“Coming!” I yell back. I put the letter back under my pillow. I would look at it again later tonight when I was in a better position to sit and feel a bit sorry for myself, as I’ve been doing every night for the last three months. I go downstairs and am met with the excited banter of my 12-year-old cousin Ezra which immediately lifts my spirits.
“Do you really think they’ll let me fly?” Ezra bounds up to me.
“I don’t know, dude; I’ve never been to the Fly-In before,” I reply. I had visited the small town of Concrete, Washington before inheriting property here, with my mother, but it was a little over seven years ago and I barely remember it. The Fly-In is a festival the town celebrated every summer here up at a tiny airport. Planes come in from all over and show off, similar to the car shows in Cali.
“I bet Mom can make someone!” he exclaims taking off towards the door.
“If anyone can it’s your mom,” I laugh at him. I hadn’t seen the fair-haired boy so excited since before we moved. Usually he was on his computer or some gaming console or another.
“Let’s get going quick,” Irene says, stuffing her cell into her beach bag. There were no beaches in Concrete. Unless you count the bank of the Skagit River, which I do not. “Before someone else calls to distract me or plead that the sky is falling and I have to go save the day.”
“We can’t have that,” I say.
Irene, upon seeing the estate of my inheritance, decided to fix it up and revamp it. At first, she had wanted to use her own money since she knew I didn’t even want to be here let alone care about the giant home. After plenty of insistence from me, she broke down and agreed to use the money from the inheritance. Her phone hasn’t stopped ringing since. The place needs more than just a little elbow grease.
“You should shut your phone off and enjoy yourself today. It is Saturday after all.” I grab my purse and adjust my white halter dress. I’m not sure if it’s a smart idea to wear white or not to a town barbeque, but I am. I stuff a jean jacket in the beach bag for when it inevitably gets cold. It may be 80 degrees outside now, hot for Concretians, but it won’t last.
“Yeah right, then they’d just hunt me down,” she tells me. I give her an unimpressed look. She sighs, “I promise I will stay and not get sucked into work - scout’s honor.” She holds up two fingers.
“Uh-huh.” I shake my head at her and walk out the door.
We head across Main Street and down the hill towards the airport. We have to cross the highway that runs through town and go up another hill, then under a bridge that also serves as the high school. Whoever decided to make a high school a bridge I’m not sure, but it was one of many structures that make Concrete a bit unique.
Concrete is a tiny town in northwest Washington State, nestled at the base of the Cascade Mountains in the Skagit Valley. It’s right on the Skagit River and gets its odd name from the fact that it’s an old mining town, complete with giant silos right centered next to the single highway that runs through it. During the summer they have a lot of parties and tourist attractions, the Fly-In being one of them. My late Great-Uncle Eugene was obsessed with the town’s history and used to point out landmarks to me that excited him, giving me a full history lesson.
I tilt my face away from those giant silos and the memories. Instead I soak in some sun while I have the chance.
“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Irene asks. “Being here isn’t too bad. Look at all the mountains. You really should see the view from the estate, it’s amazing.”
The estate I refuse to visit. I smile, knowing what she’s getting at. “Yes, it is beautiful here, and small.”
“Think of it as quaint,” Irene says linking arms with me, rubbing my forearm to make her point. I watch Ezra running down the hill through the crowd of people.
“What about Ezzie? This is the first day he’s had any life since we got here. Plus, you haven’t seen the winters up here; I’ve asked around, they’re awful.”
“Yes, Ezra has been sad to leave his friends, but when school starts, he will make new friends. I think it’s the age for him to start being smelly and sullen and locked up in his room. I remember when you were that age. And as for winter, we can vacation in Hawaii or Italy or something. We don’t have to stay here.” She gives me a hopeful look.
“Why don’t we see how the rest of the summer pans out, or until you get finished with the estate? Who knows, maybe I’ll fall in love with it; it does have a lot of my family’s history to it,” I say, even though the thought of never going back to Cali is sad. California holds the last real memories of my mom, but I won’t rub that in Irene’s face. It may be exactly why she’s clinging to this place so hard. That and the estate.
“Deal,” she says excitedly.
As we cross the highway, we have to wait for crowds of cars coming and going. They’re parked everywhere along the streets. Tonight, after the Fly-In and the sun sets, there will be a large party back up on Main Street in the town square. Plenty of country music for all, I think rolling my eyes internally. A few planes fly low and I hear Ezra’s laugh as he runs up the hill towards the airport. I’ve missed that sound.
We eventually weave our way through the crowd of locals and make it through the fence to the airstrip. Irene pulls out a blanket and she and I both watch the planes take off and come back in for a while. I make sure every inch of skin that I can stand baring is out in the sun before I stay here too long and become as pale as all the people around me. After a while, Ezra runs up with a hotdog in his hand.
“Mom, they have food over there, do you want anything?”
“No, thank you. Don’t over stuff yourself and remember to check in from time to time.”
Ezra scoffs, “That’s what I’m doing, and this is only my third dog.”
I lay back, close my eyes, and listen to the sounds of the planes and Irene and Ezra talking. I figure I will visit each hangar later to see them all; right now, it’s sunshine o’clock. The sun is warm and comforting on my face, and my thoughts begin to drift. After only a few moments, a dark shadow covers me causing me to become fully conscious and open my eyes. Three faces are staring down at me, smiling.
“Oh!” I jump up and smooth out my dress. “I’m sorry, are we in your way?” I ask them.
Two of them are girls and one is a boy. A bright red-haired girl smiles and asks, “Are you Violet Kai?”
I look at her wondering if I should know her from somewhere, “Yes?”
“Oh my gosh, it is you! I told you, Fiona!” a brown-haired girl pipes in. “I knew it was you; you may not remember us, but we went to school with you at the end of fourth grade and we hung out most of the summer. I’m Blythe Wexley and this is Fiona Boyd. Oh, and he’s Aaiden Cartwright.” She gestured towards the sandy blond boy behind her.
Now that she said their names, I definitely remember them. I remember spending the end of the school year that year here with my mother and Uncle Eugene up at the manor. My mother refused to stay in it because she said it was too creepy. So, we rented an apartment and I walked to school. I was sad to have to finish out the school year here, but my first day walking to school, two girls and a boy came right up to me and started talking to me like they had known me forever. These were those kids. They had made me feel like I fit right in, and we got really close in a short time.