First Class Farewell

by Aj Harmon

  “Match point!” yelled Mark. “Come on you pansies. Put up a fight,” he tormented his opponents.

  Adam stood, brushing the sand from his chest and stomped back to his brother. They were playing two on two. Adam and Tyler against Mark and Paul. It wasn’t even close.

  Paul served and Tyler got his hand under the ball, shooting it into the air. Adam timed his jump perfectly and smacked it over the net…right into Paul’s hands. The ball came down at Adam’s feet.

  “Oh, yeah,” Paul chest bumped his brother. “Unstoppable!”

  Shelby watched with amusement. The family was tight but when it came to friendly competition, it wasn’t friendly at all. Adam and Tyler looked dejected. They were younger and faster than Paul and Mark, but had still lost…badly. Being the good sports that they were, the four men fist bumped each other and headed for the bucket of ice that held cold beers Beth had just delivered from the house. The men collapsed in the shade with a bottle and rested briefly before Paul rescued Nic from a very tired three year old.

  Adam emptied his bottle and then stood and turned to Shelby. “Wanna go for a walk?”

  “Sure,” she replied. Lowering her sunglasses to the bridge of her nose, she stood and followed Adam down to the hard wet sand then fell in alongside.

  They walked for a while in companionable silence. Adam kicked at the water lapping at his toes and stared off out at the sea.

  “It’s so beautiful here. Almost makes you want to not go back, huh?” she sighed.

  “Sadly, I’d run out of money very quickly,” Adam chuckled. “And really. How long can you live in paradise before you get bored?”

  “Bored?” Shelby was shocked. “I feel like I haven’t had eight hours of continuous sleep in years. It feels so good to crawl into bed and stay there without the alarm going off, or my cell phone or pager. I think I could crawl into bed and stay there for a few days.”

  “And then?” Adam grinned. “Once you’d caught up on your sleep you’d get bored.”

  Shelby shrugged, but grinned. Adam waded into the water past his knees. “Wanna swim?”

  She shrugged off the shirt she wore and unbuttoned her shorts, once again hesitation as she exposed her scar to the world. Adam noted the slight pause but ignored it and waded further into the calm water. He stood and waited for her to join him as the water lapped gently at his waist. He heard her behind him and as he turned a wall of water crashed across his face. Shelby erupted in laughter as Adam wiped the water from his eyes. “You’re mine,” he growled.

  “ARGH!” she shrieked as he dove for her. Flinging herself to the side, she swam as quickly as her arms could paddle but he was too agile and dove underneath her.

  Grabbing her waist Adam tugged and pulled her backwards as she squealed with laughter and under the water she went. As they both came up for air, they found themselves with barely any space between them and when Shelby lifted her arms to wipe the hair clinging to her cheek, her breasts grazed across his chest.

  He gasped. She noticed…and froze.

  “I can help you,” he offered in almost a whisper, and cautiously…carefully…gently pushed the strand of hair from her face. He leaned in and placed a sweet kiss where her hair had been. As he pulled back, Shelby closed her eyes and licked her lips.

  For such an innocent and unconscious act, it sent lightning bolts through Adam’s body, his awareness of her body so close creating tension where tension shouldn’t be. Falling backwards, he put some distance between them and laughed. “I always win a water fight.”

  *****

  On the balcony of the house sat Janie and Katy, each nursing a Piña Colada and relaxing.

  “Did you see that?” Katy shot up from her chair.

  “I did,” Janie replied.

  “Well, it’s about flippin’ time!” Katy turned to Janie and smiled.

  “Do you think there’s something going on?”

  “I don’t know but I sure hope so.”

  The two women watched as Adam fell backwards into the water and swam back to the shore. He and Shelby were laughing and obviously enjoying each other’s company.

  “I’ve wanted her to meet someone who would be kind and understanding,” Katy said. “I never thought she would see what was right in front of her the whole time.”

  “Well, we don’t know what this is…yet,” replied Janie.

  “No,” Katy agreed. “But it doesn’t mean that we can’t help define it.”

  “Remember how much you liked Maureen helping you and Mark,” Janie chuckled.

  “Oh, that was different.”

  “How?” Janie asked.

  “Well, we were already together…already madly in love with each other and we both knew we were committed to the relationship. This,” she pointed down to Adam and Shelby on the beach, “is obviously still in the exploratory stages. And besides, we aren’t anything like Maureen!”

  “Oh, yes?” Janie grinned.

  Katy snorted and ignored her friend. “You can tell by their body language. They haven’t slept together. They’re very awkward around each other.”

  “You seem to be able to tell an awful lot by one little kiss,” Janie chuckled.

  “I know Shelby. She’d going to need some prodding…some encouragement.”

  “And we are the ones to do that?”

  “Definitely!” Katy grinned.

  14.

  Prodding

  “What on earth are you doing?”

  Katy looked behind her to see Mark standing with his hands on his hips waiting for an answer.

  “What does it look like?” she growled.

  “Pouring gallons of milk down the sink, that’s what. What the hell are you doing that for?”

  “We need to be out of milk.”

  “Why,” Mark asked, but he wasn’t at all sure he wanted to know the answer.

  “So we can send Adam to get some more.”

  “Of course!” Mark nodded, mocking his wife. “That makes perfect sense. Yes. Cynthia stocks the house with groceries so that you can waste perfectly good milk, all for the obvious reason of sending Adam to get more. How silly of me to ask.”

  Katy rolled her eyes and summoned him closer with a flick of her head. “We need to give Adam and Shelby an opportunity to be alone,” she whispered.

  “Because?”

  “To let things progress naturally.”

  “It’s not natural if you’re forcing them together.”

  “Semantics,” she hissed.

  Mark chuckled. “And what natural things do you think will come of them being alone together?”

  “That we have to wait to see.”

  “And this all makes perfect sense to you?”

  “Of course it does,” she snapped back. “Sometimes a little prodding is all that’s needed to encourage people to see what’s right in front of them.”

  “I clearly remember a certain someone who did not enjoy being prodded,” he smirked.

  “Oh, don’t you start, too,” she warned. “This is not the same thing.”

  “If you say so.”

  “I say so,” she replied sternly.

  Mark chuckled, kissed her on the cheek and then wandered out of the kitchen just as Janie came down the stairs. “Are you in on this?” he asked her.

  “In on what?” she replied innocently.

  “Okay,” Mark laughed. “I’ll be outside if you decide you need to get rid of all the cheese, too.”

  As Janie entered the kitchen, she saw four milk jugs standing on the granite counter.

  “Done!” smiled Katy.

  “No one saw you?” Janie asked looking worried.

  “Just Mark.”

  “So now we wait,” Janie nodded.

  *****

  Shelby had offered to take Lisa down to the pool so that Sophia could rest. She blew up the inflatable ring and sat Lisa in it and walked down the steps into the water. Lisa shrieked with joy as they paddled around and splashed, Shelby enjoying herself ju
st as much as the two year old.

  Adam watched through the glass doors of the pool house. He sat at the small dining table and closed his eyes as he listened to them giggle.

  There has to be a way to help her understand what a wonderful mother she’d be, he thought. The idea that because such vile things had happened to her meant she wouldn’t be a great mom baffled him. He knew that to be completely false and wanted Shelby to realize it. But how?

  He didn’t have a chance to dwell on it though. Janie knocked on the door, forcing his eyes open. He yelled for her to come in and she walked in to find her son doing nothing, just as she’d hoped.

  “I need you to run into town for me. Could you please?”

  Adam shrugged. “I guess. You’re not sending Cynthia or Bob?”

  “Cynthia has already started dinner preparations and Bob is helping Peter with something,” she lied. Well, it isn’t a total lie, she told herself. Cynthia was peeling potatoes, but she had no idea where Bob was or what he was doing, but he had to be doing something.

  “Alright. What is it you need?”

  “Milk.”

  “How? We had like five gallons in the fridge this morning!”

  Janie shrugged. She wasn’t a good liar. Better to keep it simple. “It’s all gone.” That was the truth after all.

  “Fine. Just write down exactly what you want,” he said as he stood and walked over to his flip flops.

  Janie turned and all but ran back to the house, almost knocking over Matt as she flung open the French doors looking for Katy.

  “Okay, he’ll go, but he’s going now,” she blurted to Katy who was coming down the stairs.

  “Now?”

  Janie nodded.

  “But Shelby’s in the pool!”

  “I know!” Janie replied.

  “What are you two going on about?” Matt asked.

  Taking two steps at a time, Katy flew down the stairs and out to the patio. Ripping off her shorts and t-shirt, she dove into the pool and swam to Shelby and all but yanked Lisa from her hands.

  “My turn,” she exclaimed, leaving Shelby with a confused look on her face.

  Shelby stood up, the water at her waist and watched Katy bob down the pool with Lisa in tow. She walked to the steps and climbed up and out just as Adam exited the pool house.

  “Here you go,” Janie smiled at him as she handed him a list on a post it note, the keys to the car, and a wad of cash.

  “I have money,” he frowned.

  “Just take it,” she smiled, pushing it into his hands.

  Shelby brushed past them as she walked to the bench that held her towel.

  “Why don’t you take Shelby?” Janie suggested.

  “Um, okay,” Adam stuttered.

  “Shelby?” Janie swung around. “I need Adam to go buy milk. Why don’t you go with him?”

  “I’m wet.”

  “You’ll dry off in the car. It’s a warm day,” Janie said.

  Matt, watching the conversation, shook his head in disbelief. Katy flicked water at him and when he looked down at her she shook her head and hissed, “Shhhhhhh.” He chuckled and walked into the house.

  “Yeah, okay,” Shelby shrugged. “Let me grab my sandals.”

  Within just a few minutes the two had walked to the garage, climbed into the Jeep and were pulling out of the driveway. Janie collapsed on the chair by the pool and buried her face in her hands.

  “What?” Katy asked her.

  “That was horrible!” she muttered. “I don’t think I can do that again.”

  “Good!” came the voice from the doorway.

  Janie jerked her head up to see Matt looking down at her. “You two should stay out of this.”

  “Why?” Katy said. “There are obviously sparks there. We just need to provide some oxygen to fan the tiny little flames.”

  “Good grief.” Matt rolled his eyes.

  *****

  The drive to the market was about fifteen minutes. The picturesque scenery was worth the trip. Miles of white sand lay outside of Shelby’s window with the bluest of blue water for as far as the eye could see.

  “I can’t imagine why Leslie and Jackie didn’t want to come,” Shelby frowned. “It’s so beautiful and peaceful here.”

  “I’ve only met them a couple of times,” Adam said. “They weren’t very close to Ray, well, not until recently. From what Matt said, the divorce was anything but amicable and once his ex moved to Detroit, I think she hoped Ray would be out of their lives permanently. And it’s sad,” he added. “Ray was one of the kindest men I’ve known. To deprive your children of their father out of spite is awful. I think it must have taken an enormous amount of strength to show such love for their father and ask Matt to scatter his ashes.”

  “How?”

  “It would be hard to accept that your dad’s boss was more of a family to him that you were. Who did Ray spend holidays with? Us. Who did he vacation with? Us. And Jackie and Leslie knew it.”

  “I guess,” Shelby said, although unconvinced.

  Adam noticed her skepticism. “They asked the person who knew Ray the best, spent the most time with him, to say goodbye. I think it’s a very unselfish thing for them to do.”

  “But Matt asked them to come and they refused.”

  “Would you want to have gone with a family you barely knew?”

  “Probably not.”

  “It’s made me think about what I would want my family to do after I die.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  “Mom and Matt have their funeral already planned. They’ve bought plots here on the island. Wills are all signed and everything is taken care of – they have left all questions answered. I’d like to do the same.”

  “I don’t see what the big deal is,” Shelby shrugged. “You’ll be dead. You won’t know…or care.”

  “But the family I leave behind will. I want it to be as painless as possible.”

  “Then I guess it’s a good thing I won’t be leaving any family behind when I die,” Shelby snorted.

  “That is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard!” Adam replied.

  “Why?”

  “If you die without a family to mourn you, it will have meant you’ve lived without a family.”

  “So?”

  “So?” he repeated. “It means you’ve been alone…your entire life.”

  “So?” she said again.

  “Don’t you want somebody to laugh with? To spend the evenings with? To make love with?”

  “That just opens you up to pain. I’ve seen pain and I’m not interested in inviting it back to live with me permanently.”

  They drove the rest of the way in silence.

  *****

  That night as Adam lay in bed, Shelby’s words rolled around and around in his head. How sad it was to know that to her, family meant pain. The idea was so foreign to him that he couldn’t even begin to understand it.

  Unable to sleep, he threw back the sheet and climbed from the bed. Stepping into the clothes he’s just taken off, he headed outside. Looking up at the main house, most lights were off, so he wandered around through the garden and headed for the beach.

  A silhouette stood before him as he stepped onto the sand. It was either Matt or one of his uncles…all the brothers looked pretty much the same from behind and in the dark. As he moved closer, the figure swung around to see who was approaching.

  “Adam,” smiled Matt. “Can’t sleep?”

  “Nah. You?”

  He shook his head then turned back to the peace of the sea. “It’s calming to just breathe the air and listen to the water.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure,” Matt nodded.

  “Before you met Mom, you weren’t going to get married again.”

  Matt nodded again.

  “So what made you change your mind?” Adam asked.

  Matt chuckled. “Your Mom did.”

  “How?”

  “You want the long version or the
short version?”

  Adam shrugged.

  “Let’s sit,” Matt said as he walked to the beach chairs. Once settled, he took a deep breath and began. “How much do you know?”

  “Well, you met on the plane when Mom went to New York for her vacation. You spent some time together and then she came home. You missed her and went to Portland a few weeks later and told her you loved her and were married in August.”

  “That is the very abridged version,” Matt chuckled. “But accurate enough.”

  “So there’s more to the story.” It was more of a statement than a question.

  “Oh, yeah. A whole lot more. You know I’d been divorced…twice. Both complete disasters and neither of them involving any kind of love or emotion. But then along came your Mom and…well, she knocked the air from my lungs. And the few days I spent with her in New York were the happiest of my life, up until that point, of course,” he grinned. “She was nothing like the women I knew and when she left to go back to Portland, well, let’s just say that I was left an empty shell. Once I decided to go and beg for her to let me be a part of her life, I knew what I wanted and it was the whole thing; the woman, the commitment, the trust…everything! And only with her. If she’d said no, well, I don’t want to think about it.”

  “She didn’t say no.”

  “No, thank God,” Matt smiled. “She didn’t. And now I have four amazing kids and a life I’d never even allowed myself to dream of.”

  Adam listened, pondering Matt’s words. “Shelby doesn’t want a family. Not a husband or kids…nothing. She says it will cause too much pain.”

  “I’m not surprised,” Matt whispered.

  “Really?”

  Matt shook his head. “Adam, do you understand what her family was like? Can you imagine being a child and having to deal with a mother who’s a drug addict and letting her boyfriends do whatever they wanted to you? The horror that she must have faced, well, I can’t even imagine. I grew up with parents who adored me and protected me and provided me with everything I needed. So did you. We don’t have a fucking clue what it was like for her. I’m not going to judge her choice for not wanting to be vulnerable. I think she’s wrong because she has so much to give. She’ll be an amazing wife and mother. But I acknowledge it’s her choice to make.”