White Dragon

by Regina A Hanel

  "You sure you don't want to go, Ma?" Matt said.

  "Yeah, Grandma, are you sure?" Jessie asked.

  "I'm sure. Grandma needs to rest. After lunch we can go swimming, okay, and Grandma will go in the water with you."

  "Okay," the kids shouted.

  Matt gave June his car keys and clambered into the back of the rental with his two kids. "God, Pirates Cove. I haven't been there in years. Do you think it's still open?"

  "I hope so," Sam said. "That was one of the neatest mini golf places around. I'm sure the kids will love it."

  "The kids, huh?" Halie said.

  On their way to mini-golf, Sam stopped at the liquor store and picked up a couple of bottles of wine for later. When she got back in the car, her ears were assaulted by the kid's yells that they wanted to play a name game in the car.

  "I get to start," Katelynn said. "I see an object from the car and yell it out. Then we go around the car in a circle, Halie, Auntie Sam, Jess, and then Dad, and back to me, with each person coming up with a word that starts with the same letter of the word I yelled out."

  "Yeah, and it has to be an object, it can't be a person's name or anything," Jess yelled.

  "The person who can't think of another word, before we get to the mini-golf course, loses," Katelynn said. "And you can't take too long. You have to be quick, say three seconds, or you're out."

  "Okay," Sam said, "I'm in." She was amused by their enthusiasm, thinking back on the games she played as a kid. With all the technology of today, she didn't think kids played these simple games anymore.

  "You're in trouble," Matt added. "They've got a ton of these games up their sleeves, and they're good at all of them."

  Sam pulled out of the liquor store parking lot and Katelynn shouted, "Okay we're starting now...billboard."

  Halie was next, and added "bucket." Around in the car came "baseball," "baby," "barn," "basketball," and "bounce."

  Katelynn yelled at Halie, "You lose! "˜bounce' isn't an object. Okay, now you're out and Auntie Sam picks the next word."

  Sam scanned the horizon and shouted "seagull," and the game started up again.

  WHEN THEY RETURNED to the house, Sam noticed her mom standing outside between her house and the neighbors' house to their left. Her mom, almost as if transfixed, watched a tall, blonde woman walk away from her. Sam turned first to Halie and then to Matt and the kids, who didn't seem to notice anything. When Sam glanced back, June Tyler swung around and jogged toward the back porch.

  "Okay, ride's over, everyone out," Sam said. "Last one to the house is a rotten egg."

  "Grandma, Grandma, we're back," Jessie and Katelynn yelled.

  "So I see," June said. Then she swept them both into her arms in the kitchen. "Did you kids have a good time at mini-golf?"

  "We did," Jessie spouted. "Auntie Sam was really good. She beat Halie and Daddy, but she couldn't beat us!" she said.

  "That's because you and your sister are lower to the ground and have a better angle on the ball," Sam protested.

  "Oh, Auntie Sam! You're funny," Katelynn said. She and Jessie both started giggling.

  "I'm glad to see you all had a good time, now let's eat lunch and then we can go swimming later." June said, wiping her brow. "I'm hotter than a cat on a hot tin roof."

  "You're not the only one," Matt said. "I can't wait to take a swim."

  After they ate, Sam and Halie stayed on the porch and shared a cold beer. Sam was more than happy to relax and watch everyone else down by the water. She wasn't used to the kid's high energy and savored the silence.

  "What do you think that was all about with Mom and the neighbor?" Sam asked.

  "What do you mean?"

  "I mean the way they appeared to be looking at each other," Sam said.

  "I don't know. Do you think something was wrong?"

  "Not exactly. I got the sense Mom didn't want us to know she'd been talking to her. When I glanced over, she ran off and then pretended she'd been in the kitchen the whole time making lunch."

  "True, I did notice that. I don't know. It's interesting though."

  "Maybe we can ask Mom to introduce us, the next time we see her neighbor outside," Sam said.

  "What are you thinking? You have that devilish likeness to you."

  "I do? No, I don't think so. I'd call it more like daughter's intuition."

  THAT NIGHT AFTER dinner, they all played a game called Sorry that the kids brought with them and were, of course, exceptionally good at. Everyone talked during the game and all were clearly enjoying their time with the family. After Jessie and Katelynn both won two games each, they wanted to play poker.

  "Poker? Who taught you two to play poker?" Sam said.

  "Daddy did," Jessie answered.

  "Daddy, huh?" Sam said. She fixed her glare on Matt.

  "Well, not exactly. They taught themselves," Matt said. He shot a quick glance at June as he fidgeted in his seat. "Every Thursday night, a couple of the guys come over and we play cards. We get started kind of early, so we don't end up playing too late with work and all the next day. The kids stay up for like an hour or so and watch. They're smart beyond a doubt and picked up the game on their own."

  They both agreed in simultaneous fashion. "Yup, we did."

  Sam smiled. "You did, huh? Well, why don't we deal those cards and see how good you two really are? What do you say? Who's in?"

  Everyone yelled that they wanted to play.

  "What kind of poker do you girls play?" Sam asked.

  "Five-card stud with joker's wild," Katelynn said. "Does everyone know how to play?"

  Halie answered first. "Sort of, but I haven't played poker in quite some time. Maybe you can give me a little refresher."

  "Sure!" Katelynn said. A twinkle lit in her eye. "Everyone gets dealt one card at a time until someone gets a jack. That's the person who'll be the first dealer and after that, the dealing goes to the person on the dealer's left. The dealer puts a card face down to the player on his left and goes around the table dealing a card down in that direction." She motioned clockwise. "Then the dealer does the same thing, but gives a face-up card to everyone, and then you make your first bet."

  "Who bets first?" Halie said.

  "Whoever has the highest card. The dealer tells everyone who that is. After that, three more rounds of face up cards are dealt and we bet. Who ever thinks they have a bad hand can drop out when they're up."

  "Do they get to pull back their bet then?" June said.

  "No," Katelynn said. She drew out the "˜No'. "But you don't lose more by staying in. Jokers are wild, so they can be any card you want. Since we're playing with jokers being wild, five of a kind is the highest hand. Then comes a royal flush, then a straight flush, four of a kind, a full house, a flush, a straight, three of a kind, two pairs, one pair and then no pair where the highest card would win."

  Then Jessie went on to explain what cards made up the different kinds of hands.

  "Whoa, whoa, oh, my goodness," Halie said. "How do you girls remember all that?"

  "We just do. Jess and I play together a lot, so it kind of sinks in. I can make you a cheat sheet if you want."

  "I think that would be great, it would help me a lot," Halie admitted.

  June laughed. "Your Grandma could use one too," she said. "Come on in the kitchen. I'll get you girls some paper to write with and in the meantime, I'll get us all something to drink and snack on."

  "What will we use for betting chips, Grandma?" Jess asked.

  "Well, how about pretzel sticks?"

  "That's a great idea, Grandma," Jess said.

  "Yeah, then we can eat our winnings if we get hungry," Katelynn added.

  Matt's face lit up as he watched and listened to his daughters. "I'm blessed with these two, that's for sure."

  "That you are, brother," Sam said. "That you are."

  They played for a couple of hours. The girls cleaned up on the majority of pretzels. June was the first one out of the game, followed by Sam
and Matt. Halie hung in the longest, but then lost her last pretzel when Jessie got a full house against her pair of kings and eights. Jessie and Katelynn battled until the end when Jessie finally won.

  "All right now kids, off to bed with you," Grandma June said. "It's getting late and I think your dad wants to take you girls to the boardwalk tomorrow, so you better get some sleep."

  The kids yelled "good night" and ran around the table giving everyone a good night kiss on the cheek, including Halie.

  Halie glimpsed at Sam.

  When the kids were gone, June said, "So, what do you ladies have planned for tomorrow? You might want to take advantage of the forecast, because I think on Wednesday a storm's supposed to move in."

  "What about you, Mom?" Sam said. "What are your plans?"

  "Oh, don't worry about me. A little quiet will do me some good. I did want to take you ladies over to meet my PFLAG group while you were here. We meet once a month on Tuesday nights."

  Halie turned to Sam who responded with an inconspicuous nod of approval. "We'd love to go with you," Halie said.

  "Good, I'd like that."

  "Maybe I'll take Halie jet skiing tomorrow morning in the bay. I haven't done that in years," Sam said.

  "Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun," Halie said. "I've always wanted to do that. Do you Jet Ski, Matt?"

  "No, our sister was always the crazy one who liked to do stuff like that. I stuck to basketball and safer land sports. I'd watch it out there with her if I were you. I've seen her on one of those things, and she loves the speed."

  "I had no idea. We have another thing in common then. I used to ride a motorcycle back in Boston, mainly because I liked the speed and freedom of it, so I think I'll be fine."

  "Really, you did?" Sam said. Her voice raised an octave. "You never mentioned that."

  "I guess it never came up in conversation."

  "Too bad I didn't know you then. I would have loved to have ridden with you," Sam said.

  Matt shook his head realizing even more so how those two were meant for each other.

  "Well, that's settled." Sam stood up off the chair. She rubbed her backside. "I think we better hit the hay then. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day for all of us."

  THE TRAFFIC AT the Jersey shore picked up measurably as the week progressed. As soon as kids were out of school, the shore towns were alive with business. Not until after Labor Day do many of the restaurants close their doors for the season, creating an almost ghost town like feel.

  Once they maneuvered through the traffic, Sam and Halie spent the morning jet skiing on Barnegat Bay. Every time a boat sliced through the water anywhere near them, Sam sped toward the boat's wake and rode the Jet Ski over it, lifting them off the water for a second or two before slamming down again. Then she'd slice through the water in the other direction and attack the wave from the opposite side as salt water sprayed them, keeping them cool. Each time Sam neared a wave, Halie grabbed her waist tighter. Sam enjoyed having Halie so close to her it almost hurt.

  After lunch with the family, Sam and Halie took a beach blanket, one of the bottles of wine they bought, along with two glasses, and headed off for a leisurely barefoot stroll down the beach. A few stragglers wandered that end of the beach, so they couldn't hold hands walking, though Sam wanted to. The warm breeze off the ocean glided against them, caressing their bodies. Other than a few seagulls squawking above, and the rush of the ocean breaking against the shore, their surroundings were quiet.

  Halie stroked Sam's arm with her free hand. "God, Sam, this is so wonderful and relaxing. I love being able to walk along the beach like this with you."

  "I know. I'm enjoying our walk too." Sam felt the desire for Halie rise within her. She could still feel Halie wrapped around her body, pressed close, from earlier on the Jet Ski. That vision, coupled with the sight of her in her cut off jean shorts and tank top added to her growing wish to be close.

  As they walked, Sam enjoyed the unencumbered lightness of the moment; the respite from responsibility and reality. She noticed a change in Halie over the past couple of days, which lifted Sam's spirits. Halie was smiling more and joking with her again, a familiar reminder of the life they shared early in their relationship. Being away from the house and the unease that hung around it appeared to relax Halie. Sam was glad to see her unwind and hoped the freeness would last.

  "Let's set the blanket over here," Halie said. "It's a somewhat secluded spot."

  Sam spread out the blanket. She waited until Halie sat. "How about a glass of wine?"

  "Sure," Halie said. "Do you know what I was thinking about while we were walking?"

  Sam uncorked the bottle and poured a generous portion into each of their glasses. "No, but I'm all ears if you'd like to share."

  "I would. Even though you always seem to forgive me, I wanted you to know I still feel bad at times about how I shut you out and blame you for a lot of the things I have trouble dealing with on my own."

  "I don't want you to feel bad. I want things to return to normal between us," Sam said.

  "I know, but it's important for me to know that in your heart, you understand that I don't take the way I treat you lightly, and that I care about you more than you can imagine," Halie said.

  Sam set the wine bottle into the sand and re-corked it. "I appreciate you sharing. Deep inside I know you care, but sometimes my head over analyzes the past, which leads to conflicting thoughts and worries. I work on not over thinking things, but sometimes it's difficult for me not to."

  "I'm hoping in time, I'll be able to put your mind at rest. In the meantime, do you know what else I was thinking?" Halie's tone became more devilish.

  "No, but I think I want to."

  "I was thinking about how much I wanted to kiss your lips, run my hands all over your body, and make love to you right here, Samantha Takoda Tyler. What do you say to that?"

  Sam glanced around, but saw no one. "I'd say our thoughts intertwined a few minutes ago, only you may have taken them a little farther."

  "Is that so?" Halie set their glasses into the sand. Then she pulled Sam toward her and kissed her on the mouth, slowly at first, then with increased hunger and passion.

  Sam's cheeks flushed in an instant. The pounding of her heart quickened. Intense warmth radiated through her body. A tingling sensation shot through her core. As she pulled away and regained her breath, she said, "Why do you have such control over me?"

  "Because I love you more than anything in this world, even if I don't show it as often as I should."

  The warmth from the sand radiated through the blanket. "I love you as much and more, if that's even possible."

  Halie stared into Sam's eyes as waves crashed onto the shore. Little black and white birds flitted about above the water. Halie touched Sam on the thigh and caressed her gently. "Knowing the extent of my love for you, I don't think that's possible, but I'll let you claim equal if you'd like."

  "Equal it is then," Sam said as she leaned in for another smoldering kiss.

  Chapter Eight

  THURSDAY CAUGHT UP to Sam and Halie before Sam knew it. On Friday morning Matt would take the kids home. He scheduled a work meeting for Friday afternoon. The storm blew through the day before and now the sky was clearing, but the water remained too rough to swim in.

  Sam stood near the kitchen sink and dried the breakfast dishes while the family tossed ideas around on how to spend their day. During a break in the conversation, Sam said, "How about we head over to the nature center on Island Beach and take a nature tour?"

  "Yeah!" Jessie said. Her yell was followed by a similar one from her sister.

  "I'm in," Matt said. "If the kids are happy, I'm happy."

  "Sounds good to me," June said.

  All eyes were focused on Halie. "Me too, let's go."

  "Let me finish the dishes and then I'll call and find out what time the tours are."

  Halie took the dishtowel from Sam's hand. "I relieve you of your duty. You make the call--I'll f
inish here."

  The next tour was scheduled for eleven o'clock. Sam drove to the nature center, which was located a few miles in from the main gate on the one lane road that ran down the center of Island Beach. At the southern most end of the island sat Barnagat Inlet, but they didn't travel that far. When they passed the Governor's Mansion, set back behind the dunes, they made a left into the nature center's parking lot. Once inside the building, they huddled near the entrance.

  A slim park ranger in her early twenties with large brown eyes approached, her strides long. "Hey there, my name's Ranger Bartlett. Are you here for the eleven o'clock tour?"

  "Yes, we are," Jessie yelled. She jumped up and down. "We're not late, are we?"

  "Oh, no. You're right on time."

  "My Auntie Sam is a park ranger too, aren't you Auntie Sam?" Jessie said.

  "Uh, yes, that's true, I am," Sam said. She wasn't sure why Ranger Bartlett appeared to stare at her with piercing intensity.

  "That's interesting. Where do you work?" Ranger Bartlett asked.

  Sam cast a brief look at Halie with an innocent expression.

  "Grand Teton National Park. That's in Wyoming," Jessie said. She spoke before Sam could answer. "It's lots of hours away by plane."

  "That's very cool. And aren't you kids the cutest thing," the ranger said. "How old are they?"

  "Jess is seven and Katelynn's eight," Matt said. He ran his fingers through his hair and along the nape of his neck. "They were very excited to come on this nature trip."

  "That's good. We're going to learn lots of interesting things today, and everyone will leave here knowing more than they did when they walked in the door, I promise. Follow me," Ranger Barlett said.

  They walked through the building and out the back door onto a wooden walkway. Sam let Matt and the kids go first, and then her mom. She fell to the rear next to Halie.

  "That woman could have burnt a whole through you, the way she was gawking," Halie said.

  Sam recognized Halie's seemingly mild annoyance. "I know. I don't usually pick up on that stuff as you know, but she wasn't exactly being discrete. It made me uncomfortable, especially with the kids there and all."