“Yeah!”
When it came to being alluring and exciting, Casey was better that she was. But, on the other hand, there was something about the way Jake had looked at her that made her feel hopeful. And Faith knew that she was capable of having a good time. “He seems like the kind of guy who would easily go out on a date. He’d do it just to be nice,” Faith said.
A seagull flew overhead, causing a shadow to trail across the sand. Isabella brought her bucket up to dry ground and dumped it upside down, patting the bottom to pack the wet sand onto its foundation. Faith thought about what it would be like to be on a date with Jake. What would it feel like to be that close to him? Where would he take her? Would they stroll along the beach together or have a nice dinner? It had been a while since she’d been out on a date and she felt rusty, out of practice, her imagination having difficulty coming up with creative ideas. She was willing to bet that Jake would have a ton of ideas.
“I’m actually excited about going fishing with Jake” Casey said.
The initial excitement drained out of her just a little. She’d forgotten that Jake had already asked Casey to go fishing. Granted, it was to appease Isabella, but if he’d not wanted to see her mother, he could’ve easily gotten out of that situation. They weren’t even fishing that day on the boat. He didn’t have to offer at all. Casey was starting with the upper hand.
“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” Faith said, trying to stay positive. “You’ve had a lot on your plate, and you need a good break. I know what you and Scott are dealing with must be hard,” she said, a flock of seagulls flying overhead. “Do you think you will be able to reconcile?”
Casey shook her head and looked out at the ocean. Faith noticed her blinking quite a bit behind her sunglasses, and she felt guilty for bringing up a sore subject. They really hadn’t talked about it, though.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. I’m just curious. It’s a big step, changing a family dynamic like that. Are you sure?”
“No, I’m not sure. I thought everything was fine between us. It blindsided me.”
“Was he… Did he… There wasn’t another woman or anything, was there?”
“No.” Casey picked at a loose thread on the corner of her beach towel. “I asked him.” She was quiet for a while. The only sounds were the crashing waves and Isabella’s laughter as she chased a sandpiper across the sand before it flew away. “He said he was alone all the time.” She adjusted her glasses, but Faith wondered if it was a nervous gesture. Casey hadn’t ever really failed at anything. This had to be hard. “He said that it was pointless to live together because he could be alone in his own place without the constant reminder of being alone every time I came home.”
“You all didn’t spend time together when you were home?” This idea seemed so odd to Faith because she knew how her sister loved being around people. She imagined Casey rushing home to see Scott and Isabella, bursting through the door and dropping her bag right there to reach out her arms and hug them. That would be like her. So why hadn’t she been like that?
“My work demands require so much of my time, but Faith, I love my job. I’ve worked hard to get where I am. When I came home, and work was finished, I sat with Isabella and did what she wanted me to do. Scott was in his office or, if it was late at night, in our bedroom, watching TV. When I finally got ready to go to bed, he was already asleep, and, honestly, I was exhausted myself. We just didn’t talk to each other anymore.” Casey became quiet again, and this time, Faith could see the gentle rising and falling of her chest as she sat beside her. Casey brushed away a tear that escaped from under her glasses. Her voice broke as she said, “What he didn’t realize was that I still loved him. Even though I didn’t say it. I still do.” She cleared her throat. “We’ve been separated for a year now, and it still feels like yesterday when he left.”
Faith knew what it was like to put work first, and now, she here was proof that doing that ruined relationships. Even Casey, who’d always seemed to get everything easily had let work get in the way of her family, and now she had to face the consequences. “I’m trying to have a fun time while I’m here, but life keeps getting in the way,” Faith admitted. “We all need a break. Remember when we used to come here to the cottage as kids? Nothing mattered for that week because we were going to eat Mom’s homemade trail mix, stay outside until our skin hurt from too much sun and turn in after playing board games so late that we could hardly see straight. That was it. That was the expectation for the whole week.” Faith fell silent. She missed those times with her sister. And she worried for Casey.
“What should we do for Nan’s birthday?” Casey asked, clearly trying to spin the conversation to a more positive subject. “Has she asked for anything in particular?”
Faith shook her head. “Nope. We should probably see if she wants to do something special. We should definitely look for somewhere to buy a cake. Maybe Jake would know.”
Isabella came up to them, swinging her empty bucket, tiny droplets of water flinging from it as she walked. The ends of her hair were darker, wet from leaning forward to fill her bucket as the tide came in. Her knees and the backs of her hands were sandy. “Mama,” she said, pushing runaway strands of hair away from her face, “I’m ready to go inside.”
“Maybe we can get cleaned up and get some ice cream or something,” Casey said, her adoration for her daughter clear on her face. She leaned toward Faith. “Wanna go with us?” she asked.
“Absolutely,” she said, standing up and folding her chair. She slipped her beach bag over her shoulder and helped with Casey’s things as her sister wrapped a towel around Isabella. The little girl slid her sandy feet into a tiny pair of flip-flops that had pink ribbons tied in little bows cascading down each side. Isabella grabbed on to her towel, keeping it around her shoulders, and shuffled over to them as they lugged their belongings back up the dune to the cottage. Once they got to the cottage, they rinsed the sand off their feet in the outside shower.
“What is that noise?” Casey said, tilting her ear upward toward the door of the cottage. The door sat at the top of the long flight of stairs that led from the driveway where they were now standing as they allowed their feet to dry. Jake’s work truck was in the driveway with large pieces of wood now tied to the rack at the top.
Faith sharpened her hearing, attempting to make out a foreign sound over the wind in her ears. The house sitting on stilts caused the ocean breeze to whip underneath it like a wind tunnel. She could just make out a shrill whine. “I don’t know,” she said, following her sister up the stairs. Isabella was sandwiched between them, which she was glad for because the stairs were steep and open, and Faith worried for her niece as she climbed those giant steps. Her tiny legs were working overtime to get up each one.
The whining noise seemed to be getting worse the closer the got but stopped just before they opened the door. When they got inside, Jake was on his knees, wiping dust from the bottom of a giant, rectangular hole in the living room wall. “What is that?” Faith said out loud by accident. She’d meant to keep it to herself, but the sight of the hole sent the words tumbling out of her mouth.
Jake turned around. “Hey,” he said, flashing that smile. He had sheetrock dust in his hair, and a pair of safety glasses pushed up onto his forehead. Unbelievably, he still looked good. “I’m putting in a built-in. Your grandmother came up with the idea, and she was absolutely right since there’s no storage in this room. Don’t worry. It won’t take me long. I’ll have it all cleaned up by tonight.”
It was a good thing he was charming, because anyone else with a buzz saw and a hammer, would not be welcome during her beach vacation. But on the other hand, there was something very sweet about Jake and how he took Nan’s suggestion so seriously. What in the world was Nan thinking, offering her suggestions anyway? Even if she was right, it wasn’t her place to tell the man what to build and what not to build. Faith looked for her sister to see her reaction, but Casey must have headed off to the bathroom with Isabella, probably helping her change out of her wet suit and into some clothes. Nan and her mom were nowhere in sight. They probably couldn’t stand the noise.
Faith was dying to know more about Jake. She had so many questions. If she could ever fit those questions into a conversation, she would. Nan would just ask them outright, no matter what they were saying. Maybe she should be more like Nan, she thought with a grin.
Nan seemed to always have it together. She never faltered. She was strong, elegant, wise, and, even though she didn’t wait for pleasantries to get across what she wanted, she was careful with her words. She could make anyone do anything she liked, but she never seemed to take advantage of it. Even as she aged, and her body wasn’t as agile as it once was, she was graceful with her movements. She took tiny steps, kept her shoulders strong, and took her time. But she never let on that anything was a struggle. Faith looked up to Nan so much.
“How was the beach?” Jake asked. He slipped his safety glasses down over his eyes and began sanding out the rough edges of the wall.
“It was nice,” she said, walking a little closer to get a good look at the damage to the wall. That perfectly white wall. “Isabella wanted to come in. We’re going to take her for some ice cream.”
“You should take her to Surfin’ Spoon,” he said. “It’s a cool place.”
She was willing to bet that Jake knew all the cool places in town. “Have you lived here long?” she asked out of the blue.
