Steve led the way into the house. He checked his watch and shook his head in wonder. “It’s only 9:00! You must have left the park at….” He paused to do the calculation in his head, but Chuck broke in.
“Four in the morning, my friend.” He announced, stressing each word loudly and impressively. “Just to visit you!”
“Your sacrifice is duly noted and appreciated,” Steve replied solemnly. Then his face split into a huge grin. “This is great! You must be starving, come in the kitchen!”
They settled around the table while Steve started another pot of coffee, fried some bacon and scrambled a batch eggs. Deborah’s eyes closed contentedly as she sipped on the fresh coffee and nibbled the still warm cinnamon buns. “These are wonderful!” She sighed. “I can’t believe your mom actually made them. She must have gotten up about the same time as we left to get them ready before she left for the hospital.”
Steve turned from the stove, where he was dumping the last batch of eggs into a bowl. “How do you know what time my mother needed to be at the hospital this morning?”
Deborah’s green eyes met Steve’s as she smiled mischievously. “I called her last week to find out what days you had off.” She took another sip of coffee and added, “We had to re-arrange half a dozen shifts to get all three of us off at the same time!”
Steve glanced at the trays of cinnamon buns,. Already nearly two thirds of them had been devoured in the last ten minutes. “That explains her sudden urge to make me cinnamon buns,” he said. “She always made them for special occasions when I was a kid, and here I thought she was just spoiling me.”
He placed the bowl of eggs on the table and sat down with them. “So how long can you stay?” He asked hopefully, suddenly realizing how much he had missed them all. Even his problems with David and Deborah seemed too distant to make the unexpected party feel awkward. They had emailed each other a few times over the winter, and her excitement about Steve’s conversion on Moore’s Knob had soon dulled the feeling of betrayal and hurt he’d felt when David had suddenly appeared in the parking lot. And although he had not spoken of it to anyone, the confrontation on the Wall had made him realize that Deborah was not to blame for anything.
“We have to go back tonight, amigo,” Pete replied sadly. “As Deborah said, it was quite a feat to get all three of us free for twenty-four hours.”
“I don’t doubt it,” Steve agreed. “But now that you are here, what would you all like to do? We can hang out here, be lazy then go out to eat later, or I can take you on a tour of Jacksonville, which will kill about, oh, maybe twenty minutes if we stay at the Beiruit Memorial for at least ten, or we can go to the beach…? What’s your pleasure?” He asked looking around the table.
“Beach!” Deborah exclaimed. “I’ve already seen all of Jacksonville, you know.”
“Beach,” Pete agreed.
They turned to Chuck, who had been reading the comics in the newspaper, and were silent for a long moment. “He’s asleep. Right there in the chair,” Pete said in wonder.
“I can’t believe it!” Deborah complained softly. “He slept almost all the way here! I did most of the driving!”
“Excuse me, I believe I was driving the last two hours,” Pete reminded her in a wounded voice.
“Only after snoring for most of the first three hours,” she shot back. Deborah looked at Steve and rolled her eyes. “You can’t imagine the range of noises that these two are capable of.” She shuddered at the memory.
“You were pretty impressive yourself,” Pete informed her. He turned to Steve. “I’ll be giving the groom a year’s supply of earplugs for a wedding present, if she ever gets married.”
“You’re not nearly as amusing as you like to think you are.” She sniffed loftily and turned back to her coffee.
Steve remained silent. He nibbled on a slice of bacon, all the while observing Pete and Deborah. He didn’t think it was his imagination. Beneath the constant barrage of insults, there was – something else. Something shared. Did they even realize it yet? Or were they aware and only trying to hide it from him to save his feelings? He frowned slightly at the thought. How did he feel? He thought of that day in the cave. There had been a moment…a breathless moment awash with possibilities…but David had destroyed those feelings just as quickly as they had formed, he realized sadly. He didn’t blame her for anything, but David would always be in the background as well as the knowledge that, in his mind at least, the moment in the cave had been a final betrayal of Sarah. He knew that he could never be more than friends with Deborah.
With a final swig of his coffee, he stood up. “Majority rules, if we want to go to the beach we’d better get moving, he informed them. He reached over to shake Chuck. “Hey Sleeping Beauty,” he said. “Time to get dressed for a ride in the chariot.”
Chuck groaned. “I just got OUT of the chariot!” He complained, stretching like a cat. “Where are you taking me now?”
To the beach, of course. What else do you do when you drive five hours to the coast of North Carolina?” Steve said.
“Sleep?” Chuck replied hopefully.
“Wrong answer,” Pete said cheerfully. “C’mon then,” he said firmly pulling out Chuck’s chair. “I know you didn’t drive all this way just to sleep in Steve’s kitchen.”
“’Course not,” Chuck answered. “Breakfast was a pretty good break.”
Deborah shook her head. “You’re pathetic, sometimes. You need a girlfriend to get you straightened out.”
Chuck smiled. “Could be you’re right. Did you want to apply for the position?”
Deborah suddenly blushed crimson. Her eyes flickered toward Pete and Steve. “Not in this lifetime!” She muttered. “Let’s just get going, Okay?”
Chuck stretched. “Okay. But we don’t have to drive to the beach. We could just…
“’Could just what?’” Deborah demanded in irritation.
Chuck seemed to deflate. “Fine, let me get my swimming trunks on,” he agreed with some reluctance.
“I know your tired of driving, but it’s not that much farther to the beach from here,” Steve reassured him.
Chuck smiled but it did not seem to reach his eyes. “Great,” he replied, and ambled out to the car to grab his gear.
Ch 18
A Day at the Beach
Once on the road to Emerald Isle, Pete and Deborah vied with each other to catch him up on the happenings at Hanging Rock since he had been gone, while Chuck provided commentary on their disjointed tales. Steve grinned in relief at how quickly they all settled back into the old camaraderie they had shared. It almost felt as if he hadn't been away for six months already, and he was glad to find that he could still fit in with the group. He was just driving over the bridge onto the island when his cell phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID and smiled.
“Good morning, Beth!” He called cheerfully over the phone.
There was a brief pause before she answered. “You sound perky for this hour of the morning. Why so cheerful?”
“Surprise visitors!” He replied. “The gang from Hanging Rock drove in for the day.”
“Really.” She didn’t sound as happy for him as Steve would have expected. “I guess that means that I rearranged my schedule at work to get today off for nothing then.”
Steve groaned. “Beth, I’m sorry. I had no idea that they were coming until they showed up on my doorstep at 9:00! But hey, we’re heading to Emerald Isle to spend a few hours at the beach. Why don’t you join us?”
“No thanks,” she said, still sounding a little miffed. “I don’t want to be in the way.”
“You won’t be in the way,” Steve cajoled. “They’re a great group. I'd love to introduce you to all my friends.”
Beth wavered for a moment. “Well, maybe for a little while,” she said at last. “Tell you what. I’ll bring you all a light lunch and visit for a bit. How does that sound?”
Steve grinned. “Now I know you’ll be welcomed! We’ll be at the pier.�
�� After deciding on a time, Steve closed his phone and glanced around at his friends. He was surprised to find that three sets of eyes were focused on him. The silence inside the SUV was deafening.
“And who is Beth?” Deborah asked at last, emphasizing each word in a deceptively light voice.
Steve paused for a red light. “Beth Stewart. I met her a few months ago. She’s my diving instructor.” He felt his cheeks flushing slightly under her scrutiny.
Chuck leaned over the back seat. “Dude, just your driving instructor?” He asked, clearly implying that Steve was holding back with some important information.
“Yeah, she is,” Steve replied a little too sharply. “And she’s a member of Reverend Graham’s new believer class. That’s where I first met her.”
“Really?” Deborah said, frowning slightly. “That name DOES ring a bell, but I don’t remember anyone named Beth at Dad’s church.”
“You probably wouldn’t,” Steve agreed. “She didn’t join the class until a couple of weeks after I did. I don’t think she was attending church much before then.
“Hmmmm,” Deborah replied, deep in thought. “I know that name, though.”
“Well, she’s also a pediatric nurse,” Steve offered. She talked me into getting my diving certificate last month.” Steve shook his head. “I can’t believe that I grew up within spitting distance of ‘The Graveyard of the Atlantic’ and never once considered scuba diving! I’m going to miss it when I get back to the Park.”
“Miss it or miss her?” Prodded Chuck, none too subtly, his blue eyes gleaming mischievously.
Steve paused, giving the question serious thought for a moment. “I suppose,” he said slowly, “a little of both.
“I knew it!” Chuck announced with a satisfied grin and fell back on the seat next to Pete, oblivious to Deborah’s fixed stare, or that Pete watched Deborah’s response just as intently, his brown eyes filled with a wistful resignation.
“It’s not like that, Chuck!” Steve insisted in an exasperated tone. Then, in the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of Pete’s pained expression and realized that Deb had grown very quiet beside him. Steve suddenly considered that Deborah might not have let go of the idea of the two of them getting together still. Had she hoped that seeing him again would revive that lost moment at the cave? He supposed that for now, it would be kinder to stretch the truth about his friendship with Beth for everyone’s sake.
“At least,” he amended after a moment, as if he’d been giving it some thought, “it’s not like that YET. I mean, she’s pretty special, and we’ve had some great times together, but I’m not sure that getting involved right now, with me about to return to Hanging Rock would be a good move.”
Chuck leaned forward in his seat and gave an exaggerated cough that managed to come out sounding mostly like the word “coward.”
Steve grinned at Chuck in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, probably a little,” he conceded. “It’s been a thousand years since I dated anyone.”
“All the more reason to practice with this one!” Chuck insisted. “If it doesn’t go well, then you can escape to Hanging Rock, and let it die a distant death.”
“I suppose,” Steve agreed doubtfully. “But what if I actually do end up liking her?”
Chuck looked slightly startled at the possibility “That would be a bummer,” he agreed gloomily.
Chuck suddenly looked from Pete to Deb. “You two are awfully quiet,” he complained suddenly. “I thought you’d be helping me encourage our boy to get out there and start meeting some women!”
“Sorry,” Pete mumbled. “Guess I’m kind of tired.”
“Yeah,” Deb agreed hastily, shaking herself as if she were coming out of a trance. “Me too. Some of us had to stay awake and drive this morning.”
The barb did not sink in. “And I appreciate how quiet you were. The extra three hours of siesta time really helped out a lot,” Chuck replied serenely. Deborah rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible,” she muttered under her breath.
“And you’re just jealous,” Chuck parried with a grin, stretching out in the seat and closing his eyes.
Deborah glared and threw up her hands. “There he goes again!” She complained to Pete. “It is amazing to me that he can manage to get through a shift at work without taking a nap!” She grumbled.
Chuck opened one incredibly blue eye. “Who’s to say that I do?” He questioned mildly. Deborah came back with a less than flattering reply, and the bickering continued until, with a sigh of relief, Steve made a right hand turn into the public parking area, and quickly found a parking spot. “Save it for later, kids,” he advised them. “Time to mellow out and catch some rays. Let’s hit the beach!”
Disagreements forgotten, they all piled out of the SUV, and loaded their arms full of towels, water bottles and sun tan lotion. Steve led the way around the dune and tossed his towel down in the first empty stretch of sand that he could find. Even though it was still May, the unusually warm weather had brought the sun worshippers out in droves. Pale bodies glistened in the sun as far as the eye could see.
“Chances are we’ll get separated out in the water, so let’s all plan on meeting back here in about an hour, okay?” Steve advised.
“Sounds good,” Chuck agreed. He dropped his towel beside Steve’s, tucked a boogie board under one arm, and headed down the beach, away from most crowded swimming areas.
“Right,” Deborah chimed in, balancing her board in the sand while she tightened the wrist strap. “Last one in the pool’s a rotten egg!” She called over her shoulder as she headed straight toward the vast strip of blue water.
Steve turned to Pete, expecting that he would be following closely behind Deborah, but Pete had not moved. He stood with his bare feet buried in the warm sand and stared in wonder at the endless white beach around them. The tide was coming in, and white crested waves seemed to crash in slow motion against the shoreline, leaving wide arcs of sea foam in their wake as they retreated back into the sea. Puffy clouds dotted the horizon, and sea gulls hovered effortlessly above the glittering blue water, in search of careless fish.
Steve took it all in at a glance, but did not see what was holding Pete’s attention so completely. “What?” He asked at last.
After a moment, Pete answered with a touch of awe in his voice. “Except for a glimpse of Chuck’s copy of the swimsuit edition of Sports Illustrated, this is the closest I’ve ever been to the ocean.”
“You’re kidding!” Steve replied, in surprise. “Your family never took a vacation at the beach? I thought that everyone from the mountains headed this way in the summer.”
Pete shook his head. “Nope. I was born in the mountains, and I attended Appalachian College. I went straight to Hanging Rock and I’ve been there every summer since I graduated. Until today, I’ve never gone further east than Raleigh.”
Steve turned back toward the water and let his gaze travel up and down the coastline, seeing it through fresh eyes. It was really a perfect spring day. The white sand, and the incredibly blue sky stretched forever, and all of it was bathed in the yellow gold of the sun. How often he had taken this view for granted throughout his life!
“Well my friend,” Steve said at last, “welcome to the Crystal Coast.” He kicked off his sandals and grinned at Pete. “Let me introduce you to some friendly waves!”
Pete grinned back and took a deep breath. “Lead on!”
Steve felt strong. Except for a mild limp when he was tired, his leg felt nearly as good as ever. Reveling in the moment, Steve gave a bonsai shout as his bare feet slapped against the wet sand, and he charged hard into the breakers, splashing out as deep as he could go. As a huge wave crested in front of him, he threw his hands straight over his head and dove neatly through the center of the wall of water, bobbing up safely on the back side of the wave. He had barely regained his feet when another large swell rose up in front of him. Again, he dove into the crest and belly flopped in the trough on the far side. He stroked out a l
ittle deeper in the water, then flipped onto his back and floated idly for a minute to catch his breath, until he felt another rolling swell pass under him. Steve planted his feet firmly in the sand to balance against the strong currant, and shook the water out of his eyes in time to see it smash heavily onto the shore. He looked around, surprised how far down the beach the currant had carried him already. There must be a storm somewhere offshore to cause an under currant this powerful! He wondered what had happened to Pete. Worriedly, he looked to his left and right, but Pete’s head did not appear anywhere near him. Treading water, Steve peered to the shore. He had thought that Pete was close behind him when he dove through the first wave. Where had he gone?
Pete had been right on Steve’s heels until they hit the foaming breakers of a receding wave. Intrigued, Pete stopped knee deep in the water and watched in fascination as the retreating water pulled at his feet, seeming to wash the sand right out from under his toes. Pete grinned at the strange sensation and then hurried forward into deeper water. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a huge conch shell, that shimmered just below the sparkling water. Pete turned back and quickly reached for the shell, never really noticing the looming wave until it crashed down on him, knocking him from his feet and driving him face first into the gritty sand! He twisted and scraped along the bottom, terrifyingly at the mercy of the swirling mass of water. Finally, just as he felt that his lungs would burst, the monster wave pulled back from him, and he struggled to his hands and feet in the shallow surf, coughing and retching on sea water, thankful to be alive.
But even as he lurched to his feet and began to stumble toward the shore, another large wave smashed down on him and sent him sprawling into the sand one more time. Disoriented and choking on the salt water, Pete struggled against the drag of the knee deep surf. Where was Steve in all of this heaving water? He thought wildly, as he struggled to his feet and tried to see through the stinging salt in his eyes. Was this what he meant by ‘friendly’ waves? Swimming in placid mountain lakes had never prepared him for this almost living and breathing force that seemed determined to suck his body out into the depths of the sea!
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