Page 74 of Nothing But It All
My heart is full.
“Snaps and I are going to my room to text Daniel. I’m so happy we get some internet here this year. I mean, I have to stand at the window to get reception, but I’ll take it.”
“God forbid you go without internet,” Jack says, fanning his tongue with his hand.
“Good night, Mom and Dad.”
“It’s still early,” I call after her.
Her response is the padding of her feet against the staircase, followed by her bedroom door clicking shut.
“I don’t know how we ever made it without cell phones growing up,” Jack says.
“They’ll never know the fun of having to drive around town to find your friends if they didn’t answer the house phone.”
“Or the sound of dial-up internet.”
“Or Lisa Frank Trapper Keepers,” I say.
“What about buying a pack of baseball cards for fifty cents? I loved walking down to Henry’s on the corner and buying them with the little strips of bubble gum hidden inside.”
“Well, I loved Hi-C Ecto Coolers myself.”
Jack grins. “Walkmans were the pinnacle of tech.”
“They had nothing on Lip Smackers. My Caboodle was full of them.”
“Your what?”
“My Caboodle.” I laugh. “I haven’t thought about those for a long time.”
Jack’s chair creaks as he settles back again.
A warm breeze flows through the cabin, carrying with it the croaks of frogs outside. The curtains flutter as if they’re dancing happily to the events of the evening. The wooden walls of the cabin itself seem to sigh with contentment.
The door opens again. Jack and I exchange a leisurely grin that fills in a small part of the hole in my heart.
“Hey,” Michael says, walking into the kitchen. “Burgers? Cool.”
“Don’t eat that,” Jack and I say in unison before bursting out laughing.
Michael looks at us like we’ve lost our minds.
“I made them,” Jack says. “Have some pasta salad, or heat up some leftovers. Save yourself the pain.”
Michael furrows his brows and sits next to us instead.
“Did you have fun with Ava?” I ask.
He sighs, his shoulders slumping. “You guys, I’m freaking out.”
Jack lifts a brow. “Why?”
“We don’t have much time left here,” Michael says.
“And?” I prompt. “You have wrestling camp as soon as we get back.”
Michael’s face falls. “I know.”
