Savannah Burning

Chapter Twelve

The next day I woke up to rocks hitting my window. I groaned and rolled out of bed, already suspicious of who it may be before I looked down into my backyard.

It was eight in the morning and Savanna Skye was standing underneath my window. When I opened my back door for her, she shook her head stating, “I don’t want to come inside yet. It’ll ruin the surprise of tonight.”

“Oh, of course,” I responded sarcastically. “Duh.” I stepped out into the cold morning, my toes curling against the cold grass. I crossed my arms over my chest, wishing I thought to wear a hoodie over my t-shirt. “So, what’s up?” I asked.

“Soda pop,” she joked. I smiled and shook my head at her. “I was wondering if you could ask Daisy if she wanted to hang out with me.”

“You woke me up at eight in the morning to ask me to ask my best friend to hang out with you?” I shook my head. “Girls are insane. You’re all crazy.”

“Is that a yes?” she asked with a grin.

“Sure,” I sighed. “Want her number?”

“Nah, I don’t have a phone,” Savanna frowned. “According to Brady, ‘it’s not safe yet,’” she quoted with her fingers.

“Wow. I’d hate to see how they ground you,” I laughed.

Savanna wrinkled her nose at me and gave me a shove. “Don’t be mean! I’m literally dying over here. I’m so bored all the time. Like, how did people interact before cell phones?”

“Throw rocks at windows?” I suggested, which earned me another hard shove.

“Can you puh-lease just text Daisy for me? Pllleeeeaaasssee,” Savanna pouted, her big blue eyes shining up at me.

“Okay, okay,” I gave in. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and went to Daisy’s contact. When it started ringing I clicked on the speaker and tossed the phone to Savanna.

“What? No, oh my God, what if she says no?” Savanna gasped, throwing the phone back to me. There was a click from the other end. I tossed the phone back at Savanna who held it away from her body, staring at it in fear.

“Good morning, Tyson. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you until at least eleven.”

Savanna’s eyes widened and she held the phone out to me but I took a step back, laughing softly to myself. “Um, hi, hello it’s Savanna.”

“Oh!” Daisy said surprised.

I covered my mouth with my hand, wishing I could see the look on her face.

“I was wondering if you’d come to the mall with me,” Savanna continued, nervously.

“Yeah!” Daisy exclaimed loudly, causing the speaker to cackle. “I mean,” she continued, lowering her voice significantly, “sure. I think I’m free. Yeah, I think I’ll be able to fit that in.”

I rolled my eyes – Daisy was totally fangirling.

“Cool. All right, cool,” Savanna said, nodding. Her weariness melted away and she sighed with relief. “Want to pick me up in an hour?”

“Sounds good.” Pause. “Is Tyson with you?”

“Hi, Daze,” I chimed in.

Daisy gasped, then coughed. “Just curious okay byyyyeeee!”

Savanna hung up and tossed the phone to me. “She totally thinks we slept together,” she stated with a laugh.

“I know,” I said smugly, walking Savanna back to the fence. “She’s going to kill me.”

“Are you guys like…” Savanna waved her hands around. “Y’know.”

“What? Together? No. God, no. Daisy, and Robbie for that matter, are the closest things I have to siblings. I could never look at Daisy like that. She’s too important.”

Savanna stared at me with her Cheshire-cat smile.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she beamed. She turned and began to walk away.

“You’re welcome, by the way!” I yelled.

“See you tonight!” Savanna sang back. She grabbed ahold of the top of the fence and pulled herself up gracefully, swinging her legs over the side and dropping over the edge without a second glance backwards.

When I got back inside Mom was standing by the sink, one hip resting against it with her arms folded across her chest.

“Morning,” I said cheerfully, making my way towards the fridge.

“Savanna Skye, huh?” She raised her eyebrows at me.

“She wanted me to call Daisy for her.”

“You guys have been spending quite a lot of time together.”

“She’s coming over for dinner tonight,” I said, grabbing the carton of eggs from the fridge. Mom raised her eyebrows even higher, a feat I didn’t realize was possible.

“Should we not be here?” I considered the question.

“No,” I finally said. “I think it will be good for you guys to meet her.”

“Why’s that?” Mom asked, handing me a frying pan.

“So you stop treating her like she’s a wounded animal.” I said a matter-of-factly. We worked in silence for a bit.

“You’re right,” she finally said, stepping out of the way for me. “I’m sorry. You’re absolutely right. I would love to meet her tonight.”

“Thank you,” I responded, cracking the eggs over the pan.

Mom shot me a tense smile, reaching up to tousle my hair. I managed to dodge it – this time.

#

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I won Mom over with an omelet and she handed me the keys to her car to go grocery shopping for The Dinner, as we were starting to call it. I spent more time choosing the meal I would make than it would take to actually cook it. I wanted tonight to be as close to perfect for Savanna as possible.

“Christ,” Dad scoffed when I returned home with my purchases. “What are you making? A three-course meal?”

“Basically,” I shrugged.

“Don’t make dessert,” Mom said, sashaying through the kitchen. “I’m making brownies.”

“Wait,” Dad said, grabbing me around the neck and aggressively rubbing the top of my head. “Is this a date? Is Tyson bringing home his girlfriend?”

I laughed and grabbed Dad by the waist, bringing him down onto the tile with me, wrestling him. “You think I’d bring another girlfriend home after what happened last time?”

This time, Mom scoffed. “Vegans.” She muttered the word under her breath like a curse. “Can’t believe you dated her for as long as you did.” She grabbed the faucet spray head, drenching us in cold water. Laughing, we separated, shaking hands and calling it even.

“Your old man’s still got it,” Dad said, patting his slightly large stomach.

“Please, I was just going easy on you,” I protested.

“So?” Mom prodded.

“Soda pop and bubblegum,” Dad and I replied at the same time. She rolled her eyes.

“So is it really a date?”

I considered this for a second. “I don’t think so,” I responded. “I think we’re just friends.”

“For now,” Dad said, wiggling his eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn’t conceal the grin on my face.

#

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Savanna Skye showed up at my house at exactly 6:30. She knocked on the front door, rather than the back, holding a bottle of red wine in her hand.

“Daisy told me your parents like wine, so I stole some from Brady,” she said, holding the bottle up, but I hardly noticed. Savanna looked absolutely beautiful. She had strayed away from her typical dark clothing and was wearing a blue sundress that matched her eyes, her hair twisted to the side in a long braid.

“You should wear that dress more often,” I said, unable to keep my eyes off hers. She blushed. “Did you guys have fun today?” I was tempted to reach out and touch her braid, which now held a streak of purple through it. “I thought you hated purple,” I wondered out loud. A look of worry flashed through Savanna’s eyes and I dropped my hand, taking a quick step back. I opened my mouth to apologize, but Savanna smiled, the concerned look replaced with amusement.

“We did,” she said, dropping her gaze to tug on the hem of her dress. “She convinced me to dye my hair. I thought Karen wouldn’t mind it so much, being purple and all, but low and behold, she bugged.”

“Well, I like it. Come on inside.”

“s**t, that smells amazing,” she said as she stepped into my house.

“I hope you like what I made,” I said sheepishly, leading her into the kitchen. “Listen, I should probably warn you but –“ A force of half-shaved fur hit Savanna at the knees, nearly wiping her out.

“What the hell is that?” She asked, grabbing onto my arm to catch her balance.

“Savanna meet Bear. Bear, this is Savanna.” Bear looked up at Savanna, tilting his head so that he could see out of his good eye. He curled his lips back, letting his tongue poke out from between two missing teeth.

“Oh, my God,” Savanna gasped, sinking to her knees. Bear jumped into her arms, licking her face from chin to temple. “Oh, my God, Tyson! He is so cute! You’ve been hiding this precious little guy from me this whole time?”

“We don’t really let him out in public,” I shrugged, “kinda like Robbie.” Savanna laughed, causing Bear to wag his tail so ferociously that I feared he was going to propel himself off the floor.

“What’s with the haircut?” Savanna asked, commenting on how half his body had been shaved and the rest looked butchered with gardening shears.

“We thought he might like a break from the heat wave last month, so we brought him in for a haircut and grooming, but Bear wasn’t having it. He bit one of the groomers while they were shaving him so he came home looking like this. The groomers promised it would grow back but Bear is so damn old I think his fur forgot how to grow.”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Savanna cooed. Bear sneezed, a snot bubble popping in Savanna’s face.

“Oh, God,” I said, mortified. “I’m so sorry—“

“You are just so cute,” Savanna continued on, kissing Bear on the soft spot between the eyes. She stood up, wiping her dress clean of any dog hair that had managed to escape. “You should bring him around more often. He’s a total chick magnet.”

“Why would I do that when he already so clearly has you hooked?” I joked, causing Savanna to laugh. Who was this new and confident Tyson? One that could make pretty girls laugh? One that had smooth comeback lines and didn’t stumble over their words? I was the man.

Bear chose that moment to rip ass, tail-wagging happily as he crop dusted in front of Savanna Skye.

“Oh, shit.” Savanna covered her mouth, trying to hold in her laughter to no avail.

“And this is why we don’t take him out in public,” I sighed, shaking my head. Bear looked back up at Savanna, panting heavily with a big ol’ grin on his lopsided face.

“It’s okay,” Savanna said, reaching down to scratch him behind the ears. “You’re still cute to me, old man.”

Dad was in his study, grading some papers and Mom was standing over the stove, keeping watch for me. She turned when she heard us walking in.

“Savanna, welcome,” Mom said warmly, crossing the kitchen to come over to us. Savanna froze, looking from Mom, to me, and back again. It was only for a minute, but I caught her hesitation, her confusion.

I always loved introducing people to my parents. While my parents were self-described as “painfully average, blonde, Caucasian and middle class,” I was darker skinned, tall, lanky and with thick, unruly dark hair that fell almost to my shoulders.

“Hi Mrs. Baucher,” Savanna replied, extending her hand. Mom shook it, shooting me an approving look. “It’s nice to finally meet the woman behind the vegetables. Thank you for having me.”

“Of course! Any friend of Tyson’s is welcome here.” Mom shot me a warm smile and I smiled smugly back at her. Any worry I had felt about introducing Savanna to my parents quickly melted away. The fear in my lungs wouldn’t win this time. “Ty, I’m going to go get your dad. Why don’t you show Savanna into the dining room? I let the appetizers you made out on the table.”

“Appetizers?” Savanna asked, raising her eyebrows. “You made appetizers?”

“I told you I liked to cook,” I mumbled, trying to hide my burning face. “Having you over for dinner was just an excuse to go all out.” On the dining room table on a small platter was a small arrangement of scallion corn muffins.

“It’s the girl next door!” Dad joked, coming out of his study. “Fancy meeting you this side of the fence.”

“Behind-the-house-neighbor, actually,” she corrected him as my parents sat down across from her. “It’s nice to finally meet you. Brady talks about you all the time.”

I backed away from the table, slowly, letting Mom serve Savanna a muffin as I went back into the kitchen to make sure the rest of the food was ready to go. Laughter echoed in from the dining room and I paused, enjoying the way Savanna’s deep, raspy laugh harmonized with my parents’. My phone chirped in my pocket and I took it out to glance at the text message.

Daisy: Don’t embarrass me tonight.

I poked my head into the dining room, sneaking a glance at Savanna who was already on her second muffin.

Me: I’ll do my best.

Then, before I could pocket my phone, it chirped again.

Daisy: Did Savanna mention anything weird happening at the mall today?

I frowned, glancing over my shoulder before typing back.

Me: No. Why?

Daisy: Maybe I’m just paranoid. Thought I saw some chick following us around.

“Tyson!” Savanna yelled from the dining room. “Get in here!” I slipped my phone back into my pocket, grabbed the food and brought it into where my parents and Savanna were waiting.

“Dinner is served,” I announced.

“Holy hell,” Savanna said, dropping her fork. “You went all out, didn’t you?”

“Just wait ‘til you try it,” Mom winked at Savanna. Savanna cautiously took a bite of the stuffed pepper, closed her eyes and . . . melted.

“Dress worthy?” I asked her, grinning unabashedly.

“Definitely.”

“So, Savanna,” Mom began.

“Soda pop and bubblegum,” Savanna shot back. Dad choked on his wine, and Mom barked out a surprised laugh.

“Sorry,” I shrugged to Dad. Savanna beamed next to me.

“Anyway,” Mom waved away Dad’s laughter, “how is Oyster Point treating you? Are you liking it so far?”

“Yeah. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be,” Savanna admitted. “My new friends certainly help.” She snuck a smile at me and I courageously winked back at her.

“I’m glad,” Mom said. “Although, you came at a pretty bad time for Long Island. I promise, we’re much more appealing in the summer.”

“Yeah, well, my parents aren’t exactly excited for me to go back to the beach yet.” A heavy, awkward silence fell over the dinner table.

“Maybe they’ll let you come with us some time,” I offered.

“Maybe,” Savanna said, shooting a soft, grateful smile my way. Then, to Mom, “did you teach Tyson how to cook, Mrs. Baucher?”

“Kind of,” Mom shrugged. “As soon as Tyson saw Daisy’s father surf it was all he wanted to do. We didn’t want him to get too close to the ocean, either. You have to understand how scary it is for a parent,” Mom said carefully. Dad cleared his throat, a warning, but Mom ignored him, reaching out to place her fingers gently on Savanna’s hand. “No parent ever wants to experience losing a child like that.”

“I understand,” Savanna said softly.

“We tried to distract him with other sports and interests,” Mom continued on, removing her hand and picking her fork back up. “Cooking was one of those distractions. He sort of just picked it up from there. He’s always creating the weirdest dishes that always come out amazing. Most of the time, anyway.”

“Yeah, let’s not forget the jambalaya soup.”

“Jambalaya soup? That sounds disgusting,” Savanna laughed, wrinkling her freckled nose in disgust and just like that the awkwardness, the heaviness disappeared.

“He used to think he was a wizard,” Dad laughed. I shot him a look, begging him not to continue, but Savanna was already moving the conversation along.

“What do you both do for work?”

“I’m an interior designer.” Mom said, pouring herself another glass of wine.

“Really?” Savanna asked, perking up in her seat.

“This house was my first project, actually, after we moved in.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Savanna said, her fork clanging against her plate. “Tyson said y’all weren’t around at the time of my . . .” she waved her hand in the air as if that would make up for the word kidnapping. My parents shot each other a careful look.

“Actually it was just me,” I jumped in. “They didn’t adopt me until after I turned five. My parents had been in Oyster Point for a few years before adopting me.”

Savanna stared at me, placing her fork down on the table. Adopted, she mouthed as though tasting the word in her mouth. She frowned, tapping her fork against her plate before taking another bite.

“Mr. Baucher,” Savanna said, plowing onward. “What about you? What do you do?”

“I’m an English professor at the community university.”

“What are you forcing the kids to read right now?”

“Well right now we’re working on poetry but I’m making them do it in text form. Every time I catch someone on their phone they have to write me a haiku in text lingo and send it to me within the week. I had no idea emojis could be so flexibly used.”

“Text lingo?” I asked. “Really, Dad? Who even says ‘lingo’ anymore?”

“Apparently I do,” Dad grinned. Savanna snorted with laughter.

“You sound like a pretty cool teacher,” she said when she was finally done laughing.

“I do what I can,” Dad shrugged, his ears turning red. Dad has never been good at taking compliments, something I inevitably picked up from him.

“Do you have as super awesome library in your study?”

“Kind of,” Dad admitted. “Want to see it?”

“Hell yeah!” Savanna exclaimed. Dad pushed away from the table and led her into where his study is, leaving me and Mom to clean up.

“She’s sweet,” Mom said quietly.

“This is awesome!” Savanna exclaimed from the other room, causing us both to laugh.

“She’s so . . . energetic,” Mom went on to say.

“What did you expect? A corpse?”

“You were right and I apologize,” she said, tousling my hair before I had a chance to dodge it. “Now go in there and save her from your father. I’ll clean up, don’t worry.”

I found Savanna holding a stack of books to her chest with Dad on his step stool, peering at his bookcase.

“This is so great,” Savanna said with a wide smile. “This is the coolest office I’ve ever seen.” Dad’s study was pretty spectacular, I had to admit. It was another one of Mom’s creations. It contained a large mahogany desk with a black leather chair behind it and scaling the wall behind that was Dad’s bookshelf. Directly across from the desk was a large picture window overlooking the side of our yard where Mom scattered a few birdfeeders. It was both the perfect place to procrastinate and study.

“Whatcha got?” I asked, looking at her books. I recognized some of the authors: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Percy Shelley, and two works by Lord Byron.

“I told him I loved Frankenstein and he loaded me up with these bad boys,” Savanna shrugged as best as she could with the books in her arms.

“Sounds . . . interesting,” I said and she laughed. “Dad, I’m stealing Savanna from you,” I warned. Dad grunted in reply, too engrossed in his books to notice. Savanna placed her stack gently on the kitchen island and shook her wrists out.

“You didn’t save me from anything,” she insisted, “I was having a fantastic time.”

“Oh then my apologies,” I said. Mom placed a plate of brownies down in front of us before disappearing into Dad’s study, closing the heavy wooden door behind her, sending a wink in my direction.

“Dessert, too?” Savanna asked, reaching for a brownie. “You really didn’t have to go through all of this for me.”

“I didn’t,” I replied honestly, grabbing one for myself. “Mom made these.”

“Jerk!” Savanna laughed, hitting my arm with the back of her hand. She finished her brownie, licking the remnants from her fingertips and sighed, staring out the window over the sink.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I should probably get going,” she sighed. “Karen is probably waiting for me. She was threatening to ground me because of the new addition to my hair, but when I mentioned your name she let me come.”

“Can I walk you home?” I asked her.

She nodded with a smile and when I grabbed the books my father had given her I found that my hands were shaking. Savanna knocked on Dad’s study and poked her head in, thanking my parents for having her over.

“Shortcut or long way?” I asked her when she emerged from the office.

“Shortcut,” she responded, much to my dismay.

I opened the backdoor for her and let her walk out before me. It was only eight, but the sky was already fading into darkness. Summer was officially over. I led Savanna through the backyard I had grown up in towards my mom’s garden.

“Listen, thank you again for having me over for dinner,” she said, A breeze played with the hem of her dress. “I mean, I know it wasn’t entirely your idea –“

“Hey, now,” I protested, “I was planning on asking you to dinner. I just wanted the timing to be right.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Savanna laughed. “Did I ruin your grand plans to sweep me off my feet?”

“Kind of,” I shrugged. “But hey, at least now I don’t have to fear rejection.”

“You think so? One date and you’re suddenly so sure of yourself,” Savanna winked but all I heard was the word date.

“How many corn muffins did you have again?” I questioned. She shoved me, laughing.

“I’m actually very impressed with your cooking skills,” she admitted. “I was a little afraid when I first came over but obviously I had nothing to worry about.”

“Obviously,” I said, exasperated, rolling my eyes.

She threw her head back and laughed and I grinned, loving how I could make Savanna Skye laugh all the way from her belly, not caring how loud her laughter was or who would turn their head to look at her. Savanna Skye was the kind of girl who loved to laugh and I was the kind of boy who liked to make her do so.

“Your parents are so cool,” she said. By now we had reached the garden, but instead of scaling the fence Savanna turned to face me, leaning her back against it.

“They’re all right,” I joked.

Savanna gave me a small smile in return. “So—“ she cut herself off, glaring at me, daring me to interrupt her. I tried to suppress a smile and nodded at her, signaling her to continue. “You were adopted?”

I sighed and leaned up against the fence next to her. “Yes ma’am I was.”

“Do you know your—“

“Family runs deeper than blood,” I said, interrupting her without thinking. Then, after a pause, “it’s a long story.”

She looked me up and down out of the corner of her eye, lips pressing into a tight line. “If anyone gets that, it’s me,” she said quietly. She sighed, tucking a stray curl behind one ear.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“Don’t be,” she said, taking a deep breath. It just makes me think, that’s all.” Savanna trailed off, tossing a fearful look over her shoulder as if she was nervous her biological parents were eavesdropping in on her.

“What was she like?” I blurted out.

Savanna ground her toe into the dirt. I almost retracted the question, telling Savanna to ignore it, that it was asked in a temporary and obvious lack of judgment but as I opened my mouth to do so she jumped in with an answer. “She was my best friend,” she said softly. “My friends loved her. They were jealous of how close I was with her.” Savanna’s bottom lip trembled and she bit down on it. “We had so much fun, all of the time. I never questioned my relationship with her, even for a second. Yeah, we fought, but it was like every other mom and daughter fight. She never hit me. She never touched me. Never locked me in a closet or sold me for drugs or any of those other stupid rumors. I grew up loved.” By now Savanna was letting the tears flow freely.

I placed the books down in the dirt next to her feet. “It’s okay,” I said, stepping forward to wrap my arms around her. “You don’t have to tell me. I understand.”

“No but I want to,” she said, gently pushing my shoulders away from her. “I need someone to know, and I trust you. I want to tell you.” I took a step away from her, giving Savanna her space back. She covered her face with her hands, sucked in a deep breath before continuing. “She loved me. I have no doubt about that. And I loved her, too.” Savanna dropped her hands, letting them fall to her sides. “She was my mom. I can’t just forget that. I’m so f****d up, Tyson. I miss her so much it hurts. I just want to hear her voice one more time. I need to talk to her. I need . . .” she stopped herself, shaking her head. “I f****d up, Tyson. I don’t want this life. I want my mom. I want my mommy,” Savanna sank down into the dirt, full on sobbing. I crouched down in front of her, pulling her into me, holding her as tight as I could while she sobbed, “I want my mom. I want my mom,” over and over and over again.