Treasure it Always

Trees whizzed past the car window as Sue peered out. The setting sun cast a sheen of gold over their green leaves. After a few minutes, the trees gave way to grassy hills. On the other side of those hills was the lake. Bouncing up and down in her seat, Sue couldn’t wait to get there. This was her first visit to the country and she was finding that it was very different from home.

Turning off the two-lane road into the parking lot, her grandmother reminded her, “Now Sue, don’t run off. The fireworks will start soon and I need your help with the blankets.” Nana smiled at her. Sue nodded her head.

As they got out of the car, her grandmother breathed in deeply and then exhaled slowly. “Fresh air. One of the best things about living in the country.” Noticing Sue’s fidgeting, she asked, “What’s wrong, Sue?”

Hopping from one foot to the other, Sue asked, “Are they still there, Nana?”

“Are what still where, dear?” Nana handed the smaller blanket to Sue and then draped the larger one over her shoulder.

“You know, the chairs? Your chairs?” Sue struggled with the blanket. She got it over her shoulder as well as on top of her head.

Nana chuckled and pulled the blanket from Sue’s head. “Let’s go find out, dear.”

Sue glanced up the small hill and followed her grandmother up the lighted pathway. On the other side was where her grandmother had left the lawn chairs last night, but she had never heard of anyone leaving anything out in public and expecting it to be there the next day. At home, her mother never even let her leave toys in the front yard.

As they got to the hill, Sue stopped dead in her tracks. Before her was a sea of people and chairs along the shore of the lake. There were seats of all types, which fit the different sizes of people that were there. Everyone must have left their chairs out overnight; it looked like the whole town was there.

“See, dear.” Nana pointed to two blue and yellow striped lawn chairs that were exactly where they had left them.

Sue nodded in amazement as they walked to their seats. Though there were a lot of people, it didn’t seem nearly as crowded as what she was used to. Her grandmother greeted people as they passed. Sue lagged behind, nervous about so many friendly strangers.

“What’s wrong, dear?” Nana asked, draping her blanket over the larger lawn chair.

Biting her lip, Sue mumbled, “There are so many people here. Do you know them all?” She dropped her blanket on the seat of the smaller chair.

Nana laughed and smiled. “Not everyone, but almost everyone. That’s how small towns work. Everyone knows everyone.”

“Oh.” Sue looked down at the rocky sand beneath her shoes. “I don’t even know my neighbors at home. Mom says they’re trouble. Dad says they’re violent. Everyone here is so nice.” She looked around, trying to find any evidence of something wrong. “No one’s fighting. When a large group like this gets together back home, there are always fights or people arguing.”

Eyes softening, her grandmother pulled Sue into her arms. “Dear, not everything is perfect here. We don’t have many of the nice things that big cities have. We don’t have many stores or places to go for fun.”

“But you have celebrations like this,” Sue interrupted.

“Yes, but not very often. Fourth of July is once a year. Most of the time, we are stuck at home and our nearest neighbor is not so close.”

“That’s okay. I can just get on the internet and -” Sue stopped, seeing her grandmother shake her head. “No internet?”

“No, the lines are expensive to run out here. And TV is whatever stations we can receive with an antenna. No cable. This is a pretty boring place for a young girl.”

Sue thought about it for a moment and then breathed in deeply. She put her hand over her mouth and breathed into her hand. Balling her hand into a fist, she shoved her hand into her pocket.

Her grandmother watched Sue’s odd behavior and then asked, “What was that?”

Sue smiled. “I took a breath of fresh air so I can remember how nice it is here when I go back home. I can share it with my friends.”

Nana laughed and kissed Sue on the cheek. Before she could say anything, the sky over the lake filled with brilliant colors as the first firework exploded. Everyone cheered and shouted. As her grandmother helped her get settled, Sue knew that this was a special moment to be treasured always.

(789 words)