The Year I Almost Drowned (3 page)

flapped in the wind. Lilly’s Diner was freshly painted on the large glass window in

perfect red script. Inside, it smelled like heaven: fried chicken, bacon, and maple

syrup. Hannah and Meg danced and sang along to an old song that played on

the juke box as they wiped the red shiny tufted booths and cleaned the glittery

cobalt blue bar stools. The diner was reminiscent of something from the past with

its brightly painted turquoise walls and vintage signs hung sporadically

throughout.

“It’s the birthday girl!” Meg squealed, dropping the wet rag from her hand and

running over to me. “I can’t wait to do your hair!” She was giddy. Cutting my hair

was what she had wanted to do for a very long time. She had begged me for

months. Meg’s hair had recently been cut into a cute, short pixie style and

bleached a very light blonde. It looked good on her. “I’ve been looking through

magazines and have found the perfect style for you.”

“Just don’t do anything crazy,” I warned.

She

scoffed,

“Finn,

please,

just

trust

me,

okay?”

Hannah’s long dark brown hair was pulled up into a neat, chic bun. The pink

waitress uniform hung loosely against her waif-like figure. Hannah was the type

that could eat whatever she wanted and still weigh next to nothing. And, she was

stunningly beautiful. “It’s all she’s been talking about today,” she said with

exasperation.

“So,

how’s

your

birthday

been

so

far,

Finn?”

Meg and Hannah were sisters, but that’s where the similarities stopped. They

were opposites in all aspects: looks, tastes, and behavior. While Meg was a

fashionista and into the latest styles and eager to tell you exactly what was on

her mind, Hannah tended to stick to classic fashion ensembles and was typically

more reserved.

“Great,” I lied.

“What’s with all the racket?” my grandfather shouted from the kitchen. He came

out to greet me in the dining area. Each step he made was loud and thunderous.

My grandfather was enormous, not fat, but tall and big, and intimidating if you

didn’t know him.

“Hi, Grandpa,” I said.

He smiled. “Thought it was your day off.”

“It is. I’m going out with Meg and Hannah for a while. Meg is going to do my hair.”

He touched his stark white hair and said facetiously, “I could use a new do. Can

you do something with this Meg?”

“Yeah. I work on old people’s hair all the time in school,” Meg answered with a

dead panned expression.

Hannah and I both snickered. He pursed his lips and sighed through his nose.

“Y’all almost through cleaning?” he asked them.

“Just about,” they both said simultaneously.

“Jinx,” Hannah said and hit Meg’s arm.

“Ow.” Meg grimaced.

“Silly girls,” my grandfather said, shaking his head. He glanced at Jesse, who had

just entered the room. Jesse worked at the diner only on Saturdays, since he was

in firefighting school five days a week. I missed seeing him all the time. With his

hectic schedule, we didn’t get to see each other that often. “Finally, another man.

Jesse, three girls are too much for one man to handle.”

Jesse replied with a smile and then whispered in my ear, “There’s something for

you in your locker.”

“What is it?” I asked.

“Go find out,” he said.

We had been officially dating a few months, since the middle of summer, and his

presence alone could still make me feel like it was our first date. Jesse was the

first guy I had ever dated, ever fallen in love with for that matter, and when I was

around him, my breathing increased and my heart beat a little faster. He held onto

my hand and walked with me to my grandfather’s office.

My grandfather’s office had probably once been a storage closet. There were a

few lockers, a chair, a desk and a computer and that was it. The computer had

been my Nana’s idea. Had it been up to my frugal, technologically challenged

grandfather, he would have continued to do his book keeping using an adding

machine.

I opened my locker door and saw a small box wrapped in white paper topped with

a pink ribbon. I picked it up and took it out.

“Open it,” he urged.

I gently unwrapped the paper, doing my best not to rip it. I wanted to save it and

put in my Jesse box–an old shoe box full of anything that reminded me of him. I

had started to collect things when I fell in love with him, which was almost

immediately. I even had an empty can of Coke in my box. It was the first Coke

he’d ever bought me, and I couldn’t get rid of it. I folded the paper into a nice,

neat square and opened the box. Inside were two cream colored knitted mittens.

“They’re beautiful.” I put them on my hands. They were soft and warm. “Thank

you.” I rubbed them against my face. The soft thread felt like silk against my skin.

He shrugged. “You’ve been complaining about your hands being cold. Now they’ll

be warm. This isn’t your birthday present, Finn. You’ll get that tomorrow night.”

He pulled me closer to him and then kissed me.

He tasted good, like vanilla wafers and chocolate milk. I could have kissed him

for hours. I loved kissing Jesse Quinn.

“Get a room!” Meg shouted, interrupting us.

I abruptly pulled myself away from him. My face was warm and flushed. “Meg,” I

growled.

“What? Like I haven’t seen it before. I’m just saying, all this kissing you guys are

doing is gonna make me sick,” she said.

“Then quit watching,” Jesse quipped and leaned in to kiss me again. This kiss

was long and hard, way deeper. It left me feeling flustered and dizzy when he

pulled away from me.

Meg took her purse out of her locker. She made a disgusted face and then heaved

forward, making gagging sounds. “I’m gonna puke.” She tilted her head and

puckered her lips. “You okay, Finn?” She placed her palm on my forehead.

I flicked it away in annoyance. “Cut it out. I’m fine.”

She laughed and said, “Let’s go. I’ve got a masterpiece to create.” She wrapped

her fingers around my arm. I took the folded wrapped paper out of my locker and

placed it in my free hand, giving Jesse a desperate look as I followed her lead.

***

Meg and Hannah’s bathroom was a confined, cramped space with Pepto Bismol

pink tiles. Meg’s make-up and hair products took up all the room on the solid

white counter. She forced me to sit on an uncomfortable folding chair facing the

ugly tiled wall. She said that I might peek at my reflection in the mirror, and the

only way to keep me from doing this was for me to face the other direction. The

only thing I could see were pieces of my red hair falling to the pink tiled floor.

I gulped nervously. “Meg, how much hair are you cutting off?”

She sighed. “All of it, Finn. I’m going to cut it just like mine,” she said sarcastically.

“That’s

really

funny,

Meg,”

I

huffed.

“Just be quiet and let me work my magic.” She forcefully grabbed a hold of my

head

and

continued

to

clip

away.

Strands of my hair continued to fall to the floor, and I wondered how different she

was going to make me look. I’d had long hair since I was a little girl. I could already

feel the weight of the hair being lifted; it was definitely shorter. She stopped

cutting and turned the blow dryer on. Warm air blew on the surface of my head.

Meg combed through my hair methodically, drying each section while she

brushed it. The low, dull hum coming from the blow dryer was making me sleepy.

She doused my head with lots of hair spray and evaluated me one more time.

Her eyes squinted, her lips puckered. “There. All done,” she said confidently. “You

can

look

now,

Finn.”

I stood up and turned to face the mirror. Several inches of my hair were gone–

she had cut it into a cute, shoulder-length layered bob. I touched my hair; it was

bouncy

and

soft.

“Meg,

I

love

it!”

“I

knew

you

would.”

I touched my hair again, ignoring her smug comment. Hannah stood at the

doorway

appraising

me

and

said,

“It

looks

good,

Finn.”

I

faced

Meg.

“Thanks.

I

really

like

it.”

“Good. Now sit back down so I can do your make up. It’s your birthday and you

need to look gorgeous so Jesse won’t want to stop kissing you.” She grinned

mischievously. I blushed. “Oh, now you’re all shy about it. Whatever,” she

grumbled. “I’ve seen you guys kiss and you definitely don’t want him to stop. I

wouldn’t

if

I

were

you,

either.”

She

winked

at

me.

***

Meg loaned me a pair of her tight fitting skinny jeans. I poured myself into them

and borrowed a pair of her dark brown leather boots to wear over the jeans. I

wore a jade green fitted cowl neck sweater that hit me at my waist. With my new

hair cut and trendy outfit, I felt really pretty–I guess like anyone should on their

birthday

for

their

last

teenage

year

of

their

life.

We were all dressed up, ready for a night on the town, only we weren’t really

going anywhere. The plan was to go to my grandparents’ for cake and ice cream

and then go to Matt’s house, Hannah’s boyfriend and Jesse’s cousin, for a

bonfire. Even though it didn’t sound like much in terms of celebrating, it would be

better than my eighteenth birthday by a long haul. That was just another

unmemorable day where my mother and I shared a slice of grocery store cake

with no friends to help celebrate and no other family in attendance. It was like

every other birthday, quiet and uneventful. I told myself I didn’t ever want to have

another

birthday

like

any

of

those

again.

The décor in my grandparents’ dining room was inundated in all things pink: pink

streamers; pink balloons; a large pink Happy Birthday banner hung on the wall.

There was lots and lots of food–more than enough food to feed an army.

Everyone was gathered around the table singing the lyrics to Happy Birthday

while I stood there awkwardly turning three shades of red because all the

attention was on me. I blew out the candles on the cake and everyone cheered

in

ceremonial

fashion.

Nana cut slices of the pink-frosted, cherry-filled cake and handed each of us a

plate with a slice on it. Everyone devoured theirs within a matter of minutes; some

even went for a second helping. After we finished eating, we all meandered into

the

living

room

to

watch

me

open

my

presents.

I opened the gift from my grandparents first. Inside of a beautifully wrapped box

was a navy blue pea coat with shiny silver buttons. “Thank you,” I said to them,

admiring how stylish it was. I tried it on and it fit snug as a bug, warming me

instantly.

“You can’t wear Pete’s sweater in the winter, you’ll freeze,” my Nana said. “We’re

glad

you

like

it.

Your

grandfather

helped

pick

it

out.”

“Thanks

for

the

coat,

Grandpa,”

I

said.

He nodded in approval. “We had to go to four stores to find it. Glad it fits you.”

“I love it!” I hugged my Nana and then reached over to hug him.

I chose to open my dad’s gift next. Carefully, I unwrapped the parchment paper,

tearing the tape off and unfolding the paper as gently as I could. I didn’t want to

hurt it by prodding it with my clumsy hands–it required a delicate touch. I stared

at the beautiful richly painted landscape with its warm earth tones and intricate

details, marveling at my dad’s talent, taking in his stunning creation.

He yawned and muffled, “You can hang it up at your dorm.” He sounded and

looked sleepy. The medication he took made him drowsy at night.

“Thanks, Dad. I love it,” I said and hugged him. He responded with a warm,

heartfelt

smile.

I saved Meg and Hannah’s gift for last. Hannah had added Matt’s name on the

card, but I knew it was her handwriting. There was no way he had gone shopping

with them to buy my present. I picked up the large yellow gift bag. It was heavy.

A printed ribbon full of bold greens, blues, yellows and reds was tied in a neat

bow around the thin white handles. I pulled out the present. It was wrapped in

aqua green tissue paper. I slowly began to unwrap it, revealing its contents.

Meg tapped her heels against the hard wood floor. “Just rip it, Finn,” she said