Sometimes life throws you unexpected and certainly unwanted curveballs. That is what happened to me in the summer of 2004, the summer before my senior year of high school, the summer everything I knew came crashing down around me. I don’t remember the exact date, which has always been my mom evidence that it wasn’t that big of a shock and I need to move on with my life, but then I’ve never been one fore dates. To me the event that took place is more important than the actual date in which it happened.
Summers for me have always been full of dramatic, and at the time, life-changing events. The summer prior to third grade my little sister Havily was born the summer before fifth grade my parents got divorced. The summer of the dreaded braces occurred right before seventh grade, it was also the year we moved from the big bustling city I was accustomed to too a small dull, normal town U.S.A. Then hallelujah the summer before sophomore year the accursed braces came off…but were consequentially replaced by glasses. Summers were sort of uneventful after that mostly filled with sunscreen, sunburns obviously unaffected by the later, swimsuits, ice cream and vacations. Of course there were plenty of stupid little dramas like “She’s going out with who?!†or “Why you – that’s my swimsuit take it off!†and of course my favorite “Oh my gosh is that a pimple?!†But this summer tragedy didn’t stop at summer it molded my entire senior year.
Summer 2004
An early Sunday morning
I woke to the sound of my cell phone ringing on its usual perch, right next to my head so as the alarm will wake me up.
“Hello…†I mumbled half asleep into the phone. I obviously was not happy about being awoken so early in the morning.
“Sabra?!†I heard a frantic, yet familiar voice, ask on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah…who is this?†I asked still not able to place the voice…although that might be from me small amounts of sleep the night before.
“Its Reena!†she said sounding hurt that I didn’t recognize who it was.
I looked over at my alarm clock. The bright neon blue shone just enough for me to see what time it was without putting my glasses on.
“Reenie…it’s six in the morning…on a Sunday…what wrong?†I asked knowing there had better be a good reason for her waking me or heads were going to roll.
“Something terrible Sabra…Tawny…I…I Cant.†she said her voice wavering so badly that I had to strain to hear what she was saying. Suddenly she burst into tears. I didn’t think too much of it though. It wasn’t unusual for Reena to call at all hours of the night crying about her latest boy toy.
“Reena give me the phone.†I heard in the background. I recognized the voice immediately. Zeke…that’s when I got worried if Zeke was there it was bad. I sat up and waited for Zeke’s reassuring voice to fill my ears and bring me hope…wishful thinking.
“Sabra?†Zeke asked.
“Of course who else would listen to Reena cry like a baby without hanging up.†I said adding a weak laugh trying to lighten the situation. “Zeke…what’s going on?†I asked finally showing that I was worried. I reached for my lamp and knocked it over. Once I got it back standing I groped for the switch to turn it on.
The light was blinding but a welcome comfort now that my heart felt like I had swallowed it as it now resided in my stomach.
“It’s Tawny.†He said solemnly. “I think you should come to the hospital…Reena and I are already here.â€Â
Summers for me have always been full of dramatic, and at the time, life-changing events. The summer prior to third grade my little sister Havily was born the summer before fifth grade my parents got divorced. The summer of the dreaded braces occurred right before seventh grade, it was also the year we moved from the big bustling city I was accustomed to too a small dull, normal town U.S.A. Then hallelujah the summer before sophomore year the accursed braces came off…but were consequentially replaced by glasses. Summers were sort of uneventful after that mostly filled with sunscreen, sunburns obviously unaffected by the later, swimsuits, ice cream and vacations. Of course there were plenty of stupid little dramas like “She’s going out with who?!†or “Why you – that’s my swimsuit take it off!†and of course my favorite “Oh my gosh is that a pimple?!†But this summer tragedy didn’t stop at summer it molded my entire senior year.
Summer 2004
An early Sunday morning
I woke to the sound of my cell phone ringing on its usual perch, right next to my head so as the alarm will wake me up.
“Hello…†I mumbled half asleep into the phone. I obviously was not happy about being awoken so early in the morning.
“Sabra?!†I heard a frantic, yet familiar voice, ask on the other end of the phone.
“Yeah…who is this?†I asked still not able to place the voice…although that might be from me small amounts of sleep the night before.
“Its Reena!†she said sounding hurt that I didn’t recognize who it was.
I looked over at my alarm clock. The bright neon blue shone just enough for me to see what time it was without putting my glasses on.
“Reenie…it’s six in the morning…on a Sunday…what wrong?†I asked knowing there had better be a good reason for her waking me or heads were going to roll.
“Something terrible Sabra…Tawny…I…I Cant.†she said her voice wavering so badly that I had to strain to hear what she was saying. Suddenly she burst into tears. I didn’t think too much of it though. It wasn’t unusual for Reena to call at all hours of the night crying about her latest boy toy.
“Reena give me the phone.†I heard in the background. I recognized the voice immediately. Zeke…that’s when I got worried if Zeke was there it was bad. I sat up and waited for Zeke’s reassuring voice to fill my ears and bring me hope…wishful thinking.
“Sabra?†Zeke asked.
“Of course who else would listen to Reena cry like a baby without hanging up.†I said adding a weak laugh trying to lighten the situation. “Zeke…what’s going on?†I asked finally showing that I was worried. I reached for my lamp and knocked it over. Once I got it back standing I groped for the switch to turn it on.
The light was blinding but a welcome comfort now that my heart felt like I had swallowed it as it now resided in my stomach.
“It’s Tawny.†He said solemnly. “I think you should come to the hospital…Reena and I are already here.â€Â