Once they were on open sea, the wind pushed against them, and Faith worried about Nan. Nan’s white curls were dancing around, her eyes squinting in the sun and wind.
“You okay, Nan?” Faith said loudly to be sure her grandmother could hear over the noise. She’d tried to look at Nan, but had to turn back toward the bow to keep her hair out of her face. She tried again to view her grandmother.
“Absolutely!” Nan said, attempting to smile against the speed of the boat. She looked so small sitting there. Faith knew that the seat was most likely uncomfortable, and being exposed to the elements probably wasn’t a good idea.
They were headed toward an uninhabited island, created many decades ago by a hurricane, and only accessible by boat. “It probably won’t even be around in ten years,” Jake had explained. “The hurricanes have almost pushed it completely under water.” But when Nan had heard of its location, she was giddier than a teenager, almost bouncing on her toes to go.
Jake pointed out the island as they neared it, and Nan sat up a little straighter. She had her body twisted in the direction of it, her elbow up on the port side of the boat, her fist covering her mouth as if holding in some kind of emotion. The boat gave a tiny lurch as it hit sand and came to a stop on the shore of this small spot in the ocean. It was so tiny that you could see through the trees to the other side, but it had the most gorgeous, silky sand on its beach, the waves rolling in so quietly and subtly that it made the thought of storms seem almost unimaginable. It was like a miniature paradise. Her mom and Casey helped Isabella down onto the beach, but Faith stayed next to Nan.
She’d never seen her like this before. Nan barely moved, her fist so tight against her mouth that it looked as though she’d burst into tears at any moment. Gently, she said, “Nan?”
She tipped her head down, her gaze finally leaving the island, and tears rolled along her aged skin. She nodded, although she was visibly crying. With a sniffle, she sat up and cleared her throat enough to speak. Jake had noticed and was kneeling next to them in concern.
“She’s still here,” Nan managed. “She’s weathered, smaller, but she’s still here.”
Both Jake and Faith waited for further explanation as Isabella squealed along the side of the boat, running and jumping into the water. Her mom and Casey were chatting, their conversation lost in the wind. They hadn’t noticed Nan yet. Perhaps they figured Faith and Jake were helping her out of the boat.
“I’ve come to the Outer Banks all my life. It is a part of my soul. On the way here last weekend, I tried not to notice how the beach had been obstructed by all those new shops. I tried not to notice the rows of gaudy multicolored umbrellas poking out along the side of the enormous bypass that cut through the once-gorgeous landscape.” She wiped another runaway tear and stiffened up as if to fight her own emotions. “I tried not to notice the number of out-of-state license plates there were in the traffic. All those out-of-towners who’d found my little gem. I ignored it all, because I felt that if I could just get to the ocean, if I could just view the sea, it would all be okay. The sea has been the same since before my time, and, God willing, it will remain.”
Nan finally collected herself and then she turned back to look at the island again. “John proposed on an island exactly like this. In the haze that is my recollection, it seems like it has to be this is the one.” Her eyes became glassy again, and she blinked quite a few times before continuing. “I have moments of panic, moments where I fear that I will go in search for John, and I won’t find him,” she said, her words thick again with emotion, her voice breaking. “I can’t see him, but sometimes I think I can feel him, and like the sea, I pray that he is still here.” She leaned on Jake and tried to stand, the slanted surface of the boat making it difficult for her. “He carved my name on a tree somewhere near the shore. I couldn’t help but look for it as we pulled up. I doubt I could find it now, even if it was still here. It’s probably gone like everything else from that era. I can’t see it, but the minute I arrived, I couldfeelit. I don’t need to find a marking on a tree to be able to remember. It’s as if it were yesterday. I can still feel his hand in mine, hear his words to me. We were so young…” She took a step over to the other side of the boat. “I’ll sit here. It’s in the shade. Thank you, Jake, for bringing me.” She wiped a tear.
“You’re welcome,” he said solemnly, clearly affected by her story. Nan could always tell a story, but this one was so personal and so honest that it had taken them both by surprise. Jake’s eyes were moving along the edges of the boat as if in search of something but Faith knew it was because he was thinking. She hoped he was thinking about how important loving someone and having family was—more important than all the money in the world.
How lucky Nan was to know that kind of feeling. Faith could honestly say that she’d never felt anything with that amount of depth before, and it made her feel naïve. There was so much more to experience, so many more memories to make, she felt as if she hadn’t even started her life yet.
“Would you like me to sit up here with you, Sophia?” Jake asked, his face still serious.
Nan smiled. “No, dear. I want you to go down onto the beach and enjoy yourself. That’s why you’ve worn your swimming suits! I’m just happy that I get to be a part of it. I don’t need to be down in that hot sand to feel the joy that I see before me. Look at little Isabella. She’s having a ball. Go enjoy it.”
“You sure?” Faith said, not wanting to leave her.
“Absolutely.”
Jake opened the cooler and pulled out a water bottle, the surface of it clouding immediately with condensation in the summer heat. “Here’s a water in case you get too warm. Just call down if you need us.”
“I will, Jake. Thank you.”
Jake hopped down first onto the sand and then held his hand out to steady Faith as she got down. She took his hand, his fingers strong and rough in hers and went slowly so that she wouldn’t have to let go so soon. He looked up at her, contemplation again on his face. That serious, determined expression she’d originally seen at Sunset Grille was long gone now, replaced by this new, thoughtful deeper look of his. Like he was thinking something over. It made her curious.
“Look, Aunt Faith!” Isabella called, running and jumping over the small wave, landing on her bottom, a splash shooting up around her.
“Isabella,” Jake called, “want to swing out really far?”
“Yes!” she said.
“Okay. I’ll need your Aunt Faith’s help.” He turned to Faith standing beside him and she nodded. “Come over here, and we’ll swing you.”
Isabella walked up between them, grabbing their hands with hers. The salty water made them a little slippery, so Faith wrapped her thumb and forefinger around her wrist for leverage.
“One,” Jake said, lifting her off the ground. Faith followed. “Two… three!” Isabella swung into the air, and they let go, her giggles like the fizz in the tide, bubbling up loud and wild until,splash! Into the water she went. She came out, still giggling, dripping wet, her hair sticking to her face in wet strands.
“Again!” Isabella said, still giggling. They did this until Isabella said her arms were getting tired. Faith couldn’t help but think how this might be one of those great memories for her niece.
Jake hopped up onto the boat, checked on Nan, and got a few more chairs. Then, they all sat in a row. The sun was shining off the water, and the sky was bright blue above them. The only sound was a passing boat and the lapping of the waves. Faith, who had a lower chair, stretched her legs out in the sand, feeling the rays of the sun as they reflected off her skin.
“Look!” Isabella shouted from down the beach, her arm stretched out, her finger pointing out to sea.
Faith turned, shielding her eyes from the sun with her hand. There, so close that it seemed they could swim out to them, was a school of dolphins, their fins popping up and then dipping below the surface. There were tons of them! What an amazing thing for Isabella to see.
