An endless summer vacation, that's something Jessica dreamed of often. Free from school, vacations to be had, swimming to be done, but of course it had to end eventually. She'd rather enjoy what summer she had right now, anyway, rather than dreading the inevitable winter. Jessica had woken up sometime in the morning, lazing around in bed for an hour or so before putting some clothes on and heading downstairs. “Morning, father, where's dad?” She curiously asked, setting her phone down on the table. Jessica opened the door to the fridge, pulling out the orange juice.
“Hm? Oh, he's out in the backyard!” He responded, taking a large gulp of his tea. “He wanted to see if it was worth tidying up the pool again this year,” Jessica poured herself a cup of OJ, taking a drink before placing it on the table. “Is it?” She asked, turning to the sliding glass door that led to the backyard when it slid open. “Nope, not at all! Not unless we hire a godforsaken cleaner,” Her other dad said, huffing. His attempts of tidying were not appearing very effective.
“I can hire one if we need, I can't remember if that one public pool is still open,” She offered, pulling her phone out from her pocket. “It wasn't open for last summer, so I'm not entirely sure,” Both her dad's adamantly shook their heads in disapproval, something Jessica found all too familiar. “No, no, we don't want you spending your money on some sleazy pool cleaner,” Her dad said, she had almost wondered if a pool cleaner screwed him over in some way in the past.
“We'd also rather you save up your money for yourself, we can handle stuff like that! College ain't cheap, kiddo,” Her father said. Jessica sighed at that, sitting down at the table. “It isn't THAT big of a deal, I have that job at the bakery for a reason! Aside from keeping me leveled, I'd hate to become one of those rich pretentious snobs,” Jessica said. She was used to her father's worrying about her in that way.
“I mean, that IS a bit of the problem, Jessica,” Her dad said, resting his hands on the table. “You shouldn't need two jobs, you are only 17, honey! We're not constantly at the risk of going homeless anymore, you can take a chill pill,” Her dad added. Jessica went silent for a few moments, awkwardly taking a drink of her orange juice. “… That's not why I have an extra job--” How very convincing of you, Jessica. Her father's gave her a knowing look, making her groan a little. “Fine, maybe it is,” She crossed her arms.
“I just don't wanna go back to living like we were before, I'd… rather have a backup plan, even if I am making a stupid amount already.” Jessica said, ever so slightly less than pleased to have admitted that. Her father's, somewhat, already knew. Or at least they had a hunch, but they also didn't want to force it out of her. “Like he said, your dad and I are pretty fine now, in terms of jobs and money,” Her father said, setting aside his mug. “We don't want you to feel like you have to be the breadwinner here, we want you to be able to be an average teenage girl… or at least average enough, I'm still not happy about that stalker thing.”
That was fair, Jessica wasn't too thrilled about that, either. “Yeah, yeah, I guess you're right.” She sighed, looking back at them. “I don't think I'll quit until next week, considering I'd be leaving my single co-worker to fend for himself if I did,” She laughed a little. “BUT I guess you were convincing enough to change my mind… Thanks, dads. Love you.” She said, smiling gratefully. “Anytime, sweetheart. We love you, too.”
Jessica finished off her orange juice, brutally, before setting the cup down in the sink. She pulled out her phone, looking something up before putting it away. “That one indoor swimming pool in the mall is still open, want to go? The beach was nice, but I think I'd rip my skin off if I got any more sand… anywhere, really.” Her father laughed at that, nodding. “Of course! We didn't have anything planned out today, anyway,” Her dad interjected. “Aside from tonight, but that's for us only,”
Jessica decided she would NOT ask, instead she went upstairs to collect her swimsuit and a few towels. The drive to the mall was nice as always, and the radio even played a few good songs on the trip there. She couldn't wait until she got her own driver's license, really, she loved driving! It's too bad she crashed into that fruit stand, the first drivers test she had. That did not give her a good track record.
They arrived at the mall around noon, the sun beaming down. It was hot, the concrete felt like lava even with shoes on, so it was the perfect time for a swim indoors. “I feel like I'm melting,” Jessica chuckled, quickly walking into the mall with her parents. “It's definitely one of THOSE summer days,” Her dad groaned, already overheated. The mustache probably didn't help, but it also looked good on him, so I'd say it was a fair tradeoff. Even stepping inside the place was an instant relief, as the place was nice and air-conditioned. Jessica playfully nudged her father, pointing to the hot tub. “I dare you to jump in,” She joked. “Honestly, even on max heat, the hot tub would be leagues colder than outside,” He responded, setting down their towels after finding a suitable spot.
For as hot as it was today, there were only a couple other families, alongside a few other couples. Jessica had assumed everybody else was either at the beach, or the outdoor swimming pool she assumed was close. “Do you remember when you first tried swimming?” Her dad asked, bringing up a somewhat embarrassing old memory. “You mean when you let go of me when you promised not to, and I felt SO betrayed that I just decided to sink down and die so you'd be sad?” She laughed, pausing. “I feel like I should've hesitated way more than I actually did, but I was also petty as hell when I was a kid!”
Jessica glanced over at the pool, looking down at the pretty blue water. The smell of chlorine was just as strong as ever, which meant it was almost unbearable, but she'd take it over burning alive. She was about to hop in, before she noticed that she felt someone walk up to next to her. “Oh, Hey, Ripley!” It was Ripley, obviously, Jessica didn't think she was free today! “Hey, Jess,” Ripley said, standing there for a few seconds… before shoving Jessica into the pool. It was almost impressive considering how short Ripley was, but Jessica was also known for turning into a wooden plank when she's not expecting something. “HOLY SHIT, IT IS COLD,” Jessica screeched after surfacing, holding onto the edge of the pool.
“I know, isn't it great!?” Ripley happily said, diving in afterward. “I didn't think you were free today! Didn't you say your dad worked for the next week?” Ripley coughed, having inhaled a little too much chlorine with water dashed in, before shaking her head. Also, unintentionally hitting Jessica with water at the same time. “No, the building I work at caught on fire so now they have to rebuild a small portion, and replace a few things,” Scott said, appearing from nowhere. It scared the hell out of Jessica, though Ripley didn't seem bothered. “How the hell do you two walk so quietly with wet feet??”
Scott ignored the question, probably to hide the secrets he wasn't really keeping. The trick is to drag your feet, that's all, really. “It's nice to see you again, Dan, how longs it been now?” Scott said, glancing over at Jessica's dad. Jessica was a little surprised that Scott knew, mostly because Dan hated his name, and never actually told anybody. Half of the people in town call him 'Jessica's dad' for a very specific reason, that and the work of a very calculated mustache wearer.
“… OH! Scott, it's been ages, hasn't it?” Dan had pretended like he was taking a moment to recognize Scott, but really it was simply because he had forgotten his own name. It took him a minute to realize he was the one being spoken to. “How'd you know my dad??” Jessica curiously asked, looking up from within the water. “Well--” Scott beat Dan to the answer, smiling. “We dated in high school before he dropped out, we were each other's first boyfriend,”
Ripley gasped, as did Jessica, but Dan and Scott didn't. Nor did Jessica's father. Mostly because they already knew, of course. “Oh my god, Jessica… Your dad's GAY!?” Ripley got a few weird looks for saying that, she rolled her eyes. “I'm kidding… obviously,” Dan awkwardly chuckled, speaking up after a moment. “That was a lot more blunt than what I was going to say, but, yes, we did date for a little while back in high school.”
Jessica had a few questions, as did Ripley, but Jessica beat her to it. “Why'd you break up?” She asked, getting pretty much the same response from the both of them. “Moved away, didn't have the time to see each other, so we decided to break it off,” That was better than a tragic backstory, or a scandalous one, but it was also pretty plain at the same time. “How'd you get away with being together in ye olden days?” Ripley said, exaggerating a little just because she can. “I'd prefer if you didn't make us feel like dinosaurs, it was only 20 years ago… or so,” Dan said at first, before thinking for a moment.
“But it was actually really easy, we just made the excuse that we were really close locker buddies,” He explained, the answer seeming a little too… simple? “… That's it??” Ripley said, not comprehending the obliviousness people forgo when it comes to two guys and a locker room. “It's more believable when you experience it yourself, I got caught making out with a guy in gym once and that excuse worked wonders for us.” Jessica's father spoke up, looking down at Ripley. “That's gay,” She responded, how speculative of her.
“I am married to a man, and raised a child with him, so yes I suppose that is pretty gay,” Jessica's dad said, not being wrong in any way. In fact, he was right. Jessica thought for a few seconds, before asking one last question. “Okay, uhh, why DID you get together in the first place?” She asked, getting a pretty simple, albeit embarrassing, response. “Well, for starters, he has an excellent and charming personality,” Dan said at first, getting a warm smile in return from Scott. “That and I first saw him in our high school's pool, and he looks hot as FUCK in a tight pair of swimwear.” There it is. “DAD!!!”
Scott still had a smile on his face, though you could tell he was just as embarrassed as everybody else. Though he was also flattered, somewhat. “No, your dad has a point, sweetheart,” Jessica's father joined in, egging his husband on, simply because embarrassing your children is one of life's greatest gifts. That, and, Scott Ellen does indeed look hot as fuck in tight swimwear. “I'm going to go drown myself over in the corner now, thanks, dads!” Jessica said, hard to tell if she was joking or not. “I think I'll join you, actually,” Ripley said, swimming off with Jessica to maybe drown, or play Marco Polo, both sounded quite enjoyable at the moment. “I shouldn't be too surprised, this isn't the first time I've been complimented for wearing a pair of speedos,” Scott chuckled, resting a hand on his hip. “Though I wasn't entirely expecting Henry Heil of all people to be the one to compliment me in that regard…”
Jessica's father seemed a little shocked by that, as was Dan. “Did he really come up to you and say something??” Dan said, trying to gauge how shocked he should be. “No, actually,” Scott said, confusing them with that. “But considering the fact he looked at my ass more than his own wife, I'd say that's a pretty big compliment,” It is always the religious married men that are the gayest. “… Wow--”
chapter 12 - summertime sadness, coming soon