Ten boxes and a few trash bags: this is what Avery Fowler’s thirteen years has amounted to. It’s all been shoved onto a moving truck, and Avery now leans against his mom’s Jeep and stares at a house that is technically no longer his. How can you miss something that is standing right in front of you? Avery’s not sure, but he does.
He feels his mother come alongside him. She wraps an arm around him and kisses the top of his head, the mess of his dirty blond hair; he didn’t bother to brush it this morning.
“Our family had a lot of great memories here,” she says, smiling despite the tears coming to her eyes. Her dark hair is piled on her head in a messy bun, and Avery notices the dark circles under her eyes that aren’t usually there.
“Do you mean the two of us?” asks Avery, his voice filled with anger. And he has a lot of anger because he doesn’t want to move, and he especially doesn’t want to move because of his dad, the member of his family that has always been too busy to actually be part of their family.
“That’s not fair, Avery,” says his mom. “Your dad works hard, and he loves us. This will be an adventure for all of us to face together. And hopefully, you will find new things to do and be passionate about, instead of just video games.”
Avery gives his mother the side eye. He doesn’t want to move. Life has been going really well for him at Sounding Springs Middle School. He’s on the soccer team, and even though he wasn’t the star, he didn’t just ride the bench, which is good enough for him. He had his lunch table full of friends, and he hoped to finally talk to Becca Green this school year. Now all of that’s being taken from him because his dad has a new job ten hours away. Sure, his parents claim there are benefits to the move, but that doesn’t matter to him. It just isn’t fair. Period.
“I’m on the soccer team!” he reminds her.
“Yeah, but maybe you’ll have a coach that inspires you to do more, to be more and really push yourself,” she says. “Look at this as a time to really find out just how incredible you are, kid. Give it a chance. Your dad is ready to go, so hop in his truck. I will see you in a few hours.”
She hugs him tightly and waves over to his dad, the creator of this mess. Avery stomps over and climbs into his father’s Chevy truck to make his way to Summerset Island, North Carolina. Staring out the window of the passenger’s side, he silently says goodbye to the house he spent the past thirteen years in, to the park where his mom taught him how to play catch, to his best friend Matt’s house. Everything seemed to go by in a blur, and Avery hopes he doesn’t forget how things look. He hopes even more that people don’t forget about him.
His father’s voice slices through his thoughts. “Thanks for agreeing to keep me company on the ride. Plus, I would like to think I have better taste in music than your mother. I mean, how long can a person listen to Taylor Swift?” If his mother had a choice, the answer would be forever with some Harry Styles mixed in, but Avery didn’t say anything. “Moving isn’t the end of the world, Avery. I know it feels like it is right now, but I promise, you will see that there are plenty of benefits to change.”
“Oh yeah, like what?” Avery turns his head to face his dad; there was nothing to see anyway since their neighborhood was now behind them. His arms are crossed, but he realizes that, that seems childish, like a temper tantrum, so he rests an arm on the door instead.
His father is a patient, kind man. He has a laugh that fills a room and has never met a stranger. Avery’s friends have always been surprised by how cool his dad is; they assume he won’t be laid back because of his job and because he looks a little rough around the edges, as his mother would say. His dad is smiling now, his eyes on the road, and says, “Well for starters, we will be living on the beach. Literally, the expanse of the ocean will be right outside our back door. Your mother is going to hate how much sand you’ll track inside the house. The soccer team at your new school is a good one. Not undefeated, but strong. The coach says there is a lot of potential this year, and he is excited to meet-”
“You talked to the soccer coach?” Avery interrupts.
“Of course. I wanted to make sure there would be room for you on the team, and if not, I wanted to find a backup plan before we arrived. There are multiple travel teams in the area, so if you didn’t play for the school, we have options. There are two officers at the station that have sons who will be in your grade, and they have agreed to meet you and show you around tomorrow. And, what I hope really sells it, is that even though this will be a promotion of sorts, I will be home more. I should make it home for dinner almost every night, and I should be able to see almost all of your games. We’ll feel more like a family.”
And even Avery had to admit that’s important. In New Jersey, his dad was captain of vice, the illegal drug unit for their city’s police department. His hours were never consistent, and when his cell phone for work rang, which it did a lot, he had to go. It didn’t matter if it was in the middle of Christmas dinner or cutting birthday cake, Avery’s dad took his job very seriously and always answered, always went in. That left Avery with Mrs. Fowler most of the time, and yeah, his mom is awesome, but sometimes, you really want your dad there. Now he would be chief of police in Summerset Island. The promotion to chief should make there be more work, not less, but the town is small, the crime rate almost nonexistent. It’s a tourist community, bustling in the summers and quiet in the winters.
His dad, now Chief Fowler, continues, “Your mom and I know this is hard for you. We understand that you are giving up a lot. I do think, though, big picture, this move is the best thing for all of us. Can you trust me?”
Avery thinks before responding. His dad had never steered him wrong, at least not when he’s been around. But how often has that really been? His mom would want him to try, though, and since no one is going to give him what he wants anyway, it doesn’t make sense to say no. So he says yes, and then they agree on a radio station.
“Alright, so tell me about this Becca Green,” says his dad.
Avery groans, his brain cringing at the thought of having this conversation.
“No, Dad. Just, no.” He turns up the radio and keeps his eyes straight ahead on the road, across a few state lines to their new life in Summerset Island and away from the comfort that his old life held.
