Page 1 of The Summer We Made Promises (The Destin Diaries #3)
We’re back in Destin!!! I’m writing in my brand new blue fake suede notebook that Mom let me buy at Borders when we went to the mall.
(That’s this super cool new bookstore with a café where I got a raspberry Italian soda because I am fancy now.) Anyway, I had to ditch the Lisa Frank unicorns because hello, I am FOURTEEN!
! (I still love Lisa Frank, but do not tell Eli because his mockery of me never ends.)
So, last night we rolled in and the Wylies were already here, which is THE BEST. We were starving (the Ritz crackers and Dr Pepper from the gas station did not count as a meal), so the dads ran to Publix and then Mom and Aunt Jo Ellen made dinner.
And it was perfect. We ate what Dad calls al fresco—which I think just means outside.
But of course, Uncle Artie had to say, “I know Al Fresco! Italian guy!” like it was the funniest joke of all time.
(It wasn’t but he’s so nice and goofy.) The grown-ups all poured more wine and laughed a lot.
The first night in Destin is always the best. It’s like something changes, like a light switch goes on and the fun starts.
We ate at the big wooden picnic table under those twinkle lights that the people who own this house always hang up before summer. You can see the ocean over the dunes, and the air smells like Destin—I can’t even describe it. Like sunscreen and salt and watermelon Bubblicious and pure happiness .
And the BEST part: my closest friends in the universe are here—Tessa and Kate!
The twins turned fourteen too, and somehow Tessa looks even older and has all these cute outfits, while Kate is still basically the same (meaning: obsessed with books, always looking for her glasses).
But I love them both SO much. Of course, we had to sing our summer song (Walkin’ on Sunshine, natch) at full volume while twirling around the deck.
(Dad said we sounded like “dying cats,” but he was just mad because we interrupted his Beach Boys cassette that he plays all the time.
Little Deuce Coop (sp?) whatever that means. We got it, Dad.)
Oh, and a shock to no one—Peter McCarthy is still cute. Eli brought him along (again), because apparently, seventeen-year-old boys have to travel in pairs. They act like they’re soooo much older than us just because they’re going to be seniors.
After we ate, we started making summer promises—things we had to do before August.
Tessa announced she’d slalom on one waterski because she’s fearless like that. Naturally, Eli instantly volunteered to drive the boat. (Shocking.)
I promised Kate I’d read one of her Vampire Diaries books, even though I already know it’s gonna be super weird. (She swears it’s amazing, but we shall see.) Mom and Aunt Jo Ellen promised to learn how to make pizza from scratch—apparently, their friends the Cavallaris are going to teach them.
Uncle Artie said if he dies from eating their pizza (ha ha), we have to scatter his ashes in the Gulf of Mexico from the boat.
Like, actual ashes, floating in the water.
(!!!) We all cracked up, but he was like, “No, seriously! You have to promise! It’s where I want my final resting place!
” So now it’s officially on the list, but only if Uncle Artie dies from the Mom Pizza, which we’re pretty sure he won’t.
Anyway, it’s SUMMER. It’s DESTIN. And there will be no RESTING. Just fun!
Let the best three months of the year begin!!!
Love,
Vivien Lawson, AKA the one who secretly promised not to let Peter McCarthy know that I still have an ungodly crush on him and wish he’d notice me. (Maybe this will be the summer, diary. Maybe!!!!)