Summer Vacation

By Ronald Savage Jr.

Love is in the air!

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Havensberg is home for the Nelson twins. It's filled with friends, enemies, and plenty of good and bad memories. Gretchen Nelson knows her friends wanted to vacation there for the summer. What she doesn't know is her boyfriend Torrance Brown has roped everyone into helping him pull off a surprise marriage proposal for her.

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Greta Nelson wants her sister to be happy, but the thought of engagements only reminds her of the failed one she experienced a decade ago. It doesn't help that she has to spend the whole trip running around with Torrance of all people. Things could go wrong if someone saw them together and got the wrong idea.

 

Will things go according to plan or will they fall apart?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ronald Savage Jr.
• Release date: Jun 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201460631

Ronald Savage Jr.

Ronald Savage Jr. is an author that strives to bring stories to life. He is from Texas and graduated from Prairie View A&M University with a Bachelors of Arts in Mass Communications (Minor in English).

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Creeke: Summer Vacation

Ronald Savage Jr.

Copyright © 2022 Ronald Savage Jr.

All rights reserved.

Acknowledgements

All thanks to God, family, and friends.

Chapter One: Greta

If Creeke had a definition it would be, ‘the town Greta Nelson moved to with her twin sister, Gretchen, and wanted to remain in while her work friends went on their annual summer vacation’. Greta watched as the Saturday morning sun cast its early rays over Creeke’s church parking lot. The vacation would be in her hometown, Havensberg, a rainy place full of bad memories that Greta wanted to forget. But she had to return to Havensberg, and it was all one man’s fault.

Torrance Brown sat in the back row of the church van, resting his head on Gretchen’s shoulder. They were the reason the vacation was in Havensberg. The whole trip revolved around Torrance surprising Gretchen with a marriage proposal, and he had roped Greta in as his little helper for planning everything.

Greta could not understand what attracted Gretchen to Torrance. He was not ugly in the physical sense. His smooth medium-brown skin mixed with the gray flecks in his black hair made him attractive. Even the black eyepatch over his left brown eye could not mar that. But to Greta, Torrance was akin to an annoying older brother. She watched as Gretchen played with Torrance’s hair while smiling sweetly at him. Gretchen had the same medium-brown skin, brown eyes, and curly black hair Greta had, and it was almost like watching herself play with Torrance’s hair.

Ah..., murmured Torrance, awakening with a yawn.

Oh, sorry, apologized Gretchen. I didn’t mean to wake you up.

That’s alright, said Torrance. He tugged at his eyepatch to reposition it. We haven’t left yet?

We’re still waiting for Troy, said thirty-six-year-old Jana Vaughn. She wore her curly red hair in a ponytail behind her bronze face, showcasing her green eyes.

That man can’t ever be on time for anything! cried forty-seven-year-old Tavia Hall as she pushed her black locs away from her dark-brown face.

Come on, Tavia, said fifty-one-year-old Donna Murrow said. A baseball cap covered her bald-faded haircut, and her signature hoop earrings were missing. She held up a video camera to her dark-brown face.  I’m filming the whole trip and I’d rather have smiling faces in it than frowning ones. That goes for you too, Jonny and Greta. This whole front row is nothing but frowns, and we can't have that.

You'll have all the smiling faces you want from me so long as Troy doesn't bother me, said Tavia. She motioned to Greta and twenty-two-year-old Jonathan Haynes. I can’t speak for those two though.

I’m just ready to go, grumbled Jonathan as he scratched his dark-brown face. He had left the house without removing his durag, earning him disapproving looks from the older members of the party.

Ditto, Greta agreed with him.

Don’t drive off! yelled forty-four-year-old Troy Lewis from outside. He ran through the parking lot in his pajamas, dragging a suitcase behind him. I’m coming!

Good grief, said Tavia.

Troy threw his luggage in the back of the van with everyone else’s and sat on the van’s second row behind Tavia. His dark-brown face was ashy, making it clear he had only brushed his teeth before leaving the house.

Phew, sighed Troy in relief. Made it.

Ugh, grunted Tavia. "You just had to sit right behind me, didn’t you?"

You don’t expect me to sit on the back row with the lovebirds, do you? Troy joked, releasing a loud laugh from his round belly. He produced a rag from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his bald head. "Granted, they don’t have to be the only lovebirds on this trip."

If it were up to me, you wouldn’t be on this trip at all.

Is everyone ready to go? asked fifty-year-old Arthur Lee as he climbed into the driver’s seat. He was beige with loosely curled light-brown hair and oval-shaped brown eyes.

You know what your problem is, Tavia? said Troy.

What’s my problem, Troy? asked Tavia.

Oh boy, muttered Arthur. We haven’t even left yet and they’re already going at it.

You miss me, and you want me back, declared Troy.

Want you back? cried Tavia.

Well, of course! Who else can get under your skin like I do?

I’d rather drop dead than take you back!

Hey now! interjected Torrance. Don't speak like that, Tavia. Especially when we're in the van with you.

She can't help it, teased Troy. She gets passionate when it comes to me.

The only thing I'm passionate about concerning you is our daughter, Brianne! You couldn’t even do fatherhood right because you were always on the road in those plays!

You weren’t complaining when I was sent you half of my pay!

That chump change, Troy? laughed Tavia. You should thank me for convincing Arthur to hire you when you came crawling back to Creeke with nothing to show for yourself!

Please don’t put me in this, whined Arthur.

But no, continued Tavia. The only thanks I get is a sorry excuse for a husband!

If I’m such a sorry excuse for a husband, why don’t you go ahead and divorce me already? argued Troy. We’re already separated, and you’ve gone back to your maiden name. Get it over with.

Why? So you can flaunt some new chick in my face?

See? said Troy to everyone in the van. All this proves is that she still wants me.

I should’ve known you’d be sorry from the way you proposed to me, complained Tavia. Couldn’t even bother to do something romantic or plan something like To–!

Troy threw his hand over Tavia’s mouth, cutting her sentence off.

Get your hand off of me! yelled Tavia, pushing Troy’s hand away. Greta released a quiet, relieved sigh.

I had to stop you, baby, said Troy. You know you talk too much sometimes, and I get tired of it.

And I’m tired of you always trying to weasel your way back into my life! I’ll talk about whatever I want, whenever I want!

Alright you two, that’s enough, said Arthur as he began driving the van. We’ve got a ten-hour drive ahead of us, and I’m not listening to you both argue the whole time.

Ten hours? cried Jonathan. Why couldn’t we fly there instead?

Do you have ‘fly-there’ money? asked Torrance.

Yeah, said Jonathan. You’d have some too if you’d kick some of those kids out of your house.

You know what, I see why Drake doesn’t like you, said Torrance, referring to his oldest son.

Why?

Because you’ve got a slick mouth.

I guess that makes two of us.

You know what else I got?

What?

A belt and your parents’ permission to use it on you if necessary.

They told you that when I was a kid!

You’re never too old to get beat.

No one is beating anyone, said Arthur. It’s seven in the morning. If all goes well, we should reach Havensberg around five in the afternoon.

With those words, everyone settled in for the long ride ahead. Some read books while others went to sleep. Four hours into the trip, Arthur stopped for gas and set everyone free to stretch their legs. Greta took the opportunity to corner Tavia and Troy about their earlier behavior.

Tavia! she griped as they stood outside the van. Gretchen had disappeared into the gas station store to use the restroom. You almost gave the surprise away!

Sorry! said Tavia. "It wouldn’t have happened if someone would’ve left me alone."

Troy, I’m going to say this once, said Greta. "Leave. Tavia. Alone. Because if you mess this proposal up, it’s going to be me and