“I don’t understand.”
“Two simple words—he insisted. He ate a brownie and it disagreed with him. He’s not supposed to eat stuff like that. I would’ve stayed home happily, but he, well, he wanted me to come.”
“But—”
Juli held out one hand. “No, that’s enough. I let you get away with a lot because I know you love him. Don’t push it.”
Luke's name was bellowed. The loud voice was Jake’s. Everyone in the back yard, who knew Luke, looked at him. If Jake had been within reach, Luke would’ve decked him. Fear for Ben, annoyance with Juli, and aggravation at Jake clouded his face. When he looked at Juli, she gasped and stumbled backward. At first, it was a stumble, but then another step and then something happened because she was falling. There was nowhere for her to go but over the edge of the dock and into the sound. He lunged forward and grabbed for her.
Her arms waved instinctively reacting to the fall. Luke grabbed one arm and her waist before his shoe, too, caught the same uneven board or nail, and added his momentum to hers.
Chapter Seventeen
In this spot, Bogue Sound was too deep for her to avoid a thorough drenching, yet too shallow to miss the mud and general crud that layered the bottom near shore, especially with Luke’s weight and force added to her own.
Juli caught her breath and held it instinctively because they were bound for the water. She was mortified even before they went under, still it was a wonder she didn’t laugh at the expression of shock on Luke’s face as they plunged down and down until her butt dragged bottom.
Under the water and in the mud, feet scrambled and arms flailed, and they were up again within seconds. Juli pushed her hair out of her face and pulled at her clothing, all in the same movement. Luke came up rubbing his face and shaking his head. All of the guests whose eyes had followed the sound of Jake’s voice were now converging on the dock. She pulled a long, clinging piece of brown grass from her neck.
Luke asked, “Are you all right?”
Juli looked at him incredulously. She sneezed.
“You were falling.”
“Thanks for helping.” But she didn’t say it nicely.
Luke grinned. Water dripped from his hair onto his cheeks and nose. The water that hit him mid-chest reached her shoulders.
“Miss, give me your hand.”
Juli looked up to see a man she didn’t know. There were mostly unknown faces in the growing crowd. Jake and Anna were pushing through them.
Luke nodded at her. She held her hands up. The rescuer wrapped his fingers around her wrists and Luke put his hands on her hips to boost her. The sure strength of his hands on her was so unexpected she nearly fell back again. Her rescuer pulled and Luke pushed and Juli found herself back up on the dock, her sneakers squishing. Her wet shorts had worked up around the tops of her thighs and she tugged at them hastily.
She looked back for no good reason and saw Luke watching her. Jake crossed her line of vision and held out his hand to Luke.
“Need help?” Jake asked, openly laughing.
Luke reached up and grasped Jake’s hand. With his other hand he braced himself on the edge of the dock, brought up his foot, then pushed backward. Someone screamed as Jake windmilled into the Sound.
Anna wrapped an arm around Juli and led her out of the way as the rescuer, also anxious to be out of the way, was bumped by someone else, and he, too, went in with a splash.
“Men,” Anna humphed. “Come with me.”
Someone handed Juli a towel as they walked up the slope.
“Are you okay, honey?”
“I’m fine.” Juli rubbed her face against the towel and patted her neck.
“Come on in. I’ll get you a sundress or something. You’re a few inches shorter than me, but it shouldn’t matter.”
“No, please. Don’t go to any trouble. I’ll drive home.”
Anna made a rude noise. “Like that? I should say not.”
Juli pushed off the wet sneakers and left them by the porch door. The porch smelled like heaven. The empty tables were now arrayed with chafing dishes. Juli and Anna dodged caterers as they made their way through the kitchen.
Anna hustled her down a hallway and pointed her to the bathroom. “Go dry off. If you want to shower, go right ahead. I’ll be back in a jiffy with something for you to wear.”
The extra weight in her pocket caught her attention as she shed her shorts.
“My phone. Oh, no.” She stopped in the middle of undressing and tried to dial Ben. Nothing. No signs of life. She would’ve pulled her wet shorts back on then and there, but Anna knocked and handed in a sundress, cut full and colorful. Juli pulled the dress on over her soggy undergarments. She only needed to wear them long enough to drive home. She was thankful—so totally thankful—that her keys hadn’t fallen out of her pocket and gotten lost in the ooze.
Juli grabbed up her wet, tangled shorts and shirt and barreled out of the bathroom.
Anna rushed after her, “What’s wrong?”
Bless Anna. Juli didn’t want to be rude or worry her. “I’m sorry, but I have to go home right away.” She talked as Anna followed her to the front door.
“Juli? What’s wrong?”
“My phone. It isn’t working.”
“Well, I don’t know, but maybe after it dries out….”
Juli wiped at her eyes. It seemed like water was still dripping. “It’s Ben. He’s supposed to call if he needs me. He can’t call now.”
“It’s okay, Juli. He knows my phone number and I’m sure he’s fine. You wait right here while I get my keys. I’ll drive you home.”
“No need. I’m on my way.” Juli swiped at her teary eyes, again. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I’m fine, really. I have to get home to Ben, that’s all.”
Beyond Anna, Luke was standing in the kitchen doorway where the ceramic tile was safe from water damage. He was staring. Suddenly, Juli was so self-conscious, she couldn’t bear it.
“Thanks, Anna. I’m sorry for all the craziness. Maybe you can save us some barbecue?” She painted a smile on her face and gave a last wave as she went down the steps, then half-ran in her bare feet across the lawns bordering the street, to her car.
The car was an oven and she’d never driven barefoot. It felt odd, as if it should be illegal. Maybe it was. She didn’t know. Didn’t care.
Back home, Juli stepped out of the car and danced on the burning hot black asphalt drive. Her feet didn’t stop moving until she entered the side door at the top of the stairs. No Ben.
He was probably upstairs. She was being silly. Guilty conscience? Probably. She shouldn’t have left him when he was feeling unwell, especially for something as silly as a cookout.
But, no, he wasn’t upstairs. Juli saw him through the glass insert in the front door. He was on the porch.
He was leaning against the porch rail, but looking to the east as if in conversation with someone on the other side of the porch privacy divider.
She opened the door. Ben gave her a sideways look. The corner of his mouth was quirked up and he was saying, “Is that so?”
Juli moved to stand beside him, leaning against him to look around the end of the divider. Charlie’s grubby hand was pointing down the crossover and his intent was as unmistakable as his words were unintelligible. It sounded like, “Yo yo ganesh, huh.”
“Hi, Charlie,” she said. “Do you need a translator, Ben?”
“No. I think the universal translation is ‘I want to go down to the water.”
Charlie bumped his bare chest against the wooden gate. The gate bounced. The latch held, but the wood was weathered and rough.
“Careful, big guy. You might pick up some splinters,” Ben said.
“Hua.”
“Right.”
Charlie vanished from view for a second. He was quickly back. With one upraised arm, he flung a green plastic shovel over the gate. It skidded a few feet down the crossover and was closely followed by a red bucket. Then Charlie was ba
ck again, hands on the gate, shaking it so forcefully the hardware rattled.
Juli reached around the end of the partition and touched Charlie’s arm. She was planning to call out to get his mom’s attention, but Violet was there, sitting in the back corner of the porch. She wore earphones and was texting, her lips moving ever so slightly as she typed.
Juli called out, “Violet!”
She looked up, mouth gaping.
Charlie had stuck one finger in the corner of his mouth and started bouncing up and down, saying, “Um um um…” It was plain to see, in his chubby-cheeked anticipation, he was sure his big sister was being instructed to get up and convey him to his heart’s desire.
“What?” Violet asked.
“Your brother is going to get splinters.”
“Oh.”
Victoria stuck her head out of the door. “Violet, I’m gonna take that thing away from you. Put it away now. Bring your brother in and get him washed up. It’s naptime.” She waved at Juli and Ben, then went back inside.
Violet grabbed Charlie around the waist with one arm and swung him up onto her skinny hip. Her precious cell phone was held carefully in her other hand as she carried him toward the house. Her outraged brother howled.
Ben stepped onto the crossover to retrieve Charlie’s hopeful bucket and shovel. He dropped them back over the small gate onto the porch floor.
“Cute kid,” he said.
“Grubby. A slightly runny nose, but a man with a mission. What’s not to love?”
“Someday… Do you think that one day you’d like to have children?”
She looked Ben squarely in the eyes. “I’m enjoying today. Today is all I need.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What?”
He grasped her arms gently and looked down. “I think you also need shoes. And where did the dress come from? I’m pretty sure you weren’t wearing that when you left. What happened to your hair?”
Juli touched her hair. It was still damp and felt clammy. “I went swimming in Bogue Sound.”
“Swimming? In the sound?”
“Impromptu.”
“You got pushed, didn’t you?” Ben grinned. “I hope you weren’t too angry. We used to do that all the time. Although, we didn’t usually involve unwilling females.”
“We? You and Luke?”
“Among others. We were young, then.”
She pushed his arm playfully. “You actually look a little misty over the memory. Too bad you weren’t there. I’m glad to see you looking better.”
“How’d it happen?”
For some reason, Juli felt like she had to say it right and keep it airy. It was airy, wasn’t it? Not a big deal. “It was unintentional. Luke asked how you were and tripped. We both went sailing…well, not really sailing because we definitely didn’t float.” She watched Ben covertly, from the corner of her eye, and saw nothing concerning. “So then, someone helped me out, but then Jake—do you know Jake? Jake went to help Luke out and got pulled in. After that, I heard other splashes, but I don’t know what happened because I left. Anna loaned me this dress.” She held out her cell phone. “This is a casualty.”
He took the phone. “There are more of these, but only one of you.” He hugged her. “I’m glad you only got wet and not hurt.”
Later, when she was sure most of the guests would be gone, Juli drove back over to Anna’s to retrieve her sneakers.
All was quiet on the street and in front of the house. The noisy hum from earlier was gone and traces of the smell of hickory and barbecue lingered like a sleepy memory. Juli walked around the outside of the house, not going to the door. As she rounded the corner, she saw some guests remained. A group of maybe twenty or so, sat around in lawn chairs talking low with the occasional louder voice and short laughter.
Juli stood on the outside looking in, but with contentment. Some of the chairs were empty and the scene was so relaxed, that even though she didn’t recognize anyone in particular, she was confident if she walked up and took a seat, no one would do or say anything to make her feel like she didn’t belong.
After she had returned to her life without Ben, this would be one of the scenes in time she would always remember.
“Hi.”
“Luke.” He’d come up behind her. “He’s fine. Ben’s fine.”
He nodded. “I took the boat home and cleaned up some. Drove back over. You’re alright?”
“Yes. The dunking was an accident. I told Ben and he took a trip down memory lane. Apparently, you guys used to make a habit of unplanned group swims.”
“Hah.” His eyes seemed to look back into the past, far from flashing amber lights.
“I came back to get my shoes.”
“And the barbecue, don’t forget. Anna put some aside for you.”
“I’m sure it was delicious.”
“No one can do barbecue like Tarheels.”
“No one.” Juli took a step back and as she turned away, said, “Thanks, Luke.”
“For what?”
She shrugged and smiled. “Just thanks.” She waved as she walked away. “And I won’t forget the barbecue.” Under her breath, she added, “Or the swim.”
****
Ben went to church every Sunday morning. Most Sundays he took himself, but this time, after his spell on Saturday, Juli was concerned about him driving unnecessarily. Not that she’d tell him. He’d say he was a grown man who knew enough to pull over if he felt ill. But there was also the matter of the medication he was taking. It was bound to slow his reaction, maybe even impact his judgment in an emergency. It wasn’t worth the risk. Not for the sake of determined independence.
Juli tidied up the kitchen waiting for Ben to bring up the subject. He always did. And a couple of times she’d gone with him. Church was fine. Mostly.
“Juli?”
Here came the invite. “Yes?”
“I think I’ll head upstairs now.”
She waited for him to finish speaking, but apparently he already had. He laid his book on the coffee table and stood. He paused on his way to the stairs to kiss her cheek.
“Ben?”
“Yes?”
“Are you planning to go to church tomorrow?”
“Yes.”
“I thought I’d go along with you.” Juli wiped at the counter, keeping her eyes focused on what she was doing.
“Well, that will be nice.”
She let him get to the foot of the stairs. “Ben?”
He looked back at her with a faint smile on his face. “Yes?”
“Why didn’t you ask me to go? You always do.”
“I didn’t think you’d say yes.”
“Well, how can I say yes if you don’t ask?”
“Would you go to church with me in the morning?”
She stared at him. “Sure. Be happy to.”
****
On Monday, Maia said, “I’m glad you didn’t forget. I meant to remind you at the cookout, but you vanished after the, uh, mishap.” She put the package she was carrying into the trunk and reached for the one Juli was holding.
“You’re trying too hard to kill the dimples and not succeeding. Don’t laugh. You aren’t the one that got dunked.”
Maia giggled anyway as she closed the trunk lid. “I know it’s not funny.” She put her arm around Juli who was stepping away. “I’m sorry.” She covered her face with her hand. When she removed it, she was in control again.
“Seriously, I’m not laughing at you, but I’ll never forget the look on Jake’s face as he went over the edge.” Maia went to the driver’s side. “You’re comfortable with leaving Ben for the afternoon?”
Juli paused, her fingers gripping the door handle. She looked at her car parked nearby, behind the gallery, then slipped into the car seat. “He was well this morning. I got my phone replaced, so he can call or text me.”
“Oh, no. Your phone went into the sound with you?”
“Oh, yes.”
“I apprecia
te you coming with me. I don’t usually deliver purchases to clients, but this one is a little different. I’ve been working with her so closely and she’s a great customer. Now that I have Brendan, I can take a little field trip from time to time.” A short distance down Front Street they turned onto Liveoak and then to Rt. 70.
“I love the gallery, but sometimes it’s nice to see it at the other end, from the client’s perspective. It’s a beautiful drive and you might enjoy seeing the house. I’ve only seen photos, but it’s something special.”
“Honestly, I’m not comfortable leaving Ben, but he was looking forward to Luke coming over.” She leaned her head back and rubbed her temples. “They’ll enjoy their visit more, you know, as just the guys.”
Maia didn’t answer, but stared at the road, her hands on the steering wheel at ten and two. She drew in a ragged breath that sounded perilously close to a sob. Juli sat up and put a hand on the dashboard.
“Relax, Juli. I won’t drive us off the road. It hit me for a moment.” She sniffled and dabbed at her eyes with her sleeve. “You forget, you know? And then reality smacks you in the face.” Maia smiled, but with such sadness it almost brought Juli to tears, too. Maia must have felt it because she tried to recover the mood, “I’m so sorry. You’re regretting coming along, now.”
“No. Worried or not, it’s nice to do something different.”
“That’s what I said, right?”
The road ran due north and was lined with forest, mostly pines. Somewhere to the east was the river.
“I meant to tell you—guess who else took a dunking?”
“At Anna’s? Who?” Was this was a better topic? No matter, Juli was happy to get off the subject of losing Ben.
“Leslie.” Maia took her eyes off of the road to catch Juli’s expression. “Leslie Bryant. Do you know her? She came with Jake and Sally? I’m sure you saw her. She has red hair. Nice-looking woman.”
“I don’t remember her. Oh, wait. I do recall a tall woman with red hair. Jake said he brought a woman to meet Luke. Was that her?”
“Has to be. It was Sally who wanted to fix them up. Jake will do anything to make Sally happy. That’s the kind of guy I’d like to meet.” Maia reached down and grabbed her water bottle for a sip. “Well, anyway, Sally and Leslie ran down to the dock with everyone else and saw Jake go in. Sally moved to avoid getting pushed off and Leslie went in, instead.”
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