Smooth Sailing

May 24, 1987

May 24, 1987

"Wake up, Holly," her mother whispered to her as she gently shook her awake. Holly's eyes snapped open, and she glared at Mom when she saw the clock. It was only seven in the morning, and it was a Sunday. There was no reason why she should be awake this early in the morning.

"Don't be so cross," Mom said. "You know that it's Phil's graduation party today."

Holly climbed out of bed and threw on one of her nicest dresses as soon as Mom left the room. She didn't know how she could have forgotten about her brother's graduation. For the last month, all Holly had heard about was Phil's high school graduation. Her parents talked endlessly about graduation and the University of Wisconsin ever since Phil had decided to enroll there. It was Dad's alma mater, making their parents even more proud of him. Holly wasn't sure whether she was jealous or just plain angry about all of the attention that Phil had been getting lately.

Despite all of the hype, Phil's graduation the day before was the most boring thing that Holly had ever been to. Dad was constantly nudging her to keep her from falling asleep, and after she heard the principal of West Clearwater High School say "Philip Joseph Morrison," she didn't see the point in staying through the rest of the ceremony. Holly's parents, however, insisted that she stay in her seat and applaud for every single one of Phil's friends and classmates. Holly could only hope that her own graduation wouldn't be quite this long and painful.

To make matters worse, the day after Phil's graduation party was the yacht club's annual Memorial Day party. As if Holly wasn't sick of going to parties at this point, Holly would have to see everyone in the Clearwater Lake Yacht Club and pretend like she was enjoying herself tomorrow as every single one of them walked up to Phil and congratulated him for the millionth time on graduating from high school.

Perhaps Holly's grievances were petty, but if she had her way, Clearwater Lake would focus on what was actually important in life instead of celebrating basic achievements and using dead soldiers as an excuse to party.

Mom made pancakes for breakfast, and Holly devoured them, trying to be careful not to spill any maple syrup on her dress. Phil, on the other hand, had already finished his pancakes by the time Holly arrived at the breakfast table, so he conversed quietly with Mom and Dad. As much as Holly loved sailing, she couldn't bring herself to care about some regatta that was going on in Iris Lake. She was fine with staying in Clearwater Lake - if she wanted to sail, she had no need to travel far away. Every lake was the same, so why would she go to Iris Lake when she could go right into her own backyard and get the same experience?

Sometimes, Holly did dream of seeing the ocean. Other than a single family road trip to the East Coast, Holly had never seen the waves of the ocean, and she had definitely never lived on a real coast. She dreamed of moving somewhere where she could gaze over the ocean and realize just how small she was - something that wasn't possible here in Clearwater Lake, or any other lake for that matter. She yearned for something bigger.

After breakfast, Dad drove the rest of the family to Holly's grandparents' house on the other side of the lake. Phil and Holly sat in the backseat, and Holly asked her parents, "Why can't I drive? I have my license now."

"You can drive another time," Dad said, but Holly didn't like that answer. She leaned back into the seat and looked out the window at Clearwater Lake. The lake glistened in the morning sun, calming Holly down for a few minutes. She took a deep breath and thought about the upcoming sailing season. It was her last season in the junior league, so maybe she would be able to win this year. There were a handful of other good young sailors, but a lot of the best sailors from previous years were in the adult league now. Holly was starting to think that 1987 was her year.