Stronger Within (The Silver Lake Series Book 1)

by McCallum, Coral

  “Your wish is my command, li’l lady,” he joked, opening the door for her.

  The shop was small and more tasteful than most of the t-shirt and beachwear shops on the avenue. It was quiet with gentle classical music filling the store. Behind the counter sat a small white haired lady lost in the depths of her book. As the door closed behind them, the wind chimes above it tinkled and she raised her head.

  “Miss Lori Hyde as I live and breathe!” she cried excitedly. “I haven’t seen you in far too long!”

  “Hi, Miss May,” greeted Lori warmly. “I couldn’t pass without saying hello.”

  The old woman was tiny when she stood up, but she hurried round from behind the counter to hug Lori.

  “My dear,” she sighed. “What happened to you?”

  “I had an accident last December. I’m fine, really. I came back here to recuperate at the house,” explained Lori, deliberately avoiding going into detail. Jake moved to stand closer to her, almost as if to protect her from more awkward questions. “Oh, Miss May, this is Jake.”

  “Pleased to meet you, ma’am,” said Jake, shaking the little old lady’s hand.

  “Likewise,” said the tiny woman.

  “Miss May was close friends with my parents,” explained Lori. “I’ve known her forever.”

  “Lord, I know I’m old, dear,” laughed the old woman. “But forever is a bit of an exaggeration!”

  They exchanged pleasantries for another few minutes. Lori treated herself to a couple of white summer tops, then they politely said their goodbyes and returned to the spring sunshine outside. As they made their way up the street Lori’s eyes were everywhere, drinking in all the sights and lives of the ocean front town. This was what she had missed during the last few bleak months. To actually be here and to be walking around town felt like a dream come true. Spotting an old favourite haunt across the street, she asked Jake if they could cross over. He felt her tense up beside him again as he guided her safely across the street. More ghosts of her accident, he guessed. Once across onto the other pavement Lori turned towards a small skateboard shop. Its window was filled with boards and t-shirts.

  “I used to buy my band T-shirts here as a teenager,” she explained, studying the array of rock band shirts in front of her. Suddenly she spotted one and turned to face Jake, “Silver Lake?”

  He blushed and nodded. She laughed at his embarrassment.

  “You never told me you were on a shirt?” she giggled. The artwork on the shirt was good and there was no mistaking Jake in the photo on the printed cotton.

  “Rich got a batch made up for us by the school he teaches at,” said Jake, still flushed with embarrassment. “One of the seniors designed the logo for us a few years ago. I’ll get you one if you really want one.”

  “I’d like that,” she said shyly. “I’ve designed a few in the past for bands. I like that kid’s style. Strong lines.”

  “Any of yours in there?” asked Jake, pointing at the display. Then he had a flash of memory. “Mz Hyde? You’re Mz Hyde?”

  “Guilty as charged,” confessed Lori with a laugh, as she moved away from the window. “There’s a couple of my designs in there.”

  “What ones?” he asked, scanning the display.

  “I couldn’t possibly say,” she teased. “Let’s go and get a coffee and I might tell you.”

  He followed her back towards the boardwalk, still shocked to discover her “rock identity”. She had designed album artwork and band logos for more than a few of the bands on his iPod. Several of them were world famous. To look at her, Jake would never have identified Lori as being as much, if not more, into rock music as he was. This revelation began to make him wonder what else she wasn’t telling him.

  The nearest café was back on the boardwalk, beyond the pizza place where he worked. Jake kept his head down as he passed the door, his heart already dreading his next shift the following night. Once they were safely past, he suggested turning back off the promenade onto Wilmington Avenue to a café there. It was one of his favoured stop offs on the way to work and he wanted to share it with her. By the time they reached the café there were lines of pain etched into Lori’s pale face and she was failing to disguise her fatigue. There were a couple of tables outside still free and she lowered herself onto a seat with obvious relief. Once he was sure she was alright, Jake went inside to place their order. While he was out of sight, Lori quickly swallowed two painkillers in an attempt to relieve her discomfort and thereby allow her to prolong the outing, at least until the quarters in the meter ran out.

  A few minutes later, Jake returned to sit beside her, promising that their drinks would be brought out shortly.

  “You ok?” he asked, unable to hide the concern in his voice.

  She nodded silently, but her face told a different story. “I just need to rest for a few minutes,” she admitted. “You have no idea how pathetic I feel being like this. I feel like an old woman.”

  “Nonsense,” replied Jake. “You just need to take it slowly. You’ll be chasing me along that beach by the end of the summer.”

  “I hope so,” she said with a sad smile.

  “Now, about this art buyer line you fed me the other day?” he challenged playfully.

  “I worked as an art buyer in New York for two years,” she replied trying to keep her face straight. “But I specialised.”

  “In what, may I ask?” enquired Jake playing along.

  “Rock memorabilia,” she confessed with a giggle.

  Jake threw his head back and laughed. At that moment the waitress appeared with the tray with their coffees and two Italian pastries.

  “Ok, you win,” conceded Jake, adding sugar to his latte.

  “Uncle Jake!” cried a child’s voice from behind Lori. “Uncle Jake!”

  A whirlwind of blonde hair came flying into Jake’s lap in the form of a little girl of about five. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. Her adoration of him was obvious for all to see.

  “Becky!” called a male voice from behind Lori. “Stop strangling him!”

  “Hi, Grey,” said Jake, gently peeling the adoring Becky from round his neck. ”She’s just happy to see her Uncle Jake.”

  “Uncle Jake,” began Becky. “Will you come to the beach and play Frisbee with us? Please!”

  “Honey,” said Jake gently. “I’m having a nice cup of coffee with my friend right now. Maybe later?”

  “No! Now!” pleaded the little girl. “You throw better Frisbees than Daddy does.”

  Lori laughed, causing Grey to turn and take note of her. He glanced at Jake, then turned back to Lori, “I apologise for my daughter.”

  “No need,” said Lori. “She’s adorable.”

  “I’m Grey by the way,” he introduced. “A friend of Jake’s, in case you hadn’t guessed.”

  “Lori,” she replied. “Why don’t you join us?”

  Jake shot her a dark look, but Grey was already pulling up a chair.

  “We’ll sit for a minute,” he said. “But I promised this young lady some Frisbee throwing.”

  Jake had repositioned Becky on his knee so that he could reach his cup. He had hoped to keep his friendship with Lori to himself for a while before introducing her to his friends, but, now that Grey had seen them together, there was no hope of keeping this quiet. Grey, the band’s bass player, was the only member of the band who was married with a family. He had made repeated attempts over the years to set Jake and the others up on dates. Usually dates that ended in disaster.

  “Jake,” began Lori, picking at her pastry, “If you want to go down onto the beach for a while that’s fine with me. I’d hate to see this little princess disappointed.”

  “Please, Uncle Jake,” pleaded Becky again. “Just for five minutes.”

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  Lori shook her head. “Not at all. Might be fun.”

  “I’m sorry,” apologised Grey. “We’ve barged in on your date.”

&nbs
p; “Nonsense,” said Lori. “Our plans have been quite flexible so far. Haven’t they?”

  “I guess so,” agreed Jake somewhat reluctantly. “Here’s a suggestion though, Becky. Why don’t you and your daddy go on ahead and Lori and I will catch up when we’ve had our coffee?”

  The little girl looked from Jake to her daddy, who was nodding, then back to Jake. “Ok, I suppose so.” She clambered down from his knee and added, “But don’t keep me waiting too long.”

  They all laughed at the serious expression on her face.

  “I promise,” said Jake, then turning to Grey he asked, “Where are you headed?”

  “Just across from the Turtle,” replied Grey, getting to his feet. “Don’t rush. We’ll be there for a while. Sandy’s preparing dinner and told me to keep Becky out for an hour or two. Don’t think I’ll last that long, but I better try.”

  “Ok,” said Jake. “We’ll wander down when we’re finished here.”

  “Right, Becky, come on. Let’s go. Say goodbye,” instructed Grey firmly.

  “Bye, Uncle Jake. Bye, Uncle Jake’s friend.” And she skipped off down the street towards the beach. Her father just smiled and shook his head as he followed her.

  “Is he in the band?” asked Lori, once they were out of earshot.

  “Yeah,” answered Jake. “Bass player. I’ve known him for as long as I can remember. He’s a good guy. Cute little kid too.”

  “Oh, she’s adorable,” agreed Lori. “But a handful, I imagine.”

  “Wait till you meet her mom,” muttered Jake, as he bit into his pastry.

  Neither of them rushed their coffee and cake, both content to idly chat about this and that and to watch the world go by. To Lori it all felt so refreshing and “normal” that for a while she forgot all that had happened and simply relaxed. Despite her protestations Jake insisted on paying the bill, then helped her back to her feet. The painkillers had kicked in and she felt ready to head to the beach. When they reached the boardwalk, they turned right and headed for the nearest path down to the sand. Beside the entrance to the path was an empty bench. Lori insisted she would wait there for Jake while he went to play with Becky and Grey. He was reluctant to leave her sitting on her own, but Lori insisted he should go.

  “I don’t have the wide bases for my crutches with me,” she explained, sounding a little embarrassed. “I’ll just sink in that soft sand and I don’t want to fall in front of your friend.”

  Jake conceded defeat and promised to be back in a few minutes. He loped off down the narrow path towards the beach. With the sun settling lower in the sky, Lori settled back on the bench, lifted her face towards the sun and closing her eyes. Feeling the warmth settle over her filled her with hope and reassurance. Her earlier butterflies had long since settled and, for now, being here felt like the most natural thing in the world. She stretched her legs out in front of her, feeling her muscles starting to rebel against the exercise she had put them through. Being back out in the “real world” felt good and reminded her of why she had returned to Rehoboth instead of staying in New York City.

  There were fewer folk around than there had been when they had arrived, but she sat casually people watching. In the background, she thought she could hear Jake and Becky down on the sand. She could hear him laughing and the squeals of the little girl as they played. It brought a smile to her lips. If the local fans could see their “rock star” now.

  “Penny for them?” broke in a voice beside her.

  “Hi,” she said, sitting upright and squinting into the sun. “Grey?”

  Jake’s friend nodded and sat down beside her, “Jake asked me to check you were ok. He told me about those,” he said, pointing at her crutches. “Guess they don’t go with sand too well?”

  Lori smiled, but never had the chance to reply before Grey continued, “Breaking your femur’s a tough one. I’ve done it.”

  “You have?”

  “Yeah, playing football in college,” Grey explained. “Snapped clean in half. Took about three months to get back on my feet. Never played football again.”

  “It’s not fun,” admitted Lori with a sad smile. “It’s been four months since my accident.”

  “And you’re still in this shape? Shit,” he muttered with a hint of embarrassment.

  “It wasn’t exactly a clean break,” said Lori. “I think there were four or five pieces. The surgeon told me I was lucky not to lose my leg. It was touch and go for a few days apparently. I’m a bit like the bionic woman. All pins and screws and a large titanium rod.”

  Grey paled at the very thought of such an injury. “I’m sorry,” he muttered quietly.

  “No, I’m sorry,” said Lori. “I’m not looking for sympathy. I’ll heal. It’s just taking longer than I’d hoped.” Then changing the subject added, “Sounds as though they’re having fun.”

  “Well, Becky is,” laughed Grey. “I think Jake is about worn out.”

  Lori laughed, “He’ll get over it.”

  “I was going to get them an ice cream. Would you like one?” said Grey standing up.

  “Please,” replied Lori. “I’ll come with you if you like.”

  “Good,” agreed the bass player. “But I don’t think you’ll be much help carrying them back.”

  Lori laughed and got stiffly to her feet, “Well, if I can’t carry them, I can pay for them.”

  Ten minutes later the four of them were back on the same bench eating small tubs of ice cream. The little girl was sitting on Jake’s knee quite happily enjoying the vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. Conversation had almost ceased while they were eating and to any passer-by they looked like a happy family group. Before she had finished the ice cream, Becky climbed off Jake’s knee and handed the tub to her daddy.

  “I’m done,” she said plainly. “Is it time to go home?”

  Grey checked his phone for the time and muttered a curse under his breath. “It sure is, honey. Time to say goodbye to Jake and Lori.”

  “Bye, Uncle Jake,” she said with a wave. “Bye, Lori. Thank you for the ice cream and the sprinkles.”

  “Bye, Becky,” replied Lori smiling at the little girl.

  Once Grey and his daughter were gone, Jake and Lori sat quietly finishing their own ice creams. The afternoon hadn’t exactly worked out as Jake had planned, but from the relaxed look of contentment on Lori’s face he judged it to be a success. As he scraped the last of the ice cream out of the tub, Jake remembered the parking meter. His watch said it was just leaving six thirty. Time was literally running out on them and he had no more quarters. Lori too had finished her ice cream. He took both the tubs and dumped them in the nearest trash can.

  “I’ll need to go back and feed the meter,” he said, as he came back over to the bench.

  “How long do we have left?” asked Lori, stifling a yawn.

  “About twenty minutes,” replied Jake. “And I’ve no more quarters. Sorry.”

  Deciding it was now or never, Lori said, “We could just go back to the house.”

  “We could,” agreed Jake. “But I had hoped to buy you dinner.”

  “You can still buy dinner if you insist,” said Lori struggling to her feet. “We can get take out.”

  “Not really what I had planned,” Jake admitted. “But if you’re sure. As long as it’s not pizza.”

  Lori laughed. “No pizza.”

  They debated the choices for dinner as they strolled back along the boardwalk and by the time they had reached the truck they had agreed on fish. There were several choices of fish restaurant between town and the house and they agreed to stop at whichever one had space outside. Luck was on their side and Jake got a prime parking space outside his favourite place. While he went in to pick up the food, Lori waited in the truck. Once Jake was out of the cab, she cranked up the volume on the stereo a few notches and enjoyed some good old fashioned hard rock in the form of Black Sabbath. In the centre console, between the seats, there was a pile of CDs. She lifted them up and browsed through
them while she waited. There were a few of her favourites in there and a few that were missing from her own collection. Perhaps, if she asked nicely, Jake would loan them to her sometime.

  “Lord, it’s busy in there tonight,” commented Jake as he climbed back into the driver’s seat a few minutes later. “Can you hold these?”

  He handed her two bags of food and a bag with a six pack of beer. She raised one eyebrow at him.

  “To wash down the fish,” he explained, with a wink.

  She laughed and accepted the bags from him.

  It only took five minutes to drive back to the house, but by that time the sun had set and it was almost dark. The porch light came on automatically, lighting their way in. Lori asked Jake to take the food through to the sun room while she fetched some cutlery. Soon they were settled on the couch eating out of the cartons, drinking beer and listening to some soft rock on the music channel. When their meal was done Jake carried the empty cartons out to the trash while Lori found some snacks for them to nibble on. It was a relaxing end to a nearly perfect day and Lori was savouring every minute of it.

  “Thanks for today,” she said softly, as Jake handed her another beer. “It’s been good for the soul.”

  “It’s been fun,” he agreed as he opened his own beer. “Not how I had it planned out in my head, but it’s been good.”

  “Here’s to more like it,” said Lori, raising her beer bottle in a theatrical toast. “Here’s to friendship.”

  “I’ll drink to that.”

  It was almost midnight before Jake took his leave. They had laughed and chatted the evening away; compared taste in music, movies and books and generally got to know each other a bit. As she relaxed in his company, Lori had stretched out on the couch while Jake had moved to lie on the floor in front of her. He sprawled across her oriental rug like an oversized puppy. By the time he rose to leave, Lori was struggling to keep her eyes open. She started to get up, but he stopped her by planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

  “Stay where you are,” he said softly. “Is it ok to leave the truck? I don’t want to get stopped.”

  “Of course,” she replied with a yawn.