It was the middle of July. Ninety plus degrees with heat advisories but here I was pushing the mower over the world's largest lawn because Dad had been ragging me about getting it cut. I'm dressed in shorts and tennis shoes, soaked in sweat barely able to keep a grip on the slick handle imagining I'm about to collapse as I finally finish the last strip of grass.
I shut the mower down and drag it across the football field (I know I'm exaggerating but CHRIST! After eighteen years, Dad can hire people for this shit) and stow it in the shed. I stagger back to the house and stop at the back patio and turn on the water hose and adjust the head to 'shower' and hold it over my head. I jerk only a second at the cool water but it feels like jumping into the pool and I wash the grass and sweat off until I no longer feel like fainting. I turn off the faucet and rewind the hose and walk around to the the garage. I kick off my grass covered shoes by the garage side door and step inside the stagnant air. I strip off my wet shorts and toss them in the hamper by the washing machine grabbing a towel from the top of the heap. I toss my shaggy hair and pat my face and realize it's the towel Dad dried with this morning from the familiar after shave.
I towel myself dry and return the towel to the hamper. I push open the kitchen door and shiver at the cool air conditioning. Glancing at the sink I'm reminded of how dehydrated I am and I grab a glass from the dish drainer and fill it with cold water and drink the entire glass before filling it again.
"Burned!" I hear and jerk around to see Mom standing in the den doorway looking at me. At first I can't understand what she means until she starts across the tile floor in her bare feet.
"You are absolutely burned up!" she says. I look down and notice how red I am. I didn't realize I'd become sunburned since I'd been running around without a shirt since spring.
"I'll get the aloe." she said and disappeared before I could say a thing.
