Forever Beach (14 page)

“I was beginning to worry. It took you so long to answer. Were you outside?”

There was silence at the other end. “Michael?”

“I was watching the game. I didn't hear the phone.”

Reesa took a deep breath. “It will be after six maybe seven before I'm home; there's chili in the Crockpot and some salad stuff in the fridge.”

“What is it with you? Can't I get a decent meal for a change?”

“Well,” she said, using every bit of her discipline not to yell. “You could make yourself some chicken. There's a package in the freezer, defrost it in the microwave.”

“Maybe I will. It was a strike, you dummy!”

“See you later.”

“Huh? Yeah. Ya bum! What are you blind, you—”

Reesa hung up.

She swung out of the parking lot and drove straight to the apartment complex where Ms. McKinney lived. She parked at the curb and walked up the sidewalk to the building. There was a pile of garbage and furniture on the curb and she wondered briefly if it belonged to the Whites. No big deal. Surely there was nothing worth saving, and she wasn't about to look.

She rang the buzzer of Ms. McKinney's apartment, listened to make sure it was working, and waited.

Knocked on the door. “Ms. McKinney. It's Reesa Davis, the social worker who came for the White boys. Are you in?”

She heard the rattle of the chain and the door opened a bit. Ms. McKinney looked out. Then opened it wider.

Reesa gasped. “Ms. McKinney, what happened? Did you fall?”

One side of her face was bruised and scraped. As she closed the door behind Reesa, Reesa saw that she was using a cane to maneuver herself through the apartment.

“Mugged. Those boys. Took my social security money.”

“Did you call the police?”

Ms. McKinney shook her head. “They can't do anything but get me in trouble.”

“Well, I came to tell you that I've found you an apartment in a retirement community. It's subsidized. And safe. You'll need to come sign some papers and it will be another week before it's ready, if you're interested.”

“It's safe?”

“Yes, it has a security guard on duty as well as a buzzer.”

The old woman's mouth worked like maybe she was chewing her cheeks. And then tears began to roll down her cheeks. “The Lord is good and so are you, Mrs. Davis.”

“I can take you to see it now, if that's convenient.”

“Oh yes, ma'am, real convenient.”

Reesa knew she should go down to the office to file her report, but protective services wouldn't fall apart if she took an hour to help out an old lady who had helped them. Actually they wouldn't even notice. And probably, neither would Michael.

I
T WAS NEARLY
seven when Reesa dropped Ms. McKinney back at her old apartment. She walked her to her door and saw
her safely inside. Then, clutching her mace canister, she hurried back to her car and drove home.

Reesa didn't even slow down to take off her shoes when she got home. She marched right back to the den where she found Michael where she knew he would be. She'd meant to sit down with him and talk things out, try once again to get him off his duff and out looking for a job. Hell, at this point she'd be happy if he'd just go out.

But when she actually got his attention over the blare of some sports talk show, she said. “Just so you know. I'm out of town this weekend. You'll have to fend for yourself until I get back.”

She walked out of the room and down the hall to her bedroom where she changed into yoga pants and an old gardening shirt.

She shoved her feet into last year's running shoes and was coming out of the bedroom when she met Michael coming down the hall.

“What do you mean you're going out of town?”

“Out of town,” she said. “As in, not in town. I should be back Sunday late, or maybe Monday.”

She breezed passed him.

“Where are you going?”

“I'm going out to the yard.”

“I mean where are you going this weekend?”

She took a breath. “I'm going to a girls' weekend away.”

“What the f—? What am I supposed to do?”

“Gee, Michael. I don't know. Why don't you watch some television?”

“Hey, I broke my leg.” He followed her into the kitchen.

“That was months ago. The doctor says you're fine. I've tried to be supportive, I've talked myself blue in the face trying to get you going. Now it's up to you.” She grabbed a diet soda out of the fridge and headed for the back door and the shed, where hopefully she'd find some forgotten and probably rusting gardening tools.

“I can't go back up on the scaffolding.”

She stopped. Turned. Looked him in the eye. “Then get a job on the ground.”

She opened the back door.

“Where are you going now?”

“To dig up the dead rhododendrons.”

“What about dinner?”

“You'll have to open the Crockpot by yourself.”

She started to close the door, but he jerked it out of her hand.

“You sure know how to emasculate a guy.”

“No, Michael, you're doing a pretty good job of that yourself.”

She went to the shed, pulled open the rusted metal door, bent over, and went inside. When she came out with a shovel and a garden claw, he was gone, the back door was shut.

And Reesa was shaking. It seemed to her she had just started something and she had no idea of where it would end.

W
eekends were always busy for the clock shop. It got more foot traffic from people looking for interesting gifts, so busy that Sarah and Alice both worked a full day.

Sarah had promised to meet Reesa and Karen for a drink Saturday evening. Karen would pick her up and drop off Jenny and Leila who'd spent the day with Bessie and Tammy. At first Sarah hesitated. Leila had been up and down since the Wednesday visit with Carmen, and they hadn't spent much time together since then. Sarah rarely went out at night, and she didn't want Leila to think it was because she was letting her go.

She made all these excuses to Karen, but Karen would have none of it, so finally she agreed to have an early drink at a nearby upscale bar.

The cuckoo sounded for maybe the twentieth time that afternoon. It was the sound that alerted them to the arrival of customers. When Sarah had first come into the store, she'd
thought it was the corniest thing she had ever heard. But Sam loved it. He chuckled every time it sounded no matter how many times it went off during the day. Some days she'd want to put her hands over her ears and sing Lalalala until it stopped, but now she loved it, too. It had become so much a part of her that she couldn't imagine a buzzer or a bell instead.

An older lady and her middle-aged daughter were looking for memento mori watches. Sarah didn't carry anything that reminded her of death or how short life really was, so she gave them the name of a dealer who could help them and sent them on their way.

A few minutes before closing, a couple came in who evidently had money and time to burn. After much laughing and dithering, they bought a 1950s “vintage” Swiss wristwatch and Sarah followed them to the door. She locked it behind them and turned the Closed sign over.

“Can you lock up for me?” Sarah asked Alice who had already gotten out the Windex and was cleaning the glass top of a display case from the last customers.

“Going home early?”

“Going out with the girls.”

“Oh. Good for you. And who's watching Leila?”

“Karen is bringing Jenny over.”

“And you feel confident leaving a twelve-year-old by herself with Leila?”

“We're just going down the street for a drink. I'll probably be back before dark.”

“You should go out more often,” Alice said. “You're a young woman. You should have some fun.”

“I have fun.”

“Working all day, and taking care of a child the rest of the time?”

“That's just the way I like it,” Sarah said. She really didn't want to get into a discussion of what her life should be like with Alice, who had a way of making even compliments sound depressing.

“You know if things don't work out with Leila, you'll have time to do other things. Could spend more time in the store, more time with your friends. Maybe get Wyatt to propose to you. You know it's hard to get a man interested when you come as a package.”

Sarah considered telling her that if she had more time in the store, she could cut back Alice's hours. But she bit her tongue. Alice meant well. Always attempting to make the glass seem half full but invariably making it practically empty.

“Then it's a good thing I'm not looking for a man.”

“Wyatt won't wait forever, you know.”

Sarah just stared at her. Is that what they all thought? That Wyatt was waiting for her to do what? Dump Leila back into the system? They had never discussed the future. She hadn't thought he was interested in anything but the now. And she didn't have time for anything more. She wasn't even sure she wanted more. Did he? She certainly wouldn't ask Alice her opinion, though she was sure she had one.

“Have a good weekend,” Sarah said. “I'll just go out the back.”

She showered and changed into capri pants and a boatneck tee. A little dressy for Saturday night at a beach bar, but perfect for the trendy bar in the shopping district.

She was ready when Jenny and Leila came in the front
door. “Mom already fed us and sent us home with Rice Krispie treats,” Jenny said. “I'll make sure she doesn't eat too many.”

“I know you will,” Sarah told her. She knelt down by Leila. “I'm going out for a little while with Karen and Reesa. I'll be back soon.”

Leila's lip quivered and Sarah's resolve slipped.

“Mama says you're to go right out to the car, didn't she, Leila?”

Leila nodded.

Sarah kissed her. “You're my sunshine,” she said, waved, and left, wondering if this was how ordinary parents behaved or if they would stay at home, considering the situation. By the time she got to the car, she was definitely having second thoughts.

Sarah opened the back car door, but instead of getting in, she looked through the opening to where Karen and Reesa sat in front.

“Oh no you don't. Get in now,” Karen said. “We've already prepped Leila about you coming with us. And that you'll be back. Thank you very much. Isn't it nice to have friends with all this professional expertise?”

Sarah nodded and climbed into the backseat.

“It will be fine,” Reesa said, craning around to see her from the front. “But don't feel weird; I felt the same way when I walked out on Michael last night.” She grinned suddenly, looking years younger and light-years happier.

They found a parking space around the corner from the bar. Several groups were standing on the sidewalk and waiting on the stairs going down to the bar.

“We have reservations,” Karen said, as she led them under a green neon sign that read
TOOMAY.
It was one of those one-
name “scene” places, crowded but not so crowded you couldn't find your friends or meet new ones, loud but not too loud to hear the people at your own table or standing at the bar next to you. Plenty of singles but not heavy-handed in the pickup scene. And expensive.

“How do you get reservations in a bar?” Reesa asked.

“I called Larry Swanson and told him to save us a table.” Karen smiled a big smug smile. “It pays to know people in the booze business.”

Larry was standing at the bar and came to greet them. He was one of the regulars at Ocean Brew. It was one of the things Sarah loved about her town, that all the businesspeople supported one another. And were friends of a sort.

He led them over to a bar table that had a reserved sign on a folded piece of cardboard. It was handwritten. “I made it just for you,” Larry explained. “I'm surprised to see you out on Saturday night, Sarah. This calls for champagne.”

“Oh no,” Karen said laughing. “Tonight we do girly drinks, preferably pink with little umbrellas in them.”

“Piña colada with grenadine?” Larry suggested. “Or choose from one of our specialty drinks.” He neatly produced a plastic carte for them to read. “I'll send a waiter over posthaste.” And he made a beeline for a party who was just entering.

They decided on the piña coladas. They came frozen and pink in large wide glasses with paper umbrellas and a wedge of pineapple on the rim.

They drank and laughed and ordered another round. Sarah felt a little buzz though Karen had told the waiter to go light on the liquor since she had to drive home and none of them were big drinkers.

Sarah would have walked home to clear her head, but
Karen had to pick up Jenny. They made it back to Sarah's without mishap.

When Sarah came inside, Jenny was curled up on Leila's bed. Leila was nestled up against her and Jenny's arm was around her. Jenny's eyes were wide open.

“She had a bad dream. She's okay. She went back to sleep.”

“You handled it great, Jenny. Thank you. Your mom's outside.”

Jenny eased off the bed. Leila whimpered and opened her eyes. “Mommee,” she said, starting to cry, and held out her arms.

“She was okay, really she was,” Jenny said.

“I know. She just wants her mommee. See you tomorrow at the barbecue?”

Jenny nodded, still looking worried.

“Really, Jen, It's all right.”

Jenny collected her things and left. Sarah gathered Leila onto her lap and began to sing her back to sleep.

R
EESA WOKE THE
next morning without a headache. Which was amazing since after she and Karen came back to Karen's, they polished off half a bottle of wine. She was a little disoriented. It was strange to wake up in a different bedroom than her own.

She never traveled anymore. Michael didn't want to go anywhere except fishing, or bowling or sometimes camping with the boys when they were around. But lately he hadn't even wanted to do that.

Reesa settled back in the bed, enjoying the light green walls and the floral comforter and matching curtains of Karen and
Stu's guest room. It was so cheerful. Her bedroom at home was dark, with a huge heavy bed and huge heavy furniture. What were they thinking when they bought such overpowering pieces? That they'd survive a lifetime of hurricanes?

They'd be lucky if they survived this marriage. But she wasn't going to think about her problems today.

Karen and Reesa had spent yesterday at the beach and Reesa had managed to get a little tan and one strip of sunburn where she'd missed with the sunscreen.
Battle scars,
she thought. She was enjoying herself. At least as long as she could keep the niggle of guilt away. She wondered what Michael was doing, which was stupid. He'd be up by now, would have already eaten a bowl of cereal. The bowl would be lying in the sink for her to wash before she went into the office to catch up on paperwork on her day off.

Today she was playing hooky. Somebody else could do the paperwork for a change. She was going to a barbecue and then . . . then she supposed she'd have to go home. Face Michael's recriminations, if he even noticed she was gone. Of course he would. He'd be making his own meals.

Reesa sighed and pushed the covers away, determined not to let her regular life rain on her weekend. She showered and dressed in blue Bermuda shorts she'd found at the bottom of the bottom drawer of her dresser. And they still fit, though she couldn't remember wearing them in years. And a flowered button-up shirt that was a little frumpy but was colorful and she was going for upbeat this weekend. She even put on lipstick before she padded out to the kitchen to find Karen making pancakes and Stu standing over a cast-iron pan filled with sizzling bacon.

“Hey, girlfriend. How'd you sleep?”

“Like a log,” Reesa said. “It felt great. Can I help with something?”

“Nope. We're almost done. You can call the kids in. They're in the den.”

Reesa could hear the television blaring.

“Breakfast's ready,” she said into the family room. Four faces turned in her direction.

“Breakfast,” she repeated over the blare of some superhero fight scene. Rory clicked the remote, and four children and one very large dog padded into the kitchen and took their places at the table in the breakfast nook.

The dog was banished to the backyard.

“Once he ate a whole plate of bacon,” Tammy told her.

“And he threw it up on the carpet,” Bessie added. All of them but Jenny made upchucking noises. Jenny rolled her eyes.

“So when the bacon comes out, he goes out,” Stu said as he set a plate with a stack of pancakes leaning precariously to one side on the table.

“I told Wyatt to expect us around four,” Karen said. “I don't want to make too late of a day of it, since the kids have camp tomorrow. He's taking a party out for diving at one. He said if he wasn't back to start without him.”

“Are you sure he doesn't mind us coming over there?” Reesa asked.

“No, plus he knows he'll get the leftovers. We'll go to the store after breakfast. Pick up steaks and salad stuff and maybe make some potato salad.”

The kids tore through the pancakes and bacon like they hadn't eaten in days and asked to be excused before rushing
back to the den where the television immediately resumed to whatever they were watching, only several decibels louder.

Karen shook her head. And began carrying dishes to the sink.

“Stu, will you load the dishwasher so Reesa and I can get an early start at the grocery store? It's bound to be mobbed today. Perfect beach and barbecue weather.”

“Only if you'll pour me another cup of coffee.”

Karen poured him a cup of coffee. He grabbed her around the hips and hugged her.

Reesa looked away.

“Get on with you. Reesa and I have some heavy grocery shopping to do.”

She batted his hand away. “Do we have enough soda?”

“Yeah. Wyatt said he had beer and some wine. But if you girls want something fancier, you'd better pick it up at the store.”

T
HEY DROVE TO
a big discount store. One that sold everything from televisions to lettuce and shellfish to cleaning supplies. Even when the kids had been little, Reesa had never shopped in bulk, and it was sort of awe inspiring.

Karen pushed the cart right to the food section, which was as large as any small grocery store. The shelves held condiments all in oversized containers. Gigantic boxes of cereal . . .

“What do people do with a gallon of mayonnaise?” Reesa wondered out loud.

“Make a lot of sandwiches?” Karen returned. “I don't shop here all the time. But I figure with my brood and you guys, and no telling how many Wyatt will invite while he's working today, it's best to be prepared.” She grabbed hamburger and hot dog buns and two huge bags of chips.

They moved onto the dairy case for slices of American and blocks of cheddar. And Reesa became aware of a young woman standing at the end of the aisle. She seemed to be looking right at Reesa and Karen.

But Reesa had often stood in the center of a grocery aisle staring off into space trying to remember what she'd meant to buy. And from the pile of food and paper products the woman had in her cart, and the two young children vying for her attention, it would be easy to forget smaller items.