Heat

This story may contain sensitive themes or material that may trigger some readers.

The announcement came over the radio as it always did about this time every morning. It would be hot again and unrelentless between the hours of 9am and 4pm. Insufferable heat. In the heart of South Carolina that's how it was every summer. It was hot everywhere and the heat affected all surfaces. Your legs would stick to the vinyl seats of the tractor or in the old ‘74 Chevy van. Seats covered in cloth were better and grandma always had a fresh towel. After sweating in places, you'd never think you could sweat, just the thought of running through the field down to the pool under the trestle for a cold swim, proved a brief mental block. Besides, she was used to it. Lived all her life in a two-bedroom mobile home in the middle of a field smack dab in the outskirts of Sumter and without air conditioning; hotter than the who knew what.

She had woken up late that morning, sleeping in for what she thought was a few seconds. Ended up being another whole hour, so she woke up in a panic. Hopefully she wouldn’t get in trouble. After grabbing a piece of cold bacon and a Tupperware cup of orange juice, she ran out the front door, burning her hand on the metal door handle. The sun beat down. A slight breeze blew her hair around her face as she ran to the field. It was 7am. After reaching the field, she jumped on the slow-moving tractor to give her grandpa a hug and to tell him sorry she was late. She thought she got a whiff of bourbon on his breath.

When they were done with the 100 rows, her grandpa drove slowly back up to the house and dumped the filled cart under the giant shade tree. She jumped down and hugged her grandma who was setting up the circle of chairs. She sat on an old stump, surrounded by her siblings and they started to pull peanuts off of the roots, the smell of black dirt filled her nose, comforting her like the shade of the tree.

After they had finished filling a couple bushel baskets, she took off her shoes, digging her toes into the cool earth. It was almost like living in paradise as she imagined a crystal-clear babbling brook, birds chirping, deer eating fresh clover. The breeze felt cooler and she breathed in the country air, happy with her work. Her grandma always boiled the first peck so they could savor the fruits of their labor. She always saved the soft baby peanuts for those were the softest and sweetest. Finally, her chores were done for the day, as she felt it slipping away. She anticipated escaping to her secret spot, way down by the train tracks.

Hurriedly, she ran down the seemingly endless dirt road to the end, where she hiked up and over the train tracks. She walked down the tracks, always listening for the train’s horn, skipping the creosote railroad ties as she went along. A country song came to mind and she whistled the familiar tune, the rest of the way. The dogwood trees surrounded the deep, dark pool. She peeled off her tank top and shorts. Keeping her panties on, she jumped feet first into the dark water. She didn't know if something would bite her but she didn't care. The heat had been unbearable while pulling peanuts and the cool water brought instant relief to her sunburnt skin. She closed her eyes and floated for a bit. Her nipples barely above the water, hard now from the cold. She could feel a cloud come over and opened her eyes to stare at it as it changed shapes and moved on. She swam over to the edge and as she went to grab her clothes there stood two dirty feet. She held her hand over her eyes as she squinted up at a dirty face, staring down at her.

Her cousin, stood there, completely naked. He dove over her and into the deep part, just to show off. He was her third cousin but close enough. They'd been kissing cousins. He was the first boy she'd ever kissed and although she had nothing to compare him to, he made her feel nervous in her stomach and she remembered being wet after he kissed her. They had been playing in the hay and it must have occurred to him to kiss her first, after all, he was a little bit older than her.

He swam up behind her and she could feel his hips as he reached around and pulled her into the deep part with him. She felt scared. He scared her. She always felt like she was hiding what she really felt, wanted to do or say, and with him, it was no exception. She thought to herself, “He’d never hurt me.” She let loose and flowed with him, not fighting him, for she feared it'd be worse. He had never shown her his other side but she had seen his true character many times.

He turned her around and opened her legs beckoning her to straddle him. She lay back, floating and he ran his hands up her stomach, between her breasts and circled her nipples with his fingers. He sat her up and kissed her passionately, grabbing her face on both sides, slipping his tongue in and out of her mouth. He lifted her a little and kissed her breasts and neck. "You always taste like sugar cane", he whispered. She wondered why he whispered since they were alone.

He loosened his hold and grabbed her hand, pulling her beside him as they swam to the edge of the embankment. As they lay side by side, drying on the grass, he touched her mound and then almost like a dream, he stood up and was gone. She dressed and walked home feeling relief from the heat. Tonight, she would sleep soundly, still keeping all her dreams in her heart.