California Dreamin'

THE RAIN, THE PARK, AND OTHER THINGS

I love the flower girl
Oh, I don't know just why she simply caught my eye
I love the flower girl
She seemed so sweet and kind, she crept into my mind

John had never been to North America before nor did he have any real desire to. When John thought of traveling, his mind never wandered farther than London or even Surrey, which were mere hours away from his home in Leicestershire. John was a regular lad who was content with what he had in life. He was well aware that Oadby wasn't exciting or fancy, but he was quite all right by that. After all, John had never been one to show off, so taking pride in his hometown just seemed silly.

Nevertheless, when his mum informed him that he'd be spending two weeks in the States, visiting his aunt, uncle, and cousins, John was slightly less than thrilled. He had planned on spending his summer tinkering about with his electronic kits and practicing his bass. His band, The Oppression, had been playing a few places here and there, and while he very much doubted they would ever make any real waves, he still wanted to be apart of it.

Playing the bass kept him busy and kept him out of trouble. John had managed to put in the time and effort for both the band and his schooling, but now that school was finished for the next handful of weeks but had hoped on placing all his focus on performing.

His mum had other ideas, however. She wanted her children to get out a bit and after a long-winded conversation with her sister over the phone about fearing that her children would become homebodies, she made the decision to send them off.

John knew what it was about, whether his mum realized it or not. She had been trying so very hard to be both the loving, nurturing mother while also being a tad stern and declining her children. Now that his dad was gone, she was a single parent just trying to get by. He wondered if shipping them off was more for her wanting them to be a bit more cultured and get out of the house or if she just needed them to go away for a short while.

Either way, John knew he didn't have a choice. Along with his sister, they packed their bags, kissed their mum goodbye, and headed out for San Francisco of all places. Their aunt had married an American man working in Europe and the two remained there for some time. Halfway through their marriage when their children were still young, the man got offered a better position and the family left rainy England for sunny California.

John hadn't seen his cousins in nearly three years and aside from a handful of long-distance phone calls that cost quite a lot and some letters that had been sent, he knew very little about them.

The only one who really stood out was his eldest cousin Patricia, who was one year his senior. They were close when they were just kids, but even though wasn't naive enough to believe all that would still remain since she had been gone for nearly five years now.

When they arrived, they were given a warm welcome. His aunt was doing everything she could to make them feel like they were on holiday. California was a large adjustment and even though they'd only be staying for a small amount of them, she insisted that they make the best of it.

Julie, John's sister, was to share a room with Pamela, who was the same age as Julie while John was given the top bunk bed in the room owned by his youngest cousin Patrick. Patricia, who was the oldest of the ground, had her own room and remained there for most of the day. She was friendly, of course. John didn't get his hopes up in thinking that they would go right back to being best of friends.

She had her own life and her own ideals. She was to finish her final year of school that September and had lost nearly all of her accent since she arrived in the states, save for a few words here and there.