sticky sweet as summer sun
requested by a friend years ago, star trek oneshot about lemonade and the mccoy family. 766 words.
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On the hottest day of the summer – an August afternoon so sticky and sweltering that even the cicadas seemed muffled – Jocelyn came home from work with groceries.
Leonard was asleep when she got back, but he opened his eyes when she came into the house. “Didn’t know we needed to go to the store,” he said, watching her carry the groceries into the kitchen. “I’d’ve gone, you know.”
“Well, we didn’t need to,” she corrected him. “But wouldn’t it be a good day to make lemonade?”
“If you say so,” he said, shrugging. “Bet Joanna would like to, at least.”
“Mm-hmm,” Jocelyn agreed, and poked her head into the living room. “Where is she? Out in back?”
“’Less she came inside and I missed it,” he said.
“I’ll go get her,” she said, and crossed the kitchen to go out through the back door.
Joanna was lying in the hammock, fast asleep, and when Jocelyn shook her she rolled over without waking up. The second time, she stirred and stretched and nearly fell out of the hammock, which finally jolted her awake.
“Hi, Mama,” she said, rubbing her eyes.
“Hi, Jo,” Jocelyn replied, and kissed the top of her head. “Guess what I brought home?”
“Candy?” Joanna suggested, grabbing Jocelyn’s hand as she followed her mother back to the house.
Jocelyn smiled and shook her head. “Not quite,” she said. “You like lemonade, don’t you, sweetpea?”
“You brung lemonade?” Joanna demanded, beaming.
“Closer,” Jocelyn told her, and laughed. “I brought what we need to make it for ourselves.”
Joanna shrieked. “Make it?” she echoed. Even in the hot weather, she had plenty of energy to jump up and down at that idea. “I wanna make it!”
“Good, you can help me,” Jocelyn said, stepping into the kitchen. “Here, why don’t you carry the lemons and the sugar out onto the porch?”
“’Kay!” she agreed, beaming, and held out her arms to take the ingredients.
They sat on the porch with the big glass pitcher between them, half-full of water, and Jocelyn carefully cut each lemon in two so Joanna could squeeze the juice into the pitcher. She got just as much on her feet and dress and arms, but there were plenty of lemons, and she didn’t mind having sticky fingers.
“Daddy, you wanna help?” she asked when she looked up to see Leonard watching from the doorway. “You can ‘queeze lemons with me!”
He laughed and shook his head at her. “I’m alright, darlin’, I’ll just watch,” he said, and sat down on the doorstep, grinning at the big smile on her face and her giggle when juice ran down her arms to her elbows.
“You wanna mix it while I put the sugar in?” Jocelyn offered, holding up the wooden spoon.
“Yeah!” Joanna agreed, reaching out for the spoon with lemon juice still dripping from her hands. She held it in both fists and stirred the lemonade hard enough that it splashed onto the porch. Jocelyn laughed and shook her head as she measured out sugar and added it to the pitcher, where it dissolved in the whirlpool Joanna was making.
“Now, you keep stirring that while I go get glasses, alright?” Jocelyn asked after she’d added the last tablespoon of sugar. She got to her feet and smoothed out her skirt and waited by the door while Leonard moved aside to let her in.
“You want some lemonade, Daddy?” Joanna asked, putting the spoon down beside her when her arms got tired.
He stood and stretched and found a new seat on the creaky porch swing. “Sure, I’ll have some,” he agreed.
Jocelyn returned with glasses full of ice and lined them all up to pour the lemonade. “No, sweetheart, not yet,” she told Joanna when Jo tried to grab one. Joanna pouted, but Jocelyn didn’t give in until she’d cut up another lemon and added a slice to the edge of each glass. She dipped one finger in the lemonade so she could sprinkle sugar on the rims as well, and then finally handed two glasses to Joanna. “Go give one of those to your dad, alright?”
“Okay!” Joanna said, and for once she was careful not to spill any as she crossed the porch to sit beside Leonard on the swing. He took his glass of lemonade and clinked it against hers before they took their first sweet-sour sips, and Joanna laughed.
“Cheers, both of you,” Jocelyn said warmly, and they sat out in the August heat drinking lemonade until the pitcher was empty and it was time to start supper.
