American Honey

Around mid-morning I took a break so I could send JT a text. I hadn’t looked at my phone since last night and I wasn’t surprised to see a few texts from Brittany and a couple of voicemails from Grandma. I even had one from my parents.

I sent JT a quick text to let him know I missed him and then listened to my voicemails. I almost dropped the phone when I heard the one from my parents. It was my mother and she mentioned they were coming to visit today. Shit! They wanted to talk to me about coming back home.

I had been in denial so far this summer, living in the moment and not thinking about them. I always knew in the back of my mind they wouldn’t want me living here or dating someone like JT, but I didn’t care. At first I was having fun with him, not sure if it would even be more than a summer fling. I knew it was so much more than that now.

My hands shook as I hit the keys to delete the message. I listened to one from Grandma. She warned me about my mother’s call and told me the doctor gave Grandpa the ok to get back to work in a couple of weeks.

I couldn’t go home, not now. My parents would freak if they found out I wanted to stay here. They had very different ideas of how I should live my life.

My mom grew up living a simple life with Grandma and Grandpa here in Mountain. She wasn’t very content, envious of the people that had cottages on the lake who came for the weekend. She managed to snag my dad, a surgeon from Madison, and got the hell out of town.

We came to visit all the time, but my mom had gotten snobby now that she was married to a doctor. She would look down on some of the locals sometimes and I could always hear her arguing with Grandma that she had raised her different than that.

Mom and Dad had certain expectations of me. They wanted me to go to college, have a career in something they approved of, and marry well. I went to college, but they assumed my degree in English Lit would be a stepping stone to law school. When I told them I had no plans for that, they sent me here to think about what I wanted to do with my life.

I got a text back from JT, telling me he missed me too, and tears filled my eyes. I was never surer of what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to stay here. I could help Grandma and Grandpa and maybe one day take the diner over. In Madison I felt a little hopeless and lost; here I felt like I was home.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted my parents to meet JT while they were here. I wasn’t ashamed of him by any means, but I knew how they would feel about their daughter dating a man that made a living getting his hands dirty. If they thought a boy was the reason I wanted to stay, they would dismiss my feelings and tell me I was being foolish.

One of the other waitresses called me to the front. I took a deep breath and regained my composure. I would figure this out. Hopefully Grandma would get here before my parents did and I could talk to her about this. She would support me.

In the middle of the lunch rush she and Grandpa walked in to the diner. I finished taking someone’s order and came over to for a hug. “I take it you heard,” she whispered, patting my back.

I pulled back at arm’s length and nodded. “I don’t want to leave.”

“I know you don’t, dear, but you know they’re going to push you to. Your mother hated living here growing up

and she won’t be happy that you want to settle down here.”

I bit my lip. “I don’t care. I’m not a child anymore and can make my own decisions.” My voice was shaky and I was already on the verge of tears.

She nodded and rubbed my arms. Grandpa came up behind me. “What’s wrong? Did that boy hurt you?” He frowned and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“No, Grandpa. This has nothing to do with JT.”

“It’s your daughter. Kara is upset that she’s coming to talk to her about going back to Madison. She wants to stay with us,” Grandma said calmly.

“Then stay with us,” he said and shrugged. I loved how he was so matter-of-fact. He made it seem so simple.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed my parents’ big black Escalade pull into the parking lot. “They’re here,” I whispered, a feeling of dread coming over me.

“It’ll be fine. I promise.” She kissed my cheek and we turned to greet them.

I watched Mom get out of the car, her Chanel bag hanging from her forearm, dressed in her designer shorts and blouse. Dad was wearing his typical khaki shorts and golf shirt. I had to admit I had missed him. He was often on my side when it came to my Mom and I knew he went along with her most of the time to keep the peace.

They came inside and I went to him. “Dad!” I greeted him with a hug and kiss. He held me tight and I closed my eyes, fighting back the tears.

“Hey baby girl,” he replied and squeezed me tight before letting me go. “You look great – so tan.”

“You should be wearing sunscreen, Kara,” my mom admonished me and came over to give me a loose hug. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at my dad and he fought back a chuckle.

“Hello, Mother,” I said drying, returning her half-hearted hug. It blew me away that someone as loving as my grandma gave birth to my mother. They couldn’t be more different.

She ended the hug and pulled back to look me over. “You do look good. I guess this place agrees with you.”

I looked over at Grandma, my eyes hopeful. Maybe she would see how happy I was and not argue with me when I told her I wanted to stay.

My parents greeted Grandma and Grandpa and found a table to have some coffee. They chatted while I went back to work. Grandma had wanted to help, but I insisted I had it covered and she should enjoy the day off.