce is sleeping. He works nights in a warehouse so he’s crashed ‘til about three or four. Don’t worry about him though, he sleeps like a rock. My dad says you could bounce him off the walls when he’s asleep and you won’t wake him up.” Both girls giggled.
“Can I get you anything?” asked Grace. “No, I’m good for now thanks. What did you think we were going to do today?” Grace paused for a second. “Well, I was talking to Melissa last night and she wants to go tubing down the river this afternoon with a bunch of kids from our school, so I thought that would be a good option.” “Who’s all going?” asked Lisa. “I’m not sure, but the more of us the better. We have a couple extra tubes if you want to borrow one.” Lisa thought about it briefly, she could go home and get her own tube but then she’d have to run the risk of encountering the twins. “Yeah, I’ll borrow one, it will save me the trip home to get mine. So that takes care of the afternoon, what about this morning?”
“Actually, I was thinking there’s some videos I could show you that you’d probably like, and, I’ve been wanting to ask you how you do that thing to your hair where you flip it over with the bow?”
Lisa looked at Grace kind of surprised “Yeah, for sure. You know, I’ve always thought we had similar hair, it’s the same length and thickness but yours is a darker brown and mine is almost dirty blond. You do some things that I’d like to learn too.” Grace Smiled “Cool. Are you sure you don’t want anything? I’m going to get a glass of water.” Lisa thought about it before she responded “Yes please, I’d like a glass too if you don’t mind.” “No, of course not. I’ll be right back.”
As Grace left the room, Lisa relaxed back in her seat, this was nice. As much as she would miss Bonnie being around her all the time, it was going to be fun hanging around someone new. When she wasn’t working, having Bonnie join them would be like adding a comfortable familiarity. It was going to be a good summer after all!
April 2020
