It was summer after senior year, and I had 3 months before starting college in the fall. I had planned to just chill with my friends, go to a couple parties and just enjoy being free. My parents had other plans... My mom had been nagging my dad about going on a trip for years, and they figured now that they had seen me through graduation, they deserved a trip. They both had cushy tech jobs that let them take unlimited time off, so they planned to tour around Europe the entire summer. Admittedly, the trip was supposed to be for me, but I couldn't keep up with the straight B's they wanted, so this was a kind of punishment for me and to rub it in my face.
You might think, 'shit, that sounds even better, a summer with no supervision?'. Well one too many times of having to come pick me up from a random person's house at 3 am didn't earn too much trust with my parents. Leaving me alone for the summer wasn't an option either. My dad had hatched this great plan to dump me off at my uncle Sal's place in northern Minnesota. He had his own outfitting company, renting canoes to tourists all summer. A lucrative job, but he was short handed, so I was offered up as cheap labor. They'd let me stay at their house, feed me and pay me minimum wage to help out around the store.
I hadn't seen much of uncle Sal or aunt Bettie growing up. They used to come around every other Christmas with my cousin Allison. She was my same age and was quite the athlete. Unlike me who was taking out lots of student loans to pay for college, she had gotten a full ride to the state school for volleyball. I haven't seen her in a few years, because she was always away at tournaments or some camp, but when we were younger we used to always get into trouble together. She was like the sister I never had. She worked at the family outfitting company too.
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It was the first weekend after graduation, and my dad was driving me the 8hr drive up to Ely, MN, to drop me off for the summer. Mom made up some excuse to stay behind and pack for their trip. I guess the flight into Rome didn't allow as much personal luggage as she originally thought, so she had to spend some time reprioritizing which outfits to keep and which would stay. The whole ride my dad was listening to oldies on the only station that got reception, so I threw in my ear buds and listened to my playlists on Spotify.
After what seemed like forever we came to a stop. I hadn't really been paying attention to where we were, but my watch told me that it had been about 8 hours. If you've ever been to Ely, MN you know that it's pretty 'small town' America, but my uncle Sal's business was good, and they had one of the larger houses in town. No sooner than we came to a stop, the front door of the house flew open and aunt Bettie came rushing out to greet us, their old golden retriever, also named Max, slowly in tow. She was wearing a flowing blue dress that seemed fitting for summer, which paired well with her long dark brown hair, flowing half way down her back. Her skin was tanned and much more youthful than my father's, even though she was just a year younger than him.
"Robert, Max, it's so good to see you! I hope you had a safe trip."
My dad gave his sister a hug, lifting her off her feet. "Bettie, I think you're getting taller", my dad jabbed, a smile crossing his face as he set her back down.
"Max we're so glad to have you here for the summer, it was so nice of you to offer to help out at the store." I must have looked as confused as I was, because I didn't remember volunteering for this, this still felt like a punishment. My dad quickly smacked a hand hard onto my shoulder, staggering me and catching me off-guard before I could respond to my aunt.
"That's my boy, always doing what's best for the family", my dad said with a wink just to me.
"Uhh yea, I'm happy to help out." I responded.
"Well let me show you your room Max." My aunt picking up my luggage that dad had just taken out of the trunk of the car. She started to lead us towards the house, "Robbie how long are you going to be in town....?" She turned around, my dad had the car door open, and was already half in.
"Oh.... I hadn't really planned to stick around. It's a long drive back home, and you know Lucy can get herself into trouble if I'm not around. I, I didn't really plan to stick around. I really appreciate you guys taking Max for the summer, I think it will do him good. We'll send you guys postcards and keep you updated where we are." He trailed off, closing the door and starting the car. Not waiting for a response, he smiled and gave us a wave goodbye as he sped down the street.
I just shook my head and laughed, I knew he couldn't wait to get rid of me. "OK then." Aunt Bettie remarked, having grown up with my dad, you wouldn't think she would be surprised by his antics. "Well let's get you settled."
She led us into their house. It was gorgeous. Bettie had been a home decorator in her younger years, and always prided herself in keeping a pristine house with the nicest finishes. The dark mahogany floor, the navy blue walls, all adorn with rare and exotic trinkets from their worldly travels during the off seasons. A large banister greeted you as you entered the home, leading you up to the second floor. I had visited when I was younger, but hadn't really noticed how nice their home was before. Standing in the atrium taking it in, I barely noticed Max the dog licking my hand. Snapping me out of my daze, I gave him a friendly rub on top of his head.
"IS THAT MAX???" I heard a shout from behind me, followed by a squeal of delight. Turning around I was immediately greeted with a massive hug from Allison. She was a lot shorter than me, so her arms only wrapped around my waist as she pressed her head into my chest. She was barefoot, wearing black adidas booty shorts and a skin tight black athletic tank top. She had dirty blonde hair, unlike her mother's, that dipped just past her shoulders. Her skin was perfect and even more tanned than her mother's, presumably from all of the volleyball outside. Individually she was remarkable, but could easily blend in with any preppy clique of popular high school girls. It became evident really fast that she had matured a lot since I last remembered her. I couldn't help but get distracted by her large perky breasts squishing against me, as I wasn't positive if she was even wearing a bra under that top of hers.
"Good to see you too Allie!" I dropped my bag and brought my arms up to embrace her in a hug, but unintentionally, awkwardly brushed my hand up against her butt. She didn't seem to notice or make a big deal about it. I sheepishly smiled at aunt Bettie, hoping no one noticed.