I Wouldn't Change a Thing

Present Time; June

“Now, you girls be good,” mom said with a false sweetness, her eyes straying to land on me a second longer than necessary. I rolled my own as she continued her lecture, “Don’t give Nan any trouble.”

My sister and I stood at the entrance to the security checkpoint of the Seattle airport ready to board a plane that would take us across the U.S. to our mother’s home state of Maryland. It had been years—five, to be exact—since either of us had been to Maryland to visit Nan and Gramps. Mom always found a reason not to go—a new client at work, not wanting us to miss any school, the weather.

But this time, Mom chose to send us—correction: me—to Nan’s. Thankfully, my little sister wasn’t going to let me spend an entire summer alone with our grandparents. God, did I love her!

I nodded my head, knowing better than to say anything—that would just prolong the conversation. “Bye, Dad,” I whispered as I hugged him tightly.

“Bye, Moll. Don’t worry; this summer will fly by. And who knows, maybe you’ll have some fun,” he said quietly, a smile tugging at his lips.

“But not too much fun. Right, Tony?” my mother added, a pointed looked aimed in his direction.

“Of course,” he conceded. But I didn’t miss the wink he sent my way.

“Okay. Well, you two ought to get going. Bye, Molly. Bye, Brookey. We love you,” mom said as we picked up our carryon bags, getting in line to go through the metal detectors, her voice rising with each step Dad dragged her away from us.

I couldn’t help but smirk at my Dad—he knew us all, too well—while I rolled my eyes at my mother’s wording. Bye, Molly. Bye, Brookey. Her precious Brookey—could do no wrong.



“Brooke. We’re here.” I shook her shoulder, waking her from the hour-long nap she had taken on the plane.

We gathered our bags and stood to exit the plane. I led the way through the busy airport, weaving between the throngs of people. Finally, we made it to the baggage claim area, and waited for the carousel to bring our luggage out.

Standing there, I couldn’t help but to dread this summer. No doubt, Mom had told Nan of every ‘offense’ I had made at home. No doubt, Nan would live up to Mom’s expectations in the discipline department. Oh, joy. How could I not look forward to a summer cooped up in my grandparent’s house, on the opposite coast of anyone I knew, while my sister was revered as the ‘golden child,’ yet again?

Everyone loved Brookey. How could they not? She was beautiful and smart, funny and impossibly likable. But, where did that leave me? I was the eldest, expected to set an example. Yet, I set the wrong one—in everyone else’s eyes, that is, not that they’d believe the truth.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Brooke questioned, nudging my shoulder with her own.

“Eh. Just—I hate what everyone thinks of me, you know? They don’t know who I really am,” I said quietly, subtly avoiding her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she answered, her voice low—sad. I didn’t answer, I never did. I couldn’t be mad at my sister, ever. She was my best friend. And truthfully, I would do anything for her.

We grabbed our luggage, talking lightly about what to expect this summer as we made our way outside, where Mom had said Nan and Gramps would be waiting to pick us up. But, they were nowhere in sight. Even if I hadn’t seen them in years, I would recognize them anywhere. Nan had always been my favorite grandparent as a child.

Instead we saw a twenty-something couple reuniting by a Ford Focus, a mother picking up her teenage-looking daughter by a Subaru Caravan, and two teen boys fooling around by a Lincoln Town Car. Where the hell were my grandparents?

“I’m sure they’re just late,” I mumbled, unsure if that was the truth.

“You’re right. They’re probably stuck in traffic,” Brooke said in the same tone, obviously attempting to agree.

I rolled my suitcase to a stop and took a seat on the tallest bag. Brooke mimicked my actions, angling her bag to face me—or so she could watch the two boys behind me. “Stop staring, Brooke. It’s creepy.”

“What? They’re hot.”

I rolled my eyes. Brooke thought every boy, who was older than her fifteen years, was hot. “Seriously? We’ve been here less than five minutes and you’re already scouting out guys.”

“One of them is looking at you,” she answered, her usual, devious smirk coming out of hiding.

“And I care why?”

“Oh, come on, Moll! We’re away from Mom and Dad; we have the summer to ourselves. Why don’t you just let loose a little?”

“Because, apparently I’m only here in the first place because I tend to let loose a little too much. Haven’t you heard?” I retorted dryly, rolling my eyes for the hundredth time today.

“If you’re getting in trouble for it, you might as well actually do it.”

“Hey, are you Molly and Brooke?” a male voice asked from behind me.

I turned to see the same two boys that had been fooling around minutes before. “And you are?”

“I’m Cole. And this dufus is Johnny. Nancy sent us to pick you up,” the taller boy with light brown hair falling in his eyes answered.

“Seriously? She sent Dumb and Dumber to pick us up? You don’t even look old enough to drive,” I observed, as I noticed Brooke making eyes at the one who had yet to talk.

“Well, I’m not. I’m fifteen, but Cole is seventeen,” Johnny responded. “So, are we going to drive you two to Nancy’s, or are you just going to stare at us?”

I lifted the handle of my roll-along and started to pick up my three bags. “Brooke?”

“Huh? What? Oh, right,” she mumbled as she, too, gathered her belongings.

We put our bags in the trunk and I shut it with force before turning to the boys, who were talking amongst themselves by the front of the car. “Oh, gee. Thanks for the help, guys,” I remarked sarcastically, grabbing Brooke’s arm and dragging her into the back seat of the Town Car.