Subtle Reminders

by D. J. Pierson

  “Wow. Sounds like someone’s done a lot of growing up while I was gone,” I teased.

  “Me?” Joey pointed to his chest. I nodded. “Oh, hell no. Growing up is for old people. I just got better at bullshitting.” I laughed when he winked at me. “Really, BC. Don’t beat yourself up over this.”

  “It’s hard sometimes.”

  “It always is for the kindhearted.” He bent over to grab another shell, quickly tossing it into the ocean. “Do what I do. In times like this, think of one person you were able to help. Maybe the first patient you ever had who found out they beat the shitty disease.” He paused, allowing me time to think. “Peyton.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “A little girl I helped a few years back. Whenever I get disgusted or down about the job, she always brightens my day. Her family still keeps in contact and I see her every so often. She’s doing well, and that makes it all worth it.”

  “I’m so proud of you, Joey,” I commented, leaning into him.

  “Yeah. You should be,” he smirked. Arrogant bastard. He stopped moving and motioned behind us. “Can we please go the other way now? My beer is probably full of sand.”

  “Okay.” Using the seashell, I scooped up some water and threw it on him. He froze. “That was for threatening to drop me in the cold ocean.”

  He lightened up. “I wasn’t really going to do it.”

  “Did you forget you’re talking to me? You’ve done it before. Why wouldn’t you do it again?”

  “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I would have.”

  “Maybe, my ass,” I mumbled.

  Laughing and chatting, we continued back up the beach toward Lex and Vince. When we got to the pier, I noticed something. “Did they take out the roller coaster?” It seemed different than how I remembered it, but was still in the same spot.

  “Nope. They just repainted it and changed the train. This one is much smoother than it used to be. Do you want to ride it?” he questioned.

  “No, thanks. Jerk!” My response encouraged him to laugh at me. I always hated roller coasters…well, except that one.

  “I bet I could convince you to get on it.”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “I did once before.”

  We were spending another vacation at the Sullivan’s shore house. Every trip ended up being more memorable than the last. Since the boardwalk seemed less crowded than usual, we decided to head up earlier than normal and take advantage of the short lines. Joey and I were a few minutes ahead of Jack, so we took our time getting to the end of the pier. The boys had a schedule. First, they rode all the thrill rides I’d never touch. The two of them would go on together, and I’d be waiting when they got off. At some point, Jack would leave us to meet up with friends, and Joey would take me on the less insane rides. We’d get a bite to eat. He’d win whatever game he played, letting me pick out the prize. Then Jack reappeared so they could do the bigger rides all over again. They tried explaining their reasoning once, but it made no sense whatsoever. I just went with it. It was always enjoyable to see them having a good time together.

  When we reached the entrance for the roller coaster, I sought out a bench to relax on.

  “Where are you going?” Joey asked, not letting my hand go.

  “Over there.” I motioned toward a shaded wooden bench. They were fairly scarce at that time of day.

  “Come ride with us.”

  The train of the coaster came to a sudden stop above us, before heading into the station to let the riders off. Feet dangled over our heads as the passengers calmed themselves from the last drop. The brakes released and they were out of sight seconds later.

  “No, thanks.” I hated the speed, the steep drops, and the sharp turns associated with rides like that. All of which Joey was well aware.

  “Please?” he pouted. “I’ll hold your hand.”

  “How sweet of you, but the answer is still no.” I kissed his cheek, immune to the sweet look he gave me. “Do I need to hold your hat?” If he lost the damn thing, the night would be ruined.

  “As long as the ride has been here, nothing has ever happened. It’s perfectly safe.”

  “Which is why I don’t worry watching you and your brother go on. Have fun.”

  He led me off to the side and pulled me to face him. “Please.”

  “No.”

  “What if I get you ice cream?”

  “I don’t want ice cream.”

  “Funnel cake?”

  I bit my lip to keep from laughing at his pathetic attempt. “You can’t leave the boardwalk without getting funnel cake.”

  “I won’t share with you.”

  “You won’t be able to feed it to me then. Is that my loss…or yours?”

  He leaned in closer. “You’re so damn stubborn.” His voice was barely loud enough to be considered a whisper. I shrugged, not disputing his words. “Well...” He kissed the corner of my mouth. “What if I ask you to marry me?”

  I’d be leaving in a month for college. The thought of being apart for any length of time weighed heavily on both of us, but we never discussed it. From what we heard, long distance relationships didn’t have good records. There were a few more weeks until it became a reality, so we put it off.

  “You really shouldn’t joke about marriage to a girl who has a major crush on you.”

  “You have a crush on me?” His nose wrinkled at the word.

  “I’m pretty sure you knew that.”

  Joey ran his thumb along my jaw. “I’m not screwing around, BC. Say you’ll marry me,” he whispered, getting serious. He needed to hear things would be okay with us no matter how far apart we were from each other.

  “The problem is that if I say yes, you’ll be stuck with me until I take my very last breath. Who knows how long that will be?”

  “The moment you take your last will be the moment I take mine. There’s no living without you.” His eyes teared, so mine copied. We’d been dating for almost four years. I couldn’t imagine being in love with anyone else. He was my first, and he’d be my only.

  “So I’ll never be alone?”

  “Nope.”

  “You’ll really love me forever?”

  “More than anything.”

  “Promise?”

  “Promise.”

  The truth was, I already knew the answers to my questions, but it was nice to hear him say them. “Okay. I’ll marry you.”

  A smile bigger than any other I had ever seen spread across his face. “I can’t wait to put a ring on your finger.” When our lips met, my heart sped up.

  “Are we going on this bitch or what?” Jack interrupted, smacking Joey on the shoulder. He had impeccable timing.

  “Do you mind, asshole? BC is in the middle of accepting my proposal here.”

  “I call best man!” Jack yelled, grinning. He didn’t even acknowledge the fact that his eighteen-year-old brother was thinking about marriage. “Too bad Vince couldn’t make the trip. He missed out!”

  Lex glanced over the top of her book when she heard me laughing. Vince, having dozed off, didn’t budge from underneath the umbrella. “Where have you two been?”

  “Looking for shells,” I said, holding up my treasure for the day.

  “All that time and you only found one?”

  “I found plenty, but only one passed the BC test of approval,” Joey said, plopping into the chair next to the cooler. While digging out a bottle, he flung ice chunks on Vince’s back, making him jump.

  “Fucker,” he grumbled, covering his head with a towel. He fell back to sleep in seconds.

  “It’s almost lunchtime,” Joey announced. He poured the drink into a cup and gave it to me, then got one for himself. “What are you in the mood for?”

  “Pizza,” I said, taking a drink.

  “I could eat pizza,” Lex agreed.

  “Works for me. We’ll have to get fries, too, though,” Joey added.

  It really wasn’t a necessary discussion. Pizza with fries was
always the first thing we ate when we went to the shore.

  If I didn’t walk away from BC after hearing her reasoning for playing me like she did, there was no telling what would’ve happened. As it was, I ached to touch her, but that made the urge so much worse. Up until then, I always assumed it took time for her to adjust to the thought of us. Honestly, I swore I won her over by being persistent and showing her the real me. Knowing there was something between us from the beginning only supported my argument that we were destined to be together.

  “Why the hell do you look so smug?” Lex quietly questioned as I dug through the cooler for something to drink. “Aren’t you pissed she lied to you?”

  “Nope.” I skipped over the water and pulled out a beer. Lex grabbed a bottle opener and some red cups from one of the bags, then passed them over. I asked Vince if he was ready for one. He turned it down with some pansy excuse about it being too early. When a phone started ringing, we all glanced toward BC’s stuff.

  “Let it go,” Lex told her fiancé as he bent over to reach for it.

  “I can’t do that. What if it’s important?”

  “It can only be one person and there is absolutely no reason for him to be calling right now.”

  “Hey, Brie! Your phone’s ringing.”

  “Asshole,” Lex bitched. She glowered at Vince as he handed the phone to BC.

  Busying myself with pouring drinks, I tried not paying attention to whom she was talking, but that was damn near impossible. Apparently, Aidan felt the need to call her about something upsetting. Despite how she walked away from us, I saw the way her body reacted to what he was saying. How could he do that to her? Why the fuck couldn’t he just let her be for one damn day?

  “Sully,” Vince called. I hated to take my eyes off BC, but I looked at him. “Let’s have a catch.” He tossed a ball my way. The distraction was welcomed. Other than taking her phone and smashing it into a million pieces, what could I have done to comfort her?

  Once BC hung up, Lex laid into her, which I thought was more screwed up than the bastard calling her in the first place. The day had started out so well, going to shit really fast. Vince intervened before I could, which was probably a good thing. It seemed like Lex was doing the exact opposite of helping. I stood there, watching BC leave.

  “Well? What the hell are you waiting for?” Lex asked, pushing my shoulder.

  “What the fuck was that?” I demanded.

  “That was me giving you an opportunity. Don’t blow it.”

  “You did that on purpose?” Conflicting emotions weren’t something with which I’d ever been good at dealing. I wanted to strangle Alexa, but hug her at the same time.

  “She was already upset,” Lex pointed out. “Go work your magic, Romeo.” She went back to her chair, not worried about her sister in the slightest.

  “The two of you are going to make Brie leave before the middle of the week. I don’t want to hear any crying when she’s not here for the wedding,” Vince commented, then sprawled out on a blanket.

  When my phone buzzed, I knew I needed to check it in case it was my dad. When I called him at home last night, he gave me the day off without even checking the schedule to see who was on or who he could get to cover. It was odd, but I didn’t care. Hanging out with BC was more important. If he wasn’t giving me a hard time, I wasn’t going to ask for it. Seeing Shannon’s name on the screen, I declined the call, sending it to voicemail.

  BC hadn’t gotten very far. Keeping my distance, I watched her, searching the shoreline for a seashell at the same time. She needed a few minutes to swallow whatever information Aidan had told her. It always amazed me how different she was than other girls. They tended to be either self-conscious or over-confident, but not her. She tended to be more on the quiet side, so it would’ve made sense if she leaned more toward being insecure. However, the body she had would make the attention seekers hate her for that reason alone. BC sat in a category all her own. When we were dating, my friends used to ask me all the time if I was jealous when they’d see other dudes checking her out or approaching her. They’d get pissed and were ready to stand behind me if I wanted to go after them. I’d just laugh and shake my head. I knew the guys were there, I’d always keep a protective eye on her, but they didn’t scare me. BC loved me and I never doubted it for a moment.

  Getting her to forget about the phone conversation went smoother than expected. Knowing I still possessed the talent of making her smile when she was troubled by something felt almost as good as reminding her about the day I bribed her to go on the roller coaster. The thought of BC going away at the end of that summer tormented me every single day. I needed something to hold onto. I needed a guarantee she’d come back to me after pursing her career. From the first time I mentioned how much following in my father’s footsteps meant to me, she had offered nothing but support. I had to do the same in return, even though I selfishly wanted to keep her home. A promise of marriage seemed logical.

  The girls stayed on the beach longer than my stomach liked. They were having such a good time together, I didn’t have the heart to break up their little party because of hunger. Eventually, Lex did it for me. We packed up everything, then made our way toward the boardwalk. We stopped at the restaurant BC picked and sat at the window, consuming more pizza and fries than necessary.

  It was early evening by the time we walked into the house. The air conditioner had cooled the place down nicely, making it comfortable after soaking in the sun all day. Lex called the shower first and Vince tailed behind her up the stairs, looking a little too hopeful. I wouldn’t be headed that way anytime soon.

  “Wow! It looks really nice in here,” BC complimented. During the remodel, Mom ditched the traditional beach house decorations. I had a feeling she planned on selling our family home and moving to the shore permanently. Time would tell.

  “I guess they did an okay job.” She smiled. There was no limit to what I’d give to see that every day for the rest of my life. “Make yourself at home.”

  “Definitely not.” She looked uncomfortable. “I’m not sitting on any of the furniture in here until I take a shower.” We had rinsed off outside, but the sand stayed with you.

  “They’re going to be a while,” I said, pointing out the obvious.

  “Not as long as you think,” she giggled. “Lex insists on taking a break, but she’s so damn wound up, it’s absurd.”

  “What the hell is the point?”

  BC sighed. “She thinks if they hold off, it’ll make the wedding night more special.”

  “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” I shook my head. A pile of towels sat on the stool next to the counter, so I took one off the top and laid it over the kitchen chair. “Will you please sit now?” She humored me. Before sitting, I offered her a beer, but she asked for a bottle of water. When we heard a phone ring, we both looked at the pile of stuff from the beach. By the ringtone, I knew it was my brother.

  “What’s up?” I answered.

  “Why the fuck is McCray asking everyone where the hell you are?”

  “Because he’s a douchebag who secretly wishes he were me?” I sarcastically suggested, stepping into the other room.

  “He just ran through the department, drilling anyone who’d acknowledge him on your whereabouts.”

  “My guess is Shannon finally got fed up with me ignoring her, so she asked her brother to track me down.” The bitch called him for everything else. Why not for that?

  “He’s pissed. Thought you’d like a heads-up.”

  “Thanks. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.”

  “Are you with Brielle?”

  “And Lex. And Vince.”

  “Joe, is this really a good idea?” I heard the apprehension in his voice.

  “I’m spending the day with friends. Aren’t you always the one telling me to take time off once in a while?”

  “She’ll be gone before you know it, man. Don’t do this shit to yourself.”

  “I’m good,
Jack.”

  “Why does it feel like I’m going to be the one holding you back from jumping over the edge when all is said and done?”

  “Jumping isn’t really my thing. I’m more of a drowning my sorrows in alcohol kinda guy.”

  “You’re a fucking lunatic, just like McCray,” Jack snapped, then hung up. Even though it was meant to be an insult because he wasn’t happy with how I was acting, I knew he was only trying to protect me from unnecessary heartache. Otherwise, I’d punch him in the face for comparing me to that scumbag.

  “Everything okay?” BC asked when I plopped down next to her.

  “Yup. Jack’s pissed we came down without him. He’ll get glad again.”

  “Poor Jack,” she chuckled.

  Poor Jack, my ass.

  When Vince and Lex appeared a short time later, they were both dressed, ready to go out.

  “Where are you going?” I wondered.

  “We’re going to the bar for a little bit. Go get cleaned up,” Lex commanded.

  “You want them to go to a bar before they drive all the way home?” BC stared at her sister, concerned.

  “I may have talked Vince into staying the night and driving back in the morning.” Lex shrugged.

  “I said I’d think about it, babe.”