Best Summer of Our Lives

"Mom, Dad, we're here!" Fisher's shout echoed off the dark maple hardwood floors that flowed throughout the home.

Annabelle squeezed his hand tighter as they walked through the foyer. She looked up at the high ceilings and around to the high quality furnishings and décor. Her eyes darted from one thing to the next, unable to stay still. She had grown up in a very modest home, as did her friends. She had never been in a home like this. It only added to her stress.

His mother rushed up to the couple. To Annabelle, she seemed to be a perfect wife, complete with pearls around her neck that were as beautiful as her face.

He gave her hand a squeeze before letting go to hug his mother and give her a kiss on the cheek. His hand returned to hers the moment he was freed from her embrace.

Fisher introduced the two, "Mom, this is Annabelle."

He was interrupted by his mother as she laughed, "Of course this is Annabelle!" Her eyes flicked back and forth between them. "She's as pretty as you said she was."

Annabelle blushed. "Thank you. It's nice to meet you Misses Williams." Her awe came out in her tone. "Your home is beautiful."

"Thank you." His mother smiled gratefully. "But please, call me Janet."

Annabelle nodded. Her smile was staying on her face. His mom really did seem as kind as he had said.

He didn't let an awkward pause linger. "We baked some cookies last night for the party." He handed his mother the container.

"You baked?" Janet asked with a chuckle.

"Actually," Annabelle glanced from her boyfriend to his mother, "I did most of the work. He just helped decorate."

Fisher shook his head with playful shame.

Janet laughed, "That sounds about right. I hear you're quite good in the kitchen, Annabelle. Fisher said you've been feeding him well."

"I do my best. I love to cook, so if you need any help today, I wouldn't mind one bit."

"I may hold you to that statement." Janet winked. "Come on kids, let's stop standing around and get a little more comfortable."

The couple followed her into the kitchen. Janet made them glasses of iced tea. Fisher pulled out a barstool at the island for Annabelle to sit in. She thanked him with a smile before hopping up. He sat next to her and took her hand, as promised.

"Marty will be down shortly. He's in the shower right now." Janet looked at her son. "You know your father can't have guests over without the lawn being perfect."

"Boy do I," Fisher chuckled, and then sipped his drink. "Where's Holly?"

Janet explained that her daughter was at work and would be joining them in a few hours. She told Annabelle how much she would like her and Fisher joined in as well. They also chatted about who all was coming over while they waited on his father to join them. As the minutes passed, Annabelle felt more at ease, but not completely. His mother was very comforting to be around and his hand in hers helped even more.

Fisher's dad strolled into the kitchen and gave his wife a kiss after she handed him a glass of tea. Annabelle felt like she had shrunk to two inches tall. His dad looked her over as if he was examining a specimen for several moments before he spoke. Fisher rubbed his thumb on the back of her hand.

"So, you're Annabelle?" Marty asked in a booming baritone voice. He placed his glass on the island and stood across from the couple. His wife stood at his side.

"Yes sir," Annabelle squeaked.

"Fisher seems pretty smitten with you." His dark eyes burned into her. "My boy is very picky with girls so there must be something special about you."

Annabelle felt like she was on display with three sets of eyes all pointed in her direction. Her mouth was dry and she wetted it before she could speak. "Well, Fisher is a great guy, the best. You both raised a great man." She saw his father's face break into a smile. "Honestly, I don't know what he sees in me," she added with an uncomfortable giggle.

"Oh come on," Fisher said. "That's not true. There are a lot of great things about you."

Annabelle smiled softly and raised her eyes to his father again.

Janet nudged her husband with her hip. "Stop being so hard on her. Can't you tell she's nervous?"

Marty waved his hand in the air. "Sorry. We just want the best for him. He has a lot ahead of him."

There was a bit of a pause and Annabelle felt like she had sunk through the floor. She forced words from her mouth, "He's told me." She glanced at her boyfriend before returning her eyes to his parents. "I think it's great that he has everything planned out."

"Yes it is." Marty took a gulp of tea. "What about you? What do you plan to do after you finish school?"

"Well," she took a deep breath, "my plan, though it's a bit of a fuzzy plan, is to write."

"Write?" his father asked with a quizzical raise of a brow.

"Yes, sir. I'm studying creative writing and I would like to be an author."

"Ah, I see. That's not the steadiest career. It takes a lot of dedication, talent, and some luck."

Annabelle nodded. "I understand that."

Fisher chimed in, "She's really great. I've read some of her stuff and I was blown away." He was referring to a few non erotic short stories she had shared with him in the past week. "I can't wait to read more. She was telling me about plans for her first novel."

Marty's eyes flicked to her left. "Well, that's a biased opinion, son."

Janet lightly slapped his dad's arm. "Marty!" She shook her head. "Annabelle, if Fisher says you're great, I'm sure you are. He's very honest."

"Thank you," Annabelle said into her glass.

"I hope you have a backup plan. That's all I'm trying to say."

Annabelle ran her fingers through the condensation on her glass. "Well, right now, I'm a manager at the same bookstore I've worked at since I was sixteen. I work a lot and balance school with a three-point-six GPA."

"See, Marty. That's dedication right there," Janet stated.

Annabelle liked how his mother was standing up for her. It made her smile.

"This job pays you enough? Do you have your own apartment?" Marty questioned her.

"Yes, sir. It pays me quite well. I mean yeah, when life gets busy around midterms and finals, I can't work as much, and sometimes it gets a little tight. But, I have savings to help me out when that happens." Annabelle felt like she was in an interrogation room.

"So, you aren't just interested in Fisher for..."

Fisher cut his dad off because he knew that he was about to mention wealth and status, "No she's not. Annabelle loves me for me. She didn't have any idea about any of this."

She looked back and forth between her boyfriend and his dad, slightly confused.

"You love each other?" Janet asked with happy surprise.

Annabelle's throat was too tight to be able to talk.

He hadn't realized he said it. He was planning to say that they really liked each other because he thought his parents would say that it was too soon. "Yes, we do," Fisher stated with a smile.

"Wow. Well," Janet looked at Annabelle, "if you love our son, that's all that we can ask for." She nudged her husband's ribs with her elbow. "Right honey?"

"Yes, dear." Marty smiled. "I apologize. I didn't mean to grill you, Annabelle. I just want the best for him." His expression softened.

"I understand. I hope I passed your test," Annabelle said with a smile.

"You have." His father returned her smile.

*****

Annabelle looked out the window above the sink to see Fisher cleaning leaves out of the pool while she rinsed raspberries and blueberries. She smiled to herself. After the initial interrogation, she realized that his father was just as nice as his mother. They were good people. They may live in a fancy house, but they were not snobs. However, they were protective of their son and his future. Which, they had every right to be.

Her nerves had calmed down once she realized that his parents didn't need to be impressed. They just wanted to get to know her. Since she had been helping with food preparations, his mother was asking all sorts of questions about why she was interested in Fisher.

Annabelle turned off the water, and then brought the bowls of berries to the island. Janet had just finished covering a large cake in white icing. The women quickly discussed the easiest way to decorate the cake.

Janet began making a square with blueberries at the top corner of the cake. "What do you like most about him?"

Annabelle smiled as she began pressing raspberries into the icing, making stripes across the cake. "The number one thing would be his heart." She glanced up to see her smiling. "I've never met a guy with such an amazing heart. He makes me feel like the most important person in the world."

"Well, sweetie, you should be the most important person in the world to him. I'm glad he treats you right."

"He really does."

"What initially attracted you to him?"

"Oh goodness. Well," Annabelle giggled as she wiped some icing off of her fingers, "he's very handsome. When we met, he was really shy, which was really adorable." She went back to pressing berries into the icing. "I don't know how to describe it exactly. But, I just knew how sweet he was just from that."

"I know exactly what you mean." Janet winked. "Marty was like that when we first met. Fumbling over his words." She let out a reminiscing sigh. "I swear, I remember watching his hand shake so bad when we traded phone numbers that I wondered how he was able to write."

Annabelle shared a giggle with Janet, and then said, "Fisher was the exact same way."

"Like father, like son." Janet grinned. "Do you see yourself with him for a long time? I know you two haven't been together very long. But, this isn't a fling is it?"

"Oh goodness no, it's definitely not a fling." Annabelle's cheeks matched the color of the raspberries. "I haven't felt like this with a guy, ever. I want to take care of him and make him happy the best that I can."

"You still haven't answered my first question," Janet teased.

"Oh!" Annabelle bit her lip. "Yes, I can see us together for a long time. I mean yeah, it's only been a few weeks, but there's something special with him." She looked up to his mom. "When did you know you wanted Marty as your husband?"

"The moment I laid eyes on him," Janet said fondly. "I was working as a waitress at a diner while I was in college and he came in one night with a group of friends. I was hooked."

"Love at first sight?"

"Absolutely."

The women smiled at each other. "That's how it was with Fisher."

"That's the best way." Janet licked some icing off of her finger. "I am sorry that Marty was so hard on you initially. He comes off that way sometimes, but he really is just a big teddy bear."

*****

"I really like her," Marty said as he turned bratwursts on the grill. "You've picked a great girl."

"Thanks, Dad. I like her a lot too." Fisher opened up a package of swiss cheese, and then pulled out the slices.

"She's got a lot of character. Once she relaxed, she opened up a lot. I can see what you see in her."

"She really does. But, it is your fault that she was so nervous," Fisher added with a grin.

"Well, Annabelle put it just right. It was sort of a test." Marty stepped over so that his son could put cheese on the burger patties. "We had to make sure that she was the right girl for you."

"Annabelle is an amazing girl for me."

*****

Annabelle sat next to Fisher at the large table on the deck after eating lunch. They were surrounded by her boyfriend's family members that she couldn't remember the names of. Everyone was talking about stories of past fourth of Julys. Laughter was constant as they chatted about near casualties caused by roman candles, bottle rockets, cherry bombs, and sparkling pinwheels.

Fisher squeezed her hand tight and saw the smile on her face.

Her family was small compared to his, and what there was of them was quite spread out in different states. They never had large get togethers like this. It was nice to be here and meet everyone, though at times, she did feel out of place.

He leaned over to her ear and whispered, "Are you doing better?"

"Oh yes, very much. Everyone is really nice."

"I told you that you had nothing to be worried about." Fisher kissed her cheek. "My parents like you a lot."

"They do?" She smiled.

"Yes, very. It's pretty obvious with Mom. But, Dad told me while we were grilling."

Annabelle squirmed happily. "Oh good!"

"Do you want to keep sitting here or do you want some alone time for a little bit? I know this can all be a little overwhelming sometimes. We can go to the front porch or something."

"Actually," Annabelle let a suspenseful pause linger, "I'd love to see your room."

"We can definitely do that. Though it's not much."

"I want to see it." She smiled brightly.

"Well, come on then." He stood up and offered her his hand.

Annabelle followed him up the stairs, and down the hallway that was filled with family portraits and school pictures. She didn't get a chance to examine them as he escorted her to his bedroom.

He opened the door, and then let Annabelle pass by him into the blue painted room.

Everything was just as he had left it before leaving for college. She could immediately tell that his mother had decorated it because it had the same style as the rest of the home. It seemed standard enough, a computer desk in one corner, a dresser with a television on it, and the bed in the center of the room. There weren't any posters of models and Annabelle wondered if all guys really had those, or just a guy whom she dated once that had an almost life size poster of a European model in a bikini on the ceiling above his bed.

Annabelle sat down on the bed and bounced on it while she continued to look around.

He sat down next to her and placed his hand on her thigh. "See, I told you it was nothing special."

She smiled and kissed his lips. "I like it though. It's nice that you still have a place here."

She laid back and stretched her arms out above her head. Fisher took the opportunity to gaze at her body.

Annabelle continued, "The day after I moved out of my dad's house, everything was put in boxes. Granted, I didn't leave much behind at all."

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. He rubbed her stomach gently.

"It's okay. It's what it was. I try not to dwell on things involving him."

"You can talk to me about it though, if you want to."

She looked over at him and smiled. "I know I can, and thank you."

Fisher rested on his other arm and continued to touch her appropriately, given that someone could come in at any moment. "I want you to be comfortable to tell me anything you want to."

"I just don't talk about my dad that much. We didn't have the best relationship."

He listened and she held his free hand.

"There isn't much to talk about, I guess. I mean, he never hit me or anything. But, we fought a lot. Like, pretty much every day while I was in high-school. Lots of tension built up over the years of step-mother after step-mother. I sometimes felt like I was in prison when I was at home. I hid in my room a lot."

"Why didn't you live with your mom if it was so bad with him?"

"That's a whole long story in itself," she sighed. "Don't get me wrong. My mom is wonderful, but living with her just didn't work out."

"I'm so sorry, baby." He kissed her forehead.

"It's not your fault."

"I know, but I'm still sorry. You deserved better than that."

"I guess so." Annabelle shrugged. "But, I've got my life now and everything that happens to us shapes who we are. I turned bad things into good things for me. And now, I have an amazing thing." She brought his hand to her mouth and kissed his knuckles.

Fisher's sister came into the room just as he had begun to kiss her deeply. She cleared her throat to get their attention and once she had it, she giggled. "Okay, that's enough lovebirds." She stepped further into the room.

Fisher's cheeks turned bright red and Annabelle covered her face giggling hysterically.

Holly laughed for another moment, shaking her head. "Annabelle, do you want to come get a swimsuit to borrow, since someone," she playfully glared at her brother, "forgot to tell you about the water volleyball tournament."

Annabelle sat up and grinned. She lightly pushed on her boyfriend's chest as she said, "Yeah. How could you forget to tell me about that?" Her melodious giggle filled the room

"I forgot. I'm sorry." He lowered his gaze and pouted, trying not smile. "Forgive me."

She winked. "I'll forgive you this time." She kissed him softly, and then slid off of the bed.

When the girls were at the door to his room, Fisher pleaded, "Holly, please don't tell her any secrets about me."

His sister tapped her finger on her lips. "Hmm," she muttered. "I'll see what I can come up with."

Fisher shook his head, and then dropped down on his bed and covered his eyes.

Annabelle followed Holly down the hall and to her room. Holly closed the door behind them, and then began digging through a dresser drawer for swimsuits. Annabelle took a seat on her bed.

"You're so much better than Fisher's last girlfriend," Holly said.

Annabelle was surprised at that sudden comment, but she was curious to hear more. "Oh? Candace?"

"Yeah, her," Holly grumbled.

Annabelle's curiosity was piqued. She had been told bits and pieces about her over the last few weeks, and the only conclusion that she came to was that she wanted to torture the girl for breaking Fisher's heart.

Holly picked out a couple of bikinis for her to choose from, and then sat down on the bed before she continued, "Mom and Dad loved her. I mean loved her. They wanted him to marry her."

Annabelle kept her eyes down, looking over the bright colored garments. "It was that serious?"

"Well, yes and no. They were together for a couple of years and truthfully, he did seem really happy for the first while. But you know my brother, he's so nice. I think he just sort of hung around because he didn't want to hurt her."

Annabelle looked back up at Holly and frowned. "So, he got hurt instead."

"Yeah badly. Candace was so fake and I hated that my parents didn't see it right before their eyes. Yeah, she was a nice girl, but god, underneath the glittery exterior she was a total bitch."

"Oh wow," Annabelle gasped.

"You're a real girl. You're what he needs in his life. Not some girl who's just after money. Fisher's a lover, not a fighter. But, he will fight for you to the death if he had to."

Annabelle tried to get a word in, but Holly was talking so fast.

"He really is a great guy and he would do anything for you that you asked of him. I saw Candace take advantage of that so often that every time I just wanted to scream. You're not going to do that are you?"

Annabelle shook her head. "Never."

"Good. I knew I liked you for a reason." Holly smiled, and then her face turned to stone. "Please don't hurt him. I love him a lot."

"I won't. I promise. I'd rather hurt myself than hurt him."

Holly smiled again. "So, which one do you want to borrow? The blue one or the black one with stars? I think the black one might fit you better."

*****

"Oh wow, look at that one." Fisher said with awe as he pointed to a bright white firework went off over the lake. "You were right. This is the best view for fireworks I've ever had."

Annabelle rested the side of her head on his shoulder and squeezed his hand. "I told you so." She smiled. "Small apartment, but great seats for the fireworks."

The couple's lawn chairs were right next to each other. Some of Annabelle's neighbors in the building were up on the roof with them enjoying the show. The sky lit up with several different colors and car alarms were going off everywhere.

Fisher took a deep breath of her hair that was still damp after showering. He smiled to himself, wondering how anything in the world could ever be more perfect than the times that he spent with her. The world had become brighter with each passing day. Even when he had a rough day, he knew that seeing her face or hearing her voice could turn his mood around in an instant.