July 4, 2018

Two and a half weeks flew by, and I spent most of that time practicing for the regatta with Véro. Slowly but surely, we were getting better, and as the first regatta race approached, we were bolting across the lake, both of our reflexes working like lightning. I wasn't sure whether it was enough to win, but I knew that we would both do our best during the regatta. Hopefully, it would be enough.

The first race was still eleven days away, or at least that was what I told myself when I woke up on the Fourth of July. Véro and I still had enough time to prepare for the regatta. However, Véro texted me that morning at around ten o'clock. "Are we still sailing this morning?" she asked. "I've been waiting by the pier, and I can't find you."

That was when I realized that Véro probably didn't know that it was a holiday. Then again, she did have the right idea. We needed all of the practice that we could get, and nobody else would be out on the lake. It would be a great opportunity to practice maneuvering the boat around the lake. "I'll be out there in a few minutes," I texted her.

"Great, I'll see you then," Véro replied.

I put my phone down and got ready to leave. Then, I told Mom and Dad that I was going sailing. "You've been sailing a lot lately," Dad said. "Couldn't you take a day off?"

"Phil, let her have her fun," Mom said.

"Fine," Dad said. "Have fun, Sylvie."

"Thanks, Mom and Dad," I said.

I headed outside, and I found Véro sitting on the pier with her toes in the water, waiting for me. "Hi, Sylvie," Véro said. "Are you ready to sail?"

"Definitely," I said. The two of us set up the boat, and when we were ready, Véro and I set sail.

"Where are we going today, Captain Sylvie?" Véro asked.

I laughed and said, "I don't know. Is there anywhere particular that you'd like to go?"

"I don't know," Véro said.

"Ramadan's over now, right?" I said.

"It ended two and a half weeks ago," Véro said.

The last two weeks had gone by even faster than I had thought. "I can't keep track of time," I said. "Why don't we go to Culver's then?"

"That would be fun," Véro said as she took the tiller and steered toward Culver's.

"You have to get their frozen custard," I said. "It's amazing."

"I'll try that," Véro said. The boat flew across the water until we arrived at the restaurant. However, when we climbed out of the boat, I saw that there was a sign on the door. "What does it say?" Véro asked.

"You can read it yourself," I said.

"I always read very slowly in English," Véro said.

"Well, your spoken English has gotten a lot better," I said.

"Thank you," Véro said.

"Anyways, it says that Culver's is closed today for Independence Day," I said.

"I forgot that your Independence Day was today," Véro said.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "We'll come again another day."

"Okay, Sylvie," Véro said. We headed back to the boat, and sailed away from shore. When we reached the middle of the lake, I decided to stop for a few minutes. "What are you doing?" Véro asked.

"I'm taking a break," I responded.

"I thought that we were practicing for the regatta," Véro said.

"We won't do this in an actual race," I said as I let out the sail, letting it ruffle in the wind until the boat came to a complete stop. "I just wanted to enjoy being out on the water for a few minutes."

"I understand," Véro said, staring down at the water. I watched a ripple of water flow towards our sailboat, causing it to bob up and down. Two ducks were swimming in front of Culver's, and my grandparents' house loomed next to the restaurant. There wasn't anyone else on the water, and the lake felt far more peaceful than it ever had before. It was as if Véro and I were the only two people in the world.

"Can I tell you something, Sylvie?" Véro asked.

"Of course," I said.

"I think that you might be the prettiest girl in the world," Véro said.

"No, that would be you," I said, blushing.

"You don't understand, do you?" Véro said. "I've been falling in love with you ever since we met."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was as if I was in a dream - I never imagined that Véro would actually like me back. I must have responded, but I don't remember exactly what I said. I was in too much of a daze to remember anything that happened in those moments. My world was changing for the better, and I felt as if I would melt into a puddle of joy.

The next thing I heard was Véro asking, "Sylvie, is it okay if I kiss you?"

I nodded frantically, and before I knew it, Véro's lips were on mine. Her lips tasted like lake water, but at that moment, I couldn't bring myself to care. This was what I had wanted for weeks, and now, I was finally kissing Véro Arkoun. It was incredible, and when Véro finally pulled away, I couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed. I could have lived in that moment for forever.

I quickly glanced at my phone and saw that it was nearly noon. If we stayed out there for much longer, my parents would start to worry. "Maybe we should head back," I suggested.

"I'd rather kiss you again," Véro said.

"Me too," I said, and Véro gave me a quick peck on the lips as I reached for the tiller. "I really do like you, Véro," I said as I started to steer towards home.

"I like you too, Sylvie," Véro said. "We're sailing again tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," I said. "We need to keep practicing. You're getting a lot better though."

"Thanks," Véro said as we approached the pier. We took down the sail and put away everything on the boat, but then, I had to say goodbye to Véro. \

Almost as soon as I went inside, I missed her. As I ate my lunch and went back into my room to read a book, I thought of Véro. I desperately wanted to talk to her again, but I was afraid that somehow, my family would find out.

I spent most of the afternoon holed up in my room, still in a state of disbelief. My dreams had come true, but what was I supposed to do next? I had no idea, so I merely daydreamed about Véro while pretending to read a book.

Eventually, I mustered up the nerve to reach for my phone and text her, but I didn't know what to say. No words could possibly tell her how I was feeling. After several minutes of staring at my phone, wondering what to type, I settled upon asking her, "Hey, do you want to go watch some fireworks tonight?"

"There are fireworks tonight?" Véro quickly replied.

"Yeah, they're setting off fireworks on the other side of the lake," I said. "Do you want to come over and watch? You can see them pretty well from my backyard."

"I would love that, Sylvie," Véro texted,

I grinned and immediately typed, "When do you want to come over?" However, Everett barged into my room before I could hit the send button. "Everett, leave me alone," I grumbled.

"Dad told me to ask you if you wanted to stay home or go to Cascade Park to watch the fireworks," Everett said.

"Tell Dad that I'd rather stay home," I said.

"Seriously?" Everett said. "I wanted to go to the park. Eden said that she would be there."

"Don't worry about what Eden's doing," I said.

"Why shouldn't I worry about what she's doing?" Everett said. "She's cute, and maybe someday she'll decide to date a younger guy."

"She's out of your league, Everett, and she's my best friend," I said. "Go chase some other girl."

Everett rolled his eyes and thankfully left the room, leaving me alone to text Véro. I sent the message that I had already written and waited for her to text me back.

"When do the fireworks start?" Véro asked.

"Probably around nine o'clock," I texted.

"I'll come over then," Véro texted. "See you soon!"

"See you soon, Véro," I typed. I placed my phone aside, glad that I would see Véro again in only a few hours.

As it turned out, Mom, Dad, and Everett decided to go to Cascade Park after all, leaving me home alone for a few hours. I sort of felt bad that I wouldn't get to see Eden that night - I hadn't seen her all that much lately - but at the same time, I couldn't wait to spend more time with Véro. After they left, I went outside and leaned against a tree, waiting for Véro to come and for the fireworks to start.

Véro showed up exactly at nine o'clock. "Hello, Sylvie," Véro said as she curled up next to me.

"Hi, Véro," I said. "Are you ready for this?"

"I'm actually very excited," Véro said. "This is going to be so cool."

"I'm sure that you'll like it," I said as I moved closer to her.

All of a sudden, the first fireworks went off. A burst of color exploded in the sky, falling downwards in a trail of red, white, and blue. I glanced toward Véro and saw that she was beaming as she looked up at the sky. I put my arm around her and watched the sky light up with more and more fireworks. I ignored one of my neighbors' dogs barking and focused on the colorful lights in the sky.

"I feel like a real American now," Véro said after a particularly impressive display.

"Me too," I said.

"Sylvie, you were a real American from the start," Véro said.

"I guess so, but the Fourth of July always makes me feel patriotic," I said.

"I can understand that," Véro said. She looked up at the sky again as a spark flew through the sky and exploded into a giant array of lights. Even though we were on the other side of the lake, I still felt the need to cover my ears.

After that firework went off, Véro and I waited around a few more minutes to see if there would be any more. When it became apparent that the fireworks were over, Véro told me, "I should probably go inside. I'll see you tomorrow, right?"

"Of course," I said, smiling. If nothing else, I knew that I would be on the water the next day, spending more time with Véro.

"I think we'll win the regatta," Véro said.

"I wouldn't be so sure," I said.

"Oh come on, Sylvie," Véro said. "You need to be more optimistic. We've practiced so much."

"I know, but it might not be enough," I said.

"We shouldn't worry about that now," Véro said. "We still have...how much time do we have before the regatta?"

"Eleven days," I answered.

"We still have eleven days before the regatta," Véro said. "That's a lot of time."

"No, it's really not," I said.

"It's enough," Véro said. "Besides, there are three races in the regatta. We can still win the regatta even if we lose the first race."

"That's true," I said. Just hearing Véro encouraging me was making me feel a little bit better. I felt as if I could do anything, as long as I had Véro by my side.

"We'll win the regatta," Véro said. "Just wait and see." She kissed me softly and then said, "Goodnight, Sylvie."

"Goodnight, Véro," I said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Véro headed back into her house, and once she was gone, I went back inside. Mom, Dad, and Everett weren't home yet, but I knew they would be home any minute. I lay down on the couch, thinking of Véro. I was falling for this gorgeous purple-haired girl next door, but I still had to worry about keeping this new relationship from my family. I didn't want to think about it at that moment though. For now, I could pretend as if nothing mattered except for Véro and I.