Sweet Tea Sunrise

by Rachel Hanna

  Kate walked downstairs for breakfast. Her wonderful day with Cooper fresh in her mind, she couldn't stop smiling. They had spent hours in that water, slipping and sliding down the slippery rock into the beautiful pool below them. And there had been plenty of kissing too. Thus her smile this morning.

  When he dropped her off the night before, it was late, the moon bright in the sky. She has peeked in to check on Evie, but she was sound asleep, the covers pulled up around her head as they usually were. She didn't want to disturb her, so she quietly closed the door and went to bed herself. All of the physical activity that day had worn her out, so she was fast asleep before ten o'clock.

  She could already smell the blueberry muffins that Mia was apparently cooking in the kitchen. It was amazing how she could tell from the different smells what was being prepared. Sometimes, she would close her eyes and imagine that her mother was down there cooking, and what that would've been like to grow up with her.

  "Good morning," Kate said, walking straight to the coffee pot. Mia, wearing her normal apron, pulled a pan of muffins out of the oven and set them on the stove top. "Good morning. How was your adventure yesterday?"

  Kate grinned like a Cheshire cat. "It was wonderful."

  "Gross. I don't want to know any more," Mia said, laughing as she turned the bacon in the hot frying pan.

  "We went to this rock water slide."

  "Oh wow. I haven't thought about that place in years. We should take Evie over there one day. I bet she'd love it."

  Kate looked around the kitchen. Travis was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee and looking at his phone. She could also see Sylvia and Jack on the back patio, also drinking coffee. They seemed at odds over something, but Kate wasn't going to let anyone's bad time ruin her good mood.

  "Where is Evie?”

  “Don't know. I assumed she was still upstairs in her bedroom," Mia said, looking around.

  “Let me go check. Maybe she's just over sleeping."

  Kate trotted back up the stairs, still not overly worried. Evie loved to sleep late, and she was probably just getting in some extra hours before she had to start getting up for school again on Monday.

  She opened the door to her daughter’s room and her breath caught in her chest. The pillows and covers were still arranged the same way they had been the night before. For a moment, she feared the worst, that her daughter wasn't breathing or something. She ran over to the bed to shake her, quickly realizing that Evie wasn't there at all.

  "What in the heck?" she said out loud to herself. She looked up at the window and noticed that it was unlocked.

  She ran downstairs, calling out to Mia. “She’s not in her room. She wasn't here last night. She put pillows under her covers and her window is unlocked!"

  "What? Oh my gosh. She snuck out?"

  Travis stood up and walked over to them. "Everybody take a breath. Let's call the police department and see if they know anything."

  Just as Kate was pulling out her phone, there was a knock at the door. Her heart was pounding now, and her stomach felt nauseous. Through the window she could see that a uniformed officer was standing outside. Fearing for the worst, she tried to prepare herself as she ran toward the door.

  She flung open the door. "Is this about my daughter?"

  "Are you Kate Miller?"

  “Yes. My daughter is Evie. Is she okay?”

  "Yes ma'am. She's fine. She's at the police station."

  Kate was completely confused. "At the police station? I don't understand." Mia and Travis walked up behind her, her sister putting a hand on her back to stabilize her.

  "Ma'am, were you aware that your daughter was out at a party next to the water tower all night?"

  The color felt like it was draining out of her face. "No, I wasn't."

  "Did you not check to see if your daughter was in her bed last night?"

  "Of course I did. I just realized that she had put pillows under her covers and snuck out the window."

  "I see. Well, she's in some big trouble. Along with several others."

  "She doesn't even know anyone, well except some boy from high school. She hasn't even started there yet."

  "Well, apparently she made a nice big group of friends, and they climbed the water tower last night and defaced it. At this point, she's got two charges of trespassing and criminal mischief against her. There might be more coming."

  "Oh my gosh…" Kate said, leaning over and putting her hands on her knees. “I feel like I can't breathe."

  "Come over here and sit down. Mia, why don't you get her some water?" Travis helped Kate to a chair and then walked back to the front door. “Sheriff, I'm sure this is just regular teenage mischief. I grew up here, and we always climbed that water tower right before school started. I’m sure you know it's been a long time tradition."

  "Well, maybe that's so, but I just took over as Sheriff in this town last year, and I won't have that kind of stuff going on in my jurisdiction."

  "It sounds to me like you really want to make an example out of these kids, but is that really what you want the public to know about you? That you’re willing to throw the book at a bunch of kids who are just excited about going back to school and are just carrying on the tradition of painting on the water tower?"

  "Sir, and I don't know how you're related to this, but this is a crime. Trespassing and defacing city property is not tolerated."

  Travis nodded his head. Mia just watched in astonishment as he spoke up to the Sheriff. "Well, I think the bigger question is why hasn't the city taken the initiative to make sure that those kids can't access the water tower? We've been doing this for well over twenty-five years now. A little bit of white paint will fix it right up, and I'm sure the kids would be glad to take care of it. But you're going to try to ruin their futures with charges on their records? Come on now, Sheriff. I don't think that's how you want to make a name for yourself in this little town. After all, we all know each other, and that sure doesn't build community around here."

  "What exactly are you getting at?”

  "Well, just seems to me that you’ll be running for an office that requires the voters’ support, am I right?"

  "Yes, but I don't see how that's relevant."

  "Well maybe you come from a big town or something, but we do things differently around here. We are about family and sticking together. These kids didn't mean any harm, and I'll personally take it upon myself to make sure they climb back up the tower and paint over whatever they've done. But I sure would hope, as a citizen of this town, that you, Mr. Sheriff, would also make sure that the children of this town are safe and kept out of such dangerous situations in the first place."

  The Sheriff just stood there, his mouth hanging open slightly, trying not to react. "Ma'am, you can come pick up your daughter in about thirty minutes. This time, I won't pursue charges. But I do expect these kids to buy the paint that's going to be required to fix that. I'll have some of my city workers handle it."

  Kate stood up and walked back to the door, reaching out to shake his hand. "Thank you, Sheriff. I appreciate your leniency this time, and I will make sure my daughter never does anything like this again."

  The Sheriff nodded his head, glared at Travis for a moment and then turned back to walk to his car.

  Mia shut the door and stared at him. "Where did you learn to talk like that?"

  "If you're in New York City long enough, you learn to get a back bone. Otherwise, people will run you over up there." Travis said laughing.

  "Thank you so much, Travis. I didn't know what to say. I had no idea Evie was doing anything like that.”

  "Kids do stuff. We all did. Don't be too hard on her. New school and all."

  Kate smiled. "I better go get her. Mind if I borrow your car, Mia?"

  "Of course. Go on ahead."

  As Kate walked to the car, she felt her blood pressure rising already. Evie had made so many bad choices in her young life already, and much of it was because of her need to
be liked and accepted. What was she going to do with her daughter?

  Chapter Eight

  Mia couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Now, as she and Travis stood in the living room together, she didn't really know what to say. She’d never seen that side of him before, the strong, commanding presence. Of course, the last time they spent any amount of time together, they were both just out of high school, still wet behind the ears, as her mother would say.

  "Sorry I just kind of took over there." He shrugged his shoulders and then put his hands in his pockets like he’d done something wrong.

  "I liked it," she said, admitting it out loud when she hadn't intended to.

  "You did?" A slight smile spread across his face.

  "I did. And I hate myself for it," she said, shaking her head as she tried to stifle her own smile.

  "I hope Kate doesn't strangle Evie,” he said with a laugh.

  "Oh, it's very likely that she will. That kid, I just don't know what she's going to do with her."

  "Yeah, well we all do things as teenagers that we shouldn’t. Do you remember the time that we climbed up that very same water tower?"

  She covered the grin on her face. "I certainly remember what happened at the top of the water tower. Our very first kiss.”

  He chuckled under his breath. "That was an unforgettable moment. I never wanted to come down off the water tower."

  "Well, that was a long time ago. A nice memory," she said, feeling a little sad. Those first moments of being a teenager were some of her fondest because they included Travis.

  "Yeah, nice memories. Listen, I promised my mom I would come over for a visit, so I guess I better be getting on with the day."

  She smiled and nodded. "Of course. Don't let me hold you up. I've got plenty around here to keep me busy."

  He turned and started walking toward the front door. "Hey, Mia?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Do you ever do anything for fun? Like anything that doesn't have to do with the B&B?”

  She shrugged her shoulders, laughing sadly. "I guess this place is my life now. Without Momma, I've sort of been like a boat that has come unattached from the dock and is just sort of floating aimlessly out in the water."

  He looked kind of sad. "That's no way to live."

  "Maybe not, but it's what I've got," she said, crossing her arms as a protective mechanism. It was true that her life was the B&B, but it wasn’t by choice. She did want more, like friends, hobbies and a partner, but that hadn’t been the hand she was dealt so far. Up until Kate came, she’d been alone again, trying to manage it all by herself. Now that she had some extra time, she had no one to spend it with anyway.

  "Care to take another canoe ride when I get back?"

  She thought for a long moment. And again, she knew she should say no. “Okay. Before dinner?" Why did she keep telling him yes? Her logical mind was apparently on a vacation.

  He smiled and nodded. "It's a date."

  He closed the door behind him, before she had a chance to correct him. Was it a date? What in the heck was going on with them?

  Kate couldn't remember a time when she was more angry at her daughter. As Evie sat in the car next to her, she said nothing, the blood in her veins feeling like it was actually boiling. Now she totally understood that term.

  When she had picked her daughter up at the police station, Evie had tried to plead her case, attempted to tell Kate that she didn't do anything wrong. But Kate wasn't hearing any of it. She told her to be quiet and get in the car, and now they were just riding in silence.

  She could see Evie out of the corner of her eye just looking out the window, probably trying to figure out what she was going to say when Kate allowed her to speak again.

  Finally, they arrived back at the B&B, and Kate stopped the car. She turned and looked at her daughter, her face still red from the anger.

  "What on earth were you thinking, Evie?”

  "Mom, I’m trying to tell you that I didn't do anything…"

  "Are you kidding me right now?" Kate said, throwing up her hands. "They literally found you on top of the water tower. The fire department had to help you get down because you were too scared!"

  "You know I don't like heights!"

  "Then why in the world would you agree to climb up on top of the water tower? You had to know it was illegal!"

  "I really didn't, Mom. All the kids said they do this every year before school starts. Way back, like decades. Why would I think I'd go to jail for that?"

  "You better be really thankful for your aunt’s friend, Travis. He's the one who talked the Sheriff out of pressing charges against you."

  "I didn't do any of the graffiti. I promise you."

  "Right now, I wouldn't believe you if your tongue came notarized!" Kate said, using a phrase she'd heard Mia say. Oh no, she was turning southern.

  "So you don't trust me? Even though I didn't do anything wrong?"

  Kate stared at her, her eyes squinting like she didn't understand the language her daughter was speaking. "You did do something wrong. Even if you didn't do the graffiti, you weren't supposed to be up on the water tower. You have to use common sense."

  "I'm sorry. I was just trying to make friends, and I didn't want them to think I was some kind of a scaredy-cat."

  Kate tried to summon how she would've felt at that age. Would she have climbed the water tower? Mia told her that she had done the same thing in high school. Still, she couldn't show weakness right now. Evie would take full advantage of that.

  “And, on top of that, you snuck out. You willingly lied by putting pillows under your covers and then you snuck out the window! Anything could've happened to you!"

  "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to let you down. I knew you probably wouldn't let me go to a party like that, and I wanted to make friends. It's going to be really hard going to a brand new school."

  “But you wanted this. You said you wanted to stay here. It's not too late for us to go back to Rhode Island and…"

  "No. I don't want to go back there. I just made a mistake, and it won't happen again. I'm looking forward to a fresh start."

  "Well, I don't think it's hanging around with those people. Stay away from whoever was at that party last night."

  "Mom, it was practically the whole school!”

  "When you start school on Monday, you go there, you come home and do homework, you go to bed and stay in your room. No sneaking out and no social activities for at least a month."

  "A month? But what about…"

  "Don't try me, Evie,” Kate said, holding up her hand. "You're on restriction for one month. We will revisit it after that."

  "Fine," she said, crossing her arms.

  "Be thankful I didn't say you were on restriction for your entire school year. But I can change my mind if I need to."

  "No. I'm sorry. A month is fine. And I won't screw up again."

  Kate leaned over and grabbed her daughter, hugging her tightly. "Don't you ever do something like that again. You're all I've got, and I shudder to think what could've happened to you last night. That was so dangerous."

  "I know. It was stupid," Evie said, her voice muffled and shaking, pressing against Kate’s shoulder.

  As they walked into the house, Kate wondered what the next few years of high school were going to hold for her daughter. Would she get her act together and go on to big things in her life, or would she always be chasing trouble to try to fill that spot in her heart that her dad had left?

  Mia stood in front of the closet door, this time promising herself that she was going to finish cleaning it out. Most of it was just old files, handmade quilts from her great grandmother and other family mementos that she had seen before. But she was going to get that box in the back, just to see what was inside of it since it was something she hadn't seen when her mother was alive.

  Just as she was about to reach for it again, and most probably fall down trying to do it, Kate walked through the office door and fell down into the
chair behind her.

  "Oh, hey. Where’s Evie? You didn't have them put her on a work crew or something, did you?”

  Kate sighed and leaned her head back, looking up at the ceiling. "Honestly, I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl. She just doesn't think sometimes."

  Mia leaned against the closet door frame, her arms crossed. "I know you're mad at her right now, but honestly what she did is something people have been doing around here for generations. This new Sheriff is just taking everything too far."

  "Don't tell her that. She needs to understand that she broke the law, and she did something really dangerous."

  Mia smiled. "I know you're really scared right now because it seems like she was in harms way, but nobody has ever fallen off of that water tower. And I don't think she'll do something like that again."

  "She better not because I can't take it. The thought of her being out there at night by herself…"

  "But she wasn't by herself, Kate. She was with a new group of friends. I mean, doesn't that make you feel good that she's already making friends here?"

  “I guess so. But not these friends. I can't believe they talked her into doing something like that."

  "Well, if doing that is bad and turned you into some kind of a hoodlum, then I guess I'm a hoodlum. And so is Cooper and so is Travis. We all did it." Mia wasn’t about to admit it, but she thought Kate was overreacting a bit. This was the country, and kids did stuff like this all the time. Boredom was a big issue in their neck of the woods. They didn’t have shopping malls and skate parks to keep them busy. They had Mother Nature’s forest land and the water tower.

  Kate glared at her. "Again, you're not to tell that to Evie. She'll use it as an excuse to make bad decisions."

  "Didn’t you ever do crazy things as a teenager?"

  " Not really. One time I tried to sneak out, but then I felt really guilty and went back home."

  Mia held up her hand. "Whoa, slow down, you crazy kid!"

  Kate laughed. "That's why it's so hard for me to raise Evie. She's nothing like I was at her age."