One for sorrow,
Two for mirth,
Three for a wedding,
Four for a birth,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told.
Eight for a kiss,
Nine for a wish,
Ten for a bird,
You must not miss.
One for Sorrow
It's a humid Saturday night. I (Olympia Lucille Sommers) sip lemonade and eat s'mores, right beside my maternal cousin, Scarlett Georgina Cox, and her fraternal twin, Elliott Gale Cox. They're fourteen and I'm thirteen. All the little ones play around in the grass, leaping to catch fireflies.
Yep, it's a Southern summer in every way.
Among the little ones are two of my own siblings. There's Ellie Mae Magnolia Sommers--at least one baby in our family was gonna have a double name, Mama promised--who's only three. In my opinion, Mama and Dad spoil Ellie Mae. She can be a drama queen.
Then there's six-year-old Reed Tucker Sommers. He's very awkward--well, at least that's what Daddy prefers to call it. I notice, in the crowd, Reed isn't bounding and jumping along. He's got one or two little fireflies, studying them carefully. He was a strange baby and still is pretty strange.
Scarlett and Elliott's siblings dominate the crowd. There are six kids in their family. Scarlett and Elliott are the second oldest. Their older brother, Keaton Montgomery Cox, is eighteen and rocking in the rocking chair next to my older brother, Percy Emmett Sommers. Percy's fifteen, and I know he'll miss Keaton when he goes to college in the fall.
But Percy'll still have plenty of family around. We've got nine cousins--and set of identical twins coming from Aunt Grace and Uncle Anthony--on Mama's side. We don't really have any on Dad's. He's an only child.
Enough explaining.
I swallow down my last s'more. The sky darkens, the sound of cicadas buzzing through. Grandmama comes out of the house, holding her little cowbell with a leather strap. She shakes it, calling, "Come on, kiddos! Time to go in!"
The little ones catching fireflies release whatever their holding, following Grandmama's signal. Everyone out on the porch files in with the little ones. Now it's too dark out. You need a flashlight to see anything.
Grandmama flips the porch light off and closes the door once everyone is in. That'd be all twenty-two of us in the house! My only family members that aren't here are Dad's parents, Mamaw and Papaw. They have their own separate gathering with us.
We scatter to different places. "What do you say we go up to our bedroom and escape the crowd? Maybe talk a little?" Scarlett whispers into my ear, and I nod.
I watch as Ellie Mae, Reed, Iris Elizabeth Cox, Parker Holmes Cox, Amelia Christine Fenn, and Addison Constance Fenn crowd around Granddaddy. For them, it's storytime. Granddaddy will tell some story about what folks call "the good old days" until the littlest ones get tired and go to bed. The older ones, after storytime, coax Granddaddy into playing card games with them until they get sleepy and go to bed, too.
The adults--Aunt Jo and Uncle David, Aunt Nora, Uncle Anthony and very pregnant Aunt Grace, and Mama and Daddy--gather around the table to chat. Grandmama is washing dishes by hand, occasionally adding to the adults' conversation and Granddaddy's stories.
Keaton and Percy head up to their shared room, probably to play video games or something. Elliott escapes to his room, too, before Oscar and Jonas join him. Speaking of Oscar and Jonas, they're tossing a hacky sack back and forth, pretty bored, sitting beside the front door.
Scarlett grabs my hand and pulls me upstairs. "Let's go out on the roof to talk, Oly," she suggests, closing the door behind us. My bedroom window opens out to the roof ledge. It's a really great place to sit out, although I don't think Mama likes it that much.
"Sure," I answer, although I don't really have a choice. Scarlett acts like she's way older than me, so whatever she says usually goes.
I pop my stubborn window open, pushing the peach-colored curtains aside. I climb out first, feeling the tiles under my legs and hands. You have to move diagonally and stand firmly, or else you could slip. But Scarlett and I've perfected it. The rooms are always in the same setup, so she's had plenty of opportunity to learn how to do it.
I sit down on the ledge, waiting for Scarlett to climb out. She's stout compared to my lanky figure, so it takes her a little bit of time to get onto the roof. But that's fine by me. All that doesn't matter.
She doesn't sit beside me; instead, she holds her hand out to me. "Come on, silly. We're going higher tonight." We don't normally go higher, even though we know how to. Scarlett must really want privacy tonight.
I grasp Scarlett's hand as we walk across the small stretch of nearly flat tile. It starts to go vertically upwards. There, it meets the part sticking out of the house, which includes my bedroom. If you go high enough, you can easily scale it and sit right over my window.
We slowly climb up. That old saying "slow and steady wins the race" really matters right now.
Finally, we reach the peak of the roof. I climb up on the other part first and serve as Scarlett's anchor. We reach the ledge above my window and sit, our legs dangling over the edge. The country sky is a navy color, glittering with millions of tiny white stars. The moon is full tonight, shining bright above everything else.
"I have a boyfriend!" Scarlett blurts out. "What?!" I say, perhaps a bit too loudly. "Shush!" "Sheesh, I'm sorry. Tell me everything."
Scarlett gets a dreamy look in her eyes and blushes a little. "His name is Jack. He's fourteen, too, of course. We've been together nearly all school year. Mama and Daddy don't know yet. They just think our dates are me going out with friends. You know how they'd react." I nod.
"But, Scarlett! You guys are fourteen. Don't you think that's a little young? Among that, where's he from? What's he like? What about his background?"
Scarlett just laughs at me. "You sound like just like 'em. No, I don't think we're too young to date. I mean, Mama and Daddy say sixteen, but I don't like that. And, I mean, look who's talking! Mama and Daddy got married at eighteen." That's true. Aunt Jo and Uncle David got married and had their six kids pretty young.
She goes on. "Plus, he's from around here. Farther down south in Georgia. He just moved here last summer. He's such a gentleman--" she stops to fan her face and swoon more--"and he's not some boy with a terrible reputation. Not always the smartest, but you can't help but love him. That goes hand-in-hand with a great background. His daddy is a physical therapist and his mama works at a 911 call center. He doesn't have a bunch of siblings, only one older sister. Oh, I wish you could meet him! I've told him all about our family, of course. We're still in contact. I text him all the time, especially in the middle of the night. I can't wait to go home--no offense to you--to see him again."
Jack sounds interesting. "You've been texting him? In the middle of the night?" I lean towards her in disbelief. Scarlett was always obsessed with boys. I figured it'd come to this.
She rests her head in her hands, propping her elbows up on her knees. "Of course. I can't really text him any other time, can I?" "I guess not." I sit there in silence for a moment, studying the night sky. "In fact," Scarlett interrupts, "maybe I should FaceTime him now? So he can see you? And the country?"
I just shrug. Oh, if Scarlett's mama and daddy ever found out! Aunt Jo's a strict one. She'd outright lose her mind.
Scarlett taps her phone, and I hear the ringtone. She fluffs her hair a little bit, as if she's looking down at a mirror. "Hey, babe," a husky voice says. "Hi, baby. I'm out here with Olympia." She extends her arm out to see both of us. I wave a little and study his face.
He's got perfect cheekbones, just saying. His dark brown hair is swept down in a bang. The color of his hair matches his chocolate brown eyes. It's pretty dark on the screen, but you can still see his most prominent features.
"Cool. What's it like out there?" Scarlett flips the camera around, giving him a view of the horizon. "That's the second most gorgeous thing I've seen," he quips, pointing a finger gun at her, and Scarlett titters with joy. "Oh, Jack, stop. You're making me blush." Oh god.
They go back and forth like this for five more minutes. I nudge Scarlett, meaning it's time to go back to our room. "Can we continue this on text? I gotta go back to my room," Scarlett says. "Sure. Love you, beautiful." Jack blows her a kiss. Scarlett pretends to catch it and puts it on her lips. "Love you too, bae." Scarlett hangs up.
We talk while scaling down. "He seems really nice. Good choice." "I know. I can't wait for our first kiss," she sighs. "You haven't kissed yet?" I lower my voice as we swing back into my bedroom and shut the door tight, closing the curtains.
"Well, not on the lips. But I know it's gonna happen. Probably right when he sees me after summer, he'll scoop me up into his arms and just…" Scarlett trails off, staring into space. I roll my eyes when she's not looking. They act like a married couple. Way stupid.
Scarlett pulls the covers over her head and giggles. I shake my head in disbelief and pull out my map of the house from my bag. It would be a good night to go exploring with everyone occupied.
There's a tunnel winding through the house. I've made a complete map of it and I use it often, especially when the entire family's here. None of my siblings know about it, even though I've been running around in it for years. It's my one place of complete peace in times like these.
I open up the curled map and decide where I should go. The tunnel starts in a trap door in my closet. With Scarlett hiding under the covers, it'd be easy to pretend like the closing of the closet door would be me going out.
I sling my bag over my shoulder. "I'll be back...later, Scar." I'm answered by only more giggles and I sigh. Forget it. I pop into the closet and feel around in the dark for the chain. Once you pull the looped chain, the door will open up and you can drop down. It's actually quite a large door. I still have to crawl down there, but I've got plenty of space to do it.
I feel the cold metal chain and wrap my hand around it. I jerk the chain. The trap door creaks open wide enough for me to hop down. I clasp my bag and pop down, closing the door behind me. The second my feet touch the ground I move into a crawl position.
I rock back on my heels to grab my headlamp and my map. I choose the path I want to go and start to worm my way through. This path will take me down to the kitchen. It's always a little risky on this one. As you begin your descent downwards, it slopes sharply. I usually can't creep down that. I have to slide and scoot to get down.
The entrance for that is in the pantry, which is kind of hard to explain. But the adults and little kids won't notice me when I slip out.
The entire trip takes about ten minutes, mostly because I have to stop and check where I'm at every so often. I'd hate to get lost in here. It's not that it's scary or anything. It's just that I don't know all the passageways and where they lead. Heaven knows where I could end up. I could be lost in here for ages!
I finally reach the pantry. Oddly, when I near that entrance, the ceiling is high enough for me to stand up with extra room. I have to take a tiny, rusty ladder to reach the handle.
Before I do anything, however, I tuck my things away. If Mama or Dad or anyone else saw this map, I'd be ruined. But they know I carry this bag around a lot (they don't know why) so they're not suspicious.
I hit my head on a rack coming up and hope it didn't make a noise. All I can do is rub my head and shake my fist at the shelf.
A peek outside reveals that Granddaddy's still telling his story and all the adults are still talking. Everyone is paying attention to one another, so I know this is my chance. I turn the brass doorknob and see Ellie Mae's head jerk in my direction. I let go of the knob and stand completely still. She's only three. "Olympia!" She points at me and I rapidly walk out and close the door behind me.
Shoot.
"Olympia?" Mama turns to me. "What're you doing in there?" Come on, come on, quick. "Just getting some tea. Didn't you see me coming down?" I wring my hands behind my back. I'm plotting to get Ellie Mae back for that one.
Mama makes a hmph sound, pursing her lips. "No, I didn't, but I reckon we were so into our conversation we didn't notice you. Don't stay up too late, now. We've got church tomorrow." She looks like she half doesn't believe my lie as she turns back to talk.
"Church! My word, I almost forgot about the potluck afterwards. I need to make my banana bread." Grandmama springs up. "Rose, where's your self-rising flour? I know you made some bread a while back." She shuffles over to the pantry and shoos me away. "It's by the oil. Do you really have to make it now?" Mama answers, leaning forward on her chair. "It's now or never. Here, Olympia, chamomile. It'll help you sleep." Grandmama's hand sticks out, holding a box.
"Thanks, Grandmama." Now I have no choice but to make some tea. I ought to make some for Scarlett, too, but who knows how long she'll be on her phone. I pour some filtered water from the fridge into a pot and set it off the stove. I climb up onto the counter and find my mug and another one for Scarlett.
Grandmama emerges from the pantry with her arms full of supplies. "Here we are. Anthony, mind helping me?" "I haven't baked in--" Uncle Anthony fidgets. "Tsk, tsk. It's like riding a bike. I think we can all agree you're the king of banana bread." Grandmama taps Uncle Anthony with the handle of her spoon. "Fine," he grumbles. "Your face is going to freeze in that downcast way." She hands him a measuring cup. "Two cups flour. Oh, and no pecans. There's a few nut allergies at church."
Anthony and Grandmama start baking. I heat the water and quickly pour some into the mugs. That way, the water won't drop in temperature as soon as it hits the cup. The water pot is placed back on heat and, as soon as the cups warm up, that water is poured out. I watch the pot closely so that it won't boil.
I pop two tea bags into our cups. The adults are talking about politics (a recipe for disaster) and Granddaddy is almost finished his stories. The little kids are about to go to bed and the adults will make sure they get in bed. Afterwards, they won't talk much anymore. Instead they'll read, watch TV, play cards, go on their phones, sewing, or doing whatever.
Speaking of hobbies, we have some interesting ones in our family. Aunt Nora is a successful weaver and dyer, while Anthony's ex-wife--rest in peace--Liza Ann did pottery on the side. Even though Aunt Jo is shy about it, she's an amazing artist in all forms. Mama's a florist and makes soap on the side. As for the guys, Dad secretly loves chess and Uncle Anthony really can bake.
The water is heated up, so I pour it over the tea bags and slip the fluffy crocheted tea cozies over the mugs. I leave the tea for five minutes to let it steep, deciding to lean against the counter and join the little kids.
"...and there it was! The biggest black bear I'd ever seen! I had to walk slowly backwards, keeping my eye on it." I remember this story from when I was little. I had asked Granddaddy if a bear would get me that night, and he had scooped me up and told me that as long as he was there nothing would happen.
I glare at Ellie Mae and she sticks her tongue out at me. "Ellie Mae, do you want to hear the rest of the story?" Granddaddy says calmly. "Yes." Ellie Mae crosses her arms and pouts. "Then be nice." He continues his story and keeps an eye on Ellie Mae. "Hey there, kiddo." He turns to me. I realize I've been listening for five minutes. "I remember that story. I think it's a bit exaggerated," I grin, taking the tea bags out of the cups. "I believe all stories are usually exaggerated. After all, I'm an old man. How could I remember how big the bear really was?"
He winks. That's Granddaddy alright.
I go to the pantry and grab the sugar. "Not too much sugar," Dad warns. "Tea already has some caffeine in it, and if you put too much in I doubt you'll be in bed at the right time." I nod and stir in barely a teaspoon of sugar in each one.
We're a Christian family, so church is a big thing to us. If we were even two minutes late, Mama would go crazy. So we have to get in bed early, wake up early, and stay on schedule. Plus, we have to sit perfectly still except when we look up verses in our Bible, dress in our finest, and stay after church to help. But I don't think any of us mind it.
I balance the cups of tea in my hands. "I'm going to go back upstairs. Goodnight." I try to wave my fingers. "Goodnight, dear." Mama waves as she pulls out a book to read. "I'm tired of talking, what about you?" Everyone murmurs in agreement and spreads out.
I grasp the cups like they're pure gold. If any of this drops, I'm dead. Dad's the one who doesn't like me (or anyone else, for that matter) taking food and drinks upstairs.
Our dog, Duke, barks loudly from Elliott, Jonas, and Oscar's room. The door burst open. "Jonas! No!" Duke, the giant German Shepherd, bursts out of their room. "Whoa!" I yell, swerving to the side and holding my tea in the hair. I hear a groan from downstairs, then Grandmama's voice. "Boys! What are y'all doing up there?!"
"N-nothing, Grandmama!" Elliott stutters. "Well, it doesn't sound like 'nothing' to me! Duke, no!" "It's fine. I'll go put him in his cage," Aunt Nora offers. "Alright, alright. But, boys, we'll be discussing this later." Grandmama mumbles something and goes back to her work.
The boys' door quietly shuts. Grandmama has an excellent memory. They'll be getting it in the morning.
I knock on my bedroom door with my foot. "My hands are full," I say. I'm answered with a snore. Dang it.
I use my elbow to twist the handle. Scarlett is slumped across the bed, snoring. Her blank phone is sitting on her stomach. I groan and look down at the tea. Looks like she got to sleep well without it.
I plop her mug down on my desk. So much for that.
As I sip my tea and pop my earbuds in to listen to music, I simply breathe slowly. It's very relaxing. Just focus on the music, sip some tea, and breathe. I can get ready for bed later, but for now this is what I'll do. But I find myself slipping away, my eyes getting heavy, and quickly set my tea down before I fall asleep.
I wake up in the morning to a