Blossom Lane

Lucy grew up on Blossom Lane, deep in the countryside. Her childhood was filled with the smell of green fields, the sound of frogs croaking, the laziness of fishing poles, and one tree-lined stretch of dirt road. One side ended at her driveway. Well, Daddy’s driveway. She spent a long time getting to know that driveway. And the yard behind the house. And the creek that flowed nearby. Those were her safe spaces. When she turned 6, she was entrusted with walking biscuits down the lane to the next house, where Old Mary lived. Lucy didn’t know much about Old Mary, except that she always slipped her a caramel candy and gave her warm hugs. She’d made the walk with Mama a hundred times, and she knew she could make it just fine. Mama told her just to Old Mary’s house and back. And she did that. The first few times. As Spring turned to Summer and the days got hotter, Lucy walked a little farther each time, claiming to Mama that she’d spend extra time talking to Old Mary, ‘cause she’s getting old, you know?

So Lucy walked farther and farther down that dirt lane. One time she met the man Daddy called Kip on the road in his pickup truck and he gave her a ride back home. Daddy just laughed, but Mama gave her a wallop on the backside that stung for days. That kept her going only to Old Mary’s for a time. When Lucy was seven, Daddy started leaving on work trips. They started off short, but got longer as the months went by. It got lonely in the little house at the end of the lane and Lucy missed playing catch or going fishing with Daddy when the sun was out. When Daddy was home, he and Mama would argue about being proud of who they were and why they couldn’t be that here. Mama began drinking and Lucy wandered farther down the dirt lane. She met more of the neighbors, like Kip and his family, Johanna and their teenage sons, Bobby and Billy. And Farmer Walter, who hated it when she stepped in his garden, but always gave her a carrot when harvest came around. Then Lucy met Elizabeth and Sara, two nice older ladies who had a beautiful garden full of flowers. They didn’t speak to her much but smiled and waved every time she walked past, whether they were in the garden or peering out of a window, hugging each other. They didn’t live there long. The other neighbors weren’t very friendly to them for some reason that Lucy couldn’t understand.

Their house sold the summer Lucy turned 8, to a smiling man and his daughter, Annabelle, who would be in the same grade as Lucy when school started again. They became fast friends, as Mama was always making them pies and snacks that she insisted they both take over to them. And suddenly, Mama was smiling again and she let Lucy play outside with Anabelle for hours, until the sun went down; sometimes later. Mama said it was good manners to welcome George to the town. Lucy asked her once what they talked about for that long and she said she was getting him all caught up with the local gossip. Though after a while, when Anabelle and Lucy would get back to the house, the words they were screaming didn’t sound much like gossip.

Lucy ended up exploring more of that dirt road with Anabelle. They’d play tag in the field and collect rocks from the creek. Lucy taught Anabelle how to use a fishing pole, and they’d catch and release small fish. They’d pretend trees were giant ladders to palaces in the sky. Or that a hollowed out trunk was a fairy’s home. They’d talk about growing up and all of the things they were going to do. They’d watch the sunset and hold hands. Sometimes Lucy would put her head on Anabelle’s shoulder, and it felt just right.

One night, when the sun was setting, Anabelle said, “I don’t want to go home, Luce. I want to stay right here with you.”

“You could probably come stay the night at my house. I don’t think Mama would mind,” Lucy said. And then Anabelle was kissing her. Soft lips brushed against her mouth, and Lucy couldn’t breathe. All the girls at school were kissing boys, not girls. Lucy tried it once, kissing a boy. It was exciting to see the shocked look on his face, but it certainly didn’t feel like this. Every part of her body was tingling.

“Whoa,” Lucy said and Annabelle giggled.

“Come on, let’s go to your house,” Anabelle said, not letting go of Lucy’s hand.

They walked that dirt road together, holding hands and grinning like hell. Mama didn’t come home that night, and Anabelle cuddled up in Lucy’s bed, hugging her all night long. Lucy woke to Daddy’s soft voice.

“Lulu, wake up. Where’s your Mama?”

Lucy sat up and rubbed her eyes, excited to feel Anabelle still beside her.

“She’s at Anabelle’s house with Anabelle’s Daddy.”

His face went blank and his eyes got sad, a face Lucy never saw on Daddy.

“I’ll be right back, Lulu.”

The front door clicked shut quietly and Lucy woke Anabelle.

“Come on, something bad’s gonna happen.”

“What do you mean?” Anabelle asked, yawning.

“My Daddy just got home and couldn’t find Mama.”

Anabelle’s eyes widened. “Uh oh. That is bad.” She pushed aside the covers and ran out of the room with Lucy on her tail. “My Mama found Daddy at a woman’s house, that’s why we moved out here.”

Lucy stopped running. “Am I going to have to move?”

Her sadness stopped Anabelle’s feet like a quick breeze snuffs out a candle. She turned around to face Lucy.

“I don’t know, Luce, maybe.”

“But I don’t want to go.”

“Neither do I.”

“Promise me you won’t forget me if I do?”

Anabelle grabbed her hand. “We’ll be friends forever, you and me. Come on.”

They walked then, following that dirt road until they heard Mama yelling.

“I can’t keep living like this! What do you expect me to do when you’re never around and with your bo-”

Daddy was still calm but his voice didn’t seem so as he interrupted her. “I was making a better life for us- in the city. Somewhere it would be easier for both of us to be- You said you didn’t want to live down a dirt road your whole life. That you wanted options. I opened up those options so that we could both be who we wanted to be. You can continue to live in denial, but I won’t anymore.” Daddy shook his head and turned around.

“Aren’t you going to get angry at me?” Mama yelled.

Lucy watched as he looked at her, still holding Anabelle’s hand.

“Grow a backbone! Fight for once!” Mama yelled.

Daddy’s eyes were sad as he said, “I am. And I’m taking Lucy with me.”

Mama got quiet. “That’s not what I- You can’t- but she’s my-”

“She’s her Daddy’s girl, through and through, aren’t you, Lulu?” He smiled sadly down at Anabelle holding her hand. “Let’s get you somewhere it’s safe to be you.”

“Does this mean we’re moving, Daddy?”

He stopped next to them as he nodded. “Yeah, baby. But you’ll be able to see Anabelle still.” Then he looked over his shoulder at Mama. “You can keep the house, and have her over the summer.”

Lucy began to cry.

“It’ll be alright,” Anabelle said. “You’ll be here next summer.” She smiled in that way that Lucy loved so much.

“You promise you won’t forget me?”

“I promise.”

Daddy packed their bags and let Lucy say goodbye to Anabelle. Anabelle gave her another kiss and Lucy held onto that tingling feeling that stayed in her body long after they’d pulled off of that dirt road. Despite being sad, that feeling kept her smiling.

“Don’t let anyone ever tell you that what you are is not okay,” Daddy said as they pulled out of the dusty country town Lucy grew up in.

“What do you mean, Daddy?”

“People might be mean to you for kissing who you want to kiss. Don’t let them stop you from doing it anyways.” His smile was sad and his voice quieted. “God knows we all need more love and tolerance in our lives.”

“But where are we going?” Lucy asked as they got on the highway.

“To the city- somewhere we can both love who we want to love.” Daddy’s smile became radiant as he grasped Lucy’s hand and they made their way towards a new home, which sat at the end of a paved street lined with rainbow colored flags.