I gave her question some thought.
“They’re just . . . boys,” I said. “They’re all just in the process of growing up, like everyone else, I guess. Some are better than others.”
I contemplated it further.
“I know Mom and Dad don’t have any rules for us about dating, but you should be careful, Cambria. You shouldn’t give your heart out to just anyone. Most boys just aren’t ready for that, I think.”
“Hmm.” Cambria seemed to be mulling this over. “So, in college, the boys are ready?”
I almost laughed. “Well, I’m not sure about that. I guess I’ll let you know.”
“Starting high school’s scary enough. I can’t imagine starting college.”
“Me neither,” I said.
Chapter 6
By the time we got back home, my mom was concocting a pasta salad in the kitchen and my dad was barbecuing in the backyard. The air in the house smelled like hickory and herbs.
“Hi, River.” My mom was invariably happy to see him. “Hi, girls. Where were you guys? Why are you all wet?”
She offered us some sliced honeydew while Cambria told her all about our drive, the hike, the waterhole, and the bear we ended up seeing on our drive back.
“I want to go back there next summer,” she said, “with Hailey.”
Hailey was just one of Cambria’s plethora of friends. Unlike me, Cambria was a social butterfly, and she was popular in school. The two of us seemed to have so little in common, sometimes I wondered if we were really related.
“We’ll see, Cam.” My mom pulled what looked like another salad out of the fridge. “I think it’s time to eat. Why don’t you guys dry off and meet us outside? River, you can eat here if you want.”
The five of us ate dinner together at the patio table: me, my parents, Cambria, and River. After dinner, my mom served us cake and ice cream. She had made a strawberries-and-cream cake, the kind I had always requested when I was younger. My dad brought out gifts for me to unwrap. They’d gotten me a laptop for college, along with a journal, some books, and a sundress.
“Well, Drew. Now you’re an adult.” My dad said it as though this fact hadn’t occurred to me yet. “What are you going to do with your newfound freedom?”
“I don’t know,” I said, still working on my cake. “I don’t feel like anything’s changed.”
“Well, you’ll be off at college soon. That’ll be different. Then, before you know it, you’ll be a nurse. Or, maybe you’ll even think about medical school.”
River gave me a quizzical look. “Medical school?”
“No,” I said. My dad and I’d had this conversation before. “Dad, medical school’s too much for me. I can only handle so much science and . . . stress.”
“You never know.” That was how he always concluded the conversation, no matter how definitive and clear I made my language.
“I’m so proud of you, Drew.” My mom was standing up, clearing the table. “You really will be a great nurse, honey.”
“River, why aren’t you going to college?” Cambria said it casually, but the patio table suddenly seemed a lot quieter.
River only shrugged and said, “Not everyone has to go to college.”
“Maybe one day, though? Maybe you’ll end up being the doctor of the family.” This seemed to be all my dad talked about lately, when he was home.
“River’s not related to us, Dad.”
My mom, still trying to collect all the wrapping paper and dishes, scowled at Cambria. “Cambria Caldwell. River is part of this family. He’s like a brother to you.”
“Gross, Mom. He saw me in my underwear today.”
River and I looked at each other, trying to hold back laughter.
“Um,” he said, stifling his laughter and turning to my dad, “I don’t think I’m the doctor type, Bryan. Sorry to break it to you. Looks like that just leaves you, Cam.”
“Yeah, right,” was all she said.
Once we finished helping my mom clean up, River asked me if I felt up to going somewhere with him, one last adventure before nightfall. I said yes right away, not ready to let the day come to an end.
“You should put on your new dress,” he said, “before we go.”
“Okay. . . Is this some kind of special event you’re taking me to?”
“Yeah. I’d say so.”
◈ ◈ ◈
He drove us north, out of town, around the many backroads, and to the apple tree. We had been visiting it at least once a month since we first discovered it. But the month of August had seemed so fast and busy to me, I hadn’t realized we’d neglected to come in nearly four weeks.
We made our way past the barn, and then River broke into a sprint, looking back at me with a smile. I accepted the challenge and ran after him.
“Not this again,” I said when I made it up to the tree. “I can’t race you anymore, River Mahlon. You’re gonna have to start letting me win again.”
He patted the ground beside him. “Come here, Drew Caldwell.”
I took my place next to him under the tree. The meadow had somehow remained teal and lush throughout the hot, summer months. The barn appeared to be the same: old, alone, empty.
“Today was perfect,” I said. I took in a deep breath of the mild air and let it out slowly.
“Good.”
“It was like we were kids again.”
“Was it?”
I nodded my head.
“I’m glad you had a good birthday.”
“You made it good.”
The branches above us captured my attention, as they always did. I could see up there, nestled in the thick, vibrant leaves, countless miniature apples were starting to form. They looked fuzzy and oblong, and I could see just a hint of scarlet forcing its way through their green skin.
“I guess they won’t be ready until September,” River said, apparently noticing all the nascent fruit, too.
“I wonder what they taste like.”
“You’ll have to let me know.”
His statement was like an unexpected slice to my chest.
“Where will you be?” I felt myself biting my lip after I asked him.
“New York,” he said. “To start things off.”
“New York,” I repeated.
“I’m leaving tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I could’ve sworn I felt every blood vessel in my body dilate instantaneously. I could feel the blood storming through my arteries and veins. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” I was looking at him, but he appeared to be fixated on the barn in the distance.
“I didn’t want it to affect today.”
“You should’ve told me. As soon as you booked your flight.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
We sat in silence while the sun moved more and more westward.
“I’m driving, actually,” River stated after some time. “I’m going to drive the whole way over.”
I didn’t reply.
“You could come with me.”
“River.”