An Old School Watermelon

At the grocery store, I see a canister filled with bright green plump watermelons, which means it’s officially summertime. I get instant nostalgia when I take a big bite of the juicy pink fruit. It reminds me of my childhood and mother kicking my brother and I out of the house. Growing up, if the sun was out, we had to play outside, in fact we couldn’t come home until dinner time.

I gather the rest of my groceries and leave the store. I have a watermelon under my arm and my grocery bag over my shoulder as I head up the stairs to my apartment. After I put away my groceries, I begin to cut the fruit. I allow my mind to drift to a simpler time, it was the summer of 96. I had just finished the fifth grade and my brother finished third grade. It was the first day of summer and the last summer before I became a middle schooler. I was nervous yet excited to start the 6th grade because I would be at a different school than my brother. I love my brother dearly but as a child I wanted space. We spent most of our afternoons together and we shared the same circle of friends.

The day started with my brother and I sitting cross legged eating our cereal in front of the TV. We like to take our breakfast to the family room because we can sneak a few minutes of cartoons before our mother finds us. We rarely watched television because our mother thought it would rot our brains and I hate to admit it she was right. As a child I hated that we couldn’t watch Saturday Morning Cartoons. I know that she meant well and I’m now grateful for my childhood spent outside. But when I was child, all I wanted to do was watch Bugs Bunny and Tazmanian Devil, you know the classics.

“Turn off the T.V.” Mother says firmly with strong eyes.

I bring my hands to a prayer motion and I begin to beg my mom for more cartoons. “Mom, it’s summer. Can’t we watch Bugs and Taz for a little bit?”

“Absolutely not. It’s a beautiful day and you are not going to sit inside all day.” She says firmly as she reaches over our heads and turns the tv off.

I look at my brother Skye and roll my eyes and mouth whatever to him. I’m annoyed that it’s summer and she won’t bend the rules. Plus Skye and I are good kids, we get good grades, go to church every Sunday and do our weekly chores on time. I hate that she won’t let us live a little and watch cartoons.

“Tatum, I saw that! Keep it up and your father will find out. Both of you, go on get dressed and get out of this house. No sass, No attitude, no nothing, do you hear me?! And Don’t forget your sunscreen.” As she throws the bottle to me.

“Sorry Mom.” I say back to her as I catch the sunscreen, but we both know I’m not sorry.

“Hurry up!” SHe bellows to my brother and I.”Get out of your pajamas, put your shoes on and don’t come back until dinner time.”

Our mother is strict and no fuss. Skye and I know it’s better to not argue when she’s in this kind of mood. We know that she loves us but sometimes we just want to watch cartoons. Besides it’s only 10 am, dinner will be at 6 and that’s a long time to play outside. I make my way to my room so I can trade my pajamas for a tshirt and jean shorts. I can tell it’s going to be hot in New York. I want to keep my long brown hair off my neck, so I put it in a ponytail and I grab Met's hat to help shield the sun. After getting dressed and fixing my hair, I begin to lather sun screens over my arms and legs. Last time I didn’t put enough and got burned. I don’t want to do that again, plus I can hear my mother’s judgmental voice, when I think of the red sunburn. That’s a voice I want to avoid. After putting ample amounts of sunscreen on, I make my way to the kitchen to meet Skye. I hand him the bottle so he can put sunscreen on himself before we leave.

I give Skye 5 minutes before asking if he’s ready, “Are you ready, Skye?” I’m looking at the window and thinking of Frankie’s house. She’s our favorite friend because she has the best food. Her fridge is filled with lemonade, watermelon, berries and whipped cream.

“Yessim, Tater Tot.” He says with a goofy smile as he giggles.

I roll my eyes and tell him “Skye, you know I hate that name.”

“I know, but I love it. I wish my name was Tater Tot, because I love Tater Tots” He replies while looking lips. “Mmmmhhhmm.”

“Ok Skye the fly.” I reply back to him while rolling my eyes.

He laughs more, I don’t think he understands that Skye the fly is an insult. I call him Skye the fly because I hate being called Tater Tot. I’ve voiced many times that it’s not my name But ever since we had Hot Dogs and Tater Tot, he refuses to call me anything else. I think he enjoys annoying me but Mom says I should be flattered that I got named after his favorite food. She says that’s his way of showing that he loves me. I don’t agree with her. If he loved me, he would call me Tatum.

We walk out the door and yell “Bye Mom” in unisom so she knows that we are leaving. The door shuts and we make our way to the Red Maple tree near the fence. We use the branches from the Red Maple tree as leverage so we can perch ourselves on the edge of the fence. The tree also provides shade from the hot summer sun. We like to sit on the fence and hang out with our neighbor Frankie.

Our nextdoor neighbor, Frankie, has the coolest backyard. She has a treehouse, a dog, and a cute older brother. Plus she always has Watermelon. Watermelon is my favorite summer snack, it’s juicy and sweet and perfect for hot summer days. Her mother is a nutritionist for The New York Presbyterian so they always have ample supply of fruits and vegetables. Her mother says that Fruits and Vegetables are vital to human growth.

“Frrrraannnkkkkieeee!” Skye and I yell dramatically. “Ohhhh Fraaaannnkkieee.”

“I’m here….I’m here.” Frankie replies as she makes her way to the fence. She starts to climb the fence, using the tree in her yard as leverage to hoist herself up. She greets us with a huge smile.

“Do you guys want to come over and play?” She asks with a huge smile.

“Yeah!” Sky and I both say.

We swing our legs over the fence and jump over the ledge. When we jump over Stinky Pete, Frankie’s Dog, greets us with a wagging tail and a tongue sticking out his mouth. Stinky Pete looks like a loaf of bread. He's the most friendly and loving animal I’ve ever met. He is also the stinkiest. No matter how many baths he gets, he is perpetually stinky but you can’t help but love him.

“Hiyah Stinky Pete!” I exclaim and give him lots of pets and belly rubs. His tail wags rapidly in enjoyment.

“Tree?” Frankie asks.

“Tree” I reply back with a nod and smile. We have an unspoken language where we can read each other’s body language and reply with one word answers.

“I’ll get the watermelon.” As she heads to her door.

“Yesssss.” Skye answers enthusiastically.

Once she returns back outside, we head to the tree. As we make our way to the treehouse, I can’t wait to bite into the juicy pink and green Watermelon. It’s pure magic when the sweet fruit hits your lips. It’s sweet, juicy, and slightly bitter. It’s one of my favorite foods and it will always be summer to me.