He helped swing the cooler with their picnic up onto the dock. Its large wheels made it easier to pull across the boardwalk and beach. Olivia gathered the large bag with the beach blankets, Heather grappled with the beach umbrella, and Emily grabbed a small bucket for her shelling.
The girls walked at a faster pace and soon pulled away from where she and Barry walked, tugging the cooler along with them. Soon the waters of the gulf came into view.
“Oh, look. A blue heron.”She pointed to where the large bird made his majestic flight above them.
Barry paused and shielded his eyes from the sun, watching the bird as it landed at the edge of the water in front of them.“Impressive bird.”
“They are. One of my favorites.”Though she had lots of favorite birds. The blue herons. The very pelicans this island was named after. The bright red cardinals. She loved going to the nearby wildlife area and birdwatching. Well, she used to. Back when she had time for things like that. She frowned slightly, wondering when she’d last gone and making a mental note to plan an outing there soon.
They got to the sand and tugged the cooler across to where the girls had spread out a couple of blankets and stuck the umbrella in the ground in case they needed a spot of shade.
“Mom, Emily’s already off down the beach shelling. Heather and I are going to head that way and catch up with her.”
She nodded at Olivia and dropped onto the worn, much-used beach blanket. The warmth of the sun seeped through her and she shrugged off her jacket. Barry sank onto the blanket beside her and slipped his off too.
“Can’t ask for better weather than this. Hard to believe it’s winter. I’m not complaining about lack of shoveling snow or the lack of needing a winter coat.”He gave her an easy smile.
A smile that somehow relaxed her and made her a bit edgy at the same time. So she concentrated on ignoring it.“I do love winters here. There are more people and traffic this time of year. The tourists flock here to avoid those winters, but it just brings in more business to the town. It’s good for the economy.”She laughed.“And the tourists do seem to like ice cream and then explore the general store. Win-win.”
“And if they’re anything like me, they’ll come back daily for ice cream while they’re in town.”He gave her that easy, trouble-free smile again, and she shifted restlessly beside him.
Olivia walkedat the water’s edge with Heather. The water chilled her bare feet but wasn’t unbearable. It felt almost like old times with her cousin here walking beside her. Heather paused and picked up a shell, leaned over and rinsed it in the water, and tucked it in her pocket.
“One more for your collection?”Olivia teased.
“I just picked up this pretty antique glass vase at that new secondhand shop that opened in town. I thought I might fill it with shells.”
“You already have a half dozen or more containers of shells at your condo. You realize that, right?”She laughed.“But, what’s one more? You should probably double down on your efforts of collecting them today.”
“What can I say? I love to go shelling.”
“Then you should come home more often and go shelling with me. I miss you when you’re away.”
“Home.”Heather paused.“I…I don’t really feel like I have a home anymore.”
The sentence tore at Olivia’s heart.“Oh, Heather. Of course, you do. Moonbeam will always be your home.”
Heather shrugged.“I don’t know. My condo doesn’t feel like a home. And Moonbeam…sometimes it doesn’t feel like home anymore, either. I feel like a fraud when the stores label me as a local artist when they sell my prints.”
She stood next to Heather not failing to miss the loneliness in her cousin’s voice. She grabbed Heather’s hand and squeezed it.“Why don’t you move back here? You don’t need to travel around so much now, do you? You could buy a place that you love and make it feel like home. You know I’d love having you back here.”
“And I’d love seeing you more. But I’ve moved on…why would I come back?”
“Don’t be silly. You have me and Em. You have Mom. And you have your mother…even though I know that whole relationship is…difficult. And…”She stopped, wondering if she was brave enough to go on. She plunged ahead.“And your father isn’t here much. There’s no reason to let him chase you away anymore.”
Heather looked out at the blue water of the gulf.“I—I don’t know. I just don’t know.”
“You should at least think about it.”
Heather turned back, sadness etched on her features.“I don’t think…I don’t think I’m strong enough to move back.”
“Hey, Heather, look at this cool shell.”Emily hurried up to them before Olivia could assure Heather that of course she was strong enough.
Heather’s face slipped into a reluctant, if not totally convincing, smile.“Here, Em, let me see.”
The three of them headed back toward the beach blankets, Emily and Heather pausing frequently to pick up shells. She smiled at their shared love of beachcombing, always looking for that interesting find. It was nice to have Heather here. She’d just work on getting her cousin to stay this time. At least she’d try…
They got to the blankets and Emily plopped down.“I’m starving.”
