Walk in the Sun

I got off the train and was bombarded by the twins.

“Oh my, it’s about time you got here.”

I smiled the biggest smile I could. I was more than happy to be there.

“I know! I can’t believe I’m finally here. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve asked my mom to send or bring me here.”

The twins chuckled. They helped me grab my luggage and we were off.

“I know you want to experience Halifax, but we were ordered to bring you to the ‘Chi ASAP. You know how moms are.”

I chuckled at Jess’ words. I could picture Carmel giving her and Jenn the “order” to bring me “home” right away.

I wasn’t upset or anything. I couldn’t wait to see Carmel and Gary. The last time I had seen Carmel she came out of Ontario to visit the huge portion of my family that lives there back when I was eight. She came to tell us she was diagnosed with cancer. Thankfully, she beat the battle 2 years later. I was excited to see her smile again.

“It’s all good, I can’t wait to see your mom and dad again. It’s been way too long. Besides the last time was…y’know.”

Jenn turned to head to face me from the passenger’s seat. I could see the sadness in her face, but she smiled nonetheless.

“Yeah, it’ll definitely be happier times this time around.”

I smiled and nodded to myself. No other words were spoken throughout the car ride. Instead, we sang at the top of our lungs as Great Big Sea blared through the radio. If anyone was to drive by us, they would’ve thought we were crazy, or yelling at each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When we arrived at Carmel and Gary’s, I didn’t even take the time to take my bags out of the car. I ran up to the door and knocked, way too giddy for my own good. Jess laughed at me as Jenn spoke.

“Holy crap, Steph. You act like you’re about to meet Wayne Gretzky or something the second that door opens.”

I stuck my tongue out at both of them. When the door finally opened, I flew into Gary’s arms. He chuckled.

“Well, hello there. Long time, no see.”

I jumped down and smiled at him.

“Hey! How goes it?”

“Well you know, same shit, different day.”

I smirked and walked past him. I was in search of the momma of the house. As soon as I walked through the living room, I could smell Carmel’s famous Apple Crumble Pie. I glanced at my watch. 12:42 pm. I shrugged my shoulders with a smile and walked into the kitchen.

“Lordy, that smells good.”

The lady I had been waiting to see turned around. I felt tears spring into my eyes as I finally saw the smile I have waiting 9 years to see. I walked up to Carmel and wrapped her in a tight hug. I heard her softly chuckle.

“Oh, sweetie. It’s so good to see you.”

I pulled away, and sure enough, there was tears falling down my face.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed you. Oh, and that smile. I missed that smile.”

Carmel’s eyes were filling with tears as well. We stood there crying and smiling for a few moments before Jess barreled into the kitchen.

“Hey Steph, you’re room is……ready. What’s going on?”

Carmel and I looked at each other, smiling, before we turned our attention to Jess.

“It’s nothing Jess, your mom and I were just catching up.”

Jess smiled and grabbed my arm.

“Well, sorry Mom, but I need to get this one settled in before dinner. She’s got a huge summer ahead of her.”

I turned back and took one last look at Carmel before Jess had pulled me out of eyesight. We shared a small smile. I was so happy to be there and I was already making a plan it my head to come back every summer.

Jess took me upstairs to my room. It wasn’t anything overly special, but it was perfect for me. It felt like the room I had back home, only when I looked out my window back home, I saw street lights and a bunch of houses. The view from my window in Carmel and Gary’s house? It was a beautiful view of a field that went on for as long as you could see, only to be stopped by the lake. I looked out the window and sighed. It made me feel more at home the longer I stood there.

I finally tore my gaze away from the window and began to unpack. I had everything but a small amount of clothes unpacked before dinner.

After hearing Gary holler throughout the house that dinner was ready, I rushed down the stairs. I almost ran smack into Jenn when I reach the bottom of the stairs. We looked at each other and giggled. We both knew that Carmel made great food and everyone raced to get the first bite.

Carmel, with a little help from Gary and their oldest son Donald, had cooked up some barbecue chicken, seasoned potato wedges and Carmel’s signature Caesar salad.

After we all sat down, the questions began. Gary started.

“So, Steph, what do you want to do now that you’ve finally made the trip down here?”

At first, I didn’t know how to begin answering that, because upstairs in my room, I had a list prepared. At that moment, however, I had forgotten every single thing on that list.

“I’m not sure what I would like to do first. I do know that Jenn promised me to take me to Halifax and on a tour of Nova Scotia. I’m looking forward to that.”

Carmel smiled as she fired off the next question.

“Well, I think you’re making the trip to Nova Scotia tomorrow, right Jenn?”

My eyes widened at the thought, and my smile grew as I saw Jenn nod.

“Yepp. We’re definitely stopping at the first Timmie’s we see. I’ll take you on a “day in the life” kind of experience tomorrow. That way, when you come here for school next September, you’ll have what us college girls do down pat.”

I looked down at my hands. I hadn’t made a final decision as to where I’d be going to college yet. I still had one more year of highschool left. I figured I had a lot of time to decide. I had previously discussed with Jenn about going to school in Halifax. She would have one more year after I would start. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure of how comfortable I would be being so far away from the rest of my family and my friends.

I didn’t speak much during the rest of dinner. I was excited about going to Halifax, but thinking about college had plagued my mind of any positive thoughts. As soon as I finished eating, I excused myself and went up to my room.

I pulled out my phone and called my mom. I had promised her that I would phone her when I arrived, but didn’t have time til then.

“Hi honey. How are you? Did you arrive okay? You’re calling pretty late.”

I chuckled. The mother’s worry was clearly in overdrive.

“I’m fine, Mom. I arrived okay and on time. I was just catching up with Carmel and then we had dinner. I finally got the time to phone you now. Sorry it’s late.”

I heard her sigh.

“Oh, that’s good to hear. So how are you liking it so far? Any news on what you’ll be doing for the next two and a half months?”

“Well, I know that I’m going to Halifax tomorrow with Jenn. She wants to give me the ‘day in the life’ experience.”

“Day in the life of who? Jenn? Why would she ask that?”

It was then that I was conflicted on whether or not to tell my mom that I had been talking about going to college in Halifax. I decided against it for the time being.

“She says it’s to get me ready for the college life. I’m kinda excited about it. I’ll get an insight on what college kids do on a daily basis. Starting, of course, in true Canadian fashion, with Timmies.”

My mom chuckled.

“Well I hope you have a good time. Be sure to have Carmel call me so her and I can go over the plan for when you come back home.”

I sighed. I didn’t want to hear about going back home already. Especially after I had just arrived.

“Okay, I will. Love you Mom. I’ll call you soon.”

After I hung up from my mom, I changed into my pajamas and crawled into bed. As soon as I turned on the TV, a knock came on my door.

“It’s open.”

Jess poked her head in my room.

“Hey, you okay? You looked a little out of it after Jenn made the comment about you going to school in Halifax.”

I shook my head. I tried not to think about the things that made me sad on my first day down east. I wanted to enjoy my time.

“No, I’m fine. I was just thinking about all the things I wanted to do tomorrow. You’re coming with us, right?”

She smiled and nodded.

“Of course, I am. You’re stuck with both me and Jenn this summer. Like it or not, you’re getting the twin treatment.”

I threw my head back and laughed.

“Can’t wait to see what that entails.”

Jess left my room, and I decided against staying awake. I figured since I was back in a happy mood, I would go to sleep and dream about what fun our day in Halifax would bring.