Us at the Beach

by Stephanie Street

  “We gotta chose teams, Joy,” I reminded her, knowing my brothers would throw a fit if I just told her I would take her on my team. “Okay, let’s do this.” I nodded to Blythe. “Ladies first.”

  Blythe squinted at me. “Fine. I choose Pete.”

  I held back my laugh as my eleven-year-old brother groaned and mumbled under his breath about losing and playing with girls on his team. I’d have to have a talk with him before we started.

  “I choose Joy.”

  “Yay! Yay!” Joy jumped up and down for a second before chanting, “We’re gonna win. We’re gonna win.”

  Blythe looked on with a raised brow, before giving me a you-have-no-idea- what-you’re-getting-into look. “Faith.”

  I nodded. “Hope.”

  “Hey, Walk! What about me?” Leo, my eight-year-old brother, put his hands on his hips.

  “You know what, Walker, since you got Joy, you take Leo, too. No telling how long her attention span will last.”

  “Fair enough,” I agreed. I slung an arm around Leo and herded my team into a huddle a few feet away from Blythe and her team.

  “Throw the ball to me, Walker! Throw it to me!” Joy shouted and bounced on her feet.

  “Shh, Joy, we don’t want them to know our plan,” I admonished her with a smile. “We have to whisper in the huddle. Okay, Leo, I want you to- What, Joy?” I asked when she tugged on the hem of my board shorts.

  “What’s a huddle, Walk?” she asked, her ‘s’ lisping through the gap in her teeth.

  Oh, brother.

  My team beat Blythe’s handily. It helped that I knew how to throw and at least one of my teammates, ahem Leo, knew how to catch. Even having Joy wasn’t enough of a handicap for Blythe and her band of uncoordinates. Pete was pretty good and if he’d had a good quarterback, ahem Me, we’d have been unstoppable, but as it was we all had fun and I got to tackle Blythe a time or two. Good times.

  “I’m pretty sure you dislocated my shoulder,” she complained after a particularly rough tackle. I promise, I tried to break her fall. At least, she landed on me, but then the momentum caught me and I rolled over her.

  “Sorry about that,” I said with a smirk, not sorry at all.

  “No, you’re not,” she huffed, still laying in the sand.

  “Pile up!” someone, I think it was Pete, shouted before all five of our siblings pounced on me.

  “Pete!” I shouted, becoming seriously concerned about my future childbearing capabilities. I rolled over onto my stomach and arched my back. They slid off like the little turds they were, except for Joy, who had her arms locked around my neck in a death grip. Getting to my feet, I roared and after tucking Joy more securely on my back, took off after them.

  “I’m never having kids,” I proclaimed, falling face first in the sand beside the moms where they laid on their matching beach towels.

  “But you’re so good with them,” Mrs. Thomas said, flipping through a gossip magazine.

  “If letting them use me as a jungle gym is being good with them, I suppose I am, but that’s all I got. And now my body feels like a Muhammad Ali’s punching bag.” I groaned into the sand. I’d left my fan club making sand castles with Blythe. She was way better at the kid thing than me and I was happy to leave them to her.

  “Poor baby,” my mom commiserated, reaching out to ruffle my hair.

  I angled my head toward her. “Keep doing that.” If there’s one thing I love, it’s someone messing with my hair. I almost pass out in a coma every time I get a haircut.

  “Goodness, Walk, you aren’t two anymore,” my mom laughed, but she kept ruffling my hair for a few more minutes so it was worth it.

  “Mom, I quit. No more kids today. They keep putting sand down my shirt.” Blythe plopped down a few feet away.

  “You have a swimsuit on, Bly, just take your shirt off,” her mom said, not looking up from her magazine.

  And because I’m stupid and wasn’t thinking about our moms sitting right there, I said the most mature thing I could think of. “Yeah, Blythe, take off your shirt.”

  “Walker!” In stereo, all three of them shouted, but my mom was the only one to smack me over my head.

  “Kidding! I was just kidding.” I sat up and tried not to laugh at the stunned expression on Blythe’s face. “Besides, Claire said it first.”

  “Walker!” Again, in stereo.

  This time I did laugh. “You guys are too funny.” I suppose I should have felt bad, but the moms were both trying to hold back grins and Blythe was just too adorable suffering from a whole-body blush.

  “Come on, Bly, let’s cool you off in the water.” I had to save her after embarrassing her like that, right? I stood and held out my hand to her.

  “I don’t think I need any more of your help, Walker,” she spat, getting up from the sand on her own. Chuckling, I followed her.

  “Oh, it was funny and you know it,” I teased her as she sat in the still water.

  “Yes, super funny.” She rolled her eyes and I sat beside her.

  “Here, you still look a little red,” I told her and cupped my hands in the water, flipping it up to hit her square in the face.

  “You suck, you know that?” she shrieked, rolling away from me. Laughing, I crawled after her, splashing her until she was drenched.

  “Are you done yet?” she asked, when I finally let up. I gave her one my huge splash that covered half of her body.

  “There, now I am,” I said, pretending to dust my hands off.

  “Ugh.” She collapsed into the shallow water, laying down it didn’t even over her ears.

  “Well, that was fun.” I laid down beside her.

  “For you.”

  “That’s all the really matters, right?” I put my hands behind my head.

  “If I didn’t want a ride to school this year, I’d revoke your friendship status,” she grumbled.

  Chapter Six

  Blythe

  After returning on the afternoon ferry, we ate dinner on the deck and played board games until the little kids had to go to bed. Our parents called Walker and I into the dining room for a talk.

  I sat down nervously, wondering what in the heck they would say. Had they noticed us hanging out more? Were they worried something was going on? As if. I almost snorted at the thought.

  “You okay,” Walker whispered from his seat beside me. We were waiting for the dads to come in from the deck where Roger had been smoking a cigar.

  “Yeah, why?” I recovered quickly, not wanting to share my thoughts with him- at all.

  He shrugged. “What do you think is going on?” he asked, his voice still low.

  “I have no idea.”

  “There they are,” Mom said as the dads entered the house through the sliding glass door that led to the deck. “Alright,” she turned her gaze toward Walker and me. I struggled to not squirm. “So, we wanted to talk to you both about something.”

  Yeah, I got that part. Quit stalling and spit it out already!

  She glanced at the other parents. They all nodded back. She took a breath. “We want to go on a little trip.”

  That’s it? “Um...okay. Where are we going?” I asked, not at all sure what the fuss was about.

  “No, not everyone,” Becky said, “us.” And then she pointed to the other parents.

  “And we are leaving you two in charge. Overnight,” Mom said, biting her lip after the last bit.

  “WHAT?” I shouted, jumping up from my chair. They all looked at me in surprise, even Walker.

  “Bly, honey, you guys will be fine. Walker just turned eighteen and you’ll be seventeen in a couple of months. You are plenty old enough to keep the kids for one night.” Mom’s eyes watched me warily.

  “Do you remember what happened the last time you left me with the kids overnight, Mom,” I asked her, my voice dangerously low.

  “Now, Blythe, that was a crazy circumstance. I’m sure nothing like that will happen this time,” Mom tried to reassure me. Again- As. If.
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br />   Walker reached out to grab my hand and pull me back down into my chair. He leaned over and whispered in my ear. “What happened last time?”

  I shuddered. “You don’t even want to know.”

  “It wasn’t that bad, Blythe, you’re exaggerating,” Mom frowned at me across the table.

  I turned to Walker. I’m not, I mouthed to him, shaking my head.

  Walker’s brows lowered and he faced the parents. “When exactly is this trip taking place?” he asked, like he was the mature one. He’s not. Even if he is eighteen. And when did he turn eighteen?

  “Tomorrow night. We’ll leave around four tomorrow afternoon and be home by noon on Friday. Then, we pack up to go home on Saturday morning.” This from Roger.

  Walker tapped his fingers on the shiny surface of the table. “Okay, we’ll do it-”

  “What?” I jumped up again, mouth hanging open as I stared at Walker. Who I used to like. And think was hot.

  Okay, he’s still hot.

  But I do NOT like him!

  He grabbed my hand and pulled me down again, glaring at me in a just-go-with-it kind of way. He turned back to the parents. “If we agree to this babysitting gig what do we get out of it?”

  Huh.

  I turned to the parents. It was a good question.

  The moms squinted their eyes at Walker like he was an exhibit at the zoo. Something they’d never seen before. My dad seemed a little perplexed, but I swear Roger’s chest swelled with pride as he beamed at his son. Apparently, Roger respected a good negotiator. They all glanced between themselves and Walker squeezed my hand under the table.

  “What did you have in mind, son,” Roger asked, rubbing his palms together in front of him.

  “A night out,” Walker replied.

  “What?” my dad squawked.

  “A night for a night,” Walker repeated, then amended, “not overnight, of course, for us.” He winked at me.

  Winked!

  “I don’t know-” mom started to say, shaking her head.

  “And a hundred bucks!” I piped in, glancing nervously at Walker quickly before turning back to the parents. It was a solid idea. That way Walker and I could have fun on our last night at the beach house and not have to be a part of the packing and cleaning. With the money, we would be able to go out to eat and...well, whatever else there is to do on this island.

  “Blythe!” Mom cried, eyes bugging.

  I shrugged. “It’s a fair trade, Mom. You guys get to go...where ever it is you want to go, knowing all of your children will be safe and entertained here by us,” I waved my hand between Walker and myself, “and we get an evening to explore the island a little without our siblings.”

  “And a little spending money to have some fun.” Walker nodded.

  They were silent for a moment. Then I saw mom glance at dad and Becky glance at Roger (who winked at her).

  “Okay.” It was mom that spoke for the group. “Deal. But-” she raised her voice over the chatter that had followed her proclamation. “But, there will be rules. First, you two will actually watch and interact and play with the kids. No hiding out and letting them destroy the house while you watch tv or something like that.”

  “And you must make sure they eat healthy, brush their teeth, and go to bed at a decent hour,” Becky added.

  “And no,” Dad raised his brow at Walker and then looked at me significantly.

  “DAD!” I shouted, jumping out of my chair for the third time in fifteen minutes.

  “Of course not, sir,” Walker nodded, his hand snaking out to pull me back down into my seat- again. I wanted to smack him- and my father!

  “Blythe, you can’t blame a dad for being concerned. You two have been awfully chummy this week.”

  Shoot me now. Wait, don’t waste the bullet, I’m going to die from spontaneous combustion brought on by supreme embarrassment.

  I growled low in my throat. Walker coughed to cover the laugh sputtering out of his mouth.

  He cleared his throat. “No, sir, I don’t blame you one bit. But I promise you, you have nothing to worry about.”

  Well, that solves that problem, now doesn’t it.

  Maybe we should revisit the bullet idea, because this death by combustion isn’t all that spontaneous. Not only did my father imply that there might be something going on with Walker and I (which there isn’t!), Walker practically just told him that was the most ridiculous thing ever (like I didn’t already know!).

  Sighing, I gave in to my fate. I was destined to be a babysitter forever and on top of that, completely, and irrevocably, invisible.

  Walker

  Ugh. I can’t figure girls out. Maybe I should have had some sisters, because Pete and Leo have not prepared me for this at all. And by this, I mean the Richardson sisters. I’ve noticed all week how high maintenance they can be. But always from the outside looking in. Now, as Mr. Babysitter, I am somehow responsible for keeping them from tearing each other’s hair out. Add to the mix my little brothers and I’m about to tear my own hair out.

  “Joy, stop that. Leo is not your pet and you cannot walk him around like a dog.” I bent down to lift the ‘leash’ from around Leo’s neck. That’s just what I need, a strangled brother. If anyone is going to strangle him, it’s me!

  “I want a puppy, Walker! I want a puppy,” Joy pouted her sparkly pink lips. She held an equally sparkly purse from her elbow and had a pink feather thing wrapped around her shoulders.

  I glanced around the room. There were toys everywhere. Yes. I picked up a stuffed monkey and tied her ‘leash’ around its neck. “There, now you have a puppy.”

  “But Walker, that’s a monkey!” she cried, looking ready to burst into tears.

  “Pretend!” I shouted, exasperated.

  “What’s for dinner, Walk, I’m starving,” Pete said, never taking his eyes from his tablet.

  “I think Bly’s on dinner duty.” At least, I hoped she was.

  “Oh, yeah,” she asked, coming in the room, “then what duty are you on?”

  I pointed to Joy and her monkey. “Puppy duty.”

  Blythe rolled her eyes. “Okay, everybody! Dinner's ready.” She clapped her hands. “Let’s eat.”

  Five pairs of feet thundered into the kitchen. I dropped onto the couch. I was exhausted already.

  “Lightweight,” Blythe teased, tossing a throw pillow into my lap.

  “My brothers are easy. All I have to do is play a video game with them or wrestle for an hour and we’re good. They eat and go to bed and I spend the rest of my night doing whatever I want.” I let my head fall back against the couch.

  Blythe glanced at her watch. “It’s only been two hours, Walker. You need to buck up. I’m not doing this by myself.”

  I stuck out my lower lip and gave her my saddest frown. Blythe bit her lip to keep from smiling, but I saw the sparkle in her eye. Sighing, I pulled myself up from the couch and followed her into the kitchen. The kids were already helping themselves to the spaghetti dinner Blythe had warmed up. I ran up just in time to keep Joy from dumping the contents of her plate on the floor.

  “Here, let me carry this to the table for you,” I told her, breathing a sigh of relief that we had avoided that disaster.

  “Nice catch,” Blythe said out the corner of her mouth. I sent her a smirk and she rolled her eyes.

  After the kids had eaten, we put on a DVD of old Bugs Bunny cartoons for the kids to watch so we could clean up the kitchen.

  “That’s only gonna last so long,” I told her as I washed the pot she’d boiled the noodles in. Blythe glanced up from wiping down the table.

  “I thought we could have a dance party.”

  I wrinkled my nose. “A what?”

  She brought her dish rag to the sink to rinse it out. “A dance party. The girls and I do that all the time when I babysit them. I have music stored on my phone and I brought my speaker with me, too.”

  Dance party? With our siblings? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind dancing
and now that she’s brought it up, I wouldn’t say no to dancing with Blythe, but with a bunch of kids?

  “Don’t be a party pooper, Walker. It’ll be fun. You’ll see.”

  And it was. We moved all the furniture to the edge of the large family room downstairs. Blythe turned off most of the lights, leaving only mood lighting. She set her phone up on one side and began a playlist of dance music from every decade back to the ‘50’s as well as some country songs.

  “Okay, guys, it’s time to learn a dance. Line up.” Blythe clapped her hands and started moving the kids into a couple of lines in the spacious room. “Here,” she pulled me over. “You stand here by Joy.”

  “No. No.” I shook my head. Jumping around with the kids to some pop songs was one thing, a freaking line dance was another.

  “Walker! Come on. Be a good sport.” Blythe glared at me, hands on her hips.

  “Uh-uh. Not doing it.”

  No.

  “I went swimming with you. You begged.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  I sighed. She was right. I did practically beg. But the truth is, I knew if she went swimming with me and let me hold her, I’d have an afternoon of her half-naked body plastered against me to show for it.

  Sorry.

  Not sorry.

  What can I say? I’m a guy.

  And seriously, what do I get out of making a fool out of myself line dancing?

  I made the mistake of looking at Blythe. Really looking at her. A growl rumbled in my throat. “Fine.”

  She squealed and jumped me for an impulsive kind of hug. She was gone so quick, I barely registered her touch.

  “Yay! It’ll be fun, I promise!”

  Blythe selected the song for the dance and then stood with her back to us. “You guys ready?” she asked over her shoulder.

  “Yes,” our siblings chorused with varying levels of enthusiasm. I studied my brothers to see their reaction to Blythe’s plan. Leo was grinning, watching Blythe’s every move, totally into the dancing. Pete looked a little less sure, but that might have to do with the fact that he was looking at one of the twins, I can never tell them apart, more than he was looking at Blythe. It was obvious the girls already knew this dance at least a little bit. Faith, or was it Hope, whatever, one of them knew the moves almost as well as Blythe. All I could think about was how cute Blythe looked as her she executed the intricate dance steps, her hips swaying from side to side in rhythm with the music.