Summer's on Its Deathbed

Yasmine knew that constantly eating take out with Brendon was going to wreak havoc on her waistline and her health, so she suggested Brendon try out a healthier option for dinner. She’d come back into the apartment after talking to Jane, she was happy to see Brendon scooping salad leaves onto three plates.

“I went to Soup Plantation,” he grinned, clearly proud of himself, holding the bad brandishing the food chain’s logo aloft.

She laughed, ruffling his hair affectionately and kissing his temple. It was nice how easily they’d slipped into their routine; Brendon had fit effortlessly into their lives. Yasmine had been so wary of letting anyone in, but with Brendon she hadn’t given it a second thought.

After they’d eaten and Yasmine had tucked Alice into bed, she told Brendon of her new predicament regarding Jane going away.

“I’ll look after her.” Brendon said decisively, not even thinking for a second before he offered his time.

Her eyebrow cocked instinctively, it hadn’t even crossed her mind that Brendon could look after Alice, let alone that he’d actually want to look after her.

Pulling her feet from under her, she sat up straighter. “Really, you want to look after Alice every day after school?”

Brendon nodded enthusiastically. “I could take her to the park, or I could take her to get ice cream, I could take her to the studio!” He got more excited with each idea that he came up with. Her boyfriend was practically vibrating in the seat next to her; she could tell he really wanted this.

“Are you really sure you don’t mind doing this?”

He didn’t even answer, all he did was nod some more.

Yasmine pulled him closer and planted a kiss on his lips. “Thank you, so much.”

“Ally,” Yasmine called her sister who was sitting at the table doing her homework. “Come here, I have something to tell you.”

Alice jumped down from the table, discarding her colouring pencils and ran into the front room to find her sister sitting on the sofa.

“C’mere.” Yasmine patted the space next to her, which Alice jumped into eagerly. “Okay, so Jane is going on holiday tomorrow, which means she won’t be able to pick you up from school for the next couple of weeks.” Alice’s face fell slightly, she loved going over there and playing with Lily. “But,” she started, “Brendon said he’d pick you up and hang out with you until I get home from work.” Yasmine waited for a second trying to gauge her sister’s reaction.

She didn’t have to wait for long as Alice practically exploded from her seat, jumping up and down. “Yay!” she squealed. “I love Brendon!”

Yasmine let out a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding in. “He’ll start getting you from tomorrow afternoon. I’ll drop you off in the morning, but you need to remember not to look for Jane, but for Brendon at the end of the day.” Alice stared intently, taking in the information, her brow creased showing she was really trying to remember what Yasmine had just told her.

“Yazzy,” Alice said, jumping into her sister’s lap. She looked down for a second, fiddling with her fingers, she looked conflicted. Well, as conflicted as an 8 year old could.

A comforting squeeze of the hand pushed Alice to continue. “I miss mommy and daddy.” She said quietly, her eyes filling with tears. Yasmine was caught off guard, she hadn’t thought of her parents in a while and she instantly felt guilty for neglecting their memory. She’d spent so long trying to dwell on it, to stay strong for Alice that she’d almost forgotten about them completely.

It was tough to think of anything to say to comfort Alice because truthfully, Yasmine missed them too. She missed the comfort of her mother’s bosom when she was scared or when she was worried; she would always miss the strength and courage of her father. But she really couldn’t think of anything to say to reassure Alice, so she picked her up and rested her on her hip. Which was something she hadn’t done for years; Yasmine went over to the CD player and put in a CD which was always next to the player, but over the few months prior had just been gathering dust.

Moments later, the sounds of ‘Wouldn’t It Be Nice?’ by the Beach Boys flooded the room. It was Yasmine and Alice’s parents’ favourite song – they danced to it at their wedding and they would always catch them singing it together early on a Sunday morning over a cup of coffee.

All three of their daughters knew the words off by heart, so Alice and Yasmine both sat together and sang along; tears streaming down both of their faces. Even when the song had finished they sat together, wrapped in each other’s embrace, falling asleep. They didn’t even notice when Brendon entered the apartment. He looked upon the two of them hugging tears drying on their cheeks; without even asking he knew it was to do with their parents. Silently, he picked Alice up and gently nudged Yasmine silently to wake her. In her post-sleep confusion he just offered his hand and led her to her bedroom. He left her in there to get into bed while he went and tucked Alice in. A few months earlier, just after he’d found out about her parents’ death, she’d told him about their favourite song, so as he wrapped the blankets around the little girl he began “Wouldn’t it be nice if we older? We wouldn’t have to wait so long.” He sang softly. And if he wasn’t mistaken, he could’ve sworn he saw Alice lips curl up into a sad smile as she slept.

Brendon walked across the hall and into Yasmine’s room. She was lying on top of the blankets still in her clothes from the day. He shimmied off her hoodie and her jeans although those were more of a struggle. Just as he’d done moments before to Alice, he tucked in Yasmine and the next part of the song to Yasmine. “And wouldn’t it be nice to live together, in the kind of world where we belong? You know it’s gonna make it that much better, when we can say goodnight and stay together.”

He was just about to leave the room, intending on sleeping on the couch because he couldn’t be bothered to drive back to his apartment. But just as he walked away from the bed, Yasmine made grabby hands towards him, indicating that she wanted him back. So, she hadn’t be asleep like he’d first thought. Walking back over, he kicked off his battered sneakers and climbed into bed. He threw his arm over Yasmine’s waist and curled around her, both of them falling into a deep slumber.