by Ciara Knight
Trevor fell back onto the bed. “You might actually be on to something.” He’d planned on marrying at a young age and having a family. That’s when he unlocked the door to his memories. “I didn’t leave Sara after I found out I wouldn’t be able to have kids. We decided to try for a while, and when she didn’t get pregnant, she broke it off. She couldn’t face not having children.”
“See, you’re damaged.” Dustin grabbed his jacket and waved Trevor to follow. “Let’s not add being late to your girlfriend’s party to the list of reasons she should reject you. After all, you’ve finally found the right woman at the right time of your life.”
That drew him off the bed, and he followed Dustin to the front door. Outside, the world was hot and humid but with a refreshing island breeze. “So you’re not trying to get me to leave anymore?”
“No. I’m not happy about it, but now you’re not running from but to something.”
Trevor took in a deep, salty breath. “Why didn’t you ever point any of this out before?”
Dustin stopped at the crosswalk leading to Cassie’s Catch. “Dude, I did. Like a million times before you married Monster Marsha. You wouldn’t listen. She had her fangs in you so deep I couldn’t reach you.”
Trevor chuckled. “Yeah, I guess she did. Hey, man. Thanks.”
“For what?” Dustin looked up and down the street but remained at the light, waiting for it to change.
“Being the best friend a guy could ask for. You know, despite your crazy and you trying to convince everyone you don’t need anything, you’re a good guy.”
“Ah, thanks. I think.”
The light changed, and they crossed. “Now, about you. Why do you think you’re never willing to commit to anyone? What happened in your past to cause such relationship issues?”
Dustin walked faster and opened the door to Cassie’s Catch. “Nope, no head shrinking me. I’m not the one with a pregnant ex while in love with another woman. My life isn’t in need of examining.”
“Great, now I sound like a Jerry Springer episode from the ‘90s.” Trevor entered the boat-like structure, but he didn’t notice the wood paneling or the large, restored helm or the twenty-plus people in the room. He only saw Julie standing in a dress that accentuated all her natural beauty. A dress that made him forget his own name. “Wow.”
Dustin slapped him on the back hard, as if to jolt him out of his stupor. “I think you chose well. Good luck. Remember, mouth closed, compliments flow, and tomorrow you can deal with the trash. Tonight is about her.”
Trevor marched straight for Julie, unable to keep away from her another second. “You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Happy birthday.” He kissed her cheek and whispered, “Good thing there’s a roomful of people, or I might forget that I’m a gentleman.”
She blushed all shades of passion. He took her hand and stood by her side until people began to drag her away for other conversations.
He and Dustin hung out watching a game on the television over the bar while she did her rounds at her party, but Trevor never took his eyes off her.
“You look like you’re about to fall out of your chair like a bad stalker.” Dustin shouldered him, knocking him to the side and almost off the stool.
“She looks amazing tonight, doesn’t she?” Trevor mumbled as if he was still processing how lucky he was to have such a smart, capable, sane, and beautiful woman to date.
“She does. Just remember that before you fall too hard, you need to tell her what’s going on. Tonight, you don’t get to make any grandiose declarations of love for her, or you’ll regret it tomorrow. Truth, then relationship. Remember that.”
“Right. Although, I still believe there’s no way that child is mine. Unless it’s a miracle baby, which I don’t think is possible, it’s not mine.”
“Just because you say it’s not doesn’t make it true. And the truth doesn’t matter. If she says you’re the baby daddy, then you need to find out for sure before you dismiss her. Listen, you and I both know she’s a liar and would manipulate any situation to make herself come out on top. That includes raking you over the coals for being a heartless monster for not taking responsibility for your unborn child. How do you think Julie would feel about you if reports come out that you weren’t there for your own baby?”
Trevor ran his thumbnail along the crack in the lacquered wooden table. “Not good.”
“Right. So for once, listen to me. I know you think I’m only a player who has never been in a real relationship, but trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”
“Someday, you’re going to tell me who broke your heart.”
Wind appeared with a hand on Dustin’s shoulder. “Oh, that’s a story I’d love to hear.”
Dustin plastered on that faux smile of his. “I’d have to have a heart to break it.”
Wind laughed. “Right, I forgot.”
Cassie came from the kitchen holding a round cake in the form of a beach with four different-colored chairs and books with a label that said Friendship Beach. “This cake isn’t just for Julie Boone. This is for the four of you to let you know how much Summer Island has missed the vibrant quartet of girls who always made things happen. You were such a big part of this town that when you all scattered, it wasn’t just Julie who missed you. It was all of us.”
Mr. Mannie, a woman—her short, curly hair a deep orange—they called Francine, and other residents of Summer Island nodded their agreement.
Cassie continued, “So, I officially declare the first Summer Island celebration of Friendship Day.” He placed the cake down on the table, and the girls swooped in around him. “Even if one of you decided to avoid the party.”
“Trace had to finish up with the gator, but she’d feel the same way. We all do. We have all missed you, too,” Wind announced, looking at each member of the town before she looked back at the cake.
Kat kissed Cassie on the cheek. “Trace is working on the big finale, so she gets a free pass, but I’ll make sure she comes by tomorrow to say hi.”
Trevor remained on the sidelines, watching the small-town family huddle together and chat about the fond memories of their past. It was nice to hear all the stories, and Trevor felt even closer to Julie, as if he’d known her their entire lives but only now had a chance to be together.
Once the people began to fade, he helped clean up and found himself holding Julie’s hand at every opportunity. The restaurant emptied, leaving only the four women, Cassie, Dustin, and himself. Julie pulled him to the corner near the television blaring the news. “Listen, I want to tell you something.” Julie’s hands trembled, so he kissed each of them.
“You can tell me anything.” Trevor held tight and listened but knew he should leave before whatever she said could change tomorrow when he told her the truth. “But we should wait. How about I take you for breakfast in the morning? We can chat then.”
“I want to be with you. I’m ready,” she said too loud, too fast for him to stop or ignore her words.
He squeezed her fingers and closed his eyes, searching for the right thing to say.
She backed away. “I’m sorry. I thought you—forget it. Forget what I said.” She fled, but he caught her around the waist and held her tight.
“No. It’s not what you think.” He sighed and willed himself to tell her the truth.
“Hey, isn’t that your ex on TV?” Wind called out.
He looked up to see the red with white font marquee at the bottom of the screen just before the newscaster spoke. “Marsha Thompson’s pregnancy with ex-husband Trevor Ashford is the talk of all the tabloids. Will he man up and take care of the child or remain in hiding?”
Trevor looked to Dustin for advice, but his friend only shook his head and shrugged. Before Trevor could stop her, Julie fled from his arms, his reach, and most likely his life.
Chapter Twenty
Julie sat on her bed, still in her dress, with her face in her hands.
“Mom?”
The bed lowered at Julie’s side, and Bri wrapped her arms around Julie. “I’m so sorry. I thought Trevor was a good man, or I wouldn’t have encouraged this.”
“It’s not your fault, darling.” Julie held tight to her daughter. “I didn’t even know him that long. I’m only upset because it shocked me.” She patted Bri’s arm and stood, putting herself back together with the façade she’d managed to keep for so many years. She cleaned her face of the paint with one of Wind’s makeup removing cloths, stripped off the dress, and put on jammies. With one glance to her daughter, she knew if Bri would ever return to her life far from Summer Island, Julie needed to make sure she believed her mother would be fine without her. She was the best daughter a mother could ever want. “I’m fine, really.”
Bri took the dress from the chair and hung it in her closet, as if Julie would wear it again.
“You’re not fine.” Kat came in carrying two mugs and handed one to Julie.
Wind followed behind and handed one to Bri. Trace had her own and collapsed on the bed. “I know people. The kind who dump deadbeat men into the ocean where they’ll never find the body. Heck, I can do it myself.”
“With two accomplices,” Kat said, despite her law-worshiping attorney ways.
“Make that three,” Bri grumbled.
“There’s hope for you yet, girl.” Wind raised her mug of tea at Bri and then took a sip.
Julie forced the pain from her heart and focused on her friends. They all needed to get back to their lives at the end of the week. There was nothing for them here in Summer Island. “Listen, it isn’t a big deal. I knew the man for like a minute. I’m fine.” She took a sip from her drink. Chamomile with a hint of mint. It had been their go-to tea whenever one of them had a broken heart when they were teenagers.
“That’s all it takes for you,” Trace said but didn’t elaborate.
Julie decided to stay on topic. She’d have time to deal with her feelings later. “Listen, I’m not heartbroken. As a matter of fact, he did me a big favor.”
“How’s that?” Kat asked.
“This was the push I needed to start focusing on what I really want. Bri’s been encouraging me to go back to working on my art. When we were on Friendship Beach cleaning up yesterday, I was inspired.”
“You’re inspired by trash? You are a little different, aren’t you?” Wind said, but Trace smacked her in the back of the head.
“Yes. I’ve been looking for inspiration to create something happy and pretty like I thought a true artist would do, but that isn’t my art. My creative process is all about feeling passionate about sending a message. After seeing the plastic in the ocean and the condition of our little corner of Florida, I realized that all those people out there spouting about climate changes and pollution are like white noise. It’s going to take something visual to show how these issues impact us all.” Julie paced. She felt the idea bubbling to the surface. “I’ve been looking in all the wrong places to find out who I was post wife and mother. Bri was right: it was inside me the entire time. I’m going to start working in the morning on a piece that I hope will make some sort of small impact on our local community. For us to make more of an effort to preserve the natural beauty of our beaches and oceans.”
Trace perked up. “That’s brilliant. I’ll offer my services in any way I can.”
“No, when the week’s up, you will all return to your own lives. I don’t want you spending any more time worried about me than necessary. I’m fine, so you can return to your normal lives now.”
Trace scooted between Wind and Bri and approached Julie with a tense expression. “What if I don’t want to? What if I want to stay awhile longer? Would you have me?”
Julie scanned her soft eyes—vulnerable, searching, lost. “Yes, of course. Any of you who ever want to stay here are welcome. That’s a given.”
“Is it?” Kat tapped the side of her mug. “’Cause it has never felt that way. I know I thought after I left that I wasn’t welcome back, as if I’d betrayed our friendship for leaving you behind.”
“No, of course not. I just never wanted to hold any of you back.” Julie swallowed the lump rising to her throat. “I have always loved and missed you guys but thought you’d grown out of my friendship.”
Wind shot from the bed and flung into all of them. “Never.”
They huddled together, but Julie couldn’t comprehend why any of them would ever want to return to Summer Island when they’d had such fulfilling lives. But when she caught sight of Trace and the way she bit her lip, as if to fight tears from forming, Julie knew there was more to see than she’d noticed. It wasn’t just Julie who’d suffered the loss of their friendship. They all felt the pain of so many years apart. “How about this?”
They all wiped falling tears from their cheeks and chins. Julie grabbed the tissue box and passed it to Wind, who passed it on. “Let’s establish an annual Summer Island Book Club. Each year we’ll return here, no matter where we are in the world, and we’ll have our meeting on the clean and maintained Friendship Beach.”
“I’m in,” Kat answered surprisingly quickly. They all looked to her for further explanation, but she didn’t elaborate on her enthusiasm.
“We’re all in,” Wind announced for the group.
Although the sadness remained in her peripheral vision, in that moment she was focused on the uplifting feeling of her Summer Island sisters. The friends who swore they’d never be apart but got lost for a bit, but now, they’d finally found their way back together.
Chapter Twenty-One
Trevor held his phone in his hand, staring at the screen, wishing he’d see Julie’s number. It had been the longest night of his life. “Maybe I should go talk to her.”
“Not until you have answers. Let her simmer down.” Dustin eyed his own phone. “I think the girls are plotting your death, so it’s best you stick with me for now.”
“What makes you say that?” Trevor asked.
He held up his phone so Trevor could see it. “Because that was the exact words of Wind’s last text.”
“Oh.” Trevor collapsed back into the old chair, which caused it to tip and aggravate him further. “How am I supposed to get answers when Marsha won’t even answer my calls?” He sighed. “I guess I’ll have to get them myself. I’ll schedule an appointment with a doctor here and get tested to see if I can have kids. That way I won’t have to wait for the baby to be born or deal with Marsha trying to play games for the next several months.”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
A small amount of relief seeped in, but it would still take a while to find out, and he wanted to work things out with Julie now. “This isn’t as complicated as everyone is making it out to be. I’ll financially support the child if it’s mine and we’ll do shared custody. He or she will spend summers here with me and the school year with Marsha.” Trevor shook his head. “That poor kid.”
“What?” Dustin asked.
“The idea of any child having a mother like Marsha is difficult to comprehend. I hope the motherly instinct kicks in once she has the baby.” Trevor pushed from the chair. “I can’t wait any longer.”
“You can’t go to her house,” Dustin warned.
“I’m not.” Trevor grabbed the dinghy key off the hook by the glass sliding door. “There might be new debris washed up on Friendship Beach. I won’t let that place get bad again.”
Dustin smacked the table in front of him. “You crazy? There are all sorts of sea creatures waiting for breakfast, and you’ll be the main course.”
“Not anything I don’t deserve right now.” Trevor wouldn’t give Dustin a chance to respond.
It was a clear day with little wind and no chop, so it was an easy ride. At the turn into the canal, he rowed to the beach.
There were several plastic bottles already hovering in the corner, but the beach remained clean and the mosquitoes were nothing like before. Based on the chemical smell, he guessed someone had sprayed the area. He collected
the bottles and stacked them together on the shore next to the old broken chairs. They’d planned to fix and paint the chairs, but they looked beyond repair. Perhaps he could order new ones.
On the the lagoon side an old, sun bleached paddle board he could possibly restore, so he set it in the sand near the rest of the junk. When he was done, he sat in the shade for hours, thinking about what to do. Part of him was excited at the thought of being a dad, a dream he had long since buried in his past. But he also felt for the child coming into the world with parents already split with no hope of reconciliation.
The sun rose higher in the sky, and he couldn’t help but struggle with everything. He knew sitting alone on a private little oasis wasn’t the answer, yet he stayed. Perhaps he only remained in hopes of catching a glimpse of Julie so he could explain what had happened. If he went to her house, would her friends even let him near her? Even if they did, what would he tell her? He didn’t know anything yet.
When the sun was high in the sky, he knew it was time to face everything, and even if he had to fly to Seattle, he’d resolve this mess no matter what. He piled the trash into the dinghy and returned to retrieve the board when he heard the sound of an engine approaching When it cut off, he knew it was entering the canal.
His pulse revved to high gear, his mouth went beach dry, and his hands shook. This was his chance to explain everything. He couldn’t help but smile at the thought he’d see Julie again, but when the dinghy rounded the overhanging mangrove, it wasn’t Julie who approached. It was Skip from the marine shop with Marsha.
He forced himself to remain there waiting for her, attempting to stomp down his temper. After all, if she was the mother of his child, he had to let his resentment go in order to work through their differences for the sake of the baby.