“Then comes the things you have no control over—the line that’s wavy with the general ups and downs of life. Then you come across the big challenges in life—the jagged mountain that’s the toughest to get over. And…so life repeats itself, I guess. You come back down to the safe valley after you’ve been refined by the fires of tribulation. But that peace and contentment can only last for so long because you know the waves of the world and the jagged mountain are coming soon enough. Still…you push along because you know you should.”
I was totally speechless. I had no idea a patterned line held so much meaning to it.
“Wow, interesting. But your tattoo isn’t just the lifeline, right? You’ve got a straight line that runs above it and below it.”
“Well there’s a straight line on the top. Smooth and clean, easy sailing—your ultimate goal. No surprises, just complete perfection.”
“Heaven?”
“Sure.”
“And the bottom line? I guess it was a thicker line, right?”
“Mm, it’s thicker, and it also has dips, but those aren’t the dips you want to be stuck in.”
“Ah, I see. Black pits of despair. Or hell, whatever you wanna call it.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. Pits of despair, hell, it’s all the same. Purgatory.”
“Yikes. I think I’d rather be on the jagged mountain.”
“Yeah, no kidding.”
“It puts life into perspective that way. I really like that. I can’t wait to see it in person again.”
“Hmm, well I guess Christmas, right?”
“Uh, yep. Did you book your flight yet?”
“No, not yet,” he laughed. “We just talked about it this morning, remember?”
“Are you having second thoughts? Because if you really don’t want to come—”
“There you go again, giving me an easy out.”
I sighed. “I know. I just want you to want to come. I don’t want you to do it if you’d rather not.”
“I’d rather see you. It doesn’t matter how or where. But I did have one question…”
“Yeah?”
“Well, where would you want me to stay?”
I paused for a few seconds. “Uh, I just thought you could stay with me. Unless you’d rather not. I mean you could always stay with Wyatt again,” I smiled. “Uh, he kind of lost his roommate.”
“That’s really not funny, Ellie,” he replied, but I could tell his tone was light.
“I know. But I just thought you’d stay with me.”
“With your sister and your other roommate there? Are you sure there’s room for me?”
“Kailey will be in Hawaii with her family, so it would just be Dawn…” I guess I would have to think about that one. I assumed Dawn would probably end up at my parents’ house, refusing to stay in a house with an ex-con again. That would mean I’d be rooming with Tyse all by myself…
“Well whatever works for you, I guess,” he said. “I just don’t want to impose.”
“You won’t be. It’s going to be so much fun. You can even make pies with me.”
“Super.”
We talked about the holidays for a bit, from some of the crazy things that happened at my family gatherings to my snowboarding addiction. I was happy when he said he wanted to snowboard with me.
“You think you can survive the mountain with me, huh?” I teased.
“Yeah, I wanna survive the mountains with you, Ellie.”
Again my face felt flushed, but maybe I read into the comment wrong…
“So aren’t you going snowboarding this weekend?” he asked.
“Uh, yeah. Friday to Sunday.”
“Cool. Who goes with you?”
“Uh, I go with some friends from high school. I stay at their cabin up on Mt. Hood.”
“Hmm, sounds fun.”
“We can do that when you come for Christmas, too.”
“Whatever you want. I’m just along for the ride.”
“Ha. Don’t tell me that because I’ll drag you all over the place.”
“That’s fine. I’ve got the easy job when you come here. All I have to do is sit on a beach.”
With a laugh I replied, “Yes, and I’m looking forward to that.”
“Me too. Especially because California is too cold for me right now. I missed most of the warm summer days.”
“Aw, poor baby. Wasted your summer in the Northwest.”
“Definitely not a waste, but it made my life a little more complicated.”
I knew he was talking about meeting me, but I wasn’t sure to what extent. “Well maybe that’s a good thing. What would you rather it be complicated with instead?”
“I don’t know, but I think I’m gonna add your name to one of my jagged mountains.”
“Really? Can I pick which one?”
“Sure, but two of them are already taken.”
“Oh, you mean by other girls?” I teased.
“Uh, definitely not. Thankfully.”
I could only assume one represented his time in prison… Maybe the other had to do with his parents? But I decided to say, “I really hope I’m not one of your mountains, Tyse. Isn’t that a bad thing? I mean can’t I be your cozy valley instead?”
“Yeah, I’d rather you be.”
“But I’m a jagged mountain?”
He paused for a moment. “No, you’re not a jagged mountain, Ellie.”
“Okay, because I was thinking about getting my own jagged mountain tattoo. Would that be copying you? Oh, wait, you wanted me to get a matching tattoo, right? So wouldn’t that work?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, that would work. But I don’t want you to get a tattoo.”
“Why not?”
“Because you have beautiful skin. I don’t want you to mark it up with ink. It’d be like putting a tacky bumper sticker on a brand new Bugatti Veyron.”
“A what?”
“Uh, it’s a car. One of the most expensive cars in the world.”
“Oh. You’re comparing me to a car?”
“Uh, I suppose. Is that offensive?”
“Mmm, depends on how much the car is worth.”
“A Veyron? Oh, over two million.”
“Dollars? Holy crap, I’ll be a Bugatti whatever.”
He laughed. “You far out value a car, Ellie. You’d be in the ‘priceless’ category.”
“Aw, you’re so sweet. I’d put you in that category with me.” I could hear him scoff. “What was that for?” I asked. “You’re priceless, too.”
“Hm, well I’m thinking you’re probably a priceless prune about now.” He had totally changed the subject, but I did have to agree. “Hey, I’ll let you go for now,” he said. “I’ve got some things to do before tomorrow.”
“Okay. Are you going anywhere for Thanksgiving dinner? I mean do you and Nate do anything…?”
“Besides order pizza? No, not really.”
“What? You don’t even eat a turkey dinner?”
“Nah. It’s okay, though. It works for us.”
“Tyse, that kind of makes me sad.”
“Why? It’s just food.”
“Well…because…” I sighed. “I don’t know.”
“It’s not a big deal,” he chuckled. “We can go down the road and get a turkey dinner if we really wanted to.”
“Like at a restaurant?”
“Sure.”
I groaned. “That’s not Thanksgiving!”
“Why not? People do it all the time.”
“Really?” I thought about some of the restaurants that I occasionally saw advertise for Thanksgiving dinner. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
“Anyway, I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
“Okay. Bye, Tyse.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
I reluctantly attended my family’s Thanksgiving dinner the next afternoon. My sister had called that morning to offer an apology, and even though I’m pretty sure my parents made her do it, I also knew she really did feel bad that
we’d been fighting. I didn’t believe she was sorry for the things she said, but I believed she was remorseful about the ill feelings between us.
Although the day was free from offensive words, I could still feel a tension in the house that I was not comfortable with. I almost felt like an outsider in my own family, like I’d been silently shunned by everyone else. Even David, who hadn’t even been present for the whole ordeal the day before, seemed to be in on the admonishment. The only person I really felt comfortable around was Mallory, but that was because she had no idea what was going on with the rest of the family.
I later found out that David was pretty pissed that I’d had Tyse in the house with Mallory’s two small children. I was furious that they were treating Tyse like some kind of child molester, and when Dawn had made some “harmless” remark about David’s opinion (after he had left for the night) I almost blew a gasket. My mom almost freaked out when Dawn opened her big fat mouth, but I think I made the right decision by not even saying anything in response. I pretty much grabbed my things and left the house.
I bawled the entire way home, and it wasn’t because I felt like my family was being mean to me; it was because I so badly wanted Tyse to feel accepted by other people. I thought for sure my family would understand that, and because they didn’t, I felt like they had completely betrayed me and everything I stood for.
I did something totally and completely impulsive that night. I cancelled my snowboarding plans with Asher and booked a flight to California instead. It cost me an outrageous amount of money to leave the next morning, but for some reason I felt at peace with it and knew it was the right thing to do. I unpacked all of my snow gear and traded it for regular clothing instead, and I debated on whether or not I should call Tyse that night or in the morning. It was pretty late so I decided against it and planned on just surprising him when I got to California.
I was so excited I could barely sleep that night.
A cab took me to the airport at six the next morning. I was still feeling pretty giddy when I boarded the plane at seven-thirty, and I still felt good about my decision. I was so excited to see Tyse that I could hardly contain myself. I was sure the couple next to me were tired of chatting after a half an hour, but they were really nice and listened to me babble on and on.
It was a spontaneous trip, right? I had no idea what to do once I landed in San Diego. I only had the address of Nate’s auto shop, but I knew they wouldn’t be there.
I ended up texting Tyse and casually asked what he was up to that morning. He replied that he’d met with the guys again and played another football game. He said he was pretty beat up but had a lot of fun, and they were all headed out for a late breakfast. I only responded: Glad you had fun, eat well and take care of yourself! Text me when you’re home and I’ll call you.
I sat in a chair at the airport, considering my options. Mainly I wanted to surprise Tyse as much as I could, but I had some time to kill. There were rental cars available, but I really didn’t know if I wanted to go that route. I suppose it was my only option besides taking an expensive cab—
“Excuse me, are you needing a ride?” a voice asked.
I was a little startled that I didn’t even notice him standing there. A middle-aged man was smiling pleasantly, waiting for my reply.
“Uh, well…”
“I’m sorry to just impose like that, but I was here to pick up another couple, and they have just changed their plans.”
He motioned across to one of the luggage carousels to the man and woman I’d been sitting next to on the plane. They both waved and smiled at me.
“They suggested that you might need a ride somewhere,” he added.
“Oh, uh… Well actually…”
“Yes? Where are you headed?”
“Um, I’m not sure really.”
He smiled. “Do you know what city?”
“Uh, La Mesa.”
“Oh, that’s not far.”
“But I don’t know how to find the person I’m looking for.”
“Oh, no problem,” he waved with a chuckle. “Easy enough. Oh, I’m Eduardo.”
“Ellie,” I replied, meeting his extended hand.
“Nice to meet you, Ellie. Uh, did you have luggage to collect…?”
“No, this is all I have.”
“Oh, smart traveler. One carry-on and a backpack.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t sure about the whole luggage thing, and I’m really not staying long.”
“Are you ready to go, then?”
“Sure. Um, just let me go thank…uh, the couple…”
“Okay,” he smiled.
I did thank George and Maryann, and then I followed Eduardo to his cab. Only it wasn’t a cab, it was one of those…town car things. I was instantly worried about how much this was going to cost me.
“Um, you know…” I began.
Eduardo remained at the trunk, still waiting for me to hand over my bags. “Yes?”
“I don’t…I don’t really have a lot of money right now…”
He chuckled. “Oh, no worries. The ride is already paid for. You just tell me where you need to go and I’ll take you there.”
“Seriously?”
He nodded. “Yes. So…?” He was still waiting for me to hand over my bags, so I finally did. Once we were in the car, he rolled down the partition so he could talk to me. “So tell me what you know and I can find your, uh…”
“Friend. I’m here to surprise a friend.”
“Oh, how exciting,” he smiled.
So while he left the airport, I told him the story of Tyse. He listened well, smiling and nodding just as George and Maryann had, and when I was done, he asked, “So what’s his last name?”
I told him, and by then he had pulled off onto a side street so he could use a computer.
“Hmm, you said La Mesa, right?”
“Yeah.”
“And he attends San Diego La Mesa College?”
“Yes.”
“Well I found three addresses, but one is just a post office box in La Mesa…”
I didn’t even know the names of Tyse’s parents, so I couldn’t exactly cross-reference that, but I did know the names of his brother and sister. So going by that, Eduardo came up with an address that seemed to be where his parents lived.
“Solana Beach,” he announced.
“Oh. Where’s that?”
“Up the coast.”
“How far up the coast?”
“About thirty minutes or so. Would you like to see if they could give us an address for their son?”
Okay, I was really curious. I knew nothing about Tyse’s family, and I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity, so when Eduardo asked me if that’s where I wanted to go, I replied, “Is that too far?”
“Solana? No, that’s okay. We can find his parents and then you can get his address for La Mesa.”
“You’ll take me to La Mesa too?”
“Sure,” he chuckled. “I have all day, Miss Ellie. I’ve already been paid, so you might as well let me do my job.”
“Oh.”
What choice did I have?
So Eduardo headed for Solana Beach, and because I knew nothing about the area, he gave me some little bits and pieces of tourist information along the way. He even joked that we could spend the day at Sea World if I wanted to.
But I became very uneasy once we were actually in Solana Beach, and when he pulled up in front of a house and said, “Here we are,” my jaw dropped open.
“Uh, you’ve gotta be kidding me, right?”
Eduardo turned around to look at me, clearly confused, and then he rechecked the address. “This is the home of Alastair and Regina Morgan. I am certain of it.”
I just stared at the house, this massively beautiful house, and could only swallow.
“This is not what you were expecting?” Eduardo asked.
“Uh, no, not at all…”
“Would you still like to be here, or would you rather just call you
r friend?”
“Uh… Well, I don’t know,” I admitted honestly.
“Would you like me to go to the door for you? I’m not sure if being the driver of their son’s friend would get any information, but I could try.”
I chuckled. “No, that’s okay. I guess I could just…”
I went to open the door myself, but Eduardo was up just as quickly, doing it for me.
“Uh, thanks…”
“I’ll remain in the car until you are done,” he reminded me.
“Okay…”
I couldn’t believe that this was where Tyse grew up. In a gigantic house on the beach? I just couldn’t comprehend it. But here I was, somewhere I never expected to be, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was just a coincidence, or was I actually supposed to be here? I mean come on, a driver that just happens to offer me a ride to anywhere? How was that a coincidence? Maybe this was just a journey I was supposed to take.
My thoughts continued as I rang the doorbell, and as I waited, I looked over the beautifully landscaped yard. There was a fountain right near the walkway. It was an angel pouring water out of a bowl. It was really pretty—something that I could probably never afford—and I kept my eyes on the running water until the front door opened.
“Yes?” a pretty Hispanic woman asked.
“Um, yeah, I was looking for Mr. or Mrs. Morgan?”
She looked me over suspiciously, and then glanced to the curb where the town car was parked. Maybe that implied that I might actually belong in a neighborhood like this.
“Mrs. Morgan is home,” she replied, inviting me inside. “May I tell her who is visiting?”
“My name is Ambrielle.” I decided to use my full name, just in case it sounded more formal. “I’m a friend of her son. Tyse?”
She stared at me, like I’d delivered the most unbelievable news ever. “Are you kidding?” she finally asked.
“Excuse me?”
“Who is it Juanita?” a woman asked, entering the mammoth entryway. I could tell right away that she was Tyse’s mother, based on her just her dark hair and something about her mouth. She stood there waiting for Juanita’s answer, but Juanita had nothing to say.
Summer Swing Page 28
