Havasu Falls.
"Come on, Matt, what are we waiting for?"
"We aren't waiting for anything. I on the other hand, am waiting for you."
"Are not."
"Look Princess, I've been all loaded up since long before you got your lazy butt out of bed. So, whenever you and your entourage of like-minded Princesses are ready, we can get this show on the road."
"Call me Princess one more time and I swear to god Matthew, I'll push you off a cliff."
"As long as there's water below me, feel free."
My younger sister has always had a flare for the dramatic. The running joke in our world is that she was the family "mistake". Our parents had a frisky night years after they thought they were done having kids, and some months later, along came the new addition.
We have an older brother, Paul Jr. he is 26 and is married with 2 kids. He also lives out of state, so we don't see him that much. Then there is me, Matt, I'm about to be 24, and last but not least is Isabella. At 16-years old, she showed up almost 8 years after I was born. A word to the wise, never call Isabella, Isabella. It's Izzy or death. She has never liked her given name, and the only time we ever hear it, is when she's in some kinda shit with our parents.
Izzy has always been a cute kid and the sweetheart of the family. She was never the pain in the ass, like the little sisters that we hear so much about. She has always had a big heart and a kind soul.
I think that the reason for that was because she grew up in a house where she was never babied. Yeah, she was the youngest and I took her under my wing, but it's because she was so easy to get along with.
Anyway, Izzy turned Sweet Sixteen last weekend. She had a huge party with our family and all her friends. But she couldn't wait for this weekend, because ever since Izzy turned 10, I would take her and 3 of her friends away for the weekend. It was always the weekend that followed her birthday. It was a tradition that neither of us wanted to give up. Camping, fishing, Disney, travelling, whatever she wanted. This year, we were hiking and camping at Havasu Falls, Arizona. It was a bit of a trek for us, but no matter what happened, we always had fun and great memories.
The Jeep was packed with our supplies and we hit the road only about 45 minutes behind schedule. The girls took over the sound system. Each of them argued over who should link in with their huge playlists. In retrospect, I should have retained control, because for the next 6 hours, I heard more Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift than I care to remember. But they were a bunch of 16-year-olds, and they were just having fun.
When boredom from the ride set in, they turned on me. One by one they pushed my buttons, "I gotta pee", "Are we there yet?", "I'm hungry", "Matt..." I heard them all over and over again. The funny part was that I didn't care. They were having fun.
The fun aspect changed when we got to the site. The hike in is hard enough on its own, but it can turn into a shitshow when who are loaded up with supplies. Luckily, Izzy and her friends took it seriously enough to pay attention and be careful. But I carried the majority of the load.
The birthday girl / guest of honor picked our camping spot, and in my opinion, couldn't have done better. Lots of shade, lots of sun, lots of privacy if needed, and it was close to the water. But the best thing was the view. From where we were, you could see everything, and once we settled in, the girls wanted to explore.
"Matt, can we go swimming?"
"Yeah. But be careful, no diving from the high rocks and watch for snakes."
"Okay mom."
The time alone would be the break I needed from the girls. Even though every year got easier, it also got tougher. There was no putting anything over on them.
Our first night was an early one. All of us were ready to hit the hay, but not before we looked skyward. The lack of ambient light in the desert provides the perfect opportunity to star gaze, and we took full advantage of it. We listened to music and looked up to try and discover the mysteries of the universe. Izzy and her friends had zero idea what star or constellation was what, but it didn't matter. At one point I heard her friend Sara say that something in the night sky was Aurora Borealis. We were facing south, so...
When we woke, the already warm morning sun peeked its head into the canyon, but I waited until all hands were on deck before I started breakfast, and by the time everyone had their fill the heat was very present.
"Matt, can..."
"Izzy...you can do whatever you want. It's your weekend. We can hike or you can chill by the water all day. You choose."
She had a mini conference with her buddies and looked at me.
"The latter."
"Take towels. I'll be there in a while."
For the next 4 hours, the girls splashed and laughed. I relaxed in the shade, reading. It was very quiet, other than the sound of water and noises we were making, but it was early. I knew very well that others would start showing up soon and I wasn't wrong.
The first group showed up in the early afternoon. They appeared to be a group of 8. 6 girls and a couple of guys. They all stopped by my sister's group and talked for a bit. Izzy pointed at our camp. Then toward me. Most of them looked over and gave a friendly wave. When the niceties were complete, they walked another 100 yards or so, and set-up camp.
The pungent smell of weed drifted down the falls. Our new neighbors had no problem smoking lots of weed over the next few hours, and for the rest of our stay as it turned out.
I reminded the girls to avoid any thing that was not legal to them. They laughed and once again, called me mom. Keeping an eye on them became a concern, but it wasn't needed.
"Hey."
I jumped when the voice and shadow came up behind me. Even with the assistance of sunglasses, I was squinting to see who was speaking to me.
"Hey."
I watched as she held out a hand.
"Kate."
"Matt."
I was surprised by how rough her hand was. Looking down, it was manicured, so I assumed that it wasn't from hard work, but more from using it on the rocks that surrounded us.
We made small talk about nothing of importance while some of her group dove into the water from some of the higher rocks, and my group swam in one of the larger pools.
Kate was standing in front of me, with her back to the sun. She had a baseball cap on backwards and was wearing a pair of oversized sunglasses. Overall, with the sun framing her body and burning into my eyes, it was difficult for me to get a good look at her.
"So, which one is your girlfriend?"
"None of them." When I said it, it may have sounded a bit dry and harsh.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Gay?"
"No."
"Really?"
"Really."
"Then why aren't you hittin one of them?"
"Maybe because one of them is my sister, and the other ones are also only 16-years old."
"Oooooooh. I see.'"
"Do you?" Way too much sarcasm in my voice, but I couldn't stop myself.
"Yeah."
I was a little annoyed that this girl had no issues with walking over here, asking a bunch of stupid questions and standing there like we were friends, and we knew each other. We didn't, and we weren't. But I really didn't have a pressing agenda for the day, so I played along.
"Which one for you?"
"Which one what?"
