Nothing made me happier than staying with my grandparents for the whole summer. My parents were always busy working, so it would be nice to have people in the house. I was already having the best, first day as I helped my grandmother with creating little soaps from molds.
"And this one is a little swan. I didn't know if you had tried that one yet," she pointed out as she showed off the small pink piece.
"I've only done the frogs and hearts so far," I shared.
"You can either use these or keep them for decoration if you'd like."
"I think I'll keep some and use some." I looked up when I heard the screen door slamming, my grandpa moving through the house. We were currently in the kitchen, so it took a few moments for him to come into view.
"It's really hot out there today. I think I'm going to hire our neighbor to mow the lawn soon. It's gotten so high, since the last rain," he explained.
"I'll give him a call right now. I'm sure he'll be happy to do it. Young boys always want to find ways to make money." She already went over to the pink cord phone, dialing as I vaguely heard her conversation. "He'll be over in about ten minutes," she told us after rejoining me at the table.
"I'm going to read the paper and watch t.v. in the sitting room," my grandfather said.
"Okay, I'll call you when lunch is ready. The roast is still cooking in the oven," she replied, already creating more soaps.
"Do you have any other colors besides pink," I wondered.
"I have lavender, but I just brought out the pink this time. We can do the other next time." She promised me before checking on the food.
"Do I have enough time to call my best friend before lunch?"
"Yeah, this won't be done for awhile yet. And I think we've made all the soaps we can for now. Go ahead. You can talk to her in the den if you want, so it's quieter."
"Okay," I warmly smiled, finding the beige cord phone in the den after shutting the door. I sat at the desk with only a typewriter, punching in my best friend, Courtney's number.
"Hello," she asked after a couple rings.
"Hey, Courtney. It's Fern. I'm just calling from my grandmother's house. You might want to save the number, since I'll be here all summer."
"Oh yeah, I think I have it written down somewhere, but I'll copy it off the caller ID. How's it going so far?"
"It's been nice. My grandma and I made a bunch of cute, little soaps, and she's going to teach me how to crochet tomorrow. I just enjoy spending quiet time with her. We're going to the grocery tomorrow too. I'm hoping to get a magazine, so I can keep up with the latest celebrity news."
"Yeah, you will not believe what they're saying about John Stamos," she emphasized.
"What?" The desperation was already seeping into my voice.
"I can't tell you, or it will ruin it. Just make sure you get People magazine, okay?"
"Okay. I can already hear their neighbor mowing the lawn."
"Yeah, that can be really noisy. So, would you be able to go swimming this weekend? My mom finally got our pool up. It's going to take a few days for the water to warm up," she responded.
"I think I should be able to, and we should be able to have a few sleepovers too. I don't have to be here all the time. It's just my new home for the summer."
"That's good. Well, I better go. My mom just brought in the pizza we ordered."
"Okay, I'll talk to you soon," I promised, us both ending the call. "I'm going to sit on the porch until lunch," I called to my grandmother.
