The Perfect Summer

“Jena!” I call as I thump down the steep set of stairs. My long-time friend is asleep on the couch rather than in her own bed, which doesn’t surprise me; she’s always claimed that she’d rather have the floor than a strange bed. I guess the plush sofa was just as good.

We’re up in Muskoka; right on the lake with five of our closest friends. The twins’ parents own a cottage that they decided to let us stay in for a couple of weeks this summer as a congratulations on finishing high school. We’re all using it more as our last chance to really hang out and have fun, since we’re scattering pretty far apart this fall.

“Calm yourself, Vivian! I’m up,” her voice, muffled by the pillow, sounds exhausted. It’s a seven hour drive to the lake from our hometown, and—thanks to me—it took us an extra two hours since we got lost several times. We left around five o’clock yesterday afternoon, and we didn’t get here until just after two in the morning after stops and redirection. We had to wait for everyone to be done exams and had anticipated being fairly late, but it was a shock to check the clock when we arrived and see just how late we actually were.

I’m a morning person, so I was still awake at seven sharp, but all I could do was lie in bed or risk waking Theodor. He’s a light sleeper and a late one. Sharing a bed with him could be tough, but at least it’s only for a while. Needless to say, it wasn’t long before both of us were up and ready with nothing to do but wait. No we’ve gotten a little impatient.

“I’ll drag Jen out of bed if you get your brother and the sisters,” I offer to David, who’s already waiting at the door.

“I’m already here,” Allen slips quietly out of the bathroom under the stairs and joins us. “I’m pretty sure Stacey’s outside and Krista is in the kitchen.”

“Perfect; Teddy is just finishing up in the shower, I think,” I tear the blankets off of my still snoozing best friend and grab her ankle.

“Pull me and die.” She grunts, so I give her a gentle tug and sprint outside through the screen door between the twins. That ought to get her up.

I stop about halfway down the steep staircase to the dock. It’s a beautiful day; not too hot yet, but the chill of the morning has worn off. The loons call a fair distance away, somewhere out on the glistening water or within the shade of the towering trees along its edge. Everything is calm and still.
It’s a shame that that’s about to change.

The twins exit the cottage first, David balancing a protein bar on my shoulder for breakfast as he passes. Jena lumbers along after them, still in her pyjamas and scowling at the world. Stacey and her younger sister aren’t far behind, pushing past their lethargic friend to get ahead; they both give me a cheery good morning on the way down. Teddy is last, staying behind to talk Jena through her morning grumpiness so that she can actually enjoy herself today. I don’t wait for them, instead rushing down the last of the stone steps and gathering with the others.