Secrets at Seaside

by Addison Cole

  The side of Bella’s mouth quirked up. “Let the fun begin.”

  The policeman parked in Theresa’s driveway, then stepped from his car as Theresa came outside.

  “Come on.” Bella hurried across the street with the girls on her heels.

  “Ma’am?” The officer looked to be in his late twenties with dirty-blond hair, ice-blue eyes, and a forced smile.

  Theresa furrowed her brow. Her wide mouth was clenched in a tight line, and her eyes were narrow and serious. Theresa exuded practicality, from her closely cropped and layered brown hair to her polo shirt and long shorts. She dressed for efficiency rather than fashion, and the way she assessed the policeman was equally as efficient. Amy could see her mind working over the possibilities of why he was standing in her driveway.

  “Good afternoon, Officer. What can I do for you?” She settled her hands on her hips and glanced at Bella and the girls with a pensive look.

  “We’ve had a complaint about the cyber stalking of Bradley Cooper, and the e-mails have been linked to your IP address.” He pointed to her house. “Would you mind if I take a look inside?”

  “Cyber stalking? I haven’t even been here for the past few days.” Theresa looked back at her house, then turned worried eyes to Bella. “Have you seen anyone hanging around my house?”

  “No, of course not,” Bella answered. “We wouldn’t let anyone near your house.”

  “I’m sure it’s a mistake,” Jenna said.

  Amy couldn’t say a word, because despite her one big fourteen-year lie, she really wasn’t good at hiding the truth, and she was sure that if something inside was awry, it had everything to do with a certain mouthy blonde whom she adored.

  They followed Theresa into her modestly furnished and tidy house. Theresa lived in the full-sized house that had belonged to the original owner of all of Seaside before the land was subdivided and the cottages were built. They followed the officer into the living room. The room was a good size, with a brown couch, white coffee table, and a peach-colored armchair. Off to the right was a small dining room with a round table and six wooden chairs. The walls were painted beige, except in the kitchen, which was just beyond the living room and fully outfitted in white. The officer picked up a framed photograph and studied it. He cleared his throat and walked across the room to another framed photo, which he also picked up and studied.

  “Oh my gosh,” Jenna mumbled and reached for Amy’s hand. She squeezed so hard Amy had to stifle a yelp.

  Amy looked at Bella, who had a wide grin on her lips, and was staring at a framed picture of Bradley Cooper hanging above the end table. Amy snapped her jaw closed to stifle a gasp. Holy cow.

  “Ma’am?” The officer turned the two frames toward Theresa, who apparently hadn’t noticed anything out of place. Both frames held pictures of Bradley Cooper with hearts drawn on them in red ink. “Would you care to explain these?”

  Theresa shot a heated stare at Bella.

  “Theresa, I never knew you were such a fan,” Bella said with a straight face.

  “I’m not.” Theresa took the frames from him and glared at Bella. “I don’t have any idea how these got in here.”

  The cop arched a brow and raised his eyes to the photograph of the celebrity hanging on the wall. “And that one?”

  “Tsk! What is this? I did not…Bella?”

  Bella held her hands up. “Wow. This is kind of creepy.”

  “These are not my photographs,” Theresa insisted.

  The cop flashed a barely there smile to Bella that Amy would have missed had she not been watching everyone so closely.

  The officer walked over to Theresa’s desk, where her laptop lay closed. “May I open this?”

  “Yes, of course. You’ll see that this is some kind of a mistake,” Theresa huffed.

  The officer lifted the lid of her laptop and Bradley Cooper’s picture appeared as the screen saver.

  “Ma’am, I’m afraid this evidence speaks for itself. I’m going to issue you a warning, but if you don’t refrain from contacting Mr. Cooper, we’ll be forced to take further action.”

  “But I didn’t do this.” Theresa let out an exasperated breath.

  “The evidence proves otherwise,” the officer said.

  Theresa’s eyes narrowed. If looks could maim, Bella would be laid flat.

  “I…I have to run.” Amy headed for the door with Jenna right behind her.

  They held hands as they ran across the quad to Amy’s cottage.

  “Whoa!” Jenna collapsed into a deck chair. “Bella went above and beyond her normal prankster game this time. Theresa is going to get her back so bad!”

  Bella joined them a few minutes later with a satisfied smirk. “That was to get her back for ruining my Thong Thursday prank.”

  Amy covered her face with her hands. “All I wanted to do was talk about what to do about Tony and the job with Duke, and now I’m an accessory to a prank that she’ll probably get you arrested for. Forget Australia. We’ll all end up cuffed in the Wellfleet Police Barracks.”

  “Tony will bail you out.”

  Amy banged her forehead on the table. “Australia’s looking pretty good right now.”

  “HEY, THAT WAS cool of you to set that stuff up for us last night. Thanks, man.” Tony gave Evan a friendly pat on the back. They’d surfed for several hours, then hung out on the beach for the afternoon, talking. Now they were back at Seaside, getting their gear out of Tony’s car.

  “It was no big deal, and it seemed important to Amy.” Evan shrugged.

  “Well, it was a big deal to both of us. We appreciated it.” He handed Evan his surfboard and took his own off the rack. “Stay out of trouble tonight.”

  Evan was going on a double date with his friend Bobby and two girls from high school.

  “I told you it wasn’t a big deal. They’re just friends. We’re going to the drive-in. Wanna catch some waves tomorrow?” Evan called over his shoulder on the way to Bella’s cottage.

  “Wish I could, but I think I’m going to spend tomorrow with Amy.”

  “See why I don’t want a real girlfriend?” Evan teased.

  “I’ve got more than fifteen years on you. I’m pretty lucky to have her.” And I’m not doing anything to mess it up this time.

  Tony glanced at Amy’s car in her driveway. Either she was inside or at the cottage of one of the other girls. How many times had he looked across the street and wondered what Amy was doing? He loved the feeling of knowing she was finally his and that whatever she was doing, she was probably thinking of him as much as he was thinking of her. He headed inside to shower.

  They had spent the night at Tony’s cottage, and the bedroom still smelled like Amy. He stripped off his board shorts, went into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. He’d been thinking about the slide show all day, and darn if he wasn’t even more confused than before. He had slotted his father’s memory into a place in his head that he rarely visited. The breakup had not been easy to move past, and his father’s death had come on its heels, magnifying his hurt and anger. At a time when Tony was doing all he could to remain sane and focused on keeping his career, he’d thrown himself into surfing and training and tried to be there for his mother as best he could. But Tony knew he’d barely made it through each day, much less been any help to her. He’d been determined to prove his father wrong about his career—and he’d hidden from that well of devastation by throwing himself into surfing—and he’d succeeded.

  Or at least he’d thought he had.

  Until now.

  After seeing the pictures of his father last night, smiling, joking, being the man Tony had once admired so greatly, he wondered if the harsh memories had deluded him into forgetting the good ones. His father had been at his worst that last summer at the Cape. Tony hadn’t even known he was a drinker. How he’d missed that, he had no idea.

  After his shower he put on a pair of cargo shorts and a tank top and sank onto the bed with a loud sigh. It was time he dealt w
ith his father’s memories once and for all.

  Tony grabbed his cell phone from the bedside table and called his mother. She answered on the second ring.

  “Tony, how are you, honey?” Her smile was evident in her warm tone. Tony pictured her sitting in the living room of her Rhode Island waterfront home, knitting needles in hand. His mother had knitted for as long as he could remember, and since his father’s death, the knitting needles seemed to be her constant companions.

  “I’m okay, Ma. How are you?”

  “Oh, you know me, honey. I’m fine. Knitting tonight. I’m making a baby bonnet for Lisa Cross’s granddaughter. She’s such a cute little thing. How’re the kids this year?”

  “Good, Ma, but they’re not kids. We’re all over thirty.” He laughed.

  “Honey, you’ll always be kids to me. Even when you’re old and gray. How was the wedding? I was so sorry to have missed it.” His mother had missed the wedding because she’d had a bunion removed from her foot the week before, and her foot was still tender.

  “It was wonderful. Jamie looked really happy, and Jessica was beautiful. How’s your foot?”

  “Oh, fine. It seems to be healing well; it just takes a little time, that’s all.”

  “Good. Mom, I’m glad it’s healing up. I have something I want to talk to you about, but if you would rather not, then just tell me, okay?”

  “Don’t be silly, honey. What is it?”

  Tony rose from the bed and paced. “It’s about Dad.”

  “Okay.” Her voice turned serious.

  “I was looking at pictures last night of our summers here at the Cape, and the pictures didn’t match the image I have of him in my mind. I’m a little worried that what I remember of him is skewed.” He rubbed a dull ache creeping across the back of his neck.

  “Well, honey, why don’t you tell me what you feel was different?”

  “I don’t know. Everything. The look in his eyes. I don’t know when most of the pictures were taken, but—”

  “Where did you see these pictures?”

  “Amy’s mother made a slide show a few years back.”

  “Yes. I received that.”

  “Of course you did. Sorry. Then you’ve watched it?”

  “Yes. It was a long time ago, but of course I did. Those were wonderful memories.”

  “Yeah. For the most part. But…” Tony ran his hand through his hair, feeling too confined. He escaped into the living room.

  “But the last year was not so good,” she said softly.

  “Yeah. Why was that?”

  Silenced filled the airwaves.

  “Mom? What I need to know is why he changed.”

  She was silent again. Tony stopped in the center of the living room, unable to think past what that silence might mean.

  “Honey, are you sure you want to talk about this? You haven’t brought up your father for a very long time.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure.” When his father died, Tony’s mother was heartbroken and Tony was lost. They had done all they could to hold themselves together, and Tony hadn’t looked for any further explanation once he’d heard that his father had been drunk when he’d run off the road. From the sound of his mother’s voice, he wondered if he was doing the wrong thing by dredging up the past again.

  “Tony, your father made me promise not to tell you what had happened that spring, and I’d like to honor my word in his memory.”

  “Mom, he’s gone. I’m…” He closed his eyes and gathered his wits about him, giving himself a silent pep talk to say what he wanted to say and deal with this once and for all. When he opened his eyes, he felt more in control.

  “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important. I know how much your word means to you, although I can’t for the life of me imagine why you’d have to keep something about Dad’s death from me.”

  She didn’t respond, so Tony continued. “I’m in love with Amy Maples, and I want to move forward with my life, but I need to understand what happened with Dad. I need to know what changed that summer, why he changed.”

  “Amy Maples.” The smile returned to her voice. “Oh, Tony. I’m so happy to hear this. She’s loved you forever.”

  This stunned him, although after seeing the pictures last night, it shouldn’t have. He saw the love written all over their faces, and it was no wonder other people had seen it, too. He wondered if his father had. Or if Amy’s father had.

  “Yes, she has, and I’ve loved her just as long.” It felt so good to say that. His lips curled up despite the difficult conversation.

  “Yes, I imagine you did.”

  He laughed a little. “Did you?”

  “Oh, honey. There isn’t much that gets past a mother. We notice changes in our children that no one else could ever see. The last summer we were at the Cape as a family, I thought you and Amy had finally found each other. You both seemed so happy. But it must have been wishful thinking because of what was going on with your father. Maybe I just wanted to see something good come of that summer. And then, after your father…”

  He heard her inhale a loud breath. When she spoke again, her voice was weak. “Afterward, that spark I thought I’d seen in you was gone.”

  Tony sank down onto the couch. “You noticed?”

  “How could I not? You went from a carefree kid who was surfing and loving life to a broken man. You were coiled so tight and running yourself into the ground with surfing and training and who knows what else. I was worried you’d never go back to the boy you were. I was never really sure if it was because of your father’s passing or something else.”

  “Both, Mom.” Tony rubbed his eyes with his index finger and thumb. “Tell me about Dad.”

  “I’m breaking a promise I made to him by telling you, but you’re an adult, and I suppose you do have a right to know.”

  “Thank you.” He leaned back and closed his eyes. “Whatever it is, it’s got to shed some light on the way he changed.”

  “Yes, it will do that.” She paused for a long moment, and when she continued, her tone was compassionate. “Honey, that spring your father was diagnosed with ALS.”

  Tony sat bolt upright. “What? Why would he want to keep that from me? Why would you?”

  “Calm down, please. This is not easy for me to talk about.” Her words were sharp, though she spoke softly.

  “I’m sorry.” He rose to his feet and paced again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Isn’t this something you should have told me?”

  “I promised your father I wouldn’t. He was given a year to live. He knew that was going to be his last summer with you. His health was declining, and—”

  “Oh, man.” Tony sank back down to the couch. He couldn’t imagine what his father had gone through. “When did the drinking begin?”

  “I don’t know exactly, but sometime soon after he received the diagnosis.” His mother paused, and the answers became clearer.

  “He wasn’t drinking at a work party that night, was he?”

  “No.” A whisper.

  “Mom. He…he killed himself when he crashed into that tree? It wasn’t an accident?”

  “I don’t know.” Her voice was stronger but shaky. “We’ll never know. But the father you were with that last summer is not the man your father always was. Surely you know that.”

  “He was always tough on me.”

  “Yes. Because he didn’t want you to make a mistake. Parents worry, honey. When your child tells you he wants to be a pro surfer, as a parent you want to protect them from failing. To parents who aren’t surfers, you might as well have said you wanted to go to the moon or be a rock star. It was all so foreign to us. Your father and I were businesspeople. Straight and narrow, follow the road put forth by your elders. College, graduate school, family. Solid path. You threw us for a loop. Not that we didn’t want to support your dreams, but…”

  “It’s okay, Ma. I get it. I know how it must have sounded, but I was driven. I lived and breathed surfing. Still do. I m
ade it, and I hate that Dad never got a chance to see that. He never got a chance to move past the hard time he gave me and be proud of what I’d done.”

  “Oh, honey.” Her voice trembled, as if she were crying. “Even back then your father was proud of all you’d accomplished and the fact that you were on your way to becoming the best. But he saw that summer as his last chance to make a difference and guide you in the way a father should.” She paused for a beat, and when she continued, her tone was softer. “He just didn’t know how to get so much out in so little time. And the alcohol didn’t help.”

  Tony’s eyes teared up. “ALS.”

  “It’s not genetic, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  “It’s not that, although it is a relief. I just wish I had known. Maybe I could have talked to him about…everything.”

  “He loved you, Tony. He loved you so much. All those times his anger got the best of him, he wasn’t aiming that venom at you. He was angry about the disease, about leaving us before he was ready. You just got caught in the line of fire.”

  TONY TOSSED THE phone onto the couch and buried his face in his hands. Amy stood on the wrong side of the screen door with her heart in her throat. ALS. She’d heard him say it, and now he was falling apart. Who was he talking to? Who had ALS?

  “Tony?”

  Tony spun around, eyes red and watery. She read his silent plea and forced her legs to carry her inside. He didn’t stand from where he sat on the couch. He simply reached a hand out, and as she took it, the air shifted, became heavier. He drew her down onto his lap, and her arms instinctively circled his neck. She held him as his breathing hitched and his grip on her tightened.

  “That was my mom,” he said against her shoulder. “My father…was sick.”

  His sadness pressed in on her through the weight of his large hands splayed on her back and his warm, stubbled cheek against her. Amy closed her eyes and hoped she could offer a modicum of the strength that he’d always offered to her.