American Honey

Tanner lays back and puts an arm around my shoulder careful not to hit Ava’s head. “I hope you’re right.”

And hour turns into two, then three, then four. Tanner’s phone starts to ring, he digs it out. “Hello?”

Tanner rests his arm over his face. “Alright, see you in a few hours.”

He tosses his phone on the floor, “Jeremy got locked up.”

I don’t know what to say so I don’t say anything at all. Jeremy hasn’t had it easy since he got together with Ava’s mom. He’s such a great guy and

deserves to find his happiness.

An Up North Novella

Scarlett Metal

Chapter One ~ Kara

“You Sound So Good to Me”

“Just give me ten minutes. Then I’ll be ready to go.” I called out to my friend Brittany from the back of the diner.

“Hurry up,” she whined.

I grinned and rolled my eyes. I had known Brittany for almost fifteen years now, ever since her family had been coming up to the little town of Mountain, Wisconsin. We spent most of our summers together until we were too busy on the weekends but thanks to email and cell phones, we’ve always stayed in touch.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” I called out to her as I finished putting a few things away.

She walked to the doorway and leaned against the door frame. “Well, I heard that the new guy, JT was going to be there. He’s got this awesome Silverado truck and from what I’ve seen, he’s really cute. I wanted to talk to him before some other dumb bitch does.”

I nodded but tried not to laugh. I forgot what life was like in here Northern Wisconsin; things sure were a lot simpler.

When I was younger, I was here every weekend with my parents. My maternal grandparents had a cabin on the lake and we would pack up the car every Friday night and make the drive from Madison to spend the weekend swimming and grilling out. Some of my best memories from childhood took place here.

Then I started high school and it was hard to get away on the weekends between the volleyball games and cheerleading practices. I was almost ashamed to admit I didn’t even want to visit anymore; I wanted to spend my free time with my friends and not my grandparents.

College was more of the same. I stayed in Madison and went to UW-Madison but I was too busy studying and partying to make the trek up north. I graduated with my degree in English Lit and had trouble finding a job, so my parents sent me here to help take care of my grandparents’ small diner. Grandpa Joe had to have a knee replacement and Grandma Christine couldn’t run the place alone. I wasn’t doing anything else, so the thought of spending a summer on the lake didn’t sound so bad.

I had arrived a few days earlier and it didn’t take long for Brittany and me to fall back into our friendship almost like we had never been apart. She had gone to cosmetology school after high school and worked at a local beauty shop.

“Grandma, do you need anything else or can I go?” I called to her. She was in the back office taking care of some paperwork.

She got up and came out by Brittany and I. “No, I think I’m good.” She took off her glasses. “Where are you two headed?”

I looked over at Brittany. “I don’t know for sure but she’s anxious to go get ready and get there.”

“Isn’t it kind of early?” Grandma asked, checking her watch. “I didn’t think you young people partied until later at night.”

“Yeah,” I said. “Why do we have to go so early?” I was used to college parties that started at ten.

“Well, we have to go to my place to get dressed and do our makeup. The guys are grilling out, so we’re eating dinner there. It’s the summer kickoff party Matt and his friends have every year,” she explained with an exasperated sigh, like I should know this stuff already.

“I remember Mike. He used to ride his bike around everywhere,” I said, recalling the boy with hair that was so blonde it was almost white.

Brittany nodded. “He has this party every weekend after Memorial Day. People always say Memorial Day weekend is the start of summer, but not around here. There are too many foreigners around. We consider the next weekend the official start of summer.”

I looked over at Grandma and smiled at her words. I remembered the way the locals felt about the people that came around on the holidays. Because my grandparents lived here, they considered me a local just like they were.

“Go on, dear.” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “Have fun.”