HANNAH #15

When Wishes Become Real…

Watch out!

Nightly conversation at our dinner table had now centered around end-of-summer wishes. The wish was to be the bow wrapped around the gift of a wonderful summer. Only mine had not been wonderful. My summer had been challenging. Now we had an opportunity to craft a great ending and possibly signal some healing.

So, what were our wishes? My dad’s wish was to make us dinner with Lucy by his side since she actually knew what to do in a kitchen. My dad knew we loved tacos, so he went there with one “small” change. They were to be fish tacos. Yes, fish tacos.

Needless to say, Ben and I weren’t happy when we saw that our favorite dish had been desecrated (another great word for someone who loves words). I looked up at Ben, wondering what we should do or say. Fortunately, I didn’t need to wait long. Ben quickly asked,

“Dad, do you have any sriracha?”

Lucy smiled as Ben asked and said, “Why, yes we do. I told your dad that if you didn’t like fish, it could always be covered up with some good, strong sriracha. Here you go,” as she took the bottle from the pantry and placed it squarely in front of Ben. I had to chalk up another one for Lucy. She foresaw something that my dad clearly didn’t.

We got through dinner and ate the fish tacos.

I didn’t love them — or even like them — but the sriracha made it tolerable. I was wondering what dessert they would offer up. I knew it wouldn’t be anything as simple and unequivocally good as an ice cream sundae bar. We were, after all, being “stretched” to expand our tastes. In no time at all, my question was answered.

Lucy: I bet, at this point, you’re wondering what’s for dessert… now that you got through those fish tacos.

Ben: Yep, you’ve got that right.

Lucy: We’ve got another dish that you probably never tried, but I think this one you’ll like. I made banana cream pie.

Again, Ben and I looked at each other. We weren’t huge banana fans, and there would probably be no chocolate in this pie of hers. So, I put on my best fake smile and led the way.

Me: You are definitely right. Ben and I have never had a banana cream pie. This is a night of many firsts.

Everyone laughed at that even though I hadn’t said it to be funny. Nope, I said it to be true. Well, there is that expression “truth in jest,” right?

Me (again): Lucy, I’m just wondering, is there any chance we could sprinkle some chocolate chips on top of your pie? I bought a bag to make cookies this week, but it seems like it would go great with banana pie.

Lucy was fine with my request. Out came the chocolate chips, which led Ben to comment,

“This is just another version of sriracha, round two.”

It turned out the pie was quite good and would have been almost as good without the chocolate chips.

We had now honored my dad’s end-of-summer wish.

Ben’s wish came next and brought a few surprises. There we were, set to play doubles, on the tennis court. Ben made the teams, and I was paired with him. This didn’t seem fair because Ben was the best, my dad or Lucy was probably the worst, I was a work-in-progress.

We started nice and easy — just doing a short-court rally. I was hitting with my dad, and Lucy was hitting with Ben. While Lucy and Ben had some long rallies, my dad would consistently frame the ball with his racquet, spraying the ball two courts over. He would then run to get the ball so that we could do it all over again. Rinse. Repeat.

At some point, Lucy offered my dad this tip:

“It helps to keep your head down. You’re looking up too soon.”

Ben and I just stared at each other when we heard this. When we considered how consistently Lucy hit the ball and the tip she had just given my dad, we realized this was not her first time on a court. Later, we found out that Lucy had attended tennis camp as a kid, which explains why she brought skills. Yet again, another “Lucy surprise.”

The wish ended with us playing two sets. Ben and I won the first set convincingly. The second one was tight. My dad had begun to pay attention to what Lucy was saying and was making solid contact. We faced a tie-breaker which Ben and I won.

Most importantly, we had fun, and Ben’s wish was fulfilled. We even promised to play again before summer’s end. My dad boasted that now that he had figured out tennis (an overstatement, but at least he had allowed himself to learn from Lucy), he thought they could win.

That left only two more end-of-summer wishes. Lucy finally announced hers, and it heavily involved me. We were hanging out after tennis — rehydrating and eating potato chips. And then we hear, “Ok, I’ve figured it out.” What had Lucy figured out?

Lucy: I know my wish, but Hannah will have to help.

Me: If it’s not crazy, I’m game.

Lucy: It depends on how you define “crazy.”

Ben: Hannah defines crazy in the strictest of ways — nothing too out-of-the-ordinary.

Lucy: Perfect because this is totally out of the ordinary. Hannah, I want to use my beautician skills and give you a rich and vibrant purple strand of hair. It will go great with your sandy hair color, and it will be a shoutout to living on the edge.

Now I had everyone looking at me. I looked at Lucy, who was smiling but also noticeably nervous. I had only one question.

Me: How long will it last? And by the way, I don’t live life on the edge.

Lucy: The streak will get lighter over time, but it will be there for the duration. My guess is that you will actually miss it when it’s gone, which might mean I’ll have to come to visit and do it again. By the way, that you haven’t lived life on the edge doesn’t mean you won’t.

This was when Lucy had me. She was planting seeds for our future and hoping to open my mind some, which is why I sheepishly said, “ok.” Then I heard clapping — from everyone. I guess I got it right.

That meant three dreams down, one to go. And because of Lucy’s big ask, I wouldn’t feel bad when I shared mine.

This is part of a series, “Hannah’s Journey to be Happy.” The last piece is listed below: