Meet Me By The Dock

Chapter 25

The sun warms my skin and the breeze dances around me, making my shirt fly in the wind. I grip the rubber handle bars as I bike down Lake Drive. I take a deep breath in and smell the honeysuckle that a woman a few houses down from us planted a few years ago.

Mom and I ran into her a year or two ago while we were on a walk and she immediately started complaining about the honeysuckle. So we stood there dutifully for 40 minutes and listened to her ramble on about how the vines were overtaking her backyard. So now we just refer to her as Honeysuckle Lady.

I let my feet fall off the pedals as I go down a slight decline. I actually got a full night of sleep last night. Which doesn't sound like a big deal but after not being able to sleep the whole night through for almost eight months, the pride I felt when I woke up this morning will be hard to forget.

And since I woke up at a reasonable time, 10:00 a.m., I decided to get on my bike and listen to the last of the morning birds. The sun is drying off the morning dew from the leaves and grass and it's absolutely silent. The only things you can hear are the soft waves from the lake. I suppose no one is a morning person in the summer.

I pedal lazily down the street and start to circle the lake. I needed to clear my head. I needed air to breathe and room to think. I haven't spoken to Mattie for two days, the last time being when he asked me out —and I rejected him.

Thinking back to the whole encounter makes me feel sick. But also confused, every time Mattie opens himself up to me I shoot him down —but that doesn't stop him from trying again.

Part of me wants to turn around and go as fast as my legs can pedal back to his house. I want to knock on his door and explain everything, and how some insane alien took over my brain and that's what led me to rejecting him.

But another part of me wants to pedal home and hide in my room. That part of me wants to hide my face and never show myself again. I want to curl up and never speak to anyone because every time I do I just end up hurting them more.

But I don't do either of those things, I just focus on the wheels and the road. I don't turn around, and I try not to dwell on the look on Mattie's face when I turned him down. A mixture of hurt and concern. Of course Mattie would be concerned for me after I just turned him down again.

A squirrel skitters across the road and up a tree a few feet ahead. I watch as it circles the trunk and disappears into the leaves. I pass a house made of dark wood with a light blue front porch.

On the second step and dog —it looks like a golden retriever— is lounging on its back in the morning sun.

On the opposite side of the road a few houses down, an elderly woman in a white robe carries a bright yellow watering can. She waters each individual plant in her front yard. I envy her patience, I try to get as many flowers under the stream of the hose as possible.

Down the road a little further a pie sits in someone's front window. I laugh to myself because one— I've never seen anyone actually place a pie on their window sill except for in movies. And two— who is baking this early?

It's funny what you see when you actually bother to look. Normally I only go down this road to get into town, and I never notice any of these things because I am focused on the place I need to be.

Whether it be Sandy Shells Books or the market— wait it's Saturday.

Even though that's not the reason I went on this ride, it would be nice to see Jasmine again. I have no money on me but it's fine. I only want to stop in and say hi anyway. I carefully ease into the turn that takes you into town and to the market.

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While locking up my bike on the bike rack I realize that since I'm here early the sun is in the sky just so that the tree casts a shadow right over my bike. I smile to myself because I know the bike seat hopefully won't be hot when I come back.