A WEEK AFTER
Garland’s Prius moved through the familiar suburbs quietly. No music played, nobody talked. The sun bore down on the asphalt ahead of them and made steam rise from the black in a shimmering mist.
First out of the car was Skylar. Her house was a small, crumbling house with weeds and knee deep grass in the front yard. A mower lay in a rusted heap in the middle of it all, as if it had died in a noble battle against the encroaching wilderness. She sat in the back seat for a moment, trying to think of something to say. In the end she just got up and left with a passing ‘seeya’. Skylar disappeared into the house with her bag in one hand and her unopened letter from Jack in the other.
Next went Kyle and Matilda, insisting on being dropped off at the curb of their street corner. They each gave a little wave and held their own letters close.
And just like that, Seth and Garland were alone in the car.
Slowly and silently the car came to a stop outside Seth’s house.
“I guess that’s it then.” He sighed.
“Yep.”
“I’ll come over tomorrow, if you’d like.”
“I would.” Garland smiled sadly.
He leaned over the gearstick and kissed her on the lips.
“See you then.”
Slowly she pulled away from the gutter and drove a few blocks down, parking the Prius in front of a green, shady field with play equipment. Garland took a moment to watch the children giggling and playing on the swings before reaching behind her seat and into her bag.
She drew out the letter and began to read.
YOU ARE READING
Jack's Last Summer
Teen Fiction"I guess that's the thing about time. It might not heal wounds; but it does smooth them over." When Jack Summers is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he chooses quality over quantity and refuses therapy. He instead decides to invite four of his best f...
