The Summer I Learned to Dive - By Shannon McCrimmon Page 0,41
how it happened,” I said.
“He loves you a lot. He’s just hard to get to know,” he said as if reading my mind.
“I’ve come to realize that,” I said sitting back in the seat, sighing.
“Be patient. He’s trying. You’re smart enough to see that,” he said.
I became really tired and yawned loudly. “It’s almost dawn,” I said. I stretched my arms out and yawned again.
“Lightweight,” he said mocking me.
“What? It’s five o’clock in the morning, Jesse,” I stated.
His eyebrows arched. “And?”
“I’ve been up for hours and I’m tired.” I yawned again.
“No sleeping yet. We’re going to watch the sunrise,” he said.
“Let me just rest my head here,” I said putting my head down on his table. He stood up suddenly and touched my pony tail. The touch of his hands to my hair caused my nerves to react erratically.
“Come on, Finn,” he said and touched my shoulder gently nudging me. “I bet you’ve never done this before, either,” he joked. My eyes answered him. He laughed. “Just what I thought. That whole plan of yours really made you miss out on things.”
I reluctantly followed him outside. We walked together in the darkness. It was hard to see what was in front of me. I blindly followed Jesse. He led me to a ledge. A chain link fence bordered the area. There was a huge gaping hole in one area of the fence. Jesse climbed through it and motioned for me to do the same.
“No way,” I shook my head.
“Come on,” he motioned.
“Are we breaking a law or something?” I asked. It felt like we were. Wasn’t the fence there for a reason? Was I trespassing and would the police be there to haul me in?
“Finnnnn,” he said. I relented and crawled through the wide whole and sat down next to him.
“Where are we?” I whispered.
“At the edge of my neighborhood. It’s the best place to see the sunrise,” he whispered back to me. We were in such close proximity, I could hear him breathing. If it had been daylight and I had seen where we were sitting and how far the fall below me was, I would have been shaking from fear. The night was so quiet. I could hear the faintest of sounds, crickets chirping and frogs croaking from miles away. My heart beat loudly and I wondered if he could hear it beating rapidly.
“Why are we doing this?” I asked.
“Because it’s something you haven’t seen before because of this plan of yours. A sunrise shows a new day has started, that whatever happened before is the past,” he said.
I nodded my head in agreement, trying to discern what he had just said. It was a profound statement. “That’s deep, Jesse,” I said sarcastically, but secretly was impressed.
“It’s true. Whatever is past, is past,” he said.
We stared into the stillness again. I nodded off and on, my eyes could not stay open. I heard him saying my name. I slowly opened my eyes, realizing I had fallen asleep, my head lay against his shoulder. I quickly lifted my head and looked straight ahead. The sun was rising; the sky was several different colors. It was stunning. The bright, circular shaped orange sun slowly crept up, out from nowhere, now an awe-inspiring presence.
“Beautiful,” I said out loud.
“See. It’s worth staying up for isn’t it?” he asked nudging me.
“Totally,” I said mesmerized. “Thanks,” I said turning to look at him.
“For what?” he asked confused.
“For helping me see what I’ve been missing,” I said smiling.
***
Jesse drove Meg and me to her car early in the morning. Meg profusely apologized to Jesse, begging him to forgive her. She had a flare for the dramatics. “It’s not a big deal, Meg. Just promise me you’ve had your fill of Blake,” he said.
“I’m so done with him, I promise,” she said. A part of me hoped in vain that what she said was true. But another part of me knew that last night was not the end of the Meg and Blake saga. He was like a drug to her, unhealthy and addictive. I hoped that she would find her cure of him soon.
Several cars were still parked in Dylan’s yard. The party had not ended. Jesse drove us near Meg’s car. “Thanks again, Jesse,” she said before getting out.
“Thanks,” I said to him, looking at his blue eyes in the rear view mirror.
He turned around to face me. “I had fun hanging out with you,” he said.