1000 Reasons To Smile

Chapter 7: Stupid Unicorn

   Dad came home in the morning, and an hour and a half later we were all getting ready for the picnic we were having with the Revelo's. Even though it was Autumn, the weather was surprisingly, and thankfully, warm. The sky was clear, and the sun was out; perfect day for a picnic.

   I knew it wasn't going to be anything that sumptuous, just a small get together, like the ones we always used to do before they moved, so I dressed in a dark pink tank top, denim shorts, and pulled my hair into messy pony tail, not even bothering to brush it. I put on my converse and grabbed my sunglasses, placing them on the top of my head before dumping a couple things inside the bag I was bringing.

   Hopping down the stairs, I walked into the kitchen to see my mom packing sandwiches into a picnic basket (yes, a real actual picnic basket), and I grabbed the pack of soda she had bought and put into our mini cooler.

   "You excited?" She asked, obviously excited. I looked at her. She had on a joyous and lively expression, one that I hadn't seen since...well since the Revelo's had moved away. Lizzie was her best friend, still is. Our entire family was so close to them, always meeting up, doing things together. The day they told us that they were moving had to be one of the worst possible times in history. 

   Then, things weren't going well for us. Mom and Dad were constantly fighting, things were going wrong at work for them, things were going wrong at school for me, and basically, our family was falling apart. We were actually starting to get better, until we found out that they were moving. Then we fell apart all over again. 

   It took some time after they left for us to mend, but it still wasn't really the same. But looking at Mom now, she looked exactly like the same person she was three years ago, happy and carefree. 

   When I realized she was still waiting for an answer, I replied, "Yeah, sure." 

   Mom stared at me for a while before sighing. "Peyton, I know that you may not be the happiest to see them, but I am, and so is your father, so could you at least try?"

   "Mom," I said. "I am happy to see them."

   "Well, I know you are, but remember that when they left Peyton, you were a bit...different? More smiley?" She chuckled at the way she put it, but I knew she meant it.

   Wrong. I thought. Flynn knew that most of those smiles weren't genuine. You guys only found out when I allowed you to, when they moved away.

   But instead of saying anything out loud, I just gave her a big grin, causing her to laugh. "That's more like it." She said. 

   Dad walked into kitchen. "All ready to go?" He asked, plucking the cooler off the kitchen counter while I helped mom with the two baskets we were bringing. We were bringing so much food, and including the stuff Flynn's family was also going to bring, we couldv'e fed the entire US army. 

   "Yup," I said, grabbing my bag and one of the baskets, going to the car. We were going to meet them at Water Creek Park, which was about a ten minute drive away from our house. Before they moved, we'd go to that specific park all the time for picnics.

   "This is going to be so much fun." Mom said, breaking the silence that had aroused in the car.

   "You bet it is." Dad replied. "John and I are going to golf. We never got to finish our competition the last time we came here."

   I wrinkled my nose. "Golfing dad? Really?"

   "Hey!" He said, defending himself. "I'll have you know that golfing is a real sport, something many people excel at."