My favorite place in the world is the lake. My family goes camping there every summer. When I was little, I used to go with just my grandparents.

It was a hot summer night when I was about seven. I was asleep in my tent. The branches on the other side of my tent snapped. It woke me up.

I thought the raccoons were back, and I would have to chase them off. It was just Grampie.

“Hey Mildred,” he whispered. “Wake up.”

I unzipped the tent and stared at him, wide-eyed.

Mildred was not my name. It wasn’t even close actually. It was the name of the Native American girl in the stories my Grampie used to tell me.

Mildred was the daughter of the chief. She was very bossy and independent.

I guess Mildred fit.

“Get your shoes on. Let’s go down to the dock. There’s a meteor shower. There must be a shooting star every five seconds,” Grampie said. He was still whispering.

I stuffed on my sneakers, grabbed my flashlight, and crawled out of the tent. Grampie was waiting for me. He was alone. My grandmother was asleep in their tent, still.

The air outside of the tent smelled fresh.

Grampie picked me up in his big, strong arms to carry me down the path. The path to the dock was dark. Roots were almost always tripping me up.

I knocked out a tooth once when I was trying to keep up with him.

He walked in silence, and I watched the trees for owls.

When we stepped up on the dock, I could finally see the sky spread out in front of me. Shooting stars filled the sky. They were brighter than any I’d ever seen before.

The boat tapped lightly against the dock as waves crashed through the channel. We took off our shoes and stuck our feet in the cool water below.

Grampie pointed out all the constellations in the sky. He knew all of them. His dad was a science teacher who was very interested in astronomy. Grampie was the smartest person I knew.

“Do you want to wake up early tomorrow and go fishing?” he asked.

“Oh yes,” I answered. “Then can we go into town?”

“Sure. I could go for some coffee tomorrow.”

I always liked to wake up when it was still dark and go fishing.

My grandparents actually bought my first fishing pole. It was a pink Barbie pole. When they first tried to teach me how to use my new Barbie pole, I cast the line, getting the hook deep into the lake.  I hooked a bass fish right away.

Maybe it was because we dug our own worms. Maybe it was just dumb luck.

There weren’t that many mosquitoes, even though it was the middle of the night. Sometimes I could hear the people on the other island across the lake having a party late at night. But tonight, the lake seemed empty.

“How do you like your new room that your mother painted for you?”

I shrugged and stared at my feet in the lake. “It’s nice. She spent all day on it.”

“This will be a good thing.” Grampie was still looking up at the sky. “She got you all new things. She has a pool, and you don’t have to share your room at your dad’s house anymore. Just wait. I really believe in her this time.”

I still didn’t look up from the water. He was right about her trying really hard.

“And you like John? The new boyfriend?” I could tell he was looking at me now.

“Yeah, I guess. He’s nice and fun. But he said I love you the other day. I told Mom I thought it was weird, and she made a big deal about it.”

“She’s really settling down then.” Grampie looked back out over the water.

I was only seven, but I could hold my own in serious conversations. Nobody in my family ever talked down to me. They treated me as an equal adult and spoke to me in regular sentences. They had since I was born.

I tried to really listen to him. I was happy. She was even taking me to Disney World in the winter. She had a house, friends, a pool, a new bedroom, and all new things for me. What was there to worry about?

She said she was ready.

My mother hadn’t actually been around for a while.

When I was four, my parents broke up. I had moved in with my grandparents and Dad. For the next three years, I had seen her every once in a while.

She’d come to the park with me once every few months. But she didn’t call. Didn’t write. Didn’t come to any school events.

I didn’t miss her.

My grandparents provided all the love and stability I’d needed. My Grampie taught me how to ride a bike. He used to set up treasure hunts for me around the yard, play cards with me, and take me ice skating and sledding.

I really spent most of my time with him.

I used to cry before I would have to visit her. I’d hide under my bed.

My grandparents would get on one side and Dad would get on the other side. They’d pry my fingers off the bed, and Dad would pull me out by my legs.

I would still be crying. I guess I always was a character.

I stopped crying after a while.

She told everyone she wanted me back. That she had settled down. She wanted to be my mom.

She picked me up with her new boyfriend. He was different than the others. Older, more serious.

They took me to the fair that day. We went on rides, played games. I had the time of my life. My mom and I even got our faces painted.

I had so much fun with her.

She wasn’t the Mom I knew before.

I started slow, just staying for a night. Then the weekend. Pretty soon I had moved in completely. It was like I had been adopted. Away from my dad’s new family.

Away from my grandparents, which is where I felt I really belonged.

I trusted my grandparents more than anyone else. It was hard for me to leave them. If they thought it best, then I believed them.

“I’ll give her a chance,” I finally said.

“That’s my girl,” he said.

I leaned in closer and put my head on his chest. We watched another shooting star pass by above us.

I wish that this will stick.