Cre8iveFlare

Chapter 4
A Glimpse of the Past

We stood on the porch and Dawson's face took on a faraway look as we started out at the creek. The water seemed to sparkle in the morning sun, as it stretched as far as the eye could see in both directions.

"Funny it seems smaller," I whispered, but Dawson seemed to faraway to hear me. "Dawson! Earth to Dawson!" I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes.

"What?" Dawson snapped back to reality. "Oh, sorry."

"Where were you?" I asked.

"Back," he answered.

"Back?" Now I was confused.

"Nevermind…"

I looked over at where the cars were parked. A black BMW was parked to the side of the house, next to a red Viper. "So, shall we take yours, or borrow Pacey's?" I asked, eyeing what looked like a recently busted tail light, wondering if I really wanted to know how that happened.

"Neither," Dawson answered starting towards the dock.

That was when I saw the old wooden row boat tied to a post. "Dawson, are you crazy?"

"Why not? For old times' sake." When Dawson was determined, I knew there was nothing stopping him, not logic nor reason. It was that tenacity that made me fall for him in the first place.

He stepped into the boat and held his hand out to me.

"Permission to come about, Captain? I asked, allowing myself to succumb to Dawson's boyish sense of adventure yet again. I took his hand and stepped down in the boat, aware of its unsteady rocking under my feet.

"Permission granted." Dawson in fastened the rope, as I sat on the wooden seat, and in no time we were floating away. Dawson sat opposite me and took up the oars.

Suddenly I was fourteen years old again, sitting in that boat pretending we were Huck and Jim, with my eleven year old brother's best friend, who had secretly been crushing on me for the better part of junior high. Not that I was aware of that fact until I found the letter from eighteen year old Dawson years later. Now at 34 years old, Dawson still seemed like that same boy. Hollywood evidently had not changed him.

I pushed away the next thought that had snuck into my head, something i thought too incredible to consider.

"So, I watched The Creek a little while ago." I said.

"Oh, that old thing?" Dawson feigned nonchalance as he waved dismissively. "No really, what did you think?"

"Great, of course." I said.

We began rehashing the entire plot, until we began dissecting season 4, Senior Year, both realising the significance of that season, as Dawson's biopic turned TV teen soap.

"The Gretl scenes weird for me though." I said, referring to the character so clearly representing me.

"Yeah, sure I guess it would be… sorry." Dawson's expression turned to worry for a moment. "Just don't sue me, okay?"

"Are you kidding, Dawson?" I exclaimed. "I'm honoured I made the cut."

"Well you were the great love of my life… other than Joey of course." Dawson paused for a second realising the words that were slipping out of his mouth. "I mean… you know… before Joey, there was you, this romantic fantasy for me." he was faltering as he spoke, like he was suddenly possessed the nervous tongue tied pre-adolescent version of himself.

Neither of us could speak, so we rowed the rest of the way in silence, Dawson returning to that faraway place again, while I was fighting off the same thought that had plagued me the whole time we'd been in the boat. There was a familiar warmth in my heart and in my stomach was the flutter of butterflies emerging from cocoons, I hadn't felt in many years. I fought those off too. Surely after all this time, our past was firmly secured in the past.

As we neared the Leery's dock, Dawson's expression turned to sadness and I followed his gaze to the house next door to the Leery House. A 'SOLD' sign was tacked opposite the letterbox, to the old white picket fence, with peeling paint revealing the woodgrain.

"A terribly sad thing to happen," I said putting my hand on Dawson's shoulder. I remembered Pacey mentioning Jen's passing, which had left Baby Amy motherless. Jack and my brother were raising the child as their own.

Dawson nodded, and I realised he was suddenly too choked up to speak. "Dawson!" what I could only guess was sixteen year old Lilly Leery's voice cut into our mournful silence.

"Lilly!" Dawson cried, as he turned his gaze to the sandy haired girl running arms outstretched towards the dock.

Dawson leapt out of the boat, after barely remembering to tie it to the dock. In his excitement, he still held his hand out to me. I took it and climbed ashore.

As I watched Dawson and Lilly rush to each other and melt into a warm embrace, I marvelled at the reunion of what seemed like two freakishly close siblings and I missed my own brothers and close we once were. I wondered how had I drifted so far away from both of them and our sister Carrie, when Dawson as big a Hollywood big shot as he was still remained close to his kid sister. What were Doug's and Pacey's and Carrie's excuses? What was mine?

"Gretchen! Come, meet my sister, Lilly!" He beckoned to me and I happily obliged. "Lilly, this is Gretchen, Pacey's sister, and an old a friend of mine."

"Hi Lilly, I remember you. You were just a baby when I last saw you." I said.

"Hey," she barely acknowledged me before linking arms with her brother, and leading him towards the house. I tailed behind, a step, watching their animated conversation like a grand slam tennis match between the Williams Sisters.

"Dawson, I'm so glad you're here, Mom's driving me crazy! She's got all these rules now, since Alex and I, you know, got together." Lilly exclaimed.

"You and Alex? When did this happen?" Dawson exclaimed.

"Oh it's new, I'll tell you about it later when we can talk, in private," she added, glancing back at me. I paused mid step, aware that I was encroaching and realising that tagging along wasn't such a great idea. I slowed my steps, desperately searching my head for an excuse to bail. "Anyway Dawson, you've gotta talk to her, make her see reason!"

"Okay, I'll talk to her, but no promises," Dawson said, opening the door to the porch and then the main wooden door, as Lilly dropped Dawson's arm and stepped into the house.

"Mom, Dawson's here!" she called as she charged through the house to the kitchen.

It was then that I started to make up some excuse about needing to see if I was needed with any last minute wedding stuff.

It fell on deaf ears. "Nonsense! That can wait, didn't you want to see Gail?"

"Yeah I did, but we can catch up later at the wedding or something. You should spend some time with just your family Dawson." I started back towards the steps.

"Gretchen, wait!" Dawson exclaimed. I paused. "Stay. I want you to, please?"

"Sure, why not." I followed Dawson into the house.