Summer
Big Daddy Kangaroo
5:42
It's 5am and that should be illegal. I shouldn't even be awake at 5am, never mind capable of forming coherent sentences. I swear that time must be slowing down, every second that passes seems slower than it's predecessor. I am never going to get back to sleep. Never. By the time dad and Nancy get into the taxi we'll all be talking and moving in slow motion; as I lift my hand to wave them a final good bye we'll all finally come to a complete stop and live out the rest of eternity in a constant, frozen, state of good bye. Jeesh, that would be torture. Having freedom just within grasp but not being able to move my hands to grab it.
I swear to god though, I'm serious, I will live and die waiting for these people to get out of their house.
It's the 12th of June when Nancy and Michael Adden spend their last few hours in Miami rushing around the house checking and rechecking suitcases, eating breakfast, and yelling any last desperate warnings and/or regrets to their resident teenager-who-is-barely-a-teenager, and house sitter, Dylan. Dylan watches on in both excitement and blatant exhaustion as she tries her best to hurry them outside to the waiting cab, which is - much to her dismay - taking unnecessarily long.
"Have you got your passport?" Nancy yells from one end of the lounge room.
"Of course, I had it five minutes ago and I stil-" His voice dips as he swears quietly to himself, "Fuck! Where the he- never mind, found it! I'd just put it on the table for a second!"
"I am going to staple that thing to your forehead if you put it down one more time,"
"That would be a little awkward for Australian customs,"
"At least you'll have it!"
Their squabble is interrupted by an impatient beep from outside. Dylan peers though the window and can just make out the yellow of the cab as it sits, obscured by the bushes that neatly line the footpath. Turning to her father and his wife, she gives a big smile and grabs the only free suitcase from where it sits just beside the front door.
"Come on, we can all hug and kiss outside, once I'm convinced you're actually going to make it off the street, much less out of the country." She heaves her one bag and leads the way, the couple behind her doing one last desperate glance around the front room to check for any last potentially forgotten items before following suit.
It's a cold morning, but Dylan supposes most mornings are cold at 6am, she's just never awake to experience them - and thank god for that. She feels like she only got a minutes sleep before Nancy was in her bedroom to wake her up. That may have had something to do with the fact that she'd only gone to sleep three hours earlier, though.
"Alright, well don't burn the house down. Turn all the lights off when you go out, lock all the doors whether you're coming or going, don't hold any crazy parties, and make sure the house is this spotless the day we get home," Her father smiles. It's a warm smile that crinkles his eyes and draws familiar creases on his face, deepening as Dylan flashes her own back, "Call us if you need anything. We love you, little bird. Be good!"
"I always, always, always, always am, dad. I love you too. Don't become one with the Australian outback and leave me for a family of kangaroos," She pauses, "You know, I was reading that they're vicious and if you get caught in the middle of a pack the big daddy kangaroo will challenge you and use his huge claws to gut you fr-"
"We're coming home," Nancy interrupts with a laugh and gives Dylan an all-teeth smile, her top lip disappearing in the process, "We're definitely coming home, and I'll make sure you're father doesn't wander into a field of dangerous Australian animals."
"Not all of them - Koala's, for example, look cute. But ok, thanks." The three of them smile.
"Look after the house, Dylan," Nancy steps forward to kiss her cheek, a rare show of affection between the two. Surprisingly, it was Nancy that proposed Dylan take care of the house while they went overseas. The two women had always, miraculously, gotten on relatively well. While they're not exactly close, Dylan would describe their relationship as mutually respectful, even warily loving. Having Nancy around does help her father see her as the woman she has grown into, rather than the child he raised.
"I will. Bye dad, bye Nancy," She gives her father one last good bye hug before watching the couple step into the cab, wave, and then disappear.
6:12
They left. They're gone. OH MY GOD I'M SO EXCITED. FREEEDOOOOMMMM
I'm so going to stumble and crawl onto the nearest mattress and fall asleep for a million years. G'night... Or good morning?
It's 5am and that should be illegal. I shouldn't even be awake at 5am, never mind capable of forming coherent sentences. I swear that time must be slowing down, every second that passes seems slower than it's predecessor. I am never going to get back to sleep. Never. By the time dad and Nancy get into the taxi we'll all be talking and moving in slow motion; as I lift my hand to wave them a final good bye we'll all finally come to a complete stop and live out the rest of eternity in a constant, frozen, state of good bye. Jeesh, that would be torture. Having freedom just within grasp but not being able to move my hands to grab it.
I swear to god though, I'm serious, I will live and die waiting for these people to get out of their house.
It's the 12th of June when Nancy and Michael Adden spend their last few hours in Miami rushing around the house checking and rechecking suitcases, eating breakfast, and yelling any last desperate warnings and/or regrets to their resident teenager-who-is-barely-a-teenager, and house sitter, Dylan. Dylan watches on in both excitement and blatant exhaustion as she tries her best to hurry them outside to the waiting cab, which is - much to her dismay - taking unnecessarily long.
"Have you got your passport?" Nancy yells from one end of the lounge room.
"Of course, I had it five minutes ago and I stil-" His voice dips as he swears quietly to himself, "Fuck! Where the he- never mind, found it! I'd just put it on the table for a second!"
"I am going to staple that thing to your forehead if you put it down one more time,"
"That would be a little awkward for Australian customs,"
"At least you'll have it!"
Their squabble is interrupted by an impatient beep from outside. Dylan peers though the window and can just make out the yellow of the cab as it sits, obscured by the bushes that neatly line the footpath. Turning to her father and his wife, she gives a big smile and grabs the only free suitcase from where it sits just beside the front door.
"Come on, we can all hug and kiss outside, once I'm convinced you're actually going to make it off the street, much less out of the country." She heaves her one bag and leads the way, the couple behind her doing one last desperate glance around the front room to check for any last potentially forgotten items before following suit.
It's a cold morning, but Dylan supposes most mornings are cold at 6am, she's just never awake to experience them - and thank god for that. She feels like she only got a minutes sleep before Nancy was in her bedroom to wake her up. That may have had something to do with the fact that she'd only gone to sleep three hours earlier, though.
"Alright, well don't burn the house down. Turn all the lights off when you go out, lock all the doors whether you're coming or going, don't hold any crazy parties, and make sure the house is this spotless the day we get home," Her father smiles. It's a warm smile that crinkles his eyes and draws familiar creases on his face, deepening as Dylan flashes her own back, "Call us if you need anything. We love you, little bird. Be good!"
"I always, always, always, always am, dad. I love you too. Don't become one with the Australian outback and leave me for a family of kangaroos," She pauses, "You know, I was reading that they're vicious and if you get caught in the middle of a pack the big daddy kangaroo will challenge you and use his huge claws to gut you fr-"
"We're coming home," Nancy interrupts with a laugh and gives Dylan an all-teeth smile, her top lip disappearing in the process, "We're definitely coming home, and I'll make sure you're father doesn't wander into a field of dangerous Australian animals."
"Not all of them - Koala's, for example, look cute. But ok, thanks." The three of them smile.
"Look after the house, Dylan," Nancy steps forward to kiss her cheek, a rare show of affection between the two. Surprisingly, it was Nancy that proposed Dylan take care of the house while they went overseas. The two women had always, miraculously, gotten on relatively well. While they're not exactly close, Dylan would describe their relationship as mutually respectful, even warily loving. Having Nancy around does help her father see her as the woman she has grown into, rather than the child he raised.
"I will. Bye dad, bye Nancy," She gives her father one last good bye hug before watching the couple step into the cab, wave, and then disappear.
6:12
They left. They're gone. OH MY GOD I'M SO EXCITED. FREEEDOOOOMMMM
I'm so going to stumble and crawl onto the nearest mattress and fall asleep for a million years. G'night... Or good morning?