Just South of Paradise

by Grace Palmer

Drew clears his throat. “I don’t know anymore,” he says in a husky rasp.

  “I can’t figure you out, Drew.” Ashley shakes her head. “Are you the jerk I met in Rock Hill, or are you the sweet guy who taught me how to hit a baseball in Willow Beach?”

  “I’m trying to figure that out myself,” he admits. “Though I reckon the most likely answer is that I’m a bit of both.”

  She blinks, pursing her lips. Drew waits. What happens next? That’s the question of the night, of the day, of the week, of his life. There was always an easy answer, so he never had to worry too much about it. But maybe this is growing up—realizing that sometimes, the answer to that question is just a big, scary darkness, and the only way to find out what it contains is to dive into it headfirst.

  But there’s something still standing in the way. Something he has to admit. He’s right up on the final moment where he can possibly pull back the curtain on his lie, but now that he’s here, he nearly loses his nerve. He’s lucky to have made it this far—does he really need to push his luck by admitting how much of a loser he is? Ashley is only here temporarily, and if he needed to, Drew could get away with his lies for the whole summer. Why risk ruining everything?

  He licks his lips. No. He needs to tell her. This has gone on too long.

  “I lied to you that first night in the Lobster Trap,” he admits. “I didn’t get called up to AA. Quite the opposite, actually. I got cut from the team. I came home because I had nowhere else to go, and I have no idea what to do with my life if it doesn’t involve baseball. I’m completely lost. I know that you probably won’t want anything more to do with me now that you’ve found out I’ve been lying this whole time, but I need you to know the truth because you are the only thing that makes sense to me right now.” He takes a breath. “Also, I’m super bummed that you’re leaving, but I wouldn’t trade the time we’ve gotten to spend together for the world.”

  Ashley’s nostrils flare. “You lied to me.”

  “Yes, I did.”

  “There was no reason for you to lie!” she hisses. “I would have liked you anyway! Why do you always have to let your stupid ego ruin everything?”

  “I’m working on it,” Drew replies, heart sinking. “I’m sorry.”

  Ashley rubs a hand over her eyes and shakes her head. “Just go.”

  Drew takes one last look at her and descends the porch stairs, shoulders slumped. This was to be expected, but at least he did the right thing. If only doing the right thing didn’t hurt so much.

  Drew has only made it a few steps away from the house when he hears Ashley mutter behind him, “Oh, what the heck.”

  Her thumping footsteps echo down the steps and he turns just in time for her to slam her mouth against his. Drew’s hands fling up in surprise and Ashley threads her arms around his neck to pull him closer. He leans into the kiss, blood swimming in his ears. Her mouth is so soft, and she smells like honeysuckle and violets.

  Drew holds Ashley’s waist and pulls her tightly to him, loving the way she fits so neatly in his arms. He sighs against her lips. He wishes this moment could last forever.

  Ashley pulls away far too soon. “Don’t ever lie to me again,” she pants.

  Drew shakes his head. “Never.”

  “I guess I understand why you did it.” She cups his cheek in her hand. “It was stupid, but you’re clearly going through something right now.” Her eyes search his. “Plus, I’ve never felt this way about anybody before. And besides … I guess it’s not a real country bar without a fistfight.”

  Drew leans in and kisses her again, long and slow. His whole life, he’s been counting on my dad to tell him what to do, to keep him in check, on course. Drew is starting to think it’s long past time that he started doing that for himself.

  And maybe—just maybe—this is where that starts.

  Even though the future is uncertain, and he knows that there is pain on the horizon—there always is, isn’t there?—nothing could follow this moment that wouldn’t be worth it for this kiss. His heart is so full.

  The rest of the world, with all of its problems and disappointments, melts away. Everything else is soft, warm darkness.

  They are alone on a porch at the end of the world.

  And it feels right.

  27

  Melanie

  Melanie drives to the inn after dropping Drew off at the beach. If there is one person in this town who might be awake, it is her mom. Melanie inherited her stress-based insomnia from her mother. Georgia is also the person that Melanie wants to talk to the most.

  She parks at the front and then jogs around to the beach at the back, peering up at her mom’s bedroom window. Sure enough, the light is on. Melanie pulls out her phone and calls her mom.

  “Melanie,” Georgia answers right away. “Is everything okay?”

  “I’m outside,” Melanie answers. “Thought maybe you’d like a glass of wine and a little chitchat, just us girls?”

  Georgia chuckles. “I’ll be out in five.”

  Five minutes later, Georgia steps out of the back door with a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses clutched in the other. She waves at her daughter and walks down to where Melanie is sitting on some driftwood. Melanie swings around to face the ocean when Georgia comes to sit, accepting a glass and holding it up for Georgia to fill.

  “It’s unlike you to make middle-of-the-night social calls,” Georgia comments.

  “I’ve just picked up your son from jail,” Melanie responds.

  Georgia nearly spills the wine. “What? What happened?”

  “Bar fight. Don’t worry, though. Everything is okay.”

  “That boy …” Georgia trails off and fills her own glass. “I suppose it’s been a hard couple of weeks for all of us.”

  “I thought you’d be more mad.”

  Georgia screws the cap back on the bottle and wedges it into the sand. “I’m not thrilled, but I just don’t have the energy to get upset about stuff like that right now.” She takes a drink. “I’m surprised I have the energy to get out of bed in the morning.”

  “I think you’re doing a great job, for what it’s worth.”

  “I’m certainly doing my best,” she says with a long sigh.

  Melanie stares out at the waves, the line of sea foam on the beach, the distant and dark horizon, and for the first time shares the secret she’s been hiding since Saturday.

  “Derek is back.” Her voice is small, as though if she says it too loud the magic will be broken and her ex-husband will disappear in a plume of smoke.

  “Derek?” Georgia’s face whips to Melanie’s. “What do you mean he’s back?”

  Melanie takes a mouthful of wine and swishes the sour liquid around her mouth before swallowing. “I mean that he showed up in my office on the weekend and said that he’s given up truck driving and wants us to get back together.”

  Georgia follows Melanie’s gaze out to the water and makes a muffled snorting sound, almost like a laugh.

  “Are you laughing?” Melanie asks.

  “A little.” She wraps her arm around her daughter’s shoulder. “It’s just the cruel irony of life, isn’t it? My husband leaves and then your husband returns, almost like some sort of cosmic Newton’s Cradle.”

  “That’s not exactly the reaction I pictured you having.”

  “What did you picture?”

  “Something more like …” Melanie slaps both hands to the side of her face dramatically. “Derek’s back? That’s insane, Melanie!”

  Georgia laughs, tipping her head back. She hasn’t laughed like that in a while, so Melanie savors it. “Sorry,” Georgia says, taking another sip of wine, shoulders still shaking. “I guess my capacity to be shocked has lessened recently. “ She sobers, rubbing Melanie on the back. “How are you feeling about it though? Are you happy? Sad? Angry?”

  “I don’t know how to feel,” Melanie admits. “I’m mostly just surprised. Earlier today, he asked me to meet him on the beach and when I got there,
he’d recreated our honeymoon. The food, the drink, the music, everything. And it was confusing, because the entire time, my head was telling me that he’d done me wrong, that I shouldn’t trust him. But my heart wanted him back.”

  “Well, there’s no rush,” Georgia says. “If he wants to be back in your life, then he needs to give you enough time to decide what you want.”

  “I mean, there is a little rush.” Melanie stares into her glass and swirls the wine around. “I’m supposed to go out with Colin again soon. It wouldn’t feel right to string him along now that Derek is back.”

  “Derek isn’t actually back until you let him back in,” Georgia points out. “If that happens, sure—end things with Colin. Until then, I for one think that having Colin in your life might be a good way to keep a little perspective.”

  “You think so?”

  Georgia nods. “I do.”

  The pair share a moment of silence, leaning against each other’s shoulders as the breeze lifts their hair and makes it dance. Georgia and Melanie don’t usually talk about matters of the heart, but then again there’s not usually much to talk about. Melanie’s husband has been out of the picture for years and, until Colin, she hadn’t entertained any hopes of fresh romance.

  It feels good to talk to her mother like this. She feels guilty thinking this, but her dad leaving has given her an opportunity to get closer to her mom that didn’t exist before.

  “How does he look?” Georgia asks after a while.

  Melanie chuckles. “Honestly, not as bad as I expected.”

  “I think I find that more surprising than his dramatic return,” Georgia remarks. “I thought if we did ever see him again, he’d have a beard down to his belly and be covered in Cheeto dust.”

  28

  Tasha

  One Month Later

  “Five minutes!” the stage manager, Teresa, cries.

  Tasha didn’t realize it was possible for her heart to beat any faster but it does now. She scrutinizes herself in the mirror one last time. Her hair is perfect. Her makeup is perfect. She knows her lines. She knows her choreography. She will be fine.

  Or will she?

  What if she messes up? What if, during her first live performance since high school, Tasha flubs it on stage in front of her family and friends?

  Eddie appears around the corner, grinning. “Are you ready, superstar?”

  Tasha gets up and runs her hands over the front of her dress self-consciously. “I forgot how this feels,” she admits without looking up. “I’m terrified.”

  Eddie walks over and takes her hands, kissing them. “You’re going to do great. If you’re even half as good as you were during rehearsal, you will bring the house down.”

  Tasha stares into the depths of his chocolate irises and it calms her. She takes a breath.

  “Also, you might have forgotten how bad this feels, but you’ve probably also forgotten how good it feels to get out there in front of an audience,” Eddie adds. “A proper audience. Not just me and Damien and a bag of Doritos.”

  “Places!” Teresa yells from around the corner. Tasha’s heart kicks up one more notch.

  Eddie kisses her hands one last time and Tasha nearly melts. “I’ll see you on the other side.” He winks. “Break a leg.”

  Tasha takes her place on stage. She can hear the crowd chatting just beyond the curtain, can feel the energy of the room.

  It is opening night, and not just for Garden of EJ. This is the opening night for the rest of Tasha’s life.

  The crowd quiets. Tasha takes a deep breath.

  The curtain glides open.

  Tasha bows with the rest of the cast, unable to contain her glee. Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. What a perfect show! Everything went off without a hitch, and they have earned themselves a standing ovation for their efforts.

  When she comes back up from the bow, Tasha’s eye falls on her family, seated front and center. Drew whoops enthusiastically like he’s at a baseball game. Beside him is Ashley, whom Tasha has grown quite fond of in the last month. Not as fond as Melanie though, who is on Ashley’s other side. She and Ashley have become fast friends and when Ashley’s not helping at the inn, she has a part-time internship at Melanie’s practice. Next to Melanie are Georgia and Joel.

  Joel was supposed to be finding a place of his own in Portland but has extended his stay at the inn indefinitely, which is very obviously due to his infatuation with Tasha’s mom. The pair spend all their free time together, and can often be found sitting on Georgia’s patio, laughing in the sunshine.

  Even Alma and Gwen are there with their husbands. Alma is hooting with her hands cupped over her mouth and is—as per usual— the loudest person in the room.

  Her dad isn’t here, though, Tasha realizes with a sudden pang. She has gotten so used to life without Richard in the picture that she went through the whole performance without scanning the crowd for his face. She doesn’t bother now—it would just be an exercise in futility. Her father’s continued absence grows less painful day by day, though it continues to confound all of the Baldwin children. At this point, Tasha isn’t sad anymore. She’s angry.

  She shakes her head and clears her mind of these thoughts. Now’s not the time.

  Georgia catches Tasha’s eye and nods, face pinching as though she is about to cry. The pride bathing her features is enough to make Tasha tear up, and she sniffles as the curtain closes.

  The applause continues, muffled behind the thick curtain. Tasha and her castmates cheer and hug each other, passing around congratulations for a successful opening night. Everyone is buzzing about the after-party, and Tasha is sad that she can’t go but excited to be going out for dinner with her family instead. She can’t wait to hear what they thought.

  Tasha heads to her dressing table backstage and starts packing things into her backpack. She’s nearly done when footsteps thump around the corner and Eddie comes into view, holding a bouquet of roses. He grins and approaches Tasha, holding out the flowers.

  “These are for you,” he says.

  “What? Really?” Tasha takes the bouquet, inhaling the heady scent. “Thank you, Eddie.”

  He thrusts his hands in the pockets of his ripped jeans. They look like the same pair he was wearing the day they first met, and Tasha thanks her stars that they did. None of this would have happened if they hadn’t crossed paths. She’d probably still be rotting in a quagmire of misery and hopelessness, and that was not a good look for her.

  “Don’t you think other people will get jealous?” Tasha asks, looking up at Eddie through her lashes. “I don’t want them to think the director is giving me special treatment.”

  Eddie shakes his head. “I’m not giving you special treatment as your director,” he says, voice low and thick. “I’m simply expressing my adoration as one of your fans.” He steps closer, and rests a hand on Tasha’s waist.

  Her heart, which she didn’t realize could go yet faster, pounds against her ribs. Her breath catches in her throat. In a raspy voice, she asks, “So you’re a fan, huh?”

  Eddie nods, gaze dipping to her lips. “I am a fan of everything about you and everything you do, Tasha Baldwin.”

  The next few seconds pass by in slow motion.

  He leans in, breath fanning Tasha’s mouth. Her free hand lands on his chest. She leans up on her tiptoes, letting her eyes flutter closed. All the noise—the cheering, the champagne bottles popping, the shouts of joy—fades away.

  Eddie’s lips are warm as they press against hers. It is a gentle, soft kiss—tentative, almost. Eddie kisses Tasha like she is a treasure; she has never been kissed like this before. He pulls her closer. Their mouths move together, lips and tongues tangling in a lazy dance

  They pull apart and Tasha rocks back and forth on her feet, face splitting with a wide smile.

  “My family’s waiting for me,” she says. “But maybe I can see you later?”

  Eddie picks up her hand and kisses the back of it. “I am at your humble se
rvice.”

  He leaves Tasha with her heart flip-flopping in her chest. She finishes changing and packing her things, and heads out to the lobby to join her family feeling, for the first time since high school, like a roaring success.

  29

  Melanie

  Melanie is clapping so hard that her hands hurt. What a show!

  She looks behind her, pride swelling her chest as hundreds of people whistle and cheer for her sister. It feels like a thousand years ago that Tasha was ruling the stage at Willow Beach High, but seeing her back in her element, one wouldn’t believe that a single day had passed.

  “That was so good!” Ashley says, grabbing Melanie’s arm affectionately. “I have to say, you guys are one talented family.”

  Drew leans over. “You know, I didn’t know what to expect, but I really liked that.”

  Melanie agrees. The script was good—funny but emotional at times, with a great score to back it up. Eddie and Damien Green are going places and, if Melanie had to offer a prediction, she would say Tasha is headed for greater heights, too.

  The family files out into the lobby, where Tasha is due to meet them. Melanie checks her phone and sees she has two missed calls—one from Derek, and one from Colin. She cringes.

  “What is it?” Georgia asks.

  Melanie shoves her phone back in her purse. “The worst pair of missed calls in existence,” she mutters.

  “Both of them?” Georgia’s eyebrows head for the roof. “Do they know?”

  Melanie shakes her head. “No.” That’s all she manages to say.

  “Honey …” Georgia says.

  “I know, Mom.” She sighs. “Can we just focus on Tasha tonight and I’ll deal with everything else later?”

  “Of course, hon!” Georgia exclaims, brightening right back up. “Tonight is all about your sister and her fabulous success. She should be along any moment now.”