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mistymidnight

Author's Notes: Random: I like to think of myself as a workaholic, slaving away at the computer for 97% of my waking hours, but in reality, I'm probably just a slacker.

            Thanks for the reviews. Because of all you readers, Nonsense is my most-reviewed fic!

            And if you want to see the house, etc. where Mommy and Tara are staying, check out my website. The link is in my user profile. I'd link it from here, but every time I try it either erases everything after the link or goes replaces the link with some strange html code that has nothing to do with links at all.

            And I recently had to immense pleasure of talking to the fabled Taylor, who resides in the house this story's house is based upon, and she liked the part of the story I read to her ( I read her Chapter Seven, with the description of the house) and she paid me this awesome compliment: "I love the way you write…it's like I'm actually there." So thanks to Taylor my head is just a bit more inflated. Figuratively, of course.

            I'm toying with the idea of little Tara meeting one of the Little Scoobies, but I don't want to cheapen the storyline.

            Wow, another note! I just read gidgetgirl's fic, Notions, which is also about Tara's childhood. If she ever posts it on ff.net, I'd suggest getting all your web-surfing butts over there! It's an awesome fic.

            Mommy sat in one of the Adirondack chairs and Tara sat next to her on the porch floor, eating a sandwich. "Mommy," she said, her mouth half-full of cheese, tomato, and pickle, "can we go back to the lake after lunch?"

            "Sure," Mommy said, taking another sip of iced tea. "How 'bout we try out something different this time?"

            "Like what?" Tara asked washing down her odd sandwich combination with a gulp of lemonade.

            "Well, we could try kayaking," Mommy said. "If you want. Tammy's family has a kayak."

            "A kayak?" Tara asked nervously. "If it flipped over, would I get stuck upside down underwater?"

            "No, sweetheart," Mommy said soothingly, patting her on the shoulder. "That's an ocean kayak. This is an open kayak. It's just like a canoe."

            Tara wrinkled her face in confusion. "Why don't they just call it a canoe, then?"

            "Because of the paddles," Mommy said, ruffling Tara's hair.

            "Okay," Tara said simply, satisfied with the answer. She stood up, leaving a round wet splotch on the ground where she had been sitting in her wet bathing suit. "Let's go."

.

            Tara sat a still as she possibly could as Mommy got into the kayak.

            "It's okay if you move a little, Tara," Mommy said, holding out a paddle toward Tara, who took it while moving as little as possible. "You won't make the kayak fall over."

            Tara just gave her a nervous look that required no actual moving and turned around stiffly. "I don't really w-want to sit in front," she said.

            "You could sit in the back," Mommy said, "but then you'd have to steer, and that's harder."

            "How do you know so much about kayaks, Mommy?"

            "We had a canoe when I was little," Mommy said. "It can't be too different, can it?"

            Tara would have shrugged, but she didn't want to move, so she just gave Mommy a look.

.

            Much to her surprise, Tara found that she liked kayaking. She didn't love it, but it was okay. She liked the feeling of gliding through the water, and she even liked the ache in her arms from paddling. Little waves were fun. The kayak bounced up and down, but not enough to be in any danger of capsizing. She hated the bigger waves, though. The kayak rocked back and forth and it scared Tara. She didn't want to tip over.

.

            Evening was creeping over the mountains when Tara and Mommy returned home. Mommy made spaghetti for dinner and she and Tara ate it on the porch again, watching the sunset. When everything was dark, Mommy lit some candles on the porch and they listened to crickets and watched fireflies. Tara sat on Mommy's lap on the Adirondack chair, and the two of them sat under the blanket from the living room, just enjoying the warm night and each other's company.

            "Well, Tara-bear," Mommy asked, running her hand through Tara's hair, still wet and stringy from all the time she'd spent in the water that day, "did you have fun today?"

            "I did," Tara began, trying to put her incredible happiness into words. "I-well, i-it w-was just…and…fun…I…"

            Mommy smiled and kissed Tara's forehead. "I understand what you mean." She shifted Tara to the other side of her lap and said briskly, "Now, do you know what tomorrow is?"

            Tara thought for a moment. "Um, Tuesday, I think."

            "That's right," Mommy said, "but what else is tomorrow?"

            "The fourth," Tara answered after a moment, then said, "Oh! The Fourth of July!"

            "Yes," Mommy said. "What I want to know is how do you want to celebrate it?"

            "I-I-I get to choose?" Tara asked, astounded.

            "Sure," Mommy said. "You don't get to choose enough at home, Tara. This is your chance to."

            "Are—can there be fireworks?" Tara asked.

            "Sure," Mommy said. "When I went to the store the other day, I saw a flyer on the door. There are fireworks over the lake tomorrow night. We can drive into town around eight, how does that sound?"

            Tara grinned widely. "It sound perfect, Mommy!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around her mother's neck. "I can't wait!"

            "I'm glad," Mommy laughed, "but what do you want to do all day tomorrow?"

            "Let's eat Jell-O," Tara said promptly. "Before it gets jiggly."

.

.

mistymidnight