by Laura Farr
“We definitely do,” I reply with a sigh.
“I’ve got to jump into the shower. How about a drink tonight? We can catch up then.”
“Sounds great. I’ll probably head into town this morning, see if any of the beachside cafés are hiring. I need to find a job.”
Maddie nods before heading back through the sitting room toward her bedroom. “I’m sure you’ll find something. There are loads of cafés and bars you could try,” she calls over her shoulder before disappearing into her room.
I hope she’s right. I left Richmond in a bit of a rush. I gave notice on my apartment and threw everything I owned into cases. My bank balance isn’t too bad, but what I have in there won’t last long if I don’t find a job.
Navigating my way around Maddie’s kitchen, I manage to find the ingredients to make bacon and eggs for breakfast. If Maddie is kind enough to let me crash here, the least I can do is make her breakfast before she goes off to work. I’ve known Mads for years. We were close until we were fourteen when my dad got a job in Washington and we moved away. We kept in touch for a while, eventually losing contact when we both went off to college. Through the magic of Facebook and Instagram, we reconnected a few years ago and stayed in touch. When my life imploded three months ago, Maddie was at the end of the phone. She begged me to take some time and visit her, but I thought I could stay in Richmond. When I realized I couldn’t, the only place I wanted to go was Oceanside. One call to Maddie, and I was taking her up on her offer to visit. I’d packed as much as I could carry and boarded a flight to San Diego. The life I knew in Richmond was a lie, and the farther I got from there, the less I wanted to return.
“Something smells good,” Maddie shouts from the bedroom, pulling me from my thoughts. Filling two plates with eggs and bacon, I bring them to the small breakfast bar. “You didn’t have to make breakfast.” She walks into the kitchen and pulls out one of the stools. “But I’m not going to turn down bacon and eggs.”
“It’s the least I can do.” Passing her a fork, I chuckle as I watch her shovel scrambled egg into her mouth. “It’s like you’ve never had eggs and bacon before,” I tease.
“I never eat breakfast. I never get up in time. I usually just grab a coffee on the way to work.”
“How is work?”
“Great. I love it!”
Maddie is a Marine Biologist at the Sea Life Aquarium in Oceanside. It was all she wanted to do as a kid, and I’m so proud of her for following her dreams.
“How are you feeling this morning?” I can hear the concern in her voice.
“I’m okay. Ready to move on with my life.” A single tear slips down my cheek and I angrily wipe it away. I’ve wasted enough tears on that man. I’m done crying. Maddie notices it, though, and her hand covers mine, squeezing gently.
“Give yourself some time. It’s bound to hurt after what that bastard did to you. It’s okay not to be okay, Lex.” I nod and give her a small smile. I don’t want to talk about it, and being the great friend she is, she doesn’t push me. “I could call in sick?”
“Don’t you dare! I’m fine, Maddie. Really. Go to work and we’ll go for that drink later.” I force a smile, which I’m sure she can see right through. She holds my gaze for a few seconds before going back to eating her breakfast.
“If you’re sure you’re okay…”
“I’m sure. I might need to borrow some clothes, though, if you don’t mind. I ditched a lot of stuff before I left Richmond. I couldn’t carry everything. What I’ve kept might not be any good for a night out.”
“Of course. Feel free to have a look through my closet, borrow anything you like.”
A lump forms in my throat, and I fight back the tears I’d just vowed to never shed. “Thank you,” I whisper, swallowing down my tears.
“Stop saying thank you. It’s what friends do.”
“No, Mads. It’s what you do.” I watch as her cheeks flush pink at the compliment.
“I’m happy to help, Lex.” She smiles and I smile back, knowing I’ll always have a friend in Maddie. No matter what.
She finishes her breakfast and flies out of the apartment, promising to be back by five. After cleaning up the mess I’ve made in the kitchen, I jump into the shower, the hot water feeling incredible on my achy body. I’d packed one bikini when I left Richmond, and I put it on under some jean shorts and a tank. Reaching for my sunglasses that I’d left on the hall table, I slip them on before heading outside.
It’s been twelve years since I’ve been in Oceanside, and as I walk from Maddie’s apartment toward the beach, I notice how much has changed. Hotels have sprung up on every corner, along with several more shops and restaurants. Mads was right. There are plenty of places I might be able to find work.
An hour later, I’m feeling dejected. I’ve been in around twenty shops, bars, and restaurants, but no one is hiring. It’s not like in the movies. A girl can’t just walk in and get a job. Maybe it’s because it’s peak season and everyone is fully staffed, or maybe people just don’t hire people who walk in off the street. Either way, I’m no closer to getting work than I was this morning.
As I walk closer to the beach, I realize that Oceanside itself might have changed, but the beach and the pier look exactly like they did when I was fourteen. Being back makes me realize how much I missed living here. Being able to walk to the beach whenever I wanted was something I’d taken for granted as a kid.
Slipping off my flip-flops, I step onto the hot sand, loving how it feels between my toes. The beach is busy, and I walk between couples sunbathing and children playing with buckets and spades. There are sun loungers and umbrella canopies as far as the eye can see, and the hum of people chatting carries on the breeze. Hundreds of people are cooling off in the water, and I kick myself for not bringing a towel. Spotting a quiet spot by the dunes, I make for it, flopping down on the sand when I get there. Taking off my tank and jean shorts, I lie down, closing my eyes as the sun beats down on my face.
I try to relax, but I can’t switch off my mind. Thoughts of finding a job and a place to stay swirl around. Although Maddie said I can stay as long as I want, I know she doesn’t have the room, and I don’t want to overstay my welcome. If I can’t find something soon, I’m going to have to go back to Richmond or, even worse, ask my parents for help. Neither of those are options I want to pursue.
Sitting up, I draw my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my knees. There is a young couple a little way up the beach from me, and I sit and watch them for a while. They look so happy. Their love is obvious. They constantly touch hands and lean in to whisper things to each other. Happiness radiates off them, and I can’t help but feel jealous. I had that, or I thought I did. Turns out it was all a lie.
The delighted squeals of a child pull me from my thoughts and I turn my head to see a little girl running along the beach. She’s wearing a bright pink swimsuit with a ruffle that runs all around her waist. Her long, dark hair is secured in ponytails and they swing as she runs. I look behind her, but don’t see anyone with her. I wonder if a parent is watching from their spot on the sand. As she gets nearer, I see the reason for her squeals and I smile. She’s chasing a huge butterfly. I’d forgotten how amazing the butterflies were in California. They’re bigger here than anywhere else I’ve seen. When she’s nearly in front of me, I watch the butterfly fly over the dunes and out of sight. She comes to a standstill on the sand and looks around her. Her excitement and delight from chasing the butterfly is replaced by blind panic as she suddenly realizes she can’t see whomever she came to the beach with.
“Hey, sweetie!” I call out, standing and walking the short distance to her. “Are you lost?” She turns to look at me, her green eyes brimming with tears. “Don’t cry. I’ll help you find your mommy and daddy. What’s your name?” She bites her lip.
“My… My daddy says I shouldn’t talk to strangers,” she mumbles as the tears that were threatening tumble down her cheeks. Kneeling in front of her, I take bo
th of her hands in mine.
“Your daddy sounds like a very clever man.” I smile at her, but she continues to cry. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. If I tell you my name and you tell me your name, we’ll be friends. We won’t be strangers then. What do you say?” She looks a little unsure, but after thinking about it, her mouth turns up into a smile and she nods. “Okay then. Well, my name is Lexi.”
“I’m Isabella, but my daddy calls me Bella.”
“That’s a beautiful name. Can I call you Bella, too?”
She nods. “You look like Rapunzel,” she tells me. I see her eyeing my long blonde braid that’s currently over my shoulder. She reaches out and touches it. “Rapunzel is my favorite princess.”
“Thank you. She’s mine, too,” I tell her, a smile tugging on my lips. “I think you look like a princess.”
“Which one?” she asks, her face lighting up in a smile. I wrack my brain, trying to think of a name. It’s been a while since I’ve watched a Disney princess movie.
“Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. She has brown hair, just like yours.” Her grin gets wider and I breathe a silent sigh of relief that I’ve managed to gain her trust. Her dad is right. She shouldn’t talk to strangers. I’m just glad it’s me who’s found her, not some asshole who might hurt her.
“Let’s find your mommy and daddy.” Standing, I drop one of her hands, keeping her other safely encased in mine.
“My mommy’s in heaven,” she says flippantly as she skips alongside me. I pause and look down at her, my heart breaking at her admission.
“Are you here with your daddy?” She nods. “Can you remember where on the beach you were?” She looks around, and I watch as her eyes fill with tears again. “Don’t worry, Bella.” I squeeze her hand. “I’ll stay with you until we find him. It’s going to be okay.”
“Thank you,” she whispers.
“Did your daddy set up an umbrella? Maybe if we know what color it is we can look out for it.”
She shakes her head. “No, but we made the castle from Tangled in the sand.”
“Well then, we can look for that. I can’t wait to see it.”
Suddenly, I hear Bella’s name being called. The beach is busy and noisy, but I can hear the desperation in the voice. Spinning around, I try to see the person who is calling for her. Bella’s tiny hand is still holding mine as she walks alongside me.
“Daddy!” I hear her cry out, and my eyes focus on where she is looking.
I’m taken aback when I see Maddie’s brother, Cooper, barreling toward us. I haven’t seen him since I was fourteen years old. He would have been nineteen then, and while he’s more built than he was, there’s no mistaking it’s him. Bella’s comment about her mommy being in heaven falls into place as I remember how upset Maddie had been when her sister-in-law died. Before I can process my thoughts, he’s in front of us and scooping Bella into his arms.
“Where did you go?” he cries, the relief at finding her evident on his face. “Are you okay?” His eyes flicks to mine before back to Bella. “You know you shouldn’t wander off on your own.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy,” Bella mumbles, her voice catching as she tries to hold back a sob.
“I found her by the dunes. She’d spotted a giant butterfly and was following it,” I explain, my eyes fixed on Bella. I smile at her, and she gives me a small smile back before burying her head into Cooper’s neck. He sighs, and my eyes meets his. I think I see a flicker of recognition, but it’s gone as quickly as it comes. He shakes his head.
“It’s my fault. I closed my eyes for what felt like a second. When I opened them, she was gone.” He holds her even closer and I hear him whisper, “If anything had happened to you…” Before I know what I’m doing, I reach my hand up, resting it on his tanned forearm.
“She’s okay. We were coming to look for you.” His eyes drop to my hand. I quickly remove it.
“I can’t thank you enough. If she’d gone into the water…” He shakes his head again. I know he’s imagining what could have happened. I’m doing the same. “I’m Cooper.”
“Lexi,” I tell him.
“She looks like Rapunzel, doesn’t she, Daddy?” Bella says, lifting her head from Cooper’s neck.
I feel my face flush as his eyes sweep up my body. He has no idea who I am. Why would he? I’m the first to admit I looked a little different back when I was fourteen. I was a spotty kid with thick, round glasses and braces. Even Maddie had a hard time recognizing me when I turned up on her doorstep yesterday.
“Yeah, princess. I guess she does,” he replies with a chuckle. “I’m sorry.” He looks at me. “She’s a little obsessed with Rapunzel.”
“So I’ve heard. I’ve been told you’ve made Rapunzel’s tower from sand?”
He laughs, and my eyes are drawn to the bulging muscles in his arm as he holds Bella. After everything that’s happened, I’ve sworn off men, and Maddie’s told me Cooper doesn’t date, but I can’t deny just how attractive he is. Even more so with his daughter in his arms.
“Yeah. Apparently she’s not satisfied with a simple sandcastle. It was fun to build, though.” Bella wriggles in Cooper’s arms and he puts her down.
“Come and see it, Lexi,” Bella says, reaching for my hand and pulling me along.
“Oh… No. I’m sure you don’t want me intruding on your beach day,” I rush out, my eyes flicking to Cooper.
“If I know my daughter at all, she isn’t going to let you say no.”
I chew on my lip, my eyes moving from Cooper and landing on Bella’s pleading face.
“Well, if you’re sure… I just need to grab my stuff.” I look over my shoulder at my bundle of clothes that sits at the foot of the dune.
“We’ll wait here for you. Won’t we, Daddy?” Bella says, a huge smile on her face. He laughs, and I quickly make my way back to where I was sitting, scooping up my stuff.
Following Cooper and Bella across the beach, I wonder why I haven’t said I know Maddie and that we have in fact met before, numerous times. It feels like it’s too late to say anything now. Although I’m crashing with Maddie, it’s unlikely I’ll see him again, so I decide just to leave it.
“Look, Lexi!” Bella cries as she skips around the most amazing sandcastle I’ve ever seen.
“Wow! This is incredible. It must have taken you ages.”
“Daddy did most of it, but I put the flag on the top,” she says proudly.
“Well, I think the flag is the best part!” I wink at her and turn to Cooper. “I’m impressed. You should do this for a living.”
“I do…kind of.” I look at him in confusion and he smiles. “I own a construction company.”
“Ahhh. That makes sense then.”
“Come and dig with me, Lexi,” Bella shouts, holding out a spade. Smiling at Cooper, who sat down on one of the beach chairs, I turn to her.
“What are we going to make?” I ask as I sit on the sand.
“Let’s make a castle!”
We spend the next twenty minutes filling buckets with sand and shaping them into something that resembles a castle. Bella talks non-stop, telling me about Bailey, her dog, and the names of all of her friends at preschool. Cooper is watching, and I look over occasionally to see him smiling at us. When we’re finished with the castle, I turn to him.
“Well, what do you think?” I make a grand gesture to the castle in front of us. He tilts his head and frowns.
“I’m not sure it’ll pass a building inspection.”
I roll my eyes and throw the spade at him. He bursts out laughing as he catches it before it hits him.
“Daddy, can we go in the water?” Bella asks, holding her floaties in the air.
I chuckle. “She’s non-stop, isn’t she?”
“You have no idea. She has endless amounts of energy.” He pauses and runs his hand through his hair. “You’re, erm…welcome to join us. In the water, I mean?”
“Oh, I don’t have a towel, but thanks for the offer.”
“
I’ve got a spare, but it’s up to you.”
“Erm… Okay. Thanks. I was kind of kicking myself that I didn’t bring a towel. It’s so hot.”
“Who doesn’t bring a towel to the beach?”
“Me, apparently,” I joke.
“Come here, baby girl, and I’ll inflate your floaties,” he says to Bella, who is making patterns in the sand with her fingers. She scrambles up and passes them to Cooper. He inflates them before sliding them up her arms. Bella takes my hand and we walk to the water’s edge, Cooper following behind. The sun is hot, but the water is chilly, and Bella squeals as the cold water splashes around her legs. Once we’re over the swell, the water is calm, and I gingerly let go of Bella, her floaties holding her up.
“She loves the water. We’ve got a pool in the back yard and she’s in there any chance she gets,” Cooper tells me, his eyes fixed on Bella.
“It’s great she’s so confident in the water. I can swim, but I’m not a strong swimmer.” I watch as Bella floats on her back and kicks her legs, moving a little distance away from us. Cooper moves with her. I follow. “I reckon it won’t be long before she won’t need those floaties.”
He nods. “I think next time I take her into the pool, I’ll try her without them.” He reaches for her leg, pulling her through the water so he can scoop her up. He throws her tiny body into the air and she screams, hitting the water and disappearing underneath. I look at him in horror, and he laughs when he sees my face.
“Wait,” he says, his eyes fixed on the water. I turn to see Bella pop up to the surface, a huge smile on her face.
“Again, Daddy! Again!” she shouts, kicking her legs to get back to him. He throws her again. I shake my head.
“I can’t believe she likes that! I would have freaked at her age if my dad had done that to me.”
“She loves it. Always has. She’s been in the water pretty much since she was born. Her mo…” He trails off, swallowing hard. I know he is going to mention his wife, so I quickly change the subject.
