3

3

     Although my three months in the hospital and one month in rehab didn’t fly by, they passed by faster than I thought they would.

     Elliott was only in the hospital for two weeks before he got released. He and my parents came to see me every day with a new vase of flowers each time. When I was at the rehab center downtown, the three of them still visited me, but Dad was the only one who sometimes participated in the exercises.

     For the most part, I got over my angry feelings towards Elliott. Even if it was his Ferrari that went off the overpass, it was just because he was too busy caring about me to notice--at least, that’s what I always told myself when resentment started clouding my memory. Besides, he saw me every day for four months. That had to prove something, didn’t it?

     Now there I was, packing up my things to go home from the hospital. Dad had to order a separate box just for all the flowers, so at the moment, I was helping him load them up.

     “I didn’t know there could be so many different types of flowers,” I said in wonder, gently dropping in some tulips and petunias. You see, on top of receiving flowers every day, my parents made sure that they never bought me the same type twice. So along with sitting in a hospital bed for awhile, I also learned some new vocabulary.

     “Which ones are your favorites?” Dad asked, placing in some daisies.

     “I like all of them!” I declared with a laugh, since I knew it would be too hard to choose.

     “It’s going to be such a shame that you won’t get to stay at home for awhile, dear,” Mom interrupted, cleaning off a vase with a dusting cloth. She and Dad still didn’t get why I chose Devil’s Lake for our summer vacation.

     Devil’s Lake was apparently a campsite in Wisconsin that had just about everything you needed--including a beach! Well, two, actually: one on the north side, and one on the south side.

     I’d heard about Devil’s Lake from the patient who shared a room with me. While I had been sitting in my hospital bed, thinking over my life (sad, I know), I heard my roommate discussing the campsite with her children and their children. They were talking about how much fun this summer would be, since they were taking Connie (my roommate) along with them to Devil’s Lake. I don’t really know why I chose to go there; I was just randomly thinking of places off the top of my head. Besides, it sounds really nice.

     I thought my parents would forgive my place of choice after four months, but I could tell they secretly disapproved of it. After all, why would the rich and famous Huxtables go camping? Why couldn’t they go on a tour of Italy?

     But that was the thing: I didn’t want to be the Sarah Huxtable that everyone knew. I wanted to be a whole new me; a careless girl who spent summers up at Devil’s Lake; a girl whose father didn’t own Huxtable Airlines; a girl who didn’t have a wealthy and stuffy fiancé; etc. I guess I pretty much wanted to start my life all over again.

     Unfortunately, I didn’t really have that option. Elliott and his parents agreed to go to the campsite with us so we could enjoy the summer bonding time. If you want my completely honest opinion, that didn’t sound too pleasant.

     “I’m so glad that you’re finally doing well.” A kiss was planted on my cheek.

     Speak of the devil.

     I turned around and, much to Elliott’s surprise gave him an abrupt kiss on the lips. “Thank you.” I decided to forget all about the accident for the moment and remember how much I loved him before we fell off that overpass.

     “Do we have everything?” Dad asked, picking up a few more boxes and glancing around the room.

     “Yep,” I said. “Now, let’s go.” I guess you could say I’m not usually a patient person.

     My mother forced a laugh; I could tell she didn’t want to deal with my melodrama today. She picked up a box and so did Elliott, then we all filed out of the room, down the hall, in the elevator, and outside towards the car. Once everything was loaded, we all climbed into my dad’s car (since Elliott’s Ferrari was obviously in need of some repairs) and started driving towards home.

     “Do you think we should buy a camper?” Mom asked Dad thoughtfully as we rounded a sharp corner.

     “Hmm.” We reached a red light and Dad’s fingers started drumming the steering wheel. You see, even though my parents have a countless amount of money, they don’t go spending it left and right without much thought as to what they are using it for. No, they have to conjure up every possible outcome of the situation and then decide what would be best.

     “A tent would be nice,” I spoke up from the backseat. Everybody in the car turned and gave me the you’re-kidding-right? look.

     “The light’s green,” Mom interrupted, pointing at the traffic lights, although she didn’t really need to. Every single car behind us was beeping its horn non-stop.

     “Hey, buddy!” yelled a guy who had just stuck his head out the window of his truck. “Let’s move!” He smacked the side door of his blue Chevrolet to emphasize his words. Similar shouts were heard all around us from every possible direction.

     “All right, I’m going, I’m going!” Dad huffed, pounding the dashboard. “Those guys need to keep their pants on, for Christ’s sakes. Frank Huxtable should take as long as he wants to put his foot on the gas pedal.”

     My mom, Elliott, and I all exchanged a concerned look and waggled our eyebrows.

     “Anyway…,” Elliott began.

     “Tents are ridiculous,” Dad said, getting back on topic. “I mean, it’s just basically like sleeping on the ground with a roof above you. Wouldn’t that be uncomfortable? You’d have rocks poking into your back.”

     I rolled my eyes. “So? You don’t get the camping experience without a tent. Tents are, like, a must-have.”

     “No tents, and that’s final,” Mom said decidedly.

    “Well,” Dad said, working up a compromise in his head. “First of all, I don’t think we should buy a camper. We would only use it for this one trip, so it would be a waste of money, right? We should just rent one. And Sarah, if you really insist on having your tent, we’ll bring an extra one along if you want to set it up.”

     “Okay, great, thanks,” I said, smiling triumphantly.

     Dad turned into the road that led to our little enclosed, rich community and entered his ID in the machine. The large metal gates creaked open and let our car go past before they shut again. We went down the road for a little ways, and then turned into our driveway.

     “Oh, um, dear,” Mom told Dad, “Aren’t you going to drop Elliott off at his house?”

     “That’s okay,” Elliott said quickly. “I can stay and help unload stuff from the car if you’d like.” He grinned and adjusted his wire-framed glasses.

     “That’s my good future-son-in-law,” my mother said, reaching her hand into the backseat and patting his shoulder.

     Gag me, I thought in disgust as I climbed out of the car and walked inside, eager to leave my huge house behind so it could be replaced by the crashing waves of Devil’s Lake.

Author's Note

Okay, I know this chapter sucks. I was running out of ideas to fill the gap in between the hospital + the summer at the lake. So this is what I came up with. (Don't worry, once the summer comes, it'll be more exciting).

I also realize that the way Sarah found out about Devil's Lake is REALLY UNREALISTIC, but oh well.