Down the Shore (27 page)

"Hello?” Colin answered.

"Colin, it's me,” I paused. “I'm so sorry, they took my phone.” I started crying.

"Ahh, I miss you, your voice, your smell, everything.” He paused. “Right, Makenna called, meet me at the airport at three o'clock. Tell your folks you're going to go shopping for school with her, and she'll drive you."

There was a brief moment of silence.

"Should I buy a ticket for you?” he asked hopefully.

I thought for a moment. “I want to so badly, but I need to do this my way, okay?” I said quietly.

I heard his uneasy breathing on the other end. “Please, come with me. I have money, I can take of you, and we'll deal with your folks later,” he pleaded.

"Let's stick with our plan. You'll come visit at the end of October or so, then I'll join you after Christmas,” I reminded him.

"I can't wait to see you, hold you in my arms again,” he sighed.

I heard a slight tapping at my door.

"I gotta go, I love you."

He was quick to reply. “I love you too, see you soon."

I quickly flipped the phone off, and opened the door.

"Thanks, I owe you,” I told Mike.

"It's nothing,” Mike replied.

I felt better, having heard Colin's voice. I decided to head downstairs and start the charade.

I walked outside. My parents were enjoying a glass of wine, my Dad flipping hamburgers on the grill.

"Hey, Abs, feel like a burger?” my father asked.

"Sure, love one,” I smiled.

I could see their eyes meet quickly, acknowledging the fact that maybe I was coming to my senses. I sat out there, grabbed a soda, talked about school, and the other things that needed to be done prior to my heading to the dorm.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Your roommate list came last week. I'll go get it.” Mom was quick to get up, excited—almost giddy.

She came back, with a thick packet of information in her right hand. She plopped it down on the table in front of me. “I didn't open it,” she noted.

I opened it quickly, acting excited to see the names of the three girls I would be bunking with. They were from all over, Caroline Peters from Boston, Sara Crowley from Long Island and Ava Flowers from New Hampshire. They were to be my newest friends, my confidants for next semester. A few months ago I couldn't wait to start school, meet new people, start my new life, but it all had changed so fast. Within a few years I would hopefully be Abigail Murphy, and I couldn't help but smile at the thought. We never discussed when we would walk down the aisle, but Colin had implied that he would rather have it be sooner than later.

I hadn't realized how hungry I was. I quickly ate two cheeseburgers, a side of potatoes and gulped down two sodas.

"Wow, big appetite tonight.” My father laughed.

I nodded softly.

"Yeah, I was starving. I only had some cereal this morning,” I noted.

I excused myself, laid back down, placed Colin's picture on the pillow next to me, and fell asleep staring into his eyes.

The next two days went perfectly smoothly. I played along, went on some errands with my mother, talked about my new roommates and laughed at everything she said. I felt her anxiety ease at each laugh, and saw her relax as each day passed. I hated myself for lying, but this was the only way. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them.

"Makenna's going to come over tomorrow, is that okay?” I asked softly.

She looked at me and smiled. “That's sounds perfect. Maybe you two could go get a few things together, like old times."

"Yeah, I'll have to see if she needs anything,” I played along.

I could hardly wait for the day to come. I was nervous that something would go wrong. He would be waiting for me, and I wouldn't be able to show up.

It had been three days since I'd spoken with him. It was so hard to not hear his voice, feel his arms wrapped around my waist.

Just before lunch, Makenna knocked on the door. As usual she was right on schedule.

My mother was quick to answer. “Makenna, it's so good to see you. You're exactly what Abby needs right now,” she said, smiling.

I felt like the weight of the world was slowly lifting, and I breathed in a huge sigh of relief.

"Hey, I was thinking we could get some lunch, do a little shopping?” I asked. I turned to my mother, “Mom, would you like to come?"

Makenna gasped for air at my question. I knew my mother would say ‘no’ as she wanted me to enjoy my last fling with Makenna too much.

"No, you girls go ahead. Have fun, Abby,” she insisted.

"Are you sure?” I asked again.

"Yes,” she paused. “Oh, did you need some money?"

"No, I'm good,” I replied.

I grabbed my bag and Makenna's arm and we were off in her Honda like old times. I was so excited. The plan had gone off without a hitch. My mother had fallen for the whole thing. I felt slightly guilty, but desperate times called for desperate measures, as they say.

We arrived at Newark Airport early, grabbing lunch, talking for an hour or so. I was waiting for Colin to call Makenna, to tell us where to meet him. His flight didn't leave until five-thirty, which allowed for a few hours.

The phone rang—Colin had arrived. He was here. I quickly gave Makenna a hug and told her I would be back. I left her sitting there, fumbling with her Kindle. Waiting for me to leave.

I couldn't get very far without a plane ticket, but Colin was waiting for me. When I saw him, I started to run. He stood there smiling just like he'd seen something wonderful for the first time. I jumped into his arms, holding him, kissing him, not thinking.

He pulled me back.

"Mmm, you look wonderful, a sight for sore eyes,” he murmured.

"I missed you so much. It was so hard, harder than I thought,” I cried.

My legs were still wrapped around his waist, and his eyes gazed into mine, studying them.

"I wish you were coming with me, love,” he whispered in my ear.

"Me too."

"It's not too late, you could run home and grab your passport,” he reminded me with a smile.

I quickly thought of the time two years ago when I had my passport photo renewed for the trip to Canada with my family. I smiled, remembering the ice hotel my father insisted we had to visit.

I jumped down.

"I can't, but soon enough, though, I promise.” I wrapped my hands around his neck, pulling him into me.

We stayed in each other's arms as long as we could, as the time got closer and closer to his flight. He played with my hair, pulling strands to his nose occasionally, teasing me about how much he was going to miss the smell of me. We both breathed in deeply, leaning toward each other, tears in our eyes, kissing one last time before he had to go.

"October!” he promised again. “I love you! Please call me as soon as you can. I don't care what time of the day, it doesn't matter,” he said in a defeated tone.

I held my hand up, showing him the ring. “Forever.” I paused. “I'll see you soon."

I reassured him all I could and kissed him quickly, knowing I couldn't watch him leave.

"I love you,” I told him one last time. I wrapped myself around him briefly, then ran off and never looked back.

He was gone. My summer had left and hopped onto a 757 to Dublin. I tried so hard to be strong, to not cry in front of him, knowing that if I did, it would only cause him more doubt about leaving me here.

The drive home was quiet. We made a pit stop to buy a couple of things to keep up with the story I had given my mother. I had two days before I was expected to report to my dorm. Makenna was leaving first thing tomorrow. She stayed over for dinner, sticking around only a short while before saying her good-byes. I wasn't sure when I would see her next. We assumed over Thanksgiving break, but I wasn't sure if I would even be here. She was my best friend, and I was going to miss her.

After she left, I felt depressed, tired and just wanted to go straight to bed. My parents didn't bother me. They knew I was sad, and they'd heard me cry myself to sleep every night since I was home. I knew tonight would be no different. Every time I closed my eyes I could only see the image of Colin waiting at our bench, lingering inside of my head. I could almost smell him when I pulled my hair into my face. I hoped my scent wore off on him as well.

The next two days rolled in like the last few. I stayed in bed all day, only getting up to use the bathroom. My mother lingered outside of my room, pacing back and forth looking for some reason to come in, some reason to talk to me. I never let her know I could hear her as I finished up my packing. I didn't want to talk to anyone. That night, I assumed she couldn't take it anymore. She came barging in, holding my phone in her hand, her other hand making nervous passages up and down her thigh.

"Here, if this will make it better—I can't handle another night of your crying. Call him,” she insisted. She dropped the phone on my bed and walked out of my room.

I quickly looked for the paper he'd given me, the phone number to his flat and dialed. The phone rang and rang until finally someone answered.

"Hello?” the voice asked.

I paused for only a second, not recognizing the voice.

"Ah, hi, is Colin there?” I asked nervously.

"This must be Abigail, right?” he asked.

"Yes, is this Patrick?"

"It is indeed. I'm afraid Colin's not here. He's downstairs at the pub, wallowing away in several pints.” . “I could run down and get him, if you'd like?"

I bit down on my lip, anxious to talk to him. The need was too great. “Do you mind? I can wait."

"Sure, give it a minute.” The wait was excruciating. Five minutes on my clock crawled by and nothing. I finally heard voices coming closer.

"Abigail, love. I can't believe it's you. How are you?"

I let out a long, ragged sigh. “Better, now,” I whispered.

I heard him breathing loudly, as if he were out of breath.

"How was your flight?” I asked.

He laughed. “Grand, but lonely. I miss ya, love, so much,” he whimpered.

"I know, I miss you so much, too,"

"We'll be together soon,” he reminded me. “Did you get your phone back, then?” he asked.

"A couple nights of crying were all it took. My mom finally gave in."

"I hate knowing you're so sad. It breaks my heart."

"Sorry, I can't help it,” I admitted.

There was a moment of silence, each of us just happy to hear the other's breathing.

"Patrick says you were drowning away in beer. Is that true?"

"It's the penalty for being Irish. We're all a bunch of drunks, y'know?” he joked back.

I couldn't help but laugh. He always made me feel better. We talked several minutes longer before hanging up. He promised to call me tomorrow night, at six. I would be at school. He would call me every night at the same time. As I fell asleep, I couldn't help but get excited knowing that I would hear his voice tomorrow. I didn't cry that night because I was happy. We had talked, and he made me feel like everything was right in the world.

My parents both drove me to school. It was my first day as a college student, a freshman. The halls were crowded with kids, parents crying as they said their good-byes. My parents seemed relieved that I was here, away from the beach, away from Colin. I knew deep down they thought I would forget about him, move on, but what they didn't take into account was how deeply we loved each other. When he breathed in, I breathed out. We were meant to be together and nothing was going to change that.

My new roommates all gathered in our new apartment. We waited there, anxious for our parents to leave, so we could move on with our lives. I met each one, and they seemed pretty cool. I took a particular liking to Sara from Long Island. She reminded me a little of Makenna. She was confident, and she had a great presence. She was shorter than I; she had blonde hair and was dressed in Abercrombie from head to toe. We decided to bunk up together, and let the other two share a room.

After our parents left, we all huddled around telling each other our life stories, trying to get to know each other better.

It wasn't long before Caroline pointed out the ring on my finger, commented snidely. “Nice ring."

I looked down, remembering Colin's face, and I smiled.

"Thanks, it's from Colin, my fiance, actually,” I answered coolly.

They all looked at each other in disbelief, but didn't mention it the rest of the day. I was excited to be there. I was carefully putting all my things away, making my bed when tears came to my eyes. I wished he were here, helping me. I took out the picture of us, and pinned in on the wall next to my pillow.

"Wow! He's cute. Is that him?” Sara asked.

"That's him, all right. That's Colin,” I said proudly.

She looked at me, smiling. “I can't believe you're getting married, you're only eighteen,” she said in disbelief.

"Long story, another day, okay?” I replied.

She nodded.

I didn't feel like discussing him with anyone yet.

We had all received our class schedules, handouts, the layout of the campus, where the dining hall was. They all took off to go out and get some food, get the lay of the campus, but I stayed behind waiting for my call. I sat up in my bed eating Tasty Kakes that my mom had packed for me. I was starving and the butterscotch krimpets weren't enough. I decided I would go look around and grab some food after I talked to Colin.

The phone rang at exactly six, as he'd promised. We talked for half an hour, and I told him everything that I could think of—my new roommates, the apartment, my schedule. He sounded genuinely happy for me, not once letting me know if he was sad. We said our ‘I love yous’ and hung up with the promise of a call tomorrow. I hated putting the phone down, but my stomach was telling me something else.

I took the map the school had given us, and walked around looking for the dining hall. I grabbed a tray, filled the entire thing, put it all in a bag and walked back to my dorm. We all had a busy week ahead of us with orientation, sports sign-ups, sororities looking for new pledges. It was the perfect week. I made it through without any crying, without showing any sadness. I spoke to Colin every night. He made me feel better and I knew it wouldn't be long before he came to see me. He told me he had been missing me something awful, and he'd been thinking of flying back at the end of September instead of waiting for October to come.