by Tiffany King
"You're not like I thought you would be," he finally stated. I bristled at his words. I was sick of being painted as the bad person in all this. I might not be some goody-goody like him, but I also wasn't some thug.
"Give me a break, okay? So I went to a damn party that got out of hand. In case you missed it, I'm paying my debt to society, so you can get off your high horse."
"Why did you pretend?" Josh asked.
"Pretend what?" I snapped in aggravation.
"I thought you were one of them," he said, sweeping his hand out to indicate the house next to ours.
"A house?"
He glared at me without laughing. "I assumed you were rich like Evan and the others."
"Well, you know what they say when you assume," I taunted. "What does it matter, anyway? If I was rich does that mean I deserved to be punished for something I didn't do?"
By the look on his face, it was clear Josh didn't believe I had nothing to do with trashing the beach at the party. "You're an asshole, you know that? If you would have investigated things a little closer when you were sneaking around, you would have seen that I didn't toss anything over the rail at Evan's house."
"So you say." His tone was so condescending. It was like he was trying to antagonize me into a fight.
I gnashed my teeth. "That is what I say because it's the truth. Is that why you didn't warn me you were going to call the cops?"
"What did you expect? The beach got trashed because of that party. How was I supposed to know you had nothing to do with it?"
He was infuriating. I was on the verge of telling him where he could stick his logic when something grabbed his attention over my shoulder. A small smile tugged at the corners of his ordinarily frowning mouth. I stifled a groan. Without even looking, I knew that either Butch or Buttercup was behind the current look on his face. Turning slowly so I could peer out the window, I spotted both of them standing in the backyard, soaping up their hair and washing it in the steady downpour of rain. The fact that it was the middle of the day seemed to hold no significance to them. As sad as it sounds, it wasn't a new ritual. For years Butch and Buttercup claimed rainwater made their hair smell better and gave it more shine. Oh, and of course it didn't waste water. At least they were wearing shorts and T-shirts, which gave me a small measure of comfort. They used to do it in the nude back in Huntsville until I put my foot down.
"Your parents?" he asked, watching as they took turns scrubbing each other's hair.
"Yeah, that would be Butch and Buttercup," I answered without thinking.
"Butch and Buttercup? You call your parents by their first names?" I thought it was funny that he questioned that point as opposed to their actual names.
"Yeah. Their idea more than mine. I've been calling them by their given names for as long as I can remember. When I was younger they made me do it in case I ever got lost. They figured millions of kids assumed their parents' names were Mom and Dad. They wanted me to be able to provide their names without hesitation," I answered in one long breath. I wasn't sure why I felt the need to give him the full explanation.
"That's smart. My parents would have croaked if I called them by their names. They wouldn't even let my friends do it," he said, turning back to me. "They were pretty formal that way. I would have given anything to see them let go like that," he added, looking out the window again. It was the most open conversation Josh and I had shared, and it only took Butch and Buttercup's freaky behavior to get us there.
The way he talked about his parents in the past tense hadn't escaped my attention. Maybe they had passed away. Something like that would definitely change the way a person looked at the world. I wanted to ask him, but it felt too personal. He would have mentioned it if he wanted me to know.
I was lost in my thoughts when he burst out laughing. The sudden transformation in his facial structure took me by surprise. It was the first time I'd seen him without the scowl I'd grown accustomed to. Smiling suited him. His entire face shined and his eyes sparkled with mirth.
Reluctantly, I turned away to see what my parents had done to achieve such a drastic reaction from Josh. This time I couldn't help but groan out loud at the sight of Butch stripping off his T-shirt and dancing around the yard like he was praising the god of rain or something. He made a production of washing under his arms before he and Buttercup finished up and headed back into the house. "I'm going to kill them," I muttered, reaching for the door handle. "Thanks for the ride."
Josh nodded but didn't say anything else. I sighed, climbing from the truck. Oh well. Small steps were better than none at all.
Chapter 8
With Farrah gone on a trip with her parents, the weekend seemed to drag. I felt weirdly antsy, wishing the hours away to get to Monday. I spent most of the time thinking about Josh, wondering if our short but cordial talk in his truck would change things between us. I still wanted to slug him for my mountain of community service hours, but after considering his explanation, I suppose I understood his side. That being said, I also expected him to accept the truth that I had done nothing except get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. The cold shoulder treatment needed to be over.
Monday finally arrived and I got to the patrol office to find out I had been teamed up with Josh. I gnawed my lip for a moment as Vanessa handed over my new time sheet for the week. "Is everything okay?" she asked, looking up at me.
"Oh, yeah, I was just thinking of something," I answered, smiling. The question of whether Josh and I could coexist was about to be answered.
"Okay, good. Most of the guys are tied up making preparations in case Tropical Storm Alexia turns into a hurricane."
"Is that a possibility?" I asked. Butch had mentioned the storm the night before, but according to the news it was still five days or so away if it maintained its course. I had no experience with hurricanes. A five-day warning seemed insane. Back in Kansas, a lot of the tornado warnings had come only minutes before you were screwed, if you got a warning at all.
"If it stays on track, it's a possibility. It's early in the season, but it's happened before. Don't you worry though, honey. If it gets upgraded to a hurricane, they'll probably evacuate," she reassured me. "Josh should be waiting for you," she added before answering an incoming call.
I walked out back to find Josh waiting on the ATV as usual. He looked up and adjusted in his seat when I came through the door. "Hey," he said, pulling away after I sat down.
"Hey," I answered. That was the extent of our conversation except for Josh outlining what we would be working on the next few days in case the storm maintained its course toward the coast. I accepted the fact that at least he was being friendly, and for the next couple of hours we drove around picking up trash and any other lose debris on the beach. What amazed me was that based on the cloudless sunny skies and people scattered around, you would never know a large storm was possibly less than a week away. It felt like any other day.
As Josh and I made our way down the beach, we were flagged down by a distraught mother who had lost sight of her little girl. She was waving and screaming frantically, attracting the attention of several other people around her. Josh grabbed his walkie-talkie and quickly called the beach patrol office.
"How old is she?" Josh asked, running up to her.
"Three. She was playing in the sand while I put lotion on her baby brother, Mason," the woman cried, pointing to the toddler who was digging in the sand. "I looked away for a moment and she was gone," she choked out.
"Is it possible she went into the water?" Josh asked. His words made my heart sink as I took in the endless stretch of water.
"No! She knows she's not allowed anywhere near the water without my husband or me. She's just barely started swim lessons." Her face looked horror-struck at the idea.
Josh reached over and patted her arm. "I'm sure she's fine. She probably wandered off and got a little turned around. We'll find her. What's her name?"
"Jilly Ann. We call her Jillybean."
&
nbsp; Before Josh could jot her name down, the loud squeal of a blowing whistle from the nearby lifeguard stand caught our attention. Josh and I turned to see the lifeguard on duty scrambling down from his stand. Our eyes moved to the water just in time to see a small head bobbing just beyond the point where the waves were breaking. Without pause, Josh dropped his notepad on the sand and sprinted toward the water. He stripped off his shirt as he ran and dove into the incoming waves without breaking stride. The small head disappeared from sight as Josh hit the water. It was obvious he had superior swimming skills when he quickly overtook the other lifeguard who had been ahead of him. A large crowd gathered and watched with bated breath as the two lifeguards swam to the spot where the little girl had been struggling to stay afloat. The girl's sobbing mother stood beside me at the water's edge, clutching her son tightly in her arms.
We watched as Josh dove into the relentless incoming waves. A few onlooking bystanders dove into the water to help, but it was obvious they wouldn't catch up before it was too late. I felt my own tears begin to surface, watching the worried mother who could only wait helplessly for any sign of the lifeguards and her daughter. All my problems and dumb mistakes during the past few weeks seemed minuscule in a moment like this. Just when I was beginning to think Josh was never going to find her, he broke the surface of the water with the small child in his arms. He had reached a point where he could stand and began running toward the shore. The girl appeared to be unconscious, which made her mom sway with grief.
"My baby!" she yelled as she ran toward Josh, who had reached the sand.
"Ma'am, please stay back. Let me help her," Josh insisted, slightly out of breath. His firm control of the situation took me by surprise.
"Jillybean, wake up, please," her mother pleaded. I placed a comforting arm around her shoulder as she sobbed uncontrollably. Josh gently placed the young girl's lifeless body on the sand and began administering CPR. My stomach was in my throat as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. The other lifeguard kneeled beside her body to perform chest compressions while Josh breathed into her mouth. I could hear the faint sound of sirens in the background and I silently willed them to hurry. Some of the people around us pulled out their cellphones, recording what was happening. It seemed classless, and I wanted to slap the devices out of their hands.
Jilly Ann's mom sagged against me as Josh continued to breathe into the little girl's mouth. The sirens became louder, but it was clear Josh and the other lifeguard knew what they were doing. We all watched in awe as the girl finally coughed out a mouthful of water. She began to cry as a collective cheer erupted from the many onlookers. The mother scooped her daughter into her arms, rocking her two children back and forth.
Within minutes, we were joined by paramedics who jumped into action, checking Jilly Ann's condition. Judging by her continued wailing, she would be okay. Josh had saved her. No wonder he had judged me so harshly. In his eyes I was a party girl who gave no regard to those around me.
The paramedics carefully loaded Jilly Ann onto a stretcher. Her mom threw her arms around Josh, thanking him profusely. I expected him to act nonchalant or even uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind at all. It was like watching a movie where the hero saves the day.
"Great job, guys," the paramedics proclaimed, shaking hands with Josh and the other lifeguard before carrying Jilly Ann to the ambulance.
The crowd began to disperse once the ambulance left. Some of the patrols from the office showed up, including Josh's boss, Mitch, who clapped him on the back as he congratulated him on a job well done.
I stood on the outskirts, watching as Josh gave his account of the rescue to his coworkers. What he did was heroic, but you would never think that listening to him tell the story. There was no bragging or arrogance in his words. He had done his job, plain and simple. By the time Josh joined me a few minutes later, my feelings were a jumbled mess. I couldn't help smiling at him after everything I had witnessed that morning. It seemed petty to be holding a grudge. I was relieved when he returned the smile.
"I could use a break. Are you hungry?" he asked as we headed toward the ATV.
"Absolutely," I answered, accepting the tentative truce.
"How about burgers?' he added.
"Works for me."
He steered the vehicle off the sand toward the beach access entryway. Within minutes, he pulled into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant that Butch and Buttercup would rather have poked their eyes out than step foot in. I would never admit it to them, but since we'd moved to Florida, I'd grown quite partial to some of the restaurants on the beach.
We ordered our lunch separately before carrying our trays to a table by the window so we could keep an eye on his beach patrol vehicle. "How's the community service going?" Josh asked before taking a big bite of his burger.
"It's been relatively quiet and uneventful," I smirked, attempting to interject a little humor to break the ice.
"I bet," he said, looking down and taking another bite of his burger.
I took a bite of my own hamburger before giving a more legitimate answer. "It's actually not that bad," I answered, taking a long drink of my soda. "And this morning was the most scary, amazing moment of my life. You saved that little girl's life," I said, more than a little awestruck.
"I was just doing my job." He shrugged, looking self-conscious for the first time since saving Jilly Ann.
"If we wouldn't have been there, she would have drowned," I said, thinking of the ramifications of my statement. "Buttercup and Butch would say fate brought you there at that moment."
"Fate?" he asked skeptically, popping a fry into his mouth.
"Well, Butch and Buttercup say a lot of crazy things, but listen, if I wouldn't have been at the party that led to me being here doing community service, you wouldn't have been at that exact spot, and that little girl might have drowned. It makes sense."
"That's not necessarily true," Josh said modestly. "Chris is the one who spotted her and probably would have reached her in time."
"Maybe, but it was you who dove under and found her," I pointed out, taking another bite of my burger.
"That's an interesting theory, but it still doesn't make everything right."
"That's not what I was saying," I said defensively.
"Rain, there's nothing cosmic about what happened. I did what I was trained to do today. You and your buddies trashed public property and now you're paying the consequences, that's it."
"Seriously? How many times do I have to say it? I DID NOT TRASH THE BEACH," I bristled. "I got invited to a party, so I went."
"And like I told you, I had no way of knowing that. Anyway, it wasn't like I broke the case for the cops. Evan had been pulling that shit for a long time. The cops were going to bust it up even before I called, so your friends were screwed no matter what."
"They weren't even my friends," I said, exasperated. "As soon as I saw the idiots throwing the bottles, I was going to bail. That was the time your buddies decided to show up."
He kept his head down, swirling a fry around in ketchup.
"I planned to clean it all up the next morning," I added, which was the truth.
His head snapped up immediately in response. "By then it would have been too late. That whole area would have been covered in water at high tide, which means all those bottle caps, broken glass, chip bags, and other trash you guys had thrown around would have been swept out to sea," he said, angrily dunking a fry in ketchup.
"Okay. I get that, but again, I did nothing wrong."
"Except stand by while a bunch of assholes trashed a beautiful beach."
Clearly we were at an impasse. If Josh wanted to continue to judge me for a crime I didn't commit, there was nothing I could do but work my community service hours and accept that he and I would never be friends.
We finished lunch in silence and worked the rest of the afternoon in much the same way. Josh attempted to start up a conversation while we drove back to the station, but I shut him down
. I couldn't act like everything was all fine and dandy when he thought I was something I wasn't.
I left Josh to rinse off the ATV while I headed inside to talk to Vanessa.
"I heard you had an exciting day," she commented.
"Yeah, it was crazy. Josh and Chris were like superheroes. I can't believe how they didn't even hesitate," I marveled.
"That's what they're trained to do."
"It was amazing."
"I agree," she said proudly. It was clear that Vanessa was fond of all the guys at the station.
"I better head out. I'm sure my dad is waiting. See you tomorrow," I said as the phone rang. Vanessa waved to me as she picked it up.
I found Butch out front waiting for me, but he wasn't alone. Josh was standing next to the driver's side window talking to Butch animatedly like they were long-lost pals. I had no idea they had ever met. Go figure, Butch gets the animated Josh while I got Mr. McJudgy Pants. I sighed, opening my door to climb into the passenger seat. I slammed the door a little louder than necessary, but neither seemed to notice as they continued their conversation about some eggs Butch had found in our yard.
They wrapped up their conversation and Josh's eyes met mine as Butch thanked him and pulled away."What's the matter, Dewdrop?"
"Nothing," I mumbled, embarrassed to admit what my problem was.
"You know it causes constipation to keep things bottled up."
"So you've said. How do you know Josh?"
"I met him there in the parking lot. He came over and mentioned that he worked with you for your community service hours. I bent his ear to see if he could suggest someone to help me identify the eggs I found in the backyard. Seems like a nice kid."
"You think so?" I asked. Josh approaching Butch on his own accord wasn't something I had expected. Now he really had me confused. It wasn't two hours ago we had pretty much agreed to disagree over the party incident and now he was introducing himself to my father.
