Memories | Conrad Fisher

01. Song of the Summer

Angelica could feel the salty summer air on her face, blowing through her hair as she drove through the small town called Cousins. The windows in her white Chrysler were rolled down, and the speakers were on full volume, blasting her mom's favorite song "Party In the U.S.A." by Miley Cyrus. Despite the upbeat song filling the air, she couldn't help but feel pessimistic about visiting Susannah's beach house that year.

Her mom had been best friends with Susannah and Laurel since their freshman year of high school. Sometime during their years of friendship, they had made it a tradition to visit Susannah's beach house every summer. She could only imagine how fun it was before they decided to start their families.

She was the first out of five of the summer kids to be born. Her mom found out she was pregnant with her in December, and when the doctors told her she was likely to be born in July, she couldn't have been any happier. After her mom found out she was pregnant, she unintentionally started a domino effect. Susannah found out she was pregnant later that same December, and then a couple of months later, Laurel was also pregnant.

The moms had grown even closer throughout their pregnancies despite living in different states; they were with each other through all the steps of their pregnancies. That summer of '04 had been their best one yet until her mom had to drive home early to make sure she had her doctor there to deliver her. Susannah and Laurel had also driven home early, saying it didn't feel the same. She was born on July 22, 2004. Susannah had given birth to Conrad in August, and Laurel to Steven in October.

The summer of '05 was even better than the previous, according to the moms. They all got along great. The next few years brought Jeremiah and Belly, and life couldn't have been better. Her parents tried to have another kid, but her mom had a miscarriage, and although she said it was okay, it took a toll on her. Eventually, her mom gained her original self back, and they always celebrated what was supposed to be her little brother's birthday.

Besides that traumatic experience for her family that summer, they had always been over the moon to be in Cousins. So if you had asked her four months ago if she was ready to spend the summer at her favorite place, with the Fishers and Conklins, she would have said she was always ready. And she was until her mom passed away in a car crash at the end of April.

A little before that, her life was already beginning to fall apart, so it was the cherry on top of her spiral to rock bottom. But she had to stay strong for her mom; her mom had survived the original car crash but was in a pretty bad condition. The doctor let them know she would eventually pass, so Angelica and her dad spent the rest of the time her mom had left in the hospital with her. Her mom made them get on a group call with the 'summer crew,' as she called it, to tell them that she still wanted them to go to Cousins that summer.

No one could ever tell her mom no, so they all promised. Her mom said her goodbyes to them and then told her dad and her that she wanted to be cremated. She had talked about it so freely, her and her dad couldn't help but sob the whole time she told them her wishes of having some of her ashes spread in Cousins. She died later that same night, holding both of their hands, and they had no choice but to move on with their lives.

So here she was, driving herself to Cousins beach with her mom's ashes sitting in the passenger seat, fulfilling their tradition of blasting their song as she arrived at the house. She turned the volume down and took a few deep breaths, knowing that as soon as she let it be known that she was there, she would be playing the role of a lifetime. She knew she wasn't okay, but she would act like she was because it was the one thing her mom asked of her that summer—for it to be perfect.

After sitting in the driveway for a few more minutes, she honked the horn of her car. Three times to be exact, holding the third a little longer than the rest, just like they always did. Immediately, Jeremiah ran out of the house and practically pulled her out of the car to hug her. She could see the rest of the house quickly follow behind him.