Savannah by the Sea

by Denise Hildreth Jones

  “So what got Joshua North from Jacksonville, Florida, to Savannah, Georgia?” I asked as we climbed the endless set of stairs.

  “A job.A man will go anywhere for a job.”

  “The one you have now?”

  “Yeah. I applied right out of college. I knew to become a writer for a larger paper, I would have to start with a smaller one.”

  “Do you have aspirations for the New York Times or the Washington Post or something?”

  “Did.”

  “Did?”

  “Yeah. I wanted to be an investigative journalist. But then I came to Savannah and grew fond of the pace. The city. The girl.”

  “So you determined you were fond of me and just decided to stay? I find that one hard to believe.”

  “Actually, the day you walked into that office, I was headed to turn in my resignation.”

  “Nuh-uh!”

  “Uh-huh!” he mimicked. “I was tired of covering the shenanigans of your mother and Amber. I wanted something more. And then something more walked in wearing those gray slacks and that pink sweater . . .”

  “There is no way you remember what I was wearing.”

  “. . . accompanied by those gray slip-on shoes with matching Kate Spade satchel. And when I saw you, I remembered that I had almost run over you . . . ”

  “Almost?”

  “Okay, slapped you flat on your back that morning in front of your house, when you were about to take Duke for a walk. And the same feeling came over me again.”

  “What feeling?”

  “That goose bump feeling,” he said, shaking.

  “I did not give Joshua North goose bumps,” I said, laughing.

  “You did. And then when I saw you in the office that day, I knew.”

  “Knew what?”

  “That I wouldn’t leave that paper until I knew that I had done everything in my power to make you love me.”

  I stared at him there.“You say that so easily.”

  “What? Love?”

  “Yeah. We don’t even know each other. I don’t even know your mother’s name, so how can I love you?”

  “Her name is Vivian.”

  “Vivian?”

  “Yes, mighty close to Victoria, isn’t it?”

  “Worlds apart, I’m certain. For your sake, worlds apart.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  So when do you get to meet the family?” Johnny asked as he poured another Dr Pepper. I believe it was his fifth.

  “I’m not sure she can handle the family,” Joshua said, pushing his empty plate out from in front of him.

  “I told you. If I can handle mine, I can handle yours.”

  Johnny sat his cup down deliberately.“You mean she doesn’t know anything about your family?”

  “I know his mother’s name is Vivian.”

  “Okay, and do you know his father?”

  Joshua tilted his head to the side and shot me a look. Not a look of fear or of discomfort. Just a look. A look that seemed to let me know I’d find it all out eventually. Why not tonight? Johnny was perfectly content to oblige.

  “His mother is quiet,” Johnny started.

  “Uh-huh. And his father?” I asked.

  “Well, his dad is . . . can I just be honest, Josh?” He turned and looked at his friend.

  Joshua nodded.

  “Well, his dad is a rather, shall we say—”

  “Be gentle,” Joshua said.

  “Well, he had trouble being faithful.”

  I tried to hide my expression. It didn’t work.

  “Joshua, I’m sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about,” Joshua said tipping up his own Dr Pepper. “My life is what it is.”

  “But his mother is great,” said Celeste,who was still sitting at the end of the table. “A little wounded but a sweet lady.”

  “She never outgrew being the victim,” Joshua added. “She’s not strong like your mother. She would take him back tomorrow and let him cheat on her for the rest of her life.” I heard a hint of the remaining frustration.

  “I wouldn’t say my mother is strong. Stubborn maybe. Strong, well, that’s my dad’s department.”

  “Well,my father married affair number umpteenth. She’s my age, dumb as a rock, and living off the money of her last husband. Just the kind of woman your mother would love.”

  “She’d have my grandmother flopping in her grave.”

  “Your mother’s mother?”

  “Yeah, she was my mother to the millionth degree. All the grace and class and all the drama and,well, drama. Where are your parents now?”

  “Well, my dad is living somewhere in Las Vegas. He sends a birthday card to me, and to both my sisters on my baby sister’s birthday. That way it only costs one stamp instead of three. He calls sometime around Christmas if he remembers. But he never remembers.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter, Josh. You and your sisters came out wonderfully,” Johnny reassured him.

  “You have sisters?”

  “I have two. Hannah, who is three years younger than me. She just graduated college and moved back to Florida to work in my mother’s jewelry store, which is a wonderful influence for my mother. My baby sister, Lauren, is still at the University of Florida and just turned nineteen. I love that girl,” he said, appreciating anyone who appreciated his Gators.“She talks like a lawn mower, but she’s always making sure everyone’s okay.”

  I turned my body toward his and took in his face for a moment. There was a tiny scar underneath his left eye. I placed my finger on it and traced it delicately.“And where did this come from?”

  “I gave that to him,” Johnny said.“It was a brutal fight over a woman named Savannah.” He grinned from ear to ear.

  Joshua laughed, and the small scar curved upward toward his ebony eye. “It came from a ruthless linebacker who hated me for four years of high-school football. That came on year number four. He wanted to leave me with a little something.”

  “Coach Robbins and his wife really are what saved Joshua and his sisters,” Celeste added.

  “Is that your football coach?”

  “Yeah. My dad showed up my first day of practice my freshman year to let me know he was leaving.‘For good,’ he said. He had left ‘for good’ about ten other times. But coach overheard our conversation, invited me to his house for dinner, and pretty much kept me around ever since. He coached every game I was in and came to every one I played in college. His wife became like a second mother to my sisters and has tried to encourage my mother endlessly through the years. And they both still call every Sunday afternoon to make sure I’m in church and not out drinking or smoking.”

  “That’s amazing that you would have someone like that in your life who wasn’t your actual parent.”

  “His example really was what caused me to realize I wanted more for my life too.”

  “In what way?”

  “In every way. In my thoughts. In my lifestyle. In my passions. In my determination. And I wouldn’t trade the things that I’ve learned through the hard roads, because every road has led me right here.” He raised his eyes to meet my own.

  Johnny made gagging noises.“Okay, gush, gush.You just need to introduce her to the family and get on with it.”

  “I was planning to do that at our wedding.”The words flew out of his mouth like second nature.

  The Coke I had just swallowed lodged itself in the far recesses of my brain and set my eyes on fire. Wedding? Was he crazy? Right here in front of his friends?

  “I will be the best man,” Johnny announced.

  Celeste caught the look in my eye. “Johnny, hush.”

  “What?” Johnny stood up and yelled,“We’re having a wedding, everybody!”

  I wondered how I could pull my blouse up over my head to cover my face without exposing myself any further. I reached for Joshua’s hand. I squeezed it. Hard.“Could you excuse us just one moment?” I tugged him back in the direction of the beach.

  “What? You don�
��t want to marry me?” he said as I dragged him behind me down the stairs.

  “First, you tell all of them I’m going to be there tonight without me even knowing. And I let you get by with that. But now you go and plant a seed in their head that we’re getting married, and I’ve only even kissed you once.”

  “Twice.”

  “Oh, whatever! This is insane!You just make me crazy!You’ve always got to one-up me. Show me you’re the man! Well, I’m not a prize. I’m a person. And I just think you’re way too presumptuous for your own good. So I’ll leave you now to undo all that just got”—I flailed my arms in a vain attempt to undo—“done up there.”

  “Why can’t you see what everyone else can see?”

  “What? I see two strangers. Okay, two work associates. I’ll even give you that much. But love? How in the world could you love someone you don’t even know?”

  “The same way you love me.”

  I know my mouth flew open on that one. “Love you? Love is special, Joshua. I don’t throw those words around. If I ever tell you I love you, it will be real. Right.”

  “What I’m saying to you is real.” He stepped in close to try and calm me down.“This is completely real to me. I don’t throw these words around. I’ve only told one girl in my life I loved her, and I did.”

  “Who? Celeste?” I tried to hide my disgust.

  “Yes, and you shouldn’t say her name that way.”

  “This is just too fast.Too much, too soon.”

  He pulled me closer.“And one day you can tell me the same. But not until you’re completely ready. Besides, I already know.” He winked one set of his extravagantly, disgustingly long eyelashes.

  I sighed heavily, removed myself from his arms, and turned to walk up the beach to another pavilion and home.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” he said with that lilt in his voice.

  I turned and glared. All I could see were the whites of his teeth. His irritatingly perfect teeth.

  “Potty, precious. Go potty. Come on, now, go potty,” Mother cooed at the white ball of fur dangling from her hot pink leash, sniffing every shrub in the front yard. Mother was outside in her high-heeled bedroom shoes and Christian Dior pale pink nightgown and matching robe. She held a bottle of baby powder in her free hand.

  How did I deserve such a perfect evening? Lucky, I guess.

  “Now, come on, Magnolia! It is time to go potty.”

  “Do you think you can get her to potty on command?”

  “Ooh! Savannah Phillips! You about made me go potty! Don’t ever sneak up on me like that again.What in the world are you doing out so late? Where have you been?”

  With that the little thing squatted and saved the day. “Ooh, look, Mother. There she goes.”

  Mother flipped around just in time to catch sight of Maggy going potty. Mother started jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a child. Maggy got so excited over the fact that Mother was so excited that she came running and ran smack-dab into a tree. Thing let out a yelp, and Mother went over to attend to her boo-boo.

  “There, there, precious. Let’s get you powdered now and off to bed.”

  All of which allowed me to crawl into bed safely, where I longed to get at least to page 2 on my book. Give my mind an escape from the events of the day. Unfortunately, lying by my pillow was a note in pink stationery embossed with the words Miss Savannah United States of America. The handwritten lines on the inside read, “I hope your evening was perfect. You deserve it so much. Thank you for sharing your vacation with me. Love, Amber.” I slammed my head into the pillow. My head was still there come morning.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  The smell of baby powder had infiltrated his world of sweat and drool. So Duke was even more eager than usual for our tilling time this morning. The ocean offered us both what we needed. Me an opportunity to dissect my thoughts. He an opportunity to dissect the crab that he had conquered after I pulled it from his ear. His pent-up rage was released on the crustacean. I pitied the helpless hermit, but the poor dog had suffered undue trauma, and even the best of us could break under such burden.

  When I grew tired of watching Duke paw at his new conquest, I stared into the ocean. The heat of the sun had already permeated my clothes and my body, but the breeze off the water felt as if the world was offering me its finest gift. Tilling time had been loaded with questions. Questions of love and its fear. Questions of unsteady hearts and undue pain. And heaven had whispered a message of stillness.A stillness to allow love to prove itself, and an assurance that I didn’t have to figure out life before life actually revealed itself. So there I sat. Still.

  Duke eventually looked up from his conquest and turned in the direction of the staircase that led back to the street. I turned as well and saw Amber Topaz, not sauntering, but more like lumbering down the lumber. Duke whined and ran toward me.

  “Maggy not the only one who has you troubled, huh, boy?” I patted his head and attached his leash to his soft, brown leather collar.A Jake purchase.

  The cries of the plodding princess were a familiar tune. Duke and I made our way to her and awaited her arrival at the bottom step. The queen looked haggard. It was my hope that she hadn’t asked the mirror today who was the fairest of them all. It might have offered her few condolences. But the white shorts that she had on revealed the prettiest legs this side of . . . well, this side of the stairwell. Her white small-heeled sandals and white cotton sweater had her looking like a beach bum’s dream.

  “Have you seen the paper?” she asked as she made her way to the bottom step.

  “No, I haven’t had a chance to look at it this morning.”

  “Well, don’t bother.” She started blubbering and marching toward the water. “Because on the front cover of the ‘Life and Living’ section is the reigning Miss Georgia United States of America and Miss Florida United State’s picture, declaring them joint spokeswomen for . . . for . . . for TAN PERFECT! I WEAR TAN PERFECT!” she screamed to the heavens. I almost feared she would keep walking straight through the ocean until she reached China (okay, Mexico, but China sounds much better). Of course, she’d come to a watery grave before she received another stamp on her passport.

  I ran after her, stopping her just before she reached the packed sand, where the shadow of the last wave still remained. “What in the world are you going to do? Drown yourself ?”

  She looked back at me incredulously.“You’ve got to be kidding me. I have far too much life to live to kill myself. I was just going to . . . going to . . . GOING TO SWIM TO THE DEEP END OF THE OCEAN!” She started wailing again. Maybe the woman really did read.

  “Amber, get ahold of yourself.” I turned her face to me. Actually, she looked right over my head, but I cocked her face toward me, so she could at least see my eyes.“There is nothing in life worth taking yours. Especially not Tan Perfect. My stars, woman, have you smelled that stuff?”

  She looked at me as if she did not understand the question.

  “Well, I have.” But I refused to elaborate on my own run-in with the tanning lotion, an episode in which I believed the house was on fire. “The stuff smells like smoke! It’s not even worth shedding a tear over.”

  “Savannah, this is my dream. Do you understand that? Do you have any idea how hard I worked and deprived myself of fun and french fries and watched the news until I could have taken Dan Jennings’ place myself?”

  “I think it’s Dan Rather, but that doesn’t matter right now. Plus, he’s retired and replaced now anyway.”

  “Oh, who cares? Dan Rather. Dan Plather. Ugh!” she screamed into the wild blue yonder. “I’m so sick of all of this. I’m sick of being second. I’m sick of being an intruder on other people’s vacations. I’m sick of being alone.” And with that she plopped herself into the sand, covered her face, and wept like a baby.

  I hovered over her there as she sat in the sand. I didn’t rush the moment. Stillness, remember? Plus, it was so rare that I actually had the ability to hover o
ver her at all.“You are not alone,” I finally said, kneeling down and wrapping my arms around her. “You have not been alone for a long time. Certainly not since you met my mother. She’s been crazy about you since the first day she met you.”

  “But she’s the only one. My mother only likes me as long as I wear a tiara, and I wouldn’t know what my dad looked like if he came to the door selling the Ginko Knife.”

  Those words exposed her soul. A soul whose existence I had never even acknowledged. I felt a huge force lodge itself in my throat. “But look what you have now. A woman who thinks you’re great no matter whether you’re Miss Turnip Green or just Amber Topaz. A man in my father, who would be anything you needed him to be, and then there’s me and Paige who lo . . . lo . . .”—I tried one more time—“who love being your friends.”

  She looked up at me with a face that had no mascara streaks whatsoever. She really had amazing gifts. But her face was so lifeless and sad. It broke my heart right there at the edge of the ocean, even though her desperation did revolve around a tiara. But as Vicky had taught me months ago and continued to remind me, a dream is a dream, no matter how it presents itself.

  “It’s okay, sweet girl. You will never be alone again.” And there on the beach, I held Amber Topaz Childers in my arms. I could only smile politely at those who passed with their wide-eyed stares and strange glances. Duke wouldn’t even act like he knew us. He had extended his leash as far away from us as he could.That was how he caught the eye of the new arrival.

  “Hey, Duke, what are you—”

  I turned as soon as I heard Joshua’s voice. Amber looked up from her embedded position in my shoulder. And faster than a moth can turn into a butterfly, that sister had arisen from her grave of grief transformed. Those eyes scanned Joshua North more thoroughly than an X-ray machine at the airport scans my flip-flops.

  “Well, Joshua North!” she exclaimed, bounding in his direction. I caught his eye from behind her and shook my head violently, making it clear she had no idea of our previous evening, or afternoon, or past nine months of, well, of absolutely nothing. “What in the world are you doing here in Seaside?” She ran her fingers through her hair and wiped the sand off her beautiful behind.