Status: Haitus =/
Sunset Dock
00
Florida was definitely not on the list of places that Sierra Rose Michaelson wanted to waste her time in. It was hot beyond all rational reasoning, she was going to be stranded at her grandmother’s house for the duration of her stay—far from any tourist destinations or beaches and she was going to be stuck in a house where everyone was born before 1960. The split second decision to follow her father to the state of oranges was something she was regretting quickly.
But at 35000 feet there wasn’t a whole lot Sierra could do about that now. There was a baby crying somewhere behind her, her father was engrossed in a copy of “The Heroine Diaries” and she had nothing but a dying iPod to keep her company. It wasn’t that Sierra was some rotten kid who didn’t want to see Grandma, she did, she just didn’t know if spending longer than 3 hours with any member of her father’s family was a good idea.
Her grandmother was a lively tough old woman whom Sierra loved deeply. Her grandmother’s fiancée was a World War II veteran whom she’d never met. Her grandmother was to be married, in a small ceremony containing only her father, her uncle, and herself in the living room of her grandmother’s fiancee’s home.
Sierra wasn’t a traveler, she was a Jersey girl born and raised and had never been on a plane. The farthest south she’d gone was a car ride to the middle of nowhere West Virginia to visit family as a child. Hell she hadn’t even been to New York. Sierra liked Jersey, it was good, it was safe—it was home. Sierra understood Jersey, she understood the people. Jersey was the Mecca for music, only the strong survived, it had pork roll, she didn’t have to pump her own gas. Florida had Orlando and theme parks…yeppie.
But even though her ears were popping and the airline attendant was being particularly annoying Sierra tried to stay optimistic. This was a chance to get the father-daughter bonding she hadn’t gotten since her sister was born 11 years prior, it was a chance to leave all her problems behind her for a few days, it was a chance to experience something new, and it was all because Sierra loved her Grandmother enough to attend her third wedding to a man she’d known over half her life.
Maybe she would be able to just talk to her father—something she’d never truly done. Sierra had an amazing relationship with her mother. Sierra’s mother was like her best friend and she wasn’t afraid to admit that there were days when Sierra would rather stay home and watch Lifetime movies with her than go to the mall again with friends she wasn’t even sure she liked. Sierra wouldn’t complain though, she loved her father and he worked harder than anyone she had ever known but she couldn’t help but wish that she’d been closer to him. Sierra’s father worked and worked and worked. She’d leave before he woke in the morning and there were times when he wouldn’t come home from working as a mechanic and a welder until seven or eight o clock at night and go straight to bed. Her father was there without being there. The fact that suddenly it was going to be just Sierra and her father without her mother and younger sister made her nervous.
“Listen to this,” It amazed Sierra that her father could listen to mullet rock on his iPod while simultaneously reading a book. Sierra took one of the black earbuds she had bought for him and stuck it in her ear. “You can always tell when it’s Ted Nugent’s guitar.” He stated matter-of-factly. She listened closely, hearing Terrible Ted’s lead guitar and smiled softly at him. Sierra was used to hearing her father’s classic rock, it was one of the few things they bonded over—music. From a small child she had either heard Garth Brooks emanating from her mother’s cassette tape or Queen and Ozzy blasting from the entertainment system. There was a level of pride her father felt in knowing that Sierra could recognize bands like Boston, Bad Company, and The Allman Brother’s Band at the drop of a hat.
Sierra glanced at the little clock on her iPod which read 1:59 and couldn’t help but sigh; a solid hour left on the plane and only a 35% battery left on her iPod. Sierra could only pray it wasn’t a sign of things to come.
She tried to be optimistic about the whole thing but it just wasn’t working. Sierra was a realist and when she was going to spend time in a community where you had to be 55 or older the thrill aspect just wasn’t there. Which was why Sierra had packed to entertain herself. Her iPod and Voyager were in hand, her notebook, an activity journal entitled Wreck This Journal, The Vampire Diaries book, along with her MacBook Pro and camera were all tucked saftly away in her one bag of carry-on luggage.
With an Excedrin working wonders in her body and Ronnie Winter singing in her ear, Sierra prayed for sleep.
Thankful sleep came easy with the Orlando Airport steadily approaching, leaving only anticipation to fill her gut.
Well she never was the best
Yeah at following the trends
Stayed one step above the rest
And even though it seemed
Like the world was crashing on her
Didn't let it hold her down
Didn't hold her back oh no
But at 35000 feet there wasn’t a whole lot Sierra could do about that now. There was a baby crying somewhere behind her, her father was engrossed in a copy of “The Heroine Diaries” and she had nothing but a dying iPod to keep her company. It wasn’t that Sierra was some rotten kid who didn’t want to see Grandma, she did, she just didn’t know if spending longer than 3 hours with any member of her father’s family was a good idea.
Her grandmother was a lively tough old woman whom Sierra loved deeply. Her grandmother’s fiancée was a World War II veteran whom she’d never met. Her grandmother was to be married, in a small ceremony containing only her father, her uncle, and herself in the living room of her grandmother’s fiancee’s home.
Sierra wasn’t a traveler, she was a Jersey girl born and raised and had never been on a plane. The farthest south she’d gone was a car ride to the middle of nowhere West Virginia to visit family as a child. Hell she hadn’t even been to New York. Sierra liked Jersey, it was good, it was safe—it was home. Sierra understood Jersey, she understood the people. Jersey was the Mecca for music, only the strong survived, it had pork roll, she didn’t have to pump her own gas. Florida had Orlando and theme parks…yeppie.
But even though her ears were popping and the airline attendant was being particularly annoying Sierra tried to stay optimistic. This was a chance to get the father-daughter bonding she hadn’t gotten since her sister was born 11 years prior, it was a chance to leave all her problems behind her for a few days, it was a chance to experience something new, and it was all because Sierra loved her Grandmother enough to attend her third wedding to a man she’d known over half her life.
Maybe she would be able to just talk to her father—something she’d never truly done. Sierra had an amazing relationship with her mother. Sierra’s mother was like her best friend and she wasn’t afraid to admit that there were days when Sierra would rather stay home and watch Lifetime movies with her than go to the mall again with friends she wasn’t even sure she liked. Sierra wouldn’t complain though, she loved her father and he worked harder than anyone she had ever known but she couldn’t help but wish that she’d been closer to him. Sierra’s father worked and worked and worked. She’d leave before he woke in the morning and there were times when he wouldn’t come home from working as a mechanic and a welder until seven or eight o clock at night and go straight to bed. Her father was there without being there. The fact that suddenly it was going to be just Sierra and her father without her mother and younger sister made her nervous.
“Listen to this,” It amazed Sierra that her father could listen to mullet rock on his iPod while simultaneously reading a book. Sierra took one of the black earbuds she had bought for him and stuck it in her ear. “You can always tell when it’s Ted Nugent’s guitar.” He stated matter-of-factly. She listened closely, hearing Terrible Ted’s lead guitar and smiled softly at him. Sierra was used to hearing her father’s classic rock, it was one of the few things they bonded over—music. From a small child she had either heard Garth Brooks emanating from her mother’s cassette tape or Queen and Ozzy blasting from the entertainment system. There was a level of pride her father felt in knowing that Sierra could recognize bands like Boston, Bad Company, and The Allman Brother’s Band at the drop of a hat.
Sierra glanced at the little clock on her iPod which read 1:59 and couldn’t help but sigh; a solid hour left on the plane and only a 35% battery left on her iPod. Sierra could only pray it wasn’t a sign of things to come.
She tried to be optimistic about the whole thing but it just wasn’t working. Sierra was a realist and when she was going to spend time in a community where you had to be 55 or older the thrill aspect just wasn’t there. Which was why Sierra had packed to entertain herself. Her iPod and Voyager were in hand, her notebook, an activity journal entitled Wreck This Journal, The Vampire Diaries book, along with her MacBook Pro and camera were all tucked saftly away in her one bag of carry-on luggage.
With an Excedrin working wonders in her body and Ronnie Winter singing in her ear, Sierra prayed for sleep.
Thankful sleep came easy with the Orlando Airport steadily approaching, leaving only anticipation to fill her gut.
Well she never was the best
Yeah at following the trends
Stayed one step above the rest
And even though it seemed
Like the world was crashing on her
Didn't let it hold her down
Didn't hold her back oh no
♠ ♠ ♠
New short story. Not exactly sure how many chapters this will be but if you've read my others you know they tend to spiral out of control. This story is loosely based off my mini vacation to Florida--minus the boy of course =]