Happy National Watermelon Day!

“Dria!” Laura shouted, bouncing into her bedroom while Dria was trying to get dressed. It was only seven thirty, and although Laura was usually ready first, it was never this early.

“What?” Dria inquired when she was finished pulling her shirt on. She reached for her hairbrush. Instead of replying, Laura grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her into the guest room. She pointed to the calendar on the back of her door. Today's date, August third, was circled three times in pen. Dria stared at it in confusion.

“It's National Watermelon Day!” Laura explained.

Dria thought for a minute. Of course Laura would celebrate National Watermelon Day. It must be like her birthday all over again. “What do you do?”

Laura shrugged. “Eat watermelon? I'm wearing my shirt.” Dria hadn't noticed that her girlfriend was decked out in full watermelon attire. In addition to her favorite shirt with a smiling slice of watermelon on the front, she had on her charm bracelet, the necklace Dria had given her, and a pair of tiny red-and-green striped earrings. Dria felt underdressed.

“We don't have any watermelon,” she said.

“A tragedy,” Laura replied. “We do, however, have money. Right?”

Dria nodded slowly. “Just let me brush my hair.” Laura practically shoved her out the door with excitement.

Dria brushed her hair quickly and swapped her gray-and-blue striped shirt for a dark green one. She looked in the mirror before she left, then remembered her watermelon necklace, buried in her jewelery box that she never opened. She dug it out and fastened it around her neck.

Laura was waiting in the kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she noticed Dria had her necklace on.

“You remembered it!” she exclaimed.

Dria smiled. “Yeah, I thought you'd appreciate it.”

“If you hadn't I'd make you go back upstairs and get it,” Laura said, handing Dria her purse. Dria took it, but gave her a questioning look.

“We can get breakfast on the way,” Laura explained. “If we wait too long there won't be any left.”

“Breakfast?"

“No, watermelon.” Laura picked up her own purse and car keys. “I can drive.”

Twenty minutes later, they had pulled up in front of a local bakery. Laura pushed the door open and held it for Dria, inhaling the scent of warm muffins. She let go of the door and grabbed Dria's hand. Dria squeezed back, smiling. She admired the cases full of perfect cookies and pastries. They looked as delicious as they smelled.

“Happy watermelon day!” Laura said cheerily to the cashier.

“Is it?” he asked distractedly, still punching in their total.

Laura nodded. “Best day of the year.” The cashier just smiled and handed her the order.

As they were walking to their table, Dria said, “Laura, I think you're the only person who celebrates Watermelon Day.”

“So what? It's about the novelty.” Dria forced back her stupid smile, choosing instead to roll her eyes.

Dria finished her breakfast quickly and spent the rest of the time with her head on Laura's shoulder. She had almost fallen asleep again when Laura stood up suddenly. Dria startled but caught herself.

“It's almost nine,” Laura said. “We should get going.” She offered Dria her hand. Dria took it and stood up. They cleared their table and got in the car, setting course for a small farmer's market about five minutes away. Laura considered herself a bit of an expert on produce, and one of her rules was that if she bought it directly from the farmer, it was automatically better than anything she could have bought at a store. In Dria's opinion, she was usually right.

The clustered stands were more crowded than Dria had expected. It was set up in the very edge of a shaded field, with trees between almost every table. People strolled leisurely between stands, occasionally picking up a peach or tomato to inspect it. Young children held their parent's hands, older ones sat at picnic tables with paper cups of lemonade or ice cream cones.

Dria noticed two young men holding hands at one of the vegetable stands. They looked only a few years older than Laura and herself. She took this as a cue to take Laura's hand again. Laura pulled her towards a pickup truck with watermelons in the back. There was a short line of people waiting to pay for their fruit.

“Happy Watermelon Day!” Laura greeted the man behind the table.

The man smiled knowingly. “Good morning Laura. The usual?” He reached for a half watermelon with a paper towel over it.

“Not today,” Laura said. “I have company. This is Dria.” Dria waved politely at the man.

“Nice to meet you, Dria,” the man said. “I'm Alex Madden.” He reached to shake her hand, which she did. Alex handed them a melon. Laura paid, and Dria carried it back to the car.

“So we have watermelon,” Dria said. “Now what?”

“We eat it and spend the rest of the day together?” Laura suggested.

Dria nodded. “That sounds amazing.”

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A little late, but it's here! Happy Watermelon Day.
A huge thank you to Shuffle for inspiring this with her comment on my other piece. This is clearly Laura's favorite holiday.
Until later,

P.S. Song of the day is "Let You Get Away" by Electric Century. I love it very much.