by Jenny Hale
Jack quickly turned his attention to Henry. “How about I take one of you and your mom now,” he said, clearing his throat.
“Okay,” Henry said. But then, addressing his mom, he added, “Don’t kiss me on the lips. Ugh.” Still giggling, Henry walked over to his mother and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her head was humming, none of her thoughts coming through clearly in the haze of panic that had overtaken her at the idea of leaving this man.
She put on a smile and Jack took the picture.
Chapter Thirteen
“I came as soon as I saw your text,” Melly said with a kindhearted expression. She was wearing her scrubs, but she’d slid on a pair of flip-flops to walk over for coffee this morning. She’d said that she’d just come off the night shift, but she wasn’t going to sleep for another few hours, and she’d be happy to have coffee as long as they had decaf.
Alice had already consumed plenty of fully caffeinated coffee, because she’d been up all night thinking about fishing yesterday. She hadn’t talked about any of it with Sasha for fear that if she said it out loud it would make the situation real, and she didn’t want Sasha to feed her with all the what-ifs and maybes that Alice knew her friend would. If Sasha knew Jack was the boy from her past, Alice would never hear the end of it. Sasha would spend the rest of her life trying to convince her that they were perfect for each other, when, in reality, could anyone really be perfect? She’d lost sleep over that question last night.
And then, to make matters worse, Alice had roped herself into a boat ride over that little game of darts, further filling her brain last night. Jack had promised to pick her up this evening after Henry had gone to bed, and she knew that the idea of being with him on a boat alone would rule her mind all day while she tried to work. That was why she’d asked Melly to come over: the more people to grab her attention, the better. She’d also called Melly because an ice cream wholesale distribution company had delivered samples of their ingredients to try, and she needed an unbiased opinion on her churning skills. She had Henry and Einstein, but they were both easy to please.
Alice and Sasha had spent the morning cleaning and setting up their first machine. They’d settled on a salted caramel flavor with an almond milk base. The first time they’d tried it, they’d put in a little too much air, but after a few attempts, they had it down pat. Once they’d had their coffee and chatted for a bit, Sasha scooped them all a bowl and Henry sifted the sugared caramel chips onto the top.
Melly, who’d looked quite tired when she’d come over, had perked up a little after the coffee. She’d said her shift had been super busy. The hospital was trying out a few staff configurations to see what worked best, and she’d been two people short. She took the first bite of ice cream. Her eyes wide, she said, “Oh my gosh, this is delicious!”
“You think?” Alice couldn’t help but get excited, although they were a long way away from being ready and, while they were going to take the time to do it right, they didn’t have forever. They needed to start making money. It was a step in the right direction, though.
Henry, who had nearly finished his bowl already, was rolling a tennis ball from the back of the shop to the front while Einstein chased it, sliding into Henry on his paws as he brought it back.
“You look worried,” Melly said, reading Alice’s thoughts.
“I’m just thinking of all the things we have to do to get ready, and I’m nervous that we’re biting off more than we can chew. It’s not just about having ice cream. It’s about having the perfect ice cream, about having what everyone is waiting for, that complete family experience. That’s a lot of pressure.” She allowed her gaze to roam the wall of ideas. “What will make Seaside Sprinkles the best place on the beach?”
“Maybe we can catch some of the traffic from the pier once we open,” Sasha offered. “That can’t hurt.”
Alice nodded, still pondering what could make the shop amazing. It needed something. It needed what Gramps’s bike shop had: that feeling that everyone was family. How had he done it?
“Have you heard about the pier?” Melly asked, dragging her spoon along the inside of her bowl and scraping the last of her ice cream.
The ball rolled past them on the floor, Einstein scrambling to get it.
“It’s in need of repairs and it isn’t turning over a profit like they’d hoped. Shops are pulling out. I’ve heard they’re closing it.”
“What?” Alice said, her spoon rattling against the table as her hand thumped down in surprise. All the memories of her and Gramps slid into her mind. Then she thought about the wonderful time she’d just had there with Jack, but also about how empty it had been. “They can’t close it.”
“Well, I think they are.”
“That would be sad,” Henry added, taking the ball from Einstein and throwing it again.
Einstein didn’t chase it. Instead, he walked over and scratched at the back door.
“Yes,” Alice said, “that would be sad.” Without warning, a new wave of worry washed over her. With a closed pier and nothing else in the area, would the ice cream shop survive? The traffic to her part of the beach would greatly diminish without the pier to bring vacationers down there.
“I’ll be back,” she said, standing up. “Einstein needs to go out.” She was glad to get outside; she wanted to listen to the ocean. She needed answers. If only she could talk to Gramps. She needed him. Alice grabbed Einstein’s leash, the jingling sound causing him to spring to attention. He bounded over to her and she clipped the leash to his collar. “Back in a sec,” she said. Then she walked all the way out to the water’s edge.
Gramps. Tell me what to do. I’m scared I’ve made the wrong decision.
Einstein pulled on his leash, forcing her to take a step toward the water just as a large wave crashed in front of them, the spray shooting up her bare legs and soaking the bottom of her shorts. Another wave slammed down right after it, fizzing and roaring its way toward her.
She stared, waiting for an answer that didn’t come.
Please, Gramps, she pleaded silently.
She took stock of the shore, noticing how few people were on the beach. Was that because it was morning and they hadn’t gotten out yet, or was the area thinning out? Were people moving further south near the new restaurants and diversions?
Einstein tugged on the leash and she followed blindly, trying to do damage control in her mind, the surf bubbling around her ankles. Not only did the pier bring in tourists but also, unattended, it would be a dilapidated eyesore and no one would make a drive to have ice cream on a beach with an awful view. Would she even be able to sell the shop for what she would’ve sold it for, if the pier fell into disrepair?
* * *
The whole day Alice had worried about the pier, about the fate of the ice cream shop, about the fact that they were living on their savings—all of it rolling around in her mind, restless. They’d made two more flavors today, and they’d confirmed the color scheme for the logo on their paper cups. But the entire time, uncertainty about it all lingered. Alice thought about getting her old job back at the dentist’s office. She could probably return with just a phone call. She might need to find another apartment since she’d sublet hers for the remainder of the year until the lease was up, but their things were still mostly in boxes, so, if she had to, moving back would be easy…
She’d fretted so much about everything that she hadn’t even been able to allow herself to get excited about the boat ride with Jack. But she’d gotten ready and now it was time to put all that out of her mind for a few hours. She went up to tuck Henry in just before she left. He was already under his covers, the small lamp on in the tiny hallway they’d created with two white folding screens that Gramps had made from old doors.
She sat down on his bed and ran her fingers through his hair.
“You look pretty,” Henry said, his voice groggy from exhaustion.
Alice smiled. “Thank you.” She’d chosen a powder blue sundress with little m
atching flats and a pair of her dangly earrings.
“Mama.”
He only called her “Mama” when he was serious or worried.
“Yes?”
“I wanna go home. I miss our house.”
She took in a breath to steady herself. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear after all her thoughts today. “This doesn’t feel much like home yet,” she said. “We haven’t made it our home. You haven’t had a chance to make friends, but you will when school starts…”
“I miss Tommy Malone.”
Tommy Malone was Henry’s best friend at preschool. Henry had been to his birthday party at the roller rink and Tommy’s mother had invited them back to her house that day. They had a big, sprawling home on two green acres of land and an oak tree out back with a tire swing. Henry loved it there.
“There isn’t anyone like Tommy Malone here. There aren’t any kids at all.”
“They’re here. We just have to find them.”
“I miss my old room.”
Henry rolled over on his side, away from her, and the two of them sat in silence until his breathing was so deep that Alice knew he’d fallen asleep. She understood how he felt. If she let herself, she missed living near her dad. She missed being able to run across town to see him any time something was bothering her. She missed their cups of coffee… She wondered if he was alone every night, what he was doing. Did her childhood home feel empty without her and Henry popping in? She could pick up the phone and call him, but it wasn’t the same. He couldn’t reach over and place his hand on hers to comfort her worries; he couldn’t look into her eyes and smile like he always did. He was getting older, and so was Henry. Henry had already missed out on so much time with Gramps because of the distance. Would he miss out on time with his Grandpa Frank too? With a deep breath, she got up quietly and left the room, heading out to see Jack, her heart heavy.
She needed a diversion from reality right now.
* * *
It was early enough in the summer season that the days didn’t stretch too far into the night yet, but even though it was nearing seven in the evening, the sun was still lingering. That was the thing about summers here: the days demanded their presence.
Alice padded down the dock in her baby blue flats to the spot where Jack had told her to meet him. She knew the public boat landing well from the days when Gramps had a boat. He’d always said that the very best days for a captain were the day he bought the vessel and the day he sold it—the darn things needed more care than an infant and were just as temperamental. But when he’d had it, those had been the best times in her memory: when the motor would kick up, the water spraying out like a fan on either side of them, the wind plowing through them, causing her to hang on to the railing even though she was sitting, pushing her little body around the bench’s cushion.
Then, when he found the spot where he thought the fish were biting, he’d slow them down to a stop and they’d cast their lines, nothing there with them but the sun, the pelicans, and the cooler full of soda cans and the bologna sandwiches he’d made that morning.
When Alice got to the end of the dock this time, however, the boat waiting for her wasn’t quite the little fishing schooner she’d been used to. Instead, there was a small yacht, its lights gleaming on the water’s surface, the sleek white exterior cutting through the hues of blue from the sky and the sea. She forced her focus toward Jack, who was waving from the lower deck. He headed over to meet her.
“Is this yours?” she asked, as he greeted her with a big smile.
“No, it’s just a lease while I’m here. In Chicago it’s a little too cold for me to think about owning a boat. But maybe if I retire somewhere warm, I’ll splurge on one.”
Just the idea of: one, a person being able to lease something like this beauty; and two, considering buying one a “splurge,” was difficult to understand. “What kind of doctor are you?” she heard herself say, before tearing her eyes away from the boat and trying to cool her burning cheeks with sheer will. Had she really just asked that?
He was smiling, happy. “I specialize in pediatric neurosurgery.”
“Oh,” she said, surprised. He was an actual brain surgeon. For children.
“I’m assisting in the pediatric wing here while I finish my research.” He led her onto the boat. “I’m studying neurological disorders in children and what happens physically to the brain during things like epileptic seizures.”
She remembered what Melly had told her about him only returning to the Outer Banks to do a favor for one of the doctors. Was this the favor? Did the hospital need more help in its pediatric wing?
“So what made you decide to study that field, in particular?” she asked indulgently. It seemed so specific that she struggled to understand how the idea of it had even occurred to him.
“I like a challenge,” he said with a smile. “I didn’t really set out to do one thing or another, but as I moved through school, what excited me most wasn’t the actual task I was learning but the act of learning itself. I liked the adventure just as much, if not more than, the destination, I suppose.” Handing her a glass of sparkling wine, he added, “But enough of the work talk. I do plenty of that during the day, and I’m sure it would bore you to death. Let’s enjoy the evening.”
“Well, it does explain why you were so precise with the darts,” she said with a grin.
He held out that masculine hand of his, showing her every still finger. “Steady as they get.”
“You know you tricked me with that bet,” she said, as he offered her a seat aboard the yacht. She sat down and took a sip of the wine, the crispness of it against the warmth of night taking all her other thoughts away.
“Nah,” he said, sitting down beside her.
For a split second, she wondered if they were just going to sit there at the dock, but then she noticed there was a captain at the wheel. He nodded with a smile when she met his eyes.
“If you hadn’t agreed to play the darts game, I’d have just asked you outright to take a ride with me.”
“You’re very sure of yourself.” She took another drink of her wine, delicately holding the stem. His commanding smile was making her nervous, but she was proud of herself for keeping the glass steady.
He pursed his lips, seeming to contemplate her observation. “Mm. I’d say I’m sure about my decisions.”
“And what decisions have you made?”
The boat engine growled, the vessel vibrating just slightly as it started to pull away from the dock.
“The decision to see you again.”
She cupped her wine with both hands, as if that would calm her heart. Her fingers might be still, but inside, she was all abuzz. The boat’s noise gave her a moment so she wouldn’t have to respond, but Jack’s eyes were on her, his body turned toward her, his arm stretched out on the back of the bench so that if she scooted near him, he could put it around her.
Her mind raced with his admission that he’d decided to see her again; he’d made a conscious decision to spend more time with her. Why? Was she his next adventure? He’d said himself that it was more about that than the end result. Perhaps he only liked the chase. Would he be stifled after the newness of their whatever-this-was had worn off? The engine was loud against the clatter of all this in her head, her temples starting to feel the pressure of it.
Then everything stopped. The noise gave way to the quiet hiss of the sea as the boat sliced through it, the stars peeking out of the dimming sky, the horizon darkening and the shore glowing pink as the sun finally let go. As Alice sifted through her confusion, she tried not to think about how fate had thrown them together again, how the only person at the grocery store that day to catch those apples had been the boy she’d met all those years ago with Gramps, and how she had just stood at the ocean and asked Gramps what he wanted her to do. She tipped her head back to view the stars, wondering if he could see her somehow, wishing he could help her get a handle on the muddle of thoughts she was having.
<
br /> Gramps had always told her that the future—good and bad—was directly correlated to her fate, what was destined for her, and she just had to relax into it. She’d never believed him, and she still didn’t. But this moment did make her wonder if all his talk about destiny had some merit. What if she stopped worrying so much and just let what was ahead of her happen?
“What are you thinking about?” Jack asked. He’d set his wine down and scooted closer to her, interest written on his face.
“Gramps.”
Jack looked up too, his chest filling with air and then releasing slowly as he thought about whatever it was on his own mind. Perhaps he was thinking the same thing. Then he met her eyes and smiled, his lips pressing together in the sincerest way. “He really was such a fine man.”
“Yes. He was an amazing grandfather.”
“I was always alone, and he stepped up when Dad wasn’t there. He didn’t have to do that, but he did. He bought me lunches and fishing bait. He taught me the right times to fish, and he even stood outside with me in the rain when I’d walked all the way there and didn’t want to go back home where boredom would set in. He called my mother and introduced himself, telling her that she was welcome to get a bike from him any time she wanted and he wouldn’t charge her. She and I actually took a few rides together on his bikes. I’d never been inside the shop until then. After that, I went all the time.”
“That sounds like Gramps.”
“Today, kids and their parents would be leery of that kind of hospitality, but it didn’t seem odd at all. I always came and went from that pier of my own free will, and he never asked a thing from me. It was like meeting one of my buddies up there. I hardly even noticed his age.”