Savannah by the Sea

by Denise Hildreth Jones

  I wondered if that was how I had looked when Joshua had kissed me. And then I wondered if Grant had ever made me look that way. Maybe the day I kissed him for the first time. But there was such a familiarity between us that the kiss lacked passion, even though it held the uncertainty and innocent exploration that first kisses do. Sure, we’d shared moments of passion, mostly when we would see each other again after long absences, but never what I felt yesterday: worlds spinning, heart pounding, upper lip sweating.

  I returned my attention to my companions. Two of my favorite companions. The Coke had a kick all the way down. And so I began. “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

  “Those two at it again?” Mother asked.

  Well, this was just getting better and better.

  She exited the house with her pooch princess, who wore a lovely new pink leopard collar and matching bandana. Mother was as pristinely attired as well in pale pink linen, complete makeup, and heels, even though most people were still wearing pajamas and leaning back in rockers at this time of day. For most, vacation applied to morning, afternoon, and evening. For Vicky, vacation just applied to Victoria time.

  I didn’t even mention it. That would be asking for an explanation I didn’t need. “Yeah, he just headed back up the street. You’ve seen them before?”

  “We see them every day, don’t we, Magnolia?” She cooed as she sat down next to me and spread across her lap a leopard-print blanket with Magnolia’s name embroidered at the corner. Maggy jumped up and made herself comfortable.

  Life wasn’t right. The woman had gone to talking to dogs. If Maggy talked back, I was taking the bus home.

  “We watch them laugh and giggle.” She patted Maggy’s front paws together, as if pat-a-cake was their morning ritual. “They sneak around that house, looking for a hiding place all the time, and then they act like they haven’t seen each other for years each time he knocks on her window.”

  I stared back across the street, catching the eye of the young girl, who turned and ran. “I thought that’s what falling in love was like.”

  “What? All laughter and giggles?”

  “No, all aches when they’re not with you and aches when you watch them go.”

  “Savannah Phillips . . .” She looked at me. I didn’t turn her way, because I knew she thought she was reading something in me. But she would be sadly mistaken.“I know something has gotten into you. Have you met someone? Oh my word, you have!” She shifted in her chair, causing Maggy to look as if she was getting motion sickness.“I mean, yesterday you came back humming one of those Barbra Streisand tunes, which you know I abhor.” She had lost all fondness for Ms. Streisand the day she sang “Evergreen” for the Clintons. Mother briefly wept over the loss of one of her favorite entertainers. But grief was soon replaced by the usual disdain for anyone who insulted her dear Bushie. Thank the Lord and celebrate the land of Dixie that Barbra wasn’t at the White House dinner. Helen Thomas’s rebuke would have been poppycock compared to what Mother would have rained on Ms. Streisand.

  “Was that why you weren’t with us at dinner last night?”

  I stood up from my chair and grabbed my Coke and book. I patted the head of her little creature, who seemed about to lose her breakfast.“Mother, love hasn’t visited my radar for years. But if you want to know, yes, I was with a gentleman last night. But there is absolutely no reason for you to meet him, because I’m not sure that there’s much to it.” And with that, I departed for more comfortable surroundings.

  “We’ll keep our eye on her,” I heard her assure Pink Toes.“A very close eye. I actually wasn’t sure if she would ever find anyone like our sweet Thomas has. My boy’s found a beautiful girl, did you know that, Maggy?” Maggy responded with a hacking noise, amazingly loud for such a petite little creature. Thank the Lord above for distractions. And for Thomas. He’d taken a load off of me this time.

  The love bugs landed on the front of my shirt. I swatted them.“Really, I’m not in the mood.”

  “Where are you headed?” I asked the rather snazzy-looking sister in the new red bikini.

  Paige turned as if she were a cat caught with Tweety in its mouth.“What?”

  “You heard me,” I said, blocking the stairway by stretching my arms across the banisters. “I said, where are you going?”

  “Savannah, really.We are at the beach. And when one is at the beach, one must lie on the beach.”

  “You’re going to meet that little cabana boy we met yesterday, aren’t you?”

  A sly smile spread across her face.“Love is in the air, Savannah,” she said, breathing in dramatically. She exhaled even more dramatically. “Ahh. Can’t you smell it, sunshine? Of course you can smell it, can’t you?” She tried to move my arm out of the way. “Now you will move, or I will reveal your secret to your mother.”

  I dropped my arm.“She knows my secret,” I snipped.

  “Ha!” she snorted.“She knows half your secret. I will give her no-holds-barred, Katy-bar-the-door, Santa-Claus-is-coming-to-town-and-all-that-stuff secret.” Her nose was about to touch my own.

  “You are shameless.”

  She gave me a peck on the cheek.“Yes, absolutely shameless. Come join me later.”

  “No, I’ll take care of Amber for you.You were too gracious to me yesterday.”

  “Well, she wasn’t all . . . yes, you’re right! I did, didn’t I? Ooh, well, have fun, because your dad went to meet Thomas at the golf course in San Destin. So it will just be the three of you today! Plus, I have an appointment at the art gallery today. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? To have my work in two locations?” She laughed, skipping all the way down the stairs.

  A shudder went through me at the thought that I might actually have to spend the entire day with Mother and Amber.“Just the three of us?”

  I heard only sinister laughter that bobbed in through the swinging screen door as it bounced back into place.

  Manuel was stretched out on a chaise that rested on the front porch. I watched as Lucy bent down to kiss him. All he did was smile.

  “You two need to stop that,” I said as I opened the gate.

  Manuel placed his hands behind his head and returned the same smile to me.“She’s a captivating woman. I can’t help it.”

  She winked.“Savannah,how was your evening? Eventful, I hope.”

  I would give them nothing. “Oh, not much to tell. Just another evening trying to get a story.”

  They shared a look. Honestly, they were about as bad as the love bugs.

  Lucy headed to the screen door.“Can I get you some breakfast? We had a big one today. Frosted Flakes and bananas.”

  “That would be wonderful.”

  “Have a seat, Savannah.” Manuel motioned to the small dining table in the corner of the front porch across from his chaise. He turned on his side.“So, anymore sightings of that Joshua guy?”

  “Oh, a few here, a few there.”

  “Don’t want to talk about it?”

  I eyed him with a raised eyebrow.“I’d much more enjoy talking about you.”

  Lucy returned with my cereal, and for the next hour they shared their story. Truth be told, I did cry some. So did they.The question was, would Mr. Hicks send me to New Orleans myself by the time this was over? I was certain he would let me know. But in the entire hour I was there, the one thing that was evident was that Lucy and Manuel would have made it through even worse than Katrina simply because they had each other. Maybe Kate and Adam needed to spend an hour with Lucy and Manuel, learn how to love without destroying each other in the process.

  There we lay. The three stooges. Stooge number one was lying with her calves hidden beneath an umbrella and the rest of her body in the sun. With any luck she’d get her skin tones to match.

  Stooge number two sat propped up with her binoculars, looking up and down the beach for one person and one person alone: the man solely responsible for preventing her from falling into the abyss of all loser
beauty queens.

  And stooge number three, trying to read a book in lieu of fig- uring out a way to get out of another day at the beach with stooges one and two.

  Placing the straps of my bikini top underneath my arms, I began. “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

  “Let’s play the name-that-person game!” Amber said, clapping her hands together. Maybe I should have let her get at least waist deep this morning.

  “The what?” I asked, trying to refrain from slamming my book shut.

  “Ooh, there goes, um . . . um Jackie. Yoo-hoo, Jackie!”

  I leaned forward. The girl in the pink bathing suit never turned our way.

  “Well, I guess that wasn’t her name. But she sure looked like a Jackie.”

  The child really was a rhinestone short of a complete tiara.

  Mother raised her head.“So, how do you play?”

  Amber laid out the rules.“You just call people by what you think their name is. Like, see that hairy man coming up the beach.What does he look like to you?”

  Mother tipped her sunglasses to the bottom of her nose. “A Ted, maybe?”

  I squinted.

  “Let’s see if it’s Ted. Yoo-hoo,Ted!” Amber called out.

  The man turned and looked.

  Amber got giddy. “You did it, Miss Victoria, you did it! His name’s Ted.”

  I lay down with a sigh.“His name isn’t Ted, it’s Big Foot. The man has as much hair on his back as he does his stomach, and you yelled at him so loud he had no choice but to look.”

  “Ooh, Savannah’s cranky this morning,” Amber said, picking up a Kit-Kat bar from the cooler.

  “You try it, Savannah,” Mother said.

  “No.”

  “Come on, try it.”

  “Yeah, Savannah. Don’t be a beach-pooper; try it.”

  I looked at the two of them. If I did this, I would no longer have any excuse for my stupidity. No, it would be completely my fault. I looked at a little girl in a pink polka dot bikini who was filling up her beach bucket with sand. “Angelica,” I said smugly. “She looks like an Angelica.”

  No sooner had I said that than little polka-dot bikini’s mama called, “Angelica, come get you some more sunscreen.”

  Mother’s and Amber’s mouths went agape. I raised my right eyebrow and laid my head back down. They’d never want to play with me again. And they’d never know that I had just been in the ladies’ room with the mother and little girl ten minutes ago.

  “Ooh, Amber. Look, sweetie, it’s noon. If we want to get to the stores by two to get you a new dress, we better hurry.”

  “What does Amber need a new dress for?” I asked, trying to wipe away the sweat that had just slipped underneath my sunglasses and was stinging my eyes.

  “Oh, well, Amber thinks Joshua might invite her to dinner this week, and I told her she just needed a new dress to make herself feel really special for the occasion.” Mother wrapped her red floral wrap around her petite waist. The sun rested on her dark brown hair, which was growing out and now fell nearly to her shoulders.

  “You can come with us.” Amber tossed her empty wrapper into her beach bag and reached for her bathing suit wrap. She swung her long legs to the side of the chair. Her french manicured toenails underscored her perfection.

  “Amber, has Joshua agreed to go to dinner with you?”

  “Well, no, silly. But I could see it all in his eyes this morning. He just didn’t want to seem too anxious. You know how guys are.”

  “And you want to buy her a new dress?” I quizzed Mother.

  She shook her blanket, and the wind drove her sand right into my face. I tried to spit it out.

  “Ooh, I’m sorry, darling. And yes, I want to buy Amber a new dress. She deserves a pick-me-up after all she’s been through. And you are welcome to come, though I know you hate shopping.” Mother laid her towel atop her matching red tote.

  “I don’t hate shopping,” I said rather defensively.

  She cast a questioning expression my way. “Oh, you don’t? Well, then I must have misunderstood all of that kicking and screaming you’ve done for the last twenty-four years.”

  I turned to my side and tried to look casual while keeping a firm grip on my bathing suit straps with my armpits. “Mother, Mother, Mother . . . a woman grows into the enjoyment of those things.”

  “Well, that’s some of the best news I’ve heard! Why don’t you join us then?” Amber danced.

  “Well, I would, but I’ve really got to get to work on the rest of my story.”

  “Savannah, come on, we’ll have fun,” Mother said, reaching for her own bag.

  “No, please, you two go. Have some bonding time. I’m going to lie here and read. I don’t get a lot of time to do that at home. Please, go enjoy yourselves.”

  Amber laid her wrap back down beside her.“No way.We’re not leaving you here by yourself. It just wouldn’t be right.”

  Mother didn’t seem real excited about Amber’s insistence.

  “Honestly, go. I love to read. Alone. Please, you’ll hurt my feelings more if you stay.” I had never said something more truthful in my life.

  “You’re sure,” Mother said as she finished loading up her stuff. More a statement than a question.

  My cell phone rang. I could have kissed it. I looked down at the caller ID. It was Mr. Hicks. I wouldn’t rush to answer it. “Absolutely. Go. Please.”

  “Okay, but I feel horrible about this,” Amber said, wrapping her skirt around her.

  It rang again. I swatted at them. “Don’t. Have fun. Buy me something if that will make you feel better.” I was brazen.

  Mother loved that idea.“Ooh,we’ll get you something great.”

  Amber packed up her bag. “While we’re out, Miss Victoria, can I pick up a subscription?”

  Mother looked at her. “You can’t pick up subscriptions, Amber.”

  “I can’t call it in to a pharmacy or something?”

  “She means prescription,” I said, rolling onto my back and settling into a peaceful position.

  “Oh, sure child.” Mother looked at her pitifully and patted her on the shoulder. She pulled her toward the stairs.“We’ll get you your subscription.” Mother looked over her shoulder and shook her head at me as if she wasn’t completely certain the girl was altogether together.

  “Hello?”

  All I got was a dial tone. I’d have to get back to him. Right back to him.

  I stared at page 1 of my book. It had been a rather interesting first page.Okay, first line. I was alone now.This was my moment. I gazed at my bathing suit wrap lying there all taunting. I was hungry. I could pick the book back up a little later.

  Granted, for the last ten years that has been the greatest longing of my heart: time alone, a good book. But a girl did need food.

  I adjusted my straps, packed up my book, and slipped on my wrap. I crammed my beach towel into my tote bag and decided I’d just take a walk. Walks on the beach were what vacation was all about anyway. But first I’d see what I could find for lunch. Plus, I needed to celebrate the fact that I’d found a story.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  I hate dead people. So, I’m not altogether sure why The Poseidon Adventure is one of my favorite movies, seeing as how so many people die in it, even Shelley Winters, but there it is. So it had never made any sense to me why someone would name a house by a boat that sank and killed people, until the day I realized that what I thought was the Poseidon was in fact the Proteus. I was glad I never mentioned that story to anyone.

  Not far away, bikes rested against the stairs that led to the beach. I knew that was the direction that I should head, even though I had come up other stairs just a few moments ago in search of food. As I came to the Tupelo Beach Pavilion in one of the oldest sections of Seaside, I gazed down at the white sands of the Gulf Coast. Heads bobbed in the water, and I could hear the sound of their laughter. I watched quietly. They would go through waves
and come up shaking their heads. An odd thing boys do. They would wipe the saltwater from their mouths and noses and then do it all over again. As I was about to head their way, I stopped to watch as Mr. North rose up out of the water.

  “Oh my stars, I do believe I might need to cover my eyes.” The man coming up out of that water had a prettier chest than we’d seen in days. And his wet, black chest hair glistened beautifully in the warm sun.

  It was the first time I had seen him without his shirt, and I was thankful for the chance to view without his knowledge of my scrutiny.That would have made for even a far more awkward moment than the one I was now experiencing.The man was as fine as the fizz of my Coca-Cola.That I could not deny.

  I decided to descend the stairs as nonchalantly as possible. After all, this was a public beach.

  Johnny gave me away. Who did that surprise. Joshua turned to see what he hadn’t noticed. But the smile that swept across his face assured me he noticed now. He headed my direction, drying his curls with the edge of his towel.

  “How did you get away?” he asked, wrapping his towel around the back of his neck. His swim partners raised their hands in a wave and then headed over to their beach chairs to leave us alone.

  “What? I’m just out for a walk.” I crossed my arms and rubbed them.A vain effort to comfort my uncomfortable self.“Everyone else had plans today. Shopping and golf, I think it was. I don’t do either.”

  “What? You don’t shop?” he asked incredulously, tugging at each end of his towel and leaning in with his shock.

  “Hardly ever. Mother has left me scarred. Plus, she’s more than willing to do it for me.” I leaned in, making my own statement.