It's Summer Ch. 2 Sneak Peak

What had I just heard? We're my parents serious? A cruise?! Not to sound racist, but black people don't like water! Hence why we don't go on cruises! What the fuck?!

"So what do you think?" Mom broke through my stupor.

"Uh . . . That's great!" Garvin tried to sound enthused but I could tell he hated this as much as I did. "However," he continued.

What? Garvin had an opposing opinion? He never opposed Mom and Dad. Mainly because they always did whatever Garvin wanted. But this was the line in the sand for both of us. Neither one of us wanted to be trapped on a boat at sea for several days, with no way to escape our parents.

"What? I thought this would be great for the family," Dad commented.

"Depends on the family," I mumbled.

"Watch it," Dad warned.

I rolled my eyes and suddenly felt a kick under the table. Now I knew neither one of my parents would do such a thing, so when I looked over at Garvin, he was giving me some serious stink eye.

I stared back, conveying through my eyes, You hate this as much as me.

Garvin stared me down even harder, mentally saying, Yeah but let's be nice, or some bullshit like that. Always trying to keep the peace. If my parents wanted peace, the best solution was to leave me out of it.

I loved my family, I did, but I hated spending time with them. It wasn't like they were bad people or super annoying (just some of the time), but I was outgrowing them a little. I wasn't a little girl who loved nothing more than helping my mommy or hanging out with my daddy. Yet there were still times I wanted to be by myself or hanging out with my friends. Now that I was twenty, about to turn twenty-one, I didn’t really want to spend as much time with them. I wanted to spread my wings and adult my own way. I simply was too old for a family vacation. 

Even when I was little, I never wanted to really hang out with them like that, but now that I was twenty and in college, I simply was too old for all this family stuff.

"However," Garvin continued. "It may not be the best time for cruise right now. I had some other plans for the summer. And I'm sure Za-Za (I hated that nickname) had some things she wanted to do. Besides, neither one of us have passports," he concluded.

That's right! Garvin and I didn't have passports. So there was no way we could go on this cruise. Sometimes, my brother really came through in a clutch.

“Oh don’t worry about that. We’re not going for a few more weeks. So you’ll have plenty of time to get your passports. Your father and I already made you appointments at the post office tomorrow,” my mother so sweetly informed us. “We already filled out the forms and got your pictures ready. All you need to do is show up and sign.” 

She had the biggest smile on face. Feeling so proud of herself that she had resolved our concerns before we even voiced them. 

What’s your solution to get out of this now Garvin? I turned to him, crossing my arms over my chest.