Authors: Ashley Johnson
This beach was one of the nicer ones close to us. The sand was fairly decent as long as you had chairs or towels to sit on and didn’t have to sit directly on it. I didn’t advise that at all.
Then you would be spending countless hours trying to dig it out of every possible crevice of your body. The water wasn’t toxic but I tended to treat it as if it were. I only did that because of the color. Don’t get me wrong, when I was a little kid, we spent countless hours here and I literally lived in the water. There was absolutely nothing wrong with it. The Gulf of Mexico just happened to look brown in our area. Almost like chocolate milk. Can we say yum? No, we can’t.
The beach had its own little community
of homes and shops. They were lined strategically around the beachfront area, each with something rather unique about them. These were buildings and homes that withstood hurricanes and other storms. It was a place you didn’t want to be then, but a place you wanted to be on a hot summer day to relax. Some of the homes must have been built recently or they’ve been remodeled because I didn’t remember some of them. I honestly wasn’t too sure of the last time I had come here besides when I was a kid. It looked better than I remembered as a child, I can say that much. Kids were running up and down the beach then running in the water to crash into the waves. I smiled at them remembering when I was their age doing the same thing. There was a pretty good crowd here today, guess everyone wanted to cool off.
Luke parked the car on the side of the road so we could easily leave and wouldn’t have a chance of getting stuck in the sand. I’m glad he had that idea because literally we watched a car that looked almost identical to my Civic get stuck and a truck that drove by was trying to help get the
m out of the mess they were in. The driver of the car looked purely aggravated, who wouldn’t blame him for that?
Luke made sure his car was locked and with the beach bag in my hand we made our way to an empty spot on the sand. I laid out two extra towels for us to sit on and carefully arranged my body to where he could help me apply the sunscreen. The way he massaged it on felt so relaxing
, I closed my eyes briefly getting lost in the moment. I was brought back to reality though when a Frisbee flying towards us hit my leg. I opened my eyes to find a young girl about the age of six running up to me. Her hair was braided into pigtails and she wore a Barbie bathing suit that reminded me of one I had when I was about her age. I smiled politely at her and handed the Frisbee back to her. She returned the smile and ran back to her dad where they continued to play.
Luke slid closer to me and placed his arm around my shoulder. Despite the heat, I snuggled against him and breathed in his scent. I could smell him all day long.
“Just think, that could be our kid one day. Running on the beach, playing Frisbee with us. You want to go get in the water for a few?” I could still feel the warmth of his breath on my neck after he spoke and it felt like the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end.
My face blushed a shade of pink at his mention of kids. We’ve never entertained the idea of children before. I guess it’s the heartache of us having each lost one and we just never discussed having one together
yet. I’m sure the conversation was bound to come up eventually though, kind of like marriage. I crinkled my nose at the suggestion of getting in the water, but nodded my head in agreement. “Sure babe, let’s go venture in there.”
The water was chilly at first and I almost ran off but I drew in a deep breath and held his hand tightly as we began to wade in the water.
The chill of the water wasn’t as shocking the more we waded in and let ourselves get used to it. We walked out until the water was about at our waist and then stopped and watched the waves that were forming around us. Besides the water being its icky color, this moment was perfect. He pulled me in for a kiss that tasted both salty and sweet thanks to the water that was splashing around us. Feeling playful, I jumped at him and we both fell into the water. Luke’s head went under and when he came back up he playfully threw me under. We played like little kids for what seemed like forever. Suddenly the color of the water was the least of my worries. All I cared about was being anywhere in Luke’s vicinity. The beach was starting to get a little packed as more people showed up to enjoy the beautiful weather and my stomach began growling.
Luke’s stomach must have been growling too because he looked at me before throwing me back in the water and when I came back up for air he asked, “You want to get something to eat? I’m starving.” He flashed a grin and acted like he
was going to toss me back in the water.
I tried to run in the water but his arms wrapped around my waist and we both went down laughing. “I’m starving, what can we eat around here?”
“There’s a little restaurant not far from where we parked. We can walk.”
“Sounds good, let me dry off a bit and put my shorts and shirt back on.”
We made our way back to the sand. I hated how it automatically made itself at home on our feet. My flip flops were going to be so uncomfortable to wear with the sand rubbing. I grabbed the extra towel and attempted to squeeze the excess water out of my hair and wipe what sand I could off my feet. Once we were ready, we put our things in the trunk of the car and began walking. The salty breeze was inviting and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Within two minutes we were standing in front of a small café that seemed to be pretty
popular. The sign outside read Gulf Side Café. The sign out front also said they had fried alligator and my eyes got big. I hadn’t had fried alligator in forever and I was determined to have some for lunch. So much for imagining a light lunch and not pigging out. Oh well, that’s extra time I could use laying on the towel in the sand perfecting my much needed tan.
We walked in and people I’m assuming were regulars began waving at Luke.
I’m almost willing to bet he used to come here quite a bit. A woman built about like myself with a brown bob hair cut ran up and threw her arms around Luke’s neck. I stood off to the side feeling a little out of place wondering who this was and why her arms were around my boyfriend. I felt a little out of place for a moment but I stood by patiently until she finally spoke.
“Lucas Nolan! Why didn’t you tell your mother you were coming by today? I’m going to have to get your dad from the back.” I’m glad I didn’t open my mouth because I would have definitely inserted my foot.
“Mom, I wanted it to be a surprise. So…..surprise!” He laughed and she smacked his arm. An instant smile spread across my face and I noticed where he got his playfulness from.
“I’m glad you’re here! Randy,” she hollered. “Come see who the cat drug in!”
A man built like he used to surf came walking up from the back. He had an apron on that read ‘Please Don’t Kiss the Chef’. I had to keep myself from laughing. I could see where Luke got his looks from. His dad was a handsome man. They both had green eyes and I’m sure at one point the same colored hair. His dad’s was more of a light gray than blonde now.
“Been a while since we’ve seen you here. Have a seat anywhere you want, we’ll come join you in a few. We need to catch up. It’s been too long.”
His dad patted Luke’s shoulder and let out a small chuckle.
“Just a few months dad.”
This felt super awkward; I don’t think they even realized I was there with Luke. I was still standing off to the side just watching their reunion and it was awfully bittersweet. His mom suddenly looked at me then at Luke and smacked his arm again. “Where are your manners Lucas? Who is this young lady?”
Before he could speak up I answered, “I’m Macy Young. It’s nice to meet you both.” Both his parents embraced me in a hug. His mom smelt like sugar and vanilla and his dad smelt like fried food which reminded me how much I wanted some fried alligator and my stomach began growling again.
“I’m sorry if it seems we ignored you dear but it’s just we haven’t seen Luke with a girl since, well I’m sure you’ve already heard.” She meant Juliann and I hated for her to bring it up. The last thing I wanted was for this meeting to become awkward. I nodded to let her know I knew and she continued, “I was so worried about him for so long. I didn’t know if he would ever find anyone else, I was scared he would get himself into trouble.”
“Mom, I’m fine.”
Luke interjected as he grabbed my hand. It was clear she was embarrassing him just a little bit. She was being a mom though, I can understand that. At least he has someone who cares about what could have happened to him.
“I know. I’m your mother I’m allowed to say whatever I want
, after all I did go through a million hours of labor to bring you into this world. How long have you two been seeing each other?” Her eyes suddenly lit up as she asked him that and I felt much more comfortable standing there.
Oh great. The awkward questions were coming
though. The ones that said, hey I’m sleeping with your son. We’re living in sin and yadda yadda yadda. I wasn’t ready for those and I could feel my face begin to turn slightly red. So much for feeling much more comfortable.
Luke
sensed my slight embarrassment and began leading us to a table and as we sat down he finally answered, “A few months. She moved in with me a few weeks ago.”
His
mom’s eyes grew wide at the announcement I know she wasn’t thinking she was going to hear today and she smiled. “Well that’s great news. I know you must be an amazing woman if Luke already asked you to move in.”
“I never knew a guy could keep such a tidy apartment.” I couldn’t help but chuckle as I told her that.
It sure helped lighten the situation for me.
“He was always such a clean child. Thank God. It’s bad enough I have to clean up after Randy and when I found out we were having a boy, I was scared I would be a maid forever.”
I liked her she was funny. She seemed very easy to get along with. He was lucky to have such an amazing mom in his life. I was envious of him for that reason. I prayed that my mom and I could get back to when we used to be like this.
“Oh, please excuse my rudeness
Macy. You can call me Sherry.”
A waitress came by and took our drink order and came back shortly to get our food order. When she returned with the fried alligator, I took my time savoring every piece. It was delicious.
His dad came walking up to see how everything was going. He placed his hand on Luke’s shoulder and asked, “You guys driving home later?”
“We were planning on it. We didn’t pack any
clothes; we were just coming to spend the day.”
Sherry jumped in. “Nonsense. Stay at the house. Luke, go shopping and get a change of clothes for you two.” His mom looked like she could argue
if he dared tried to tell her no so Luke politely nodded his head and looked at me for approval.
“That’s fine with me. I appreciate
the offer. Thank you.”
Sherry reached across the table and placed her hand on top of mine giving it a gentle squeeze.
“Oh honey you are more than welcome. You two finish up and do whatever you need to do and meet us at the house later.”
We gave hugs and said our goodbyes. We walked down to a local clothing shop and I was able to find a pair of blue jeans
shorts and a fitted silver sequin tank top. I really didn’t care to shop at these little shops because they were typically overpriced but it looks like this was the only option for us. Luke paid the cashier and we made our way back to his car.
“I’m sorry Mace, I should have forewarned you about my parents. They own the café. We moved here from
California after my grandmother passed. My dad inherited the café from her and they’ve run it ever since.” I was always interested in learning new things about Luke. I knew most of what I needed to know but learning about him was something that could never get old to me. I never would have guessed he wasn’t from here and I can’t imagine what a move that was coming all the way from California to Louisiana. I’m sure he left lots of friends and good memories behind and here he was, making good memories with me.
“No it’s fine Luke, I promise. I don’t mind staying the night either.
I like them.”
“Let’s go get cleaned up and relax. We may go to a local bar tonight if that’s ok with you.”
“Whatever you want to do. This is your territory. I’m fine wherever you know that. Ohmigosh, do I get to see your bedroom?”
He winked. “You can see any part of it you want. Even the bed.
It’s quite comfortable if I might add. I bet it would be even more comfortable with you in it.”
I rolled my eyes as we drove to his parent’s house. They lived in a small subdivision about five minutes up the road. The house was white with green shutters and a red door. It had a very homey look to it and I wasn’t even inside yet. Luke unlocked the front door and we walked inside. The kitchen was to my left and it was amazing looking.
The cabinets and refrigerator were filled with more than you could possibly imagine. A bottle of wine was out on the counter with a dozen roses. I definitely see where Luke gets his sweet side from. The living room was to my right. A flat screen TV hung on the wall and two shelves of DVDs were on each side. On the other wall, a family photo was hung. Next to that one was a photo of Luke and Juliann. I’ve never seen what she looked like but I heard nothing but wonderful things about her. He loved her so much, that I do know. I hated he had to lose that happiness. She had blonde hair that was curly in the picture and Luke was leaning down to kiss her. I assumed it was an engagement pic and it was absolutely adorable.