by Claire Adams
“Hm,” she said and scratched at her chin. She walked toward the carousel and lifted a green bag from the belt. “This one of yours?”
“Yes,” I said, helping her.
Jess and Gina joined us a few moments later, ending the interview with Chloe. Though I knew she wasn’t finished with me yet.
Chloe drove us to the suburb of Mona Vale almost thirty kilometers north of Sydney. Gina and I were glued to the windows, taking in the foreign land.
Chloe was a proper tour guide, and she told us everything we’d ever need to know about the area, pointing out different locations.
Jess was quiet the whole way to her house. She looked out the window with disinterest, and her eyes had a faraway look to them. I didn’t press her to speak. I’d give her the time she needed to work out whatever she needed to for us to have a good time on the rest of the trip. I was sure this was a big step for her too, and I didn’t want to push her.
“I’m gonna take you the long way around town to show you the sights before we get to the house, okay?” Chloe said.
“That’s fine with us,” I said for everyone.
She drove close to the coast where the beaches were. The water was incredibly clear, and the waves on a few of the beaches were the largest I’d ever seen. Even when I spent a little time on the west coast of the United States, I was never into beaches and surfing. For some reason, I wanted to jump right into this water with Gina and Jess, as soon as I could.
“We live near the shallow beach,” Chloe said.
“It’s not as rough as the other ones,” Jess added. “Perfect for the little tackers.” A smile broke through her funk, and by the time we reached her house, her mood had improved.
When we pulled up to the house, I realized we were only a short walk away from the beach. As much as I wanted to go today, I knew we’d need a day to adjust. Being jet lagged and burnt to a crisp wouldn’t start off our vacation on a good note.
Chloe’s brick house was one story. The front yard was small, but what little grass they had was lush and green.
Jess came over to my side of the car and whispered into my ear, “It looks small, but it can fit all of us comfortably. If you want to get a hotel, I wouldn’t mind.”
I lightly squeezed her arm. “This is perfect.”
We locked eyes, and I wanted to kiss her so badly. It wasn’t the right time. Though if Gina saw, I could easily tell her she dreamed it since she was still living on little sleep.
“It’s charming here,” I said admiring the view of the ocean and surrounding areas. The house was set higher on a hill which gave an obstructed view of the shore. People paid a lot of money for a view like this.
“It’s all right,” Jess said with a smirk. “Let me show you around the house.”
After our tour of the house and a short nap for all of us, Chloe made fish and chips for dinner. The four of us sat on the back patio. The space was surrounded on three sides by a tall wooden fence to give us privacy from the closely nestled neighbors.
“Okay, can you make this for every meal for the rest of the trip?” I asked Chloe.
“You haven’t even tried Vegemite yet,” Jess said.
“What’s that?” Gina asked, wrinkling her nose.
“Something you don’t want to try,” Chloe said. “I’ve always hated the stuff.”
“Which is why you’re a terrible Aussie,” Jess teased.
“It’s true,” Chloe said. “But at least I didn’t move away and never return.”
Jess clamped her mouth shut.
Chloe didn’t look bothered by her remark, and the conversation ceased at that moment. This was the unapologetic woman who Jess rarely spoke of.
“Well, at least everyone is here now,” I said.
“Here, here,” Chloe said, lifting her glass of water.
Jess guzzled her beer and placed it on the table. Chloe looked at Jess funny but didn’t say anything else.
Gina happily munched on the remainder of her meal, completely oblivious to what had just happened.
Jess stood up and collected her plate and mine before heading inside.
Chloe looked over her shoulder but turned back to the table deep in thought.
“Gina, how about we help with dishes?” I asked her.
“No, no,” Chloe said. “Little Gina and I will take care of that. You two head down to the beach. It’s a ripper to see at dusk.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“Yes,” Chloe said.
I looked at Gina, and she nodded. “You and Jess have fun. I’m tired, Daddy.”
“I’ll see her off to bed soon,” Chloe said then hooked her thumb over her shoulder for me to go inside.
I did as she asked, desperate to escape the awkwardness between Jess and Chloe.
It didn’t take much convincing to get Jess down to the beach.
The air was much cooler as the sun went down. I was glad Jess advised me to bring a jacket.
I heard the crashing of the waves before I could see them.
“This has been such a great day,” I said. “Your home is lovely.”
“Too bad the person living in it is a monster,” she noted.
“Come on. I wouldn’t say she’s a monster.”
She scoffed. “Every time I speak to that woman, I feel like a teenager again.”
“Well, if it helps, you could still pass for a teenager.”
Jess smiled and bumped my arm. I was glad to be someone who could bring her out of a bad mood.
She groaned. “Sorry, Noah. Being here stirs up a lot of shit in my life.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I asked.
She wrung her hands together. “I don’t want to burden you.”
“It’s not a burden. I want to get to know you. The real you. No matter if it’s good or bad.”
Without answering me, she leaned over and took her shoes off. I looked out at the sand and waves ahead of us.
The sand was soft under my bare feet. Since there weren’t any other people on the beach, we left our shoes by the entrance. I wasn’t sure if we were breaking any rules by being out there so late, but I didn’t question it. I wanted Jess to confide in me.
We had walked a little while before I said, “So, you were saying?”
“I didn’t say anything yet.”
I chuckled.
She sighed. “My mom was an alcoholic until I was seventeen.”
“Oh.”
“The woman you met today is nine years sober. I took care of her for most of my life. Then she took a terrible spill down a set of stairs, and it somehow knocked some sense into her. After she took care of herself and became sober, then she decided she wanted to be a mom. She probably feels sorry for the way she treated me all those years but too little too late in my opinion.”
“Did she hurt you at all?” I asked.
“Not physically, but I took a pretty big beating mentally. Developing thick skin was my only defense.”
“I’m sorry, Jess.”
“Don’t be. It helped get me through high school. Even though you think Aussies are kind, most kids that age are assholes.”
Jess dealt with shit from home and at school. I wished I could have been there for her, even though I was close to a decade older than her.
“Anyway,” she said, taking my hand. Hers was cool in mine. “I’m a firm believer that life turns out well for those who wait.”
She turned to face me, and I took her other hand, holding them between us.
I wanted to take away all that heartache and pain, at least for a little while. I leaned close, kissing her as the sun dipped low in the sky and the waves crashed against our feet.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jess
I woke up wrapped in Noah’s arms. I scooted closer to him, snuggling against his bare chest. He stirred but didn’t open his eyes, giving me a moment to watch him sleep.
Even after one day, I started to feel like a different person. The old me, minus all the crap M
om had given me. Reconnecting with the place of my youth was invigorating, though I was happy to have moved on to my life with Noah and Gina. It was as if good karma had finally found me and created the perfect life for us.
Noah inhaled sharply, and his eyes fluttered open. I propped myself on my arm to check the clock on his side of the bed. I groaned. “It’s already six-thirty. Gina’s going to get up soon.”
“She’s still jet lagged, I’m sure,” he said, stretching his arms over his head.
“And if she isn’t, she’s going to see that you aren’t in the bedroom with her,” I said.
Last night, Noah stayed with me in my old bedroom after checking to make sure she was asleep. The house was small enough that we would be able to hear her in the other room if she needed us, but we thought of plenty of excuses for him to be out of the room if she asked. So far we were in the clear.
“Give me five more minutes,” he said, slipping an arm around my waist. He hefted me on top of him and held me against his rock-hard body, kissing me until my head spun.
I loved waking up next to this man. “Two minutes,” I said against his lips.
“I can do a lot in two minutes,” he said.
I gently bit down on his lip and tugged at it. “Why don’t you show me?”
He tightened his arms around me and showed me that he was ready.
We found out just how much we could do in that short amount of time.
As we got out of bed and redressed in our pajamas, Noah helped me make the bed.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked.
“Let’s have a lazy day at the beach,” he said. “I want to relax right away so we can get this vacation started off right.”
“That sounds nice,” I said. In the time I was away from home, I missed being so close to the beach. It was nice to make a split decision and head down to the sand for an hour or all day. That was much harder to do in the States since the weather rarely cooperated in Minnesota, and I had to travel quite a distance to any decent beach.
Today, I was going to soak it all in and relive the memory whenever I missed this place.
Even thought my relationship with Mom wasn’t perfect, I could tell she was trying. She mentioned a few times yesterday that I was good with Gina and I was suited for the job. A compliment was a step forward. Then she mentioned not getting too attached to Gina and Noah because if something went wrong, then I would lose them forever. So then we went two steps back. Why couldn’t she just stop talking after the positive remarks?
I wanted to talk to her more about our past, as I was finally ready to face it. But not with Noah and Gina around. I wasn’t a coward, but this was something we’d have to talk about when we had an ocean between us. We Holland women had a nasty habit of holding grudges, something that was easier to deal with when we had distance. I hoped it would turn out all right in the end, but it would take time.
Noah and I changed into our bathing suits. I slid on a terry cloth cover-up dress and Noah wore a white shirt. I noticed he didn’t like to show off his body unless we were making love. His modesty added to the many things that I liked about him.
We went out into the kitchen where Mom was working on breakfast. The scent of bacon filled my nose the moment I opened the bedroom door.
“What’s for brekkie?” I asked her. My Aussie slang had come back easier than I’d anticipated. Sierra was going to go at me hard when I got back to the States.
She turned around, holding a pan with sizzling bacon inside. “I wanted to show Noah and Gina a real Aussie brekkie.”
“Are those baked beans?” Noah asked, leaning over the stove top.
Mom shooed him away, and he narrowly avoided a poke from the metal tongs in her free hand. “I need to do the whole presentation.”
“Sit down,” I said to him, laughing. I started up the coffee machine while Noah sat and picked up the local newspaper.
In addition to being obsessed with my life, Mom read every single word in the paper each morning. She was up to date on everything going on around town and the surrounding areas. It was one of the hobbies she picked up after she put down the bottle. Volunteering at local events kept her busy at night, and still years later she kept up with it. Where she had alienated everyone in her life when she was drinking, our community embraced her completely. And as much as she annoyed me most of the time, she was still my mom, and I was proud of her.
As Mom placed four plates on the table, the door to the guest room opened.
Gina stepped out, rubbing her eyes. She made a show of smelling the food and then rushed over to the table.
“Beans for breakfast?” she asked.
Noah laughed and clapped his hands together. “See, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s different.”
“Down here, love, it’s not strange,” Mom said. “So eat up and tell me how much you love it.”
I cut one of the snags in half and popped it into my mouth. American sausage had nothing on these. “It’s good, Mom.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” she said in a teasing tone. “These two might think you were raised in a barn.”
Gina giggled. “Like a piggy!” Then she snorted a few times.
Her choice in farm animal was ironic considering what I was currently eating.
“Gina, do you want to go to the beach today?” Noah asked.
“Yes! Jess, can I use your boogie board?”
I looked to Mom. “I have a boogie board?”
She shrugged. “It was in the garage. It’s a little old, but I’m sure it will float.”
“And if not, I’ll buy you a new one,” Noah said.
For some reason, the remark bothered me. But I brushed it away. I had to stop being so protective over Noah’s money. He earned it and should use it as he saw fit. I hoped Gina would grow up knowing that money didn’t grow on trees.
“Mom, are you coming with us?” I asked.
“If you would like me to,” she said.
“We do!” Gina said, jumping up in her seat.
“Sit down,” the three of us said to her.
Then we looked at each other and laughed while Gina slowly sunk in her seat with a confused expression on her face.
We weren’t the first to arrive at the beach later that morning. But there was plenty of room to spread our things out.
“Jess! Let’s make sandcastles!” Gina said, unpacking the bag of plastic toys that Mom found in the garage along with the boogie board. There were intricately designed molds to use, and I looked forward to making a masterpiece.
“Sure, but let me show you how it is done,” I said, grabbing the large bucket and heading toward the water.
Mom and I used to make sand castles together. It was one of my earlier memories of her. She drank then too, but at that point, it wasn’t noticeable to me since I was so young.
We were far enough back from the surf that there was no danger of the water rolling over our hard work.
Around noon, we huddled under the shade of the huge umbrella that Mom parked herself under for the entire time. Mom handed out sangers and chips. We ate them quickly so we could get back to work on our castle.
Noah swapped between helping us and sun tanning. I didn’t push him to help since I knew he probably hadn’t had time to just lay out in a long while. And I doubt he would for some time after the vacation. I never saw him so relaxed in my life. I got a glimpse of how he’d look when he retired, and the picture was something to smile about.
I had some idea of how much Noah was worth, and I hoped he took advantage of his financial situation to be able to retire early and be there for Gina in her younger years. Because when her body started to change, she’d want nothing to do with him for some time. It was the way girls worked. Though, I wondered if Gina would be different if Noah retired earlier than expected. They were a close-knit family, but Noah would have to make more time for her if that was going to be the case. Maybe being together this vacation would help him see how mu
ch she needed him in her life.
Later that afternoon, we completed the castle. It stretched out in front of us and was a sight to see.
Mom snapped a picture of Gina, Noah, and me in front of the castle.
“Want to pretend we’re monsters?” I asked Gina.
A playful smile danced on her lips. “Yeah!”
Then the four of us stomped all over the castle, crushing our hard work, and having a blast in the process.
Before dinner, the four of us sat on the patio with coffee. The cooler temperatures made my sunburn a little more bearable. Even though I’d lathered up on the sunscreen, my skin was far too pale for being outside for a full day. I knew within a few days it would turn into a beautiful shade of bronze, I just had to get through the pain first.
Gina and I were on the porch swing, and Noah and Mom sat at the small table.
Instead of coffee, Gina had a mug of hot chocolate. It wasn’t the choice I would have given her, but Mom insisted that Gina try her homemade recipe. I’d never tasted it before tonight, and when I had a sip of Gina’s, I had to admit it was good.
Mom changed so much since I saw her last. And the walls that I put up to block our relationship started to crumble. In her way, she was trying to make up for lost time. I was the one being selfish now and the only one who was still upset about past events.
I knew it would take some time, but I sensed our relationship would change after this trip. And I wanted to come out here more often. Granted, it wouldn’t be first-class, which was incredible, but I couldn’t expect Noah to pay for my flight every time, especially if he and Gina wouldn’t be able to come along each visit.
Noah and Mom were chatting about something when Gina leaned over me and placed her mug on the side table. “Jess, can you braid my hair again?”
“Sure,” I said.
Gina adjusted herself until she sat between my legs. I combed my fingers through her hair and started to separate three large chunks for the braid.
“Thanks for asking us to come here,” she said.
“You’re welcome. I’m so happy you came to visit.”
“I had a lot of fun today. And I like your house.”