The Beach House

by Rachel Hanna

  "I didn't mean that. I was just mad.”

  "I think you did mean it. And I mean this!" Julie said, reaching down and grabbing a handful of off-white paint, throwing it at her sister. It landed all over Janine's shirt and partially in her curly hair. Janine's eyes widened, her mouth dropping open as she stared down at her shirt and then back up at her sister.

  "Are you kidding me? Seriously? How old are you?" But before Julie could answer the question, Janine leaned down and grabbed her own handful of paint and smeared it down the front of Julie's T-shirt.

  "Oh, you're asking for it now!" Julie said, as she grabbed another handful of paint and chased her sister, who was now running across the room.

  The two women spent the next ten minutes grabbing handfuls of paint and smearing it all over each other. Occasionally they would smear it on the walls by accident, and it looked like some sort of off-white crime scene when they were finished. As she ran around like an immature middle schooler, Julie knew she should stop. But something was overtaking the logical part of her brain. She felt like a kid again, fighting with her older sister and trying to win at all costs.

  "Oh my gosh. Look what we've done," Julie said as they both stood on opposite sides of the room, out of breath and covered in paint. There literally wasn't one square inch of their bodies that wasn't now off-white. Julie could barely see through her eyes.

  Janine looked around. "Dawson is going to kill us. Not only did we waste all of the paint, but the walls are messed up and the floor is atrocious."

  Julie slid down to the floor against the wall, taking the inside of her shirt and wiping her eyes.

  "I can't believe we did this. Here I was trying to save money and now he's probably going to have to refinish these floors and do something special with these walls."

  Janine started laughing. "I guess you do need to get a job."

  "Oh, you think this is funny? If you had any clue how to clean up a paint spill, we wouldn't be in this mess."

  Janine sat down beside her. "You're not blaming this on me. You're the genius who decided to pour paint down a tiny tube without using a funnel."

  "Well, you could've suggested that. You saw me doing it."

  The two women sat there, backs against the wall for a few moments.

  "Do you think there's any hope that we will ever get along?" Julie finally asked.

  "I think so. We did when we were kids. Maybe you could come to counseling with me."

  Julie laughed. "No. I don't have anything to talk about at counseling."

  "I think you might. I mean, you've just gone through a terrible break up, so at least you might want to talk about that."

  "No offense, but I have no interest in talking to a bunch of strangers about my problems. Working on this house will do plenty to get me back to my normal self."

  “Is that what you want? Your normal self?”

  "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

  "I just mean are you happy as your normal self?"

  "I thought I was. Even up until the moment Michael came home from that business trip and threw our lives into a tailspin, I thought we were happy. I thought I had everything I ever wanted. We were going to move to the beach and live out the rest of our lives riding bicycles along the shore and visiting the local coffee shop. I never expected that he would pull the rug out from under me."

  "Look, I don't want to make you mad again. I think there might be another gallon of paint somewhere around here… But, I do think that maybe you wanted this vision of the perfect life. You wanted people to think everything was great. But for a long time, I didn't feel like you were the sister I knew. I felt like maybe you were settling in your life."

  Julie knew she was right. But she sure wasn't going to admit it.

  "I think I have about had it for tonight. Besides, I'm pretty sure Dawson is going to scream when he walks in here in the morning so that should wake us up. I think I'm going to take a shower and then hit the sack."

  "Me too. It's been a long day."

  The two women stood up and started turning off the lights and locking the doors. Julie didn't know why she even locked the doors. There was no one around, and everyone on the island had been there for ages. It wasn't like it was going to be a high crime area, but she was used to having some semblance of home safety having lived in the suburbs.

  “Hey, Julie?"

  "Yeah?"

  "I'm sorry we still don't really get along all that well."

  "Me too."

  "I mean, maybe you're right. Maybe this won't ever be the kind of relationship we wish we could have. But, at the very least, maybe we will be able to sit across from each other at the Christmas table this year. That would be progress, right?"

  Julie thought for a moment. "Yes, that would be progress." She turned so Janine couldn't see the sadness on her face as they walked toward the bedroom. She wanted so much more from their relationship, but maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

  Chapter 10

  "I don't even know what to say," Dawson said as he stood there next to Janine and Julie. He slowly scanned the room, his big green eyes widening over and over. Julie truly felt like a child who was about to be scolded by a parent.

  "We are so sorry, Dawson. We were trying to help you by painting this room…"

  "Do me a favor, ladies. Don't ever try to help me again.”

  Janine giggled under her breath. “Sorry,” she said, when she noticed Dawson looking at her, his face impassable.

  Dawson leaned down and picked up one of the drop cloths that he’d left so neatly folded in the corner. He stared at it for a moment, shook his head and rolled it into a ball, tossing it into an empty orange bucket.

  Janine looked at her sister, unsure of what to say. Julie nodded her head toward the front door, indicating to Janine that she needed to get the heck out of dodge for awhile. Janine slipped out, probably happy to get away.

  Maybe he was truly angry, Julie thought, as she watched him start cleaning up their mess. She walked to the other side of the room, picking up a paint brush that she’d tossed at her sister’s head.

  “I really am so sorry, Dawson. Please don’t clean this mess up. Let me do it.”

  He didn’t make eye contact. “I appreciate the offer, but I need to stay on schedule, and painting is on my schedule today.” He continued walking around, sometimes stopping to stare at the paint covered floor as if he was trying to figure out what to do.

  Dawson pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text. He then went back to work. Julie hated this feeling. The guy was basically a stranger to her, even though he was her best friend on the island. But, she still didn’t like feeling like he was mad at her.

  “I assume we’ll need to sand the floors or something?” she finally asked.

  “I texted my guy. He’ll come take a look at them tomorrow… see what can be done.”

  Julie nodded, even though he wasn’t looking at her, and turned back to clean up. She noticed him starting to tape the moldings, so she decided she could at least help him do that. When he put the tape down for a moment, she picked it up and pulled off a long string before he could stop her.

  “Julie, you don’t need to help me. This is my job.”

  “Let me help. Please. I feel just awful about all of this. And embarrassed.”

  He finally turned to look at her. “What happened exactly?”

  She pressed the tape to the wall and turned back to him. “My sister and I happened. We’re like oil and water, and we can trigger each other very easily. She said something, or maybe I said something first… I can’t remember, honestly. Before I knew it, we were throwing handfuls of paint at each other.”

  He smiled slightly. “I bet that was quite a relief on the pressure valve that is your relationship, huh?”

  “In the moment. Not so much when we finished and realized what we’d done. When we tried to clean up, it just made it worse. We just weren’t thinking about how this might affect you, and I’m sorry for th
at. Again.”

  Dawson chuckled. “It’s okay. Really. I was taken a little aback by it, for sure. But I understand sibling stuff. Next time, maybe take it outside?”

  Julie nodded, relieved that he wasn’t mad at her. “Will do.” She peeled off another piece of tape and leaned down to place it against the molding. “Say, do you know a lady on the mainland named Dixie? She runs a bookstore.”

  “Of course. Everybody knows Dixie. She’s hard to miss with that sky high hairdo and that loud voice of hers.” He chuckled as he said it, a look of familiarity on his face.

  “She told me about you and Trina Cox.”

  He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at the wall, his face turning a shade of crimson she’d hadn’t seen before. “What?”

  Julie giggled. “Did a little skinny-dipping, did ya?”

  “We live at the ocean. Everyone has done a little skinny-dipping,” he said, trying to play it off. “What else did she tell you?”

  “Nothing, She was more or less talking about her life.”

  “And her sons?”

  “Yes.”

  Dawson stopped working and leaned agains the wall. “Her youngest son died, ya know?”

  “She told me.”

  “Dang near killed Dixie. But she’s one strong woman, for sure.”

  “She also told me about William, her older son.”

  “Yeah, he’s a piece of work. We were good friends when we were coming up. He was a nice guy. Liked to fish and surf. But when his daddy got sick and Dixie followed Johnny’s wishes, well, William lost his mind, I think. He was just so desperate to blame somebody for his daddy’s death. Haven’t seen him in years.”

  “Dixie hasn’t either. She said he never responded to her letters. It’s so sad. I can’t imagine losing my girls like that.”

  Dawson turned back to his work, pulling off long pieces of tape and putting them on the wall just right. “Family can be a weird thing. Sometimes, they’re all you’ve got. Other times, they can be your worst enemy.”

  They continued working and chatting about anything and everything. Julie was surprised at how easily they got along and how much they had in common. Same favorite color - the sky blue you can only see at the ocean. Same favorite animal - dogs, of course. Same favorite holiday - Christmas. Maybe not earth shattering, but it made her feel connected to someone, at least.

  “Well, I’d better get to painting if I want to finish up today. I hope you don’t mind me leaving around five?”

  “No, of course not. More work around the inn tonight?”

  Dawson looked uncomfortable. “Nah. I’ve actually got a date tonight.”

  Julie froze for a moment. Why did that idea bother her? She was in the middle of a divorce, and her heart was not nearly ready for new love. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready.

  “So, you actually like it there?” Colleen asked from the other end of the phone line.

  “I do. I mean, it’s not exactly what I pictured, but it’s growing on me a bit.”

  “And this Dawson guy?”

  “Have you been talking to your grandmother?” Julie asked, rolling her eyes so hard that Colleen could probably hear it across the miles.

  “Maybe.”

  “Look, he’s my contractor. And my new friend here on the island. But that’s it.”

  “Mom, it’s okay to be interested in someone. I mean, Dad…” she started to say, before stopping herself.

  “Dad what? Cheated on me, got another woman pregnant and then proposed to her?”

  There was a deafening silence. Julie wished she could take the words back. She never wanted to be that person who bad mouthed her ex to her children.

  “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “I get it, Mom. I’d be livid if I was you too. I honestly don’t know how to feel about him myself right now. But, he’s still my Dad…”

  “Colleen, I know you love him. And you should. He’s been a good father to you and Meg. And he was a good husband for a lot of years.” She wanted to say “as far as I know” at the end, but she stopped herself.

  “I just want you to know that Meg and I would never have a problem with you dating this guy… or any guy… as long as he was nice to you and treated you right.”

  Julie smiled. “Honey, I’m not ready to date anyone. I may never be.”

  “Don’t say that. You’re too young to be alone forever.”

  As Julie stared out at the cars passing on the street in front of Dixie’s bookstore, she thought about the prospect of being alone. Celebrating holidays alone. Birthdays by herself. It was all too much to think about. But she also never wanted to choose a man just because she didn’t want to be alone. How sad was that?

  “Well, as I said, Dawson is my friend, And plus he went on a date last night, so he’s not interested in me anyway.”

  Colleen giggled. “Sounds like a sore subject.”

  “Very funny. I’ve got to go because my other new friend, Dixie, is bringing me what appears to be the biggest cupcake I’ve ever seen. We’ll talk soon, okay?” she said before hanging up.

  Dixie was standing there holding what could only be described as a small cake. No cupcake was supposed to be that large. It was covered in thick, white icing.

  “What on Earth?” Julie said. Dixie joined her at the small bistro table she’d added to the sidewalk in front of her store.

  “A new vendor came by today and brought this sample. It’s red velvet, and I thought I’d share it with ya,” Dixie said, handing her a fork.

  “This is a sample?”

  “They make the world’s largest cupcakes, he said. I personally think it’s just a cake, but I wasn’t gonna tell him that.”

  Julie chuckled. “So, how’s business?”

  “It’s been picking up, but I keep having to close early,” she said, taking a big bite of the white frosting.

  “Close early? Why?”

  “Well, my afternoon girl, Chelsea, went back to college in Charleston. And I just haven’t had time to run an ad to replace her. This time of the summer is just so busy. This is the first lull I’ve had today.”

  “I guess that’s a good thing, right?”

  “I ‘spose so, but I’m getting older, and I sure would like some time off. I never get to sit in the sun on the beach or volunteer to count the dolphins.”

  “Count the dolphins?”

  “Yes. I love to volunteer with a local non-profit. We count the dolphins every year to help scientists learn more about their behavior and help with conservation. I’ve done it for years, but I haven’t got to do it the last two years.”

  “That sounds so interesting.”

  “There’s so much to do around these parts, and protecting our wildlife is important.”

  Julie made a mental note to check into opportunities to learn more about the local area and wildlife.

  “Maybe I could help you, Dixie.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I’m going to need a part-time job around here. Would you consider hiring me?”

  A huge smile spread across Dixie’s face. “Seriously? I’d love to have you working here!”

  “I have to admit I’ve never worked at a bookstore before, but I think I could learn.”

  Dixie reached across and patted her hand. “I know you’d do great. Let me go get the paperwork, and we’ll get you working sooner rather than later! I’m just so excited!” she said as she walked back inside. Julie laughed and then took a bite of the cupcake, its ropey sweetness almost overwhelming. But it was far too good not to take a second bite.

  “Is this what they call emotional eating?”

  She looked up to see Dawson standing there, the sun shining behind him. He looked like an angel that had come to Earth to judge her poor eating habits.

  “Oh, hey. You scared me.”

  “Sorry,” he said, sliding down into the chair across from her. His big frame was so much more pronounced sitting in the small wrought iron cha
ir.

  “No biggie. Dixie wanted me to try this cupcake.”

  “That’s a cupcake? Looks more like a small wedding cake.” He reached over and scooped up a stray mound of icing before licking it off the end of his finger. Wow. That was more entertaining than she would have imagined.

  “Well, all I know is it’s good,” Julie said. He looked at her for a long moment, a crooked smile slowly appearing on his face. “What?”

  “You have a little icing right there…” he said, first pointing and then just reaching across and brushing it off the edge of her mouth with his thumb. Dear Lord, it had been such a long time since a man had touched her face like that. He was her friend. He was her friend. She just kept repeating the phrase in her mind.

  “Thanks,” she said, trying not to let him hear her voice tremble. Thankfully, Dixie came bursting back out of the bookstore in her usual; flamboyant way, taking the awkwardness out of the situation in the process.

  “Here ya go, dear. Just some silly paperwork, and then we’ll be co-workers! Oh, hi there, Dawson,” she said, finally noticing someone was in her chair.

  Dawson stood and kissed Dixie on the cheek. “Hey, pretty lady. What’s this about being co-workers?”

  Dixie grinned and put her arm around Dawson’s waist, his body towering over hers like a large tree. “Well, Julie here has offered to come work here so I can get some time off. Isn’t that grand?”

  He smiled down at her and then looked at Julie. “That’s wonderful. I’m sure you’ll love working with this great lady.”

  “Aw, he’s always been the sweetest,” she said, hugging him closer. “You know, you’ve been like a son to me.”

  “It’s my honor,” he said, kissing the top of her head.

  Julie wanted to melt into a puddle right there. He was perfect. There was no getting around it. He was astonishingly handsome, extremely talented, kind hearted, smelled like heaven…

  “Julie?” Dawson said, waving his hand in front of her. She snapped back to reality and noticed Dixie was back inside the bookstore waiting on a customer and Dawson was sitting again. How long had she been daydreaming?