Free Squash

Today I ate my yogurt in a really strange way. I found rainbow sprinkles in the pantry and mixed them in, crushing them up with my spoon. They left a melted residue of colored dye around the sides of the bowl. I ate it slowly, borderline sensually, like it was the last treat I would ever be offered. It wasn’t, but I appreciated its creaminess more by pretending it would be.

I lay outside on the hottest day of the year- fittingly, the summer solstice. The color of my skin seems to have changed drastically since the beginning of the month.

After I ate my rainbow yogurt with a bedroom-like intimacy, I tried to doze off beneath the sun, but the heat seeped through my skin and straight into my veins. The sunlight shone through my eyelids, and even with my eyes closed, everything appeared pink and warm. I imagined my blood had become lava, and when I opened my eyes, I noticed my vision had started to blur. Things felt quieter, so before I lost myself to the sun completely, I drunkenly walked to the hose. I bent down like a kid in a wide-legged squat, squeezed the sun-scorched handle, sprayed the water upward, and pretended it was rainfall. The water came out warm at first, having coiled beneath the summer heat, but it cooled seconds later. I stood up again and closed my eyes to enjoy its gentle little kisses on my skin.

While my dad was asleep on the porch, I plucked all the weeds out of our new garden, the garden that had squash growing in it even when we moved in. When was the last time I received free squash? I bent over and yanked the weeds from the dry soil, watching crumbs of dirt scatter as their roots were unearthed. While doing so, I found a plastic walrus the size of my thumb nestled next to a withered blueberry bush. I let him watch the rest of the unearthing of green invaders from where he lay. The weeds were tossed behind my shoulder into a limp pile on the cement. I felt relieved to have saved our squash and all its kin.

Every few minutes, my plucking was interrupted by my dog soliciting that I throw his spiky blue ball. He bounded across the backyard like a massive bunny rabbit and returned every time with a coy little request that I throw it again. It takes him a long time to release it from his jaws.

My phone began to ring and I noticed my friend from the future was calling me. Molly showed me her outfit over FaceTime. Ever since I lived with her in college, she has always worn the coolest clothes. Now she’s in England, living five hours ahead of me. I don’t think I’ll ever catch up. She doesn’t plan to move back here, but it’s okay. I know I’ll see her soon.

Later, my Spanish friend who will also finish the day before me expressed his excitement about coming to visit in August. I'm thrilled too. I love when people share their joy about things.

It’s neat having friends in different places.

That evening, I went on a walk to appreciate my parents’ new neighborhood. The homes are vastly different, ranging from vintage to modern, from squash planters to gardenless homeowners. Surely there are homeowners who were gifted free squash too, or "garden inheritors"

That’s me, at least.

As I was walking, I noticed four tiny little boys playing in a well-watered front yard. They ran around in semicircles and zigzags and shouted things I couldn’t hear from afar. One playfully tackled another to the ground and they all erupted in cheers. I slowed my stride to see what came next. They trudged over to the front stoop and plopped down one by one, surely pooped from a good, hot summer day.