Summer by the Sea (20 page)

What worried Faith now was that Casey was struggling. She had Isabella to think about, her work, which was quite demanding, and now the divorce. She’d be looking for a distraction for sure. She hoped Casey wouldn’t try and make Jake her distraction.

“I’m surprised that Jake hasn’t been by to paint that built-in,” Nan said as they all sat at the table.

“It’s only nine o’clock, Mom,” Faith’s mother said, pouring more coffee into Faith’s cup.

Faith held up a hand to stop her from pouring any more, even though she was exhausted and could do with the jolt of caffeine. She hadn’t slept very well last night.

“Thanks, Mom,” she said.

Faith worried. Jake had shown up early every day since they’d arrived, but he wasn’t there this morning when they’d all gotten up. Was he avoiding her? As the night had turned to dawn, she started to wonder if she’d misread the signs because of the wine. Had he really not been looking at her like she’d thought? What did he really think about her admission that his project to develop Corolla was an awful idea? Had she offended him? And what did he mean by saying he’s been down that road before? That still didn’t set well with her. With her mug cradled in both hands, she sat quietly, still pondering it all. If he did stop by, she’d better get up and make herself presentable. She’d only dusted her face with a little powder and brushed her hair. She had no makeup to speak of, and she was wearing an old T-shirt and shorts.

Next to Isabella, Casey sat. There was no sign of the Casey she’d seen last night. Today, she had a brave face on. She was wearing wedge sandals, another of her sundresses—little spaghetti straps showing off her new tan—dangly earrings, her hair curled, lip gloss. Why? What made Casey wake up every morning and do all that to herself? It just wasn’t Faith at all. It wasn’t that she didn’t care about her looks. She just didn’t feel the need to spend that much time on it. And, when she really got honest with herself, she didn’t even know if she could make herself up the right way. What she’d accomplished getting ready last night had been the extent of her expertise in the area of beauty.

“What do you want to do for your birthday, Nan? Do you want a little party? Cake?” Casey asked.

“Yes! Cake!” Isabella said, nodding vigorously. “I like yellow cake with birthday balloons.”

“I want this,” Nan said, looking around the table. “And I suppose we should have cake.”

Isabella wriggled in her chair, clapping her hands with excitement.

“We want to do something special for you, Mom,” Faith’s mother said, sitting down beside her. “It would make us feel like we were paying you back for this wonderful vacation.”

“If you really want to know, I’d like you to put that box of photos into photo albums so you each can have one or two to remember all the great times we’ve had as a family. I gave them all to Faith because I figured she’d go through with organizing them, but I’d love it if you all could have them.”

Nan was right. Faith had already thought about organizing that box, but she’d been so preoccupied with the goings-on of their vacation that she’d let it slip her mind.

“I’d be happy to do that for you, Nan,” Faith said.

“Thank you, Faith. I can always count on you. Maybe you girls could sort through them one of these nights when you’re not running the streets,” she winked at Faith. Nan was only kidding, but her words made Faith think of Jake.

“Can we go to the beach, Mommy?” Isabella asked. “I want to make a sandcastle.”

“Sure we can,” Casey said. “I’ll walk you down there in a little bit. Did you know, Faith makes amazing castles?”

Faith used to spend hours making sandcastles when she was little. They’d get up at the crack of dawn and go down to the beach. Faith would fill her bucket with water, the chilly morning surf causing goose bumps on her legs. She’d sit on the beach with her shovels and buckets packing sand into them, adding a little water to make it all stick together, and carefully building on to the tops until she’d made a fortress. Casey would plop down next to her, fill one bucket, and then lose interest when she turned it over and half the sand slid down the mound like a mini avalanche. For Faith, it was an act of endurance, of perseverance to make the best castle she could. It didn’t bother Faith that it took a long time, or that the tide would eventually wash it away. She worked at it to see the finished product. She was proud of it when it was done.

“I’d be happy to make one with you, Isabella,” Faith said. “I can show you how to make a moat around it and everything.”

“Yes!” Isabella said, getting up from the table. “I’m getting my swimsuit on right now!”

“Isabella, you haven’t finished your breakfast,” Casey called out to her, but Isabella had already gone into her bedroom and closed the door. “She’s so much like you, Faith.”

“You think so?”

“Oh my gosh, yes. Sometimes it’s scary. Isabella, you, and Nan are all so much alike. I feel like the odd man out sometimes.”

What was Casey talking about? This idea had never crossed Faith’s mind. Nan was the leader of the family, the maker of all traditions, the one person who never seemed to falter with anything. How was Faith like her? If anything, Casey should feel most like her. She was a successful lawyer, a mother, and a wife (until recently). Like Nan, she had everything under control. Perhaps the divorce had skewed her view of things.

“I suppose I should get ready to go to the beach, since I’m building a sandcastle today,” Faith said, standing up. “Nan, do you want me to help you go down to the beach?”

“No, dear. I’ll watch from the porch. The heat is unbearable today. But, thank you.”

As Faith entered her bedroom, Casey came up behind her. “Thank you for offering to build sandcastles with Isabella. I try to relate to her, but her daddy was always better at it than me.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, glad she could help in some way.

“Do you mind if I stay up here so I can finish divvying out our assets for the divorce? Scott wants the lawyer to draw something up soon, and I guess it doesn’t matter that I’m on vacation.” She took in a deep breath and let it out. Even with all that was going on, she maintained her composure. Her marriage was dissolving right before her eyes, and she could manage to keep herself calm and collected. Faith had been a total mess when it was clear that Scott had feelings for Casey and had spent many nights crying into her pillow. She wondered if it was healthy for her sister to bottle up her emotions like she was.

“Don’t worry about us. I’ve got Isabella covered. She and I will spend tons of time making our sandcastles. You do what you need to do.”

Faith looked past Casey and saw Nan in the hallway, smiling. When she made eye contact, Nan said, “That’s what I like to see. Take care of each other. That’s the mark of a great family. If only Clara and I could have been like you two…” She looked down at the floor for a moment. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going out to the porch to get comfortable. I want to see some sandcastles.”

Faith remembered Nan mentioning her sister, Clara. What had gone on between them? Faith wished she could sit next to Nan and hear her tell the story, but she knew Isabella was waiting.

“Do you mind taking the beach bag down with you?” Casey said. “I’ll send Isabella once she’s ready.”

Faith grabbed the beach bag and a few towels, and walked with Nan onto the porch that wrapped around to the stairs leading down to the driveway. She set them down and helped her grandmother get settled in the rocker. “I’d like to hear about Clara,” she said as Nan wriggled into a comfortable position.

“I’d be happy to tell you about her. I miss her and it’s nice to talk about her.” The mention of Clara had brought a smile to Nan’s face.

“Maybe tonight?”

“Yes. Maybe tonight.” Nan’s smile faded to a more thoughtful expression.

Faith picked up her things and headed down the stairs toward the beach. Even in the morning air, the sun was hot, but it hadn’t penetrated the sand yet, and she felt the cool of it on her bare feet as she lugged two chairs to a clear spot. The shore seemed to stretch for miles, only a few people scattered along the coastline. She set the chairs down and opened them up, brushing the sand off the seats of each one.

Faith sat down and faced the sea. She looked back over her shoulder for Isabella, keeping an eye on the part of the cottage steps she could see over the dune. Nan waved from the porch, and she waved back. Then the cottage door opened and Isabella came out, wearing her pink, ruffled swimsuit and pink star-shaped sunglasses. She held the railing as she took each step very slowly, her pink flip-flops wobbling nervously with every step.

That staircase probably seemed huge to her, Faith thought. She remembered that feeling, going up the stairs at the cottage they’d had as kids. Because they were built on stilts, the first floor was raised an entire level and it had felt like she was climbing into the clouds.

Isabella’s blond hair disappeared below the dune, so Faith stood up to try and see her. When she did, her heart leapt as she saw Jake’s truck pull in to the drive. Before she could ponder it further, Isabella was running toward her, a bucket and shovel in her little hands.

“Look what I brought!” she said, plopping down next to Faith. “What should we do?”

“We need to fill a bucket with wet sand. Let’s each get one and take them down to the water.” As she walked with Isabella, she tried not to think about Jake. She wanted to see him and talk to him about last night, but Isabella needed her. Faith enjoyed spending these precious moments with her niece.

Isabella waited for the tide to retreat back to the sea before she squatted on the wet sand and began filling her bucket. Faith leaned over and filled her own bucket. Another wave rolled in, the foam rushing up around their ankles. Isabella held her bucket up high to keep the surf from stealing it.

“Is this good?” she asked, holding it out toward Faith.

“Yep! I think we have everything we need.”

They took their buckets back to a spot close to their chairs. Faith used a shovel to pack down the sand in her bucket. “You have to get it really packed in there. Can you do yours?”

Isabella watched intently, imitating every move Faith made.

“Then, you turn your bucket upside down like this.” With a thud, Faith tipped her bucket over onto the sand and patted the sides of it with her hands.

Isabella did the same.

Gently and carefully, Faith removed the bucket to reveal a perfectly round cylinder of sand.

“How did you learn how to make these?” Isabella asked in awe. She’d stood up and was walking around the little mound of wet sand, scrutinizing it. She bent way down and turned her head sideways. Then, she patted her own bucket and lifted it off. It was perfect, just like Faith’s.

“I don’t know. I just practiced.” She picked up a different size bucket and offered the beach bag to Isabella to retrieve more shovels. “We’re going to need to fill the buckets again. What shape do you want this time? I’m going to make a smaller one next to this big mound I’ve just made.”

Isabella dug around inside the beach bag until she found the one she wanted. It was a purple bucket with a white handle. They walked back to the water together.

On the way, Isabella stopped short. “Oh!” she said, bending down and picking something up. “Look what I found!”

Faith went over to inspect. It was a twisted little shell that was hollow inside. She turned it over in Isabella’s open hand to examine the beautiful stripes of light brown against its creamy colored body. It was in perfect condition. “Do you know what this is?” she asked, lifting it out of Isabella’s palm to see it more closely. “You’ve found a Scotch Bonnet. It’s the state shell of North Carolina. Not many people get to find them. How pretty.” She handed it back to Isabella. Faith had bought a book about seashells to read on her way to the beach when she was twelve years old. As Faith hunted for shells, she would look them up and see if she could find them in her book. She was surprised that she remembered the name of Isabella’s shell after so many years.

“Can we keep it?”

Faith couldn’t help but smile at this gorgeous little girl. Casey was right. Her personality was like Faith’s. Watching Isabella and seeing how she was like her family members made Faith think about her own children. What would they be like? Would they play with Isabella, build sandcastles with her? Would they be like Faith? She wanted a house full of children to care for, but until then, she was truly enjoying being with Isabella.

“Sure. We’ll put it in the beach bag.”

They walked, filling bucket after bucket and building their sandcastle. Each time, Faith tipped her head up on the way back to see if Jake’s truck was gone yet, and every time, it was still sitting right where it had been. Part of her looked forward to seeing him again. She wanted to feel out the situation, see how he responded to her, continue their discussions from last night. And she just wanted to talk to him again, see him smile at her. But another part of her thought it may be best if she didn’t. He’d made it clear that he only wanted to be friends and perhaps he was right. There were obviously some issues between them. She’d been just fine by herself until now. Surely all of these feelings and thoughts she was having were just because she was on vacation. Soon enough, she’d get back to her real life and she’d be just fine again. There was no need to make her life any more difficult.