July 14, 2018

The regatta was tomorrow, but my family had bigger things to worry about, if such a thing was possible. Aunt Holly, Uncle Chad, and their three children were visiting Clearwater Lake this weekend, and we had to get ready for their arrival. I was sort of excited to see my cousins - I hadn't seen them in real life since last year - but at the same time, I was frustrated to miss out on a perfectly good sailing day. The weather and the wind were perfect for sailing that day, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to get out on the water with the Bryants around.

Mom, Dad, Everett, and I all spent the morning cleaning up the house and making room in the basement for Scott, Julianna, and Chase. Grandma and Grandpa were also coming over for the evening, so we had to make sure that the kitchen was clean enough for Grandma's taste. It took me the whole morning to vacuum the house and set the table, and even when it started raining around noon, I still hated that I had wasted a perfectly good Saturday morning on chores.

"The Bryants just arrived at the airport," Dad said after we were mostly finished cleaning. "My parents are picking them up right now."

"When are they coming then?" Mom asked.

"Probably within the next few hours," Dad said.

I used the extra time to check the weather for tomorrow and play some brainless video game with Everett. He always seemed to beat me, but it was still a good way to kill time.

About an hour later, I heard a knock on the door. I ran to the door and opened it, and sure enough, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Holly, Uncle Phil, Scott, Julianna, and Chase were all there. "Sylvie!" Aunt Holly exclaimed as she gave me a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's good to see you too, Aunt Holly," I said. People always said that Aunt Holly and I were a lot alike, but I didn't really see it. We had the same brown, wavy hair, light brown skin, and hazel eyes, but otherwise, we weren't the same at all. She was a college sociology professor from Portland, and I was a sixteen year old from Clearwater Lake. We couldn't possibly be the same person.

"You've grown a lot since I last saw you, Sylvie," Uncle Chad said. I was certain that I hadn't grown at all since last year, but I didn't bother to argue with Uncle Chad. It wasn't worth arguing with one of the nicest people that I knew.

"It has been a while, hasn't it?" I said.

All of a sudden, Dad arrived and said, "You all can come inside. We're still working on making lunch, but the kids can move their stuff into the basement."

"Sounds good, Uncle Phil," Scott said as he dragged a suitcase into our living room. He then mumbled something to his sister about being called a "kid" even though he was a legal adult.

"Sylvie, Everett, could you help your cousins set up in the basement?" Dad asked, and both of us nodded and followed Julianna, Scott, and Chase into the basement.

"So, how are things going for you guys?" I asked once all of us were in the basement.

"There really hasn't been any exciting going on," Scott said as he unzipped his suitcase.

"How would you know?" Julianna retorted. "You've been away at college all year."

"I got braces!" Chase exclaimed, smiling to show off his new, multi-colored braces.

"Yeah, I suppose that's new," Julianna said. "I'm sure there are plenty of other things that have happened in the last year, but I can't think of anything super important right now. What about you? What's been going on with you guys?"

"I finally beat that level in Cuphead that I've been trying to beat for the last three months today," Everett said.

"Nobody cares, Everett," I said.

"I bet that I could do better than you in Cuphead," Chase said.

"I'd like to see you try," Everett said. He started up the Xbox, and Everett and Chase ran off to play.

Scott groaned and said, "I guess this means that I'm going to have to unpack Chase's suitcase."

"Sylvie, what have you been up to?" Julianna asked, bouncing up and down on her air mattress.

"The first race of the Clearwater Lake Junior Regatta is tomorrow," I said.

"What's a regatta?" Julianna asked.

"How do you not know what a regatta is?" I asked.

"I'm not a sailor," Julianna said.

"It's basically a series of sailing races," I said. "I'm sailing the one here with my friend." I didn't like referring to Véro as my "friend," since it wasn't quite the truth, but I didn't know if my parents or grandparents were listening in.

"That's kind of cool," Julianna said, but I could tell that she didn't really care. I may have been excited for the regatta, but she clearly wasn't.

"I've been preparing all summer," I told her.

"That's nice," Julianna said. "I've just been taking pictures all summer."

"I've seen some of them on Instagram," I said. "You're a really good photographer."

"Thanks," Julianna said, smiling. "Why don't I take one now?" She took out her phone and snapped a picture of me. "That turned out nice," she said. A few seconds later, my phone buzzed and I saw that she had posted the picture on Instagram with the caption "hanging out with my favorite cousin @sylvie_morrison46."

"Thanks, Julianna!" I said.

"It's not that big of a deal," Julianna said. "It's not like you have a lot of competition. Everett's super annoying."

"I was starting to worry that nobody else recognized how obnoxious my brother is," I said.

"Don't worry - I definitely notice," Julianna said. "Anyways, do you want to play a game? I brought a deck of cards from home."

"Sure, why not?" I said.

"Scott, do you want to play?" Julianna asked as she took out the cards.

Scott nodded, and the three of us played card games for the next several hours. However, all of us eventually had to go upstairs for dinner. Julianna put her playing cards back into her suitcase, and Everett and Chase finally turned off the Xbox. "I didn't realize that Cuphead was so hard," Chase whined as he went upstairs.

"How did you not know that?" Everett said.

Chase didn't respond. Instead, he sat down at the dinner table, where Mom, Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa had created a feast for all of us. Grandma had made her famous Three Sisters Soup, which Mom and Dad had complemented with their own favorite dishes. I found a spot next to Dad, and Julianna sat down on the other side of me. Once everyone was at the table, I immediately filled my plate with food and began to eat.

"Holly, there's something that I just don't understand," Grandpa said as I stuffed a spoonful of soup into my mouth.

"What is it?" Aunt Holly asked.

"Why do you let Julian run around pretending that he's a girl?" Grandpa asked.

"Her name is Julianna, and she is a girl," I said before anyone else could answer.

"He's not," Grandpa insisted. "I just can't understand why you would let this happen, Holly. You're better than this."

Julianna nudged me and whispered, "It's not worth it."

"But doesn't this make you angry?" I said.

"Yes, but some battles just aren't worth fighting," Julianna said. "Grandpa's not going to accept my gender any time soon, so I'm not going to fight with him over it, and you shouldn't waste your time on it either."

"Edward, leave Holly alone," Grandma said. "It's not our business what she lets her children do."

"Fine," Grandpa said, but I could see Julianna scowling as she ate the last of her soup. I wasn't exactly happy either - if Grandpa wouldn't understand Julianna, then how could I expect him to understand me? All I knew was that I couldn't let Grandpa find out about Véro. When he wasn't being homophobic or transphobic, I loved my grandfather. I had so many happy childhood memories with him - why couldn't I love Grandpa and Véro too? Keeping our relationship a secret seemed like the only way to avoid having to choose between my family and my girlfriend.

"When's dessert?" Everett asked as soon as he finished his dinner.

Grandma laughed and said, "We'll have dessert in a few hours. You can play with your cousins until then."

"Chase, do you want to go skateboarding?" Everett asked.

"I've never been skateboarding before," Chase admitted.

"It's fun," Everett said. "You'll like it. Scott, Julianna, do you want to come too? I might be able to convince my friend Louis to let me use some of his skateboards. He has a lot."

"Sure, why not?" Julianna said.

"I guess I'll come," Scott said.

"Hey, what about me?" I said.

"Yeah, Everett, you should invite Sylvie along too," Julianna said.

"Fine," Everett said, rolling his eyes. "Sylvie, do you want to come?"

"I'll come," I said. Usually, I didn't tag along when Everett went skateboarding, but I wanted to spend more time with my cousins. They were only here for the weekend, and tomorrow, I would be sailing. I might be able to hang out with Scott, Julianna, and Chase before they left for the airport on Monday, but tonight was the best time to spend time with my cousins.

Everett found the skateboard that he had gotten for his thirteenth birthday in the garage, and he gave his old skateboard to Chase. The two of them raced along the sidewalks, and a few minutes later, Louis arrived and gave Scott, Julianna, and I skateboards. I didn't really know how to skateboard, but I was going slow enough that I only occasionally fell over. Julianna, who was riding next to me, always laughed and helped me back up, and for a little while, we were having fun, skateboarding around the lake and ignoring our problems.

Everett, Louis, and Chase were far ahead of us, and Scott had given up on skateboarding, preferring to go inside and pretend like he was a real adult, so Julianna and I were the only ones left when we glided past Véro's house. "Sylvie!" she shouted as she swung the front door open.

"Hi Véro," I said. "I'm just going skateboarding with my cousin Julianna."

"Wait a second," Véro said. "Are you Julianna Bryant?"

"Yeah, that's me," Julianna said.

"I follow you on Instagram!" Véro exclaimed. "I have liked all of your pictures for the last two years. You're a very good photographer."

"Thank you," Julianna said.

"Anyways, Julianna, this is my..." I couldn't quite complete the sentence. I trusted Julianna, and nobody else was around, but I was still afraid that someone might overhear me. I settled on saying that she was my "friend, Véro Arkoun."

Véro gave me a strange look, but Julianna didn't question it. "Is this the same friend that you're competing in the regatta with?" she asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"Okay," Julianna said. She turned to Véro and asked, "Where are you from? I can't quite place your accent."

"I came from Paris, but I live in Clearwater Lake now," Véro said.

"That's so cool!" Julianna exclaimed. "Wow, I can't believe that people know me in Paris, of all places. I've always wanted to go there."

"I think that you would like it," Véro said. "Paris is a very cool place."

"I'm sure it is," Julianna said.

"I love your photos of Portland though," Véro said. "I want to go there someday."

"I'm sure that you'll get a chance to go someday," Julianna said. All of a sudden, her head turned, and she stared out over the lake. "Wow, that's a really pretty sunset. I'm going to take a picture of it." She pulled out her phone, and she took a photo of the sunset over Clearwater Lake.

"I should go back inside," Véro said. "It was nice to meet you, Julianna."

"It was nice to meet you too," Julianna said.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Sylvie," Véro said. She smiled as she closed the door, and I gave her a quick wave as Julianna and I set off again.

"She seems nice," Julianna commented.

"She is nice," I said.

"Where did Everett and Chase go?" Julianna asked.

"I don't know," I said. I pulled out my phone and texted Everett, but when he didn't respond right away, I suggested that we head back to my house. Julianna agreed that this was a good idea, and the two of us skateboarded home and put our skateboards into my garage. Louis could always pick up his stuff later.

The adults in the house served dessert as soon as Everett and Chase arrived home, but after Grandpa's outburst during dinner, it was too awkward to stand for long. The whole family ate in silence, and once I was done with my ice cream, there was no reason to stay at the table. I went in the basement with my cousins for a few hours, but by the time the clock struck nine, I wanted to go to bed. I could always hang out with my cousins tomorrow.

However, I couldn't sleep that night. Thoughts of the regatta kept me awake. Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined sailing with Véro, and either winning or losing with her by my side. I tossed and turned, trying to clear my mind, but nothing would work. Eventually, I gave up and simply lay awake, worrying about the regatta and everything that came with it.