The Beach
Part One
She walked along the beach, she knew she had no business there but she couldn't stop herself. The sun had only been up a couple of hours, she had arrived at the beach shortly before sun rise and waited. She didn't want to bother him just get a glimpse of him. He had come out of one of the beach houses and begin walking down the beach away from her. Slowly she followed leaving a good distance between them.
He had on a pair of white shorts and nothing else, his dark curly hair blew in the soft breeze that came off the ocean. He was so tan, she guessed from all the years living in California. Every now and then he would stoop down pick up something and skip it across the water. She begin feeling like a stalker, she dropped her eyes to the sand and slowed her walk.
He knew she was there from the moment he had come out of the house but for some reason it didn't bother him that she was there. He also knew that she didn't live there for he knew every face up and down the beach. He stopped and turned to watch her but she didn't see him as she was walking looking at the ground.
When she got to with in a few feet of him he asked. "Are you following me?" It was merely question not an accusation.
She stopped and looked up, her face immediately went to a dark shade of red. "I…I" she stammered. And then she cleared her throat, "yes I guess I am."
He smiled at her and started walking the way he had been going leaving her standing in the sand with the water lapping over her feet. When he was a few steps away he turned to look at her. "You coming?"
Unable to speak she nodded and ran to catch up with him. "I'm really sorry I didn't mean to bother you." She mumbled.
"You aren't bothering me," He said looking out over the water, a sad look spread over his handsome face. "It's nice to have company."
"Even if it is a stalker?" she said lightly hoping he would know she was kidding.
He smiled at her. "You don't look dangerous."
She grinned back at him. "I'm not, I just wanted to…uh to see you." She finally blurted out. She knew she sounded like a star struck teen but after all she had been the first time she had seen him.
"It's nice to have fans after all these years," he said softly.
For a few minutes they walked along the beach in silence listening to the gulls call and the waves lap at the shoreline. Every now and again she would glance sideways at this handsome man she was walking down the beach with. She kept wanting to pinch herself still unable to believe she was there with him. She noticed that there was sadness about him and wanted to ask if he was all right but she knew it was none of her business.
Finally unable to stand it any long she started to ask if he was alright but he spoke first. "I'm alone here." He said as if sensing what she was going to ask. "My son is visiting his grandparents for a few weeks and my daughter is with her mother. I’m sure you read about that in the tabloids."
She shook her head, "I don't read that trash," she said with a bit more conviction then than she intended.
He stopped walking and smiled at her. "Good, good for you. But sometimes they are right." She wanted to ask him what they were right about but instead waited she had a feeling she might find out.
After a while he said, "My wife left me several months ago." She could hear the pain in his voice as he spoke. Her heart just broke for him, he had been through so much in his life it just wasn't fair.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know." She said wishing that she had never intruded upon him.
"We are still friends and do things with our daughter, I guess it was just hard from her to live in a shadow."
She knew that he had to be talking about his first wife that had died. She felt so sorry for him that she wanted to cry. In fact tears began stinging her eyes and she rubbed her hand across her eyes not wanting him to know she was crying.
But he did notice, he seemed to notice everything. "It's alright really it is." He slipped his arm around her shoulders for a brief moment then let it fall back to his side.
They walked side by side not speaking for along while finally he stopped. "Guess it's time to go back."
She nodded happy that she had this time with him no matter how short it was. They walked back the way they had come and when they reach his house he turned to go in. She started on down the beach to where she had left her car. She turned to have one final look at him. "Good bye," She said then started on her way.
He nodded at her but remained rooted in the sand watching her walk away. Suddenly he called out, "Hey." He ran to catch up with her. "Why don't you come up we can have some brunch or something."
She shook her head, "That's not right."
"What's not right about it? I'm not dangerous or anything." He teased her.
"Are you sure?" she asked squinting in the increasing sunlight.
"Yes I'm sure, come on." He said taking her hand and dragging her toward his house.
They entered the beach house from the back sliding glass doors then proceeded to the second floor where the kitchen and living room were. There was a second set of sliding glass doors that opened out on to a large deck. She stood staring out at the vast ocean while he busied himself in the kitchen. It was hard to believe after some twenty years of having this huge crush on him that she was standing in his house. She turned and looked around the room; it was filled with framed photos of his children and his ex wife. She felt sad for him as she touch a lovely silver-framed photo of him, her and the two children they were all smiling.
If he was hers she would spend the rest of her life making him happy, waiting on him hand and foot all though she suspected that he wouldn't allow this. She smiled at the thought of bringing him his favorite slippers or a bottle of beer. She wondered how any woman could walk out on him. She glanced toward the kitchen; he was smiling and humming as he prepared two sandwiches. He seemed like he was happy she was there.
As she was watching he looked up and grinned at her, "Mayo or mustard?"
She just shrugged, "What ever you are having is fine." She wasn’t even sure she would be able to eat anyway.
He put plates with the sandwiches and chips on a large tray. Added two glasses, beer and a package of Hostess cup cakes then motioned for her to open the sliding glass doors. "Let's eat on the deck uh?"
"Sure," She said sliding the door open. He slipped past her she followed closing the door behind her.
He sat the tray down on the table. "Have a seat." He said when she didn't move she nodded slowly and then sat down across from him. He took the plates off the tray placing one in from of her then him. He placed a glass by each of the plates then filled them with beer. Then he tore open the pack of chocolate cup cakes and with a boyish grin handed one to her.
She took the offered cake and sat it on the edge of her plate. While he promptly stuffed the whole thing in his mouth. For an instant she just stared at him, she couldn't believe he had just done that then she burst out laughing.
"I knew I could make you laugh," he said around the cupcake. "Quit looking so serious."
"I'm sorry," she said trying to get her laughter under control. "It's just…well if you just knew…uh."
"You're a fan, so what." He said wiping his mouth of the cake crumbs.
"I just don't want you to think I was stalking you or something," she whispered the serious face returning.
"Listen," he said reaching across the table and taking her hand in his. "If I thought you were anything but sincere I wouldn’t have brought you to my home. I'm a pretty good judge of character."
She smiled at him again. "Looks good." She said picking up half the sandwich.
She relaxed and they chatted through brunch about everything they could think of. By the time she got around to her cupcake she was telling him all about herself. She told him things she had never told anybody, about how she wrote poems and stories and dreamed many times of meeting him.
When they were done she helped him with the dishes, they stood side by side at the sink. He washed she dried, several times they brushed elbows which sent small shock waves all the way to her toes. The phone rang, he wiped the bubbles from his arms and went to answer it. She tried not to listen but she could tell the way that he was talking it was his ex wife. When he turned the smile was gone and his eyes looked sad. She didn't know if she should ask or not so she just continued drying.
"They are going out of town, I won't get to see my daughter this weekend." He said softly as he washed the last plate. He didn't take his eyes off the soapy water as he spoke.
She could tell he was in pain just by the tone of his voice. "I'm sorry, it must be hard not being with her everyday."
He nodded, "Thank heavens I still have my son. But I still miss her when she's not here with me."
How could this woman take his daughter from him? She was suddenly very angry with a woman she only knew from pictures. He had lost so very much and now this. All she wanted to do was take him in her arms and hold him tell him it would be alright but she didn't dare.
With the last dish dried and put away she looked down at her bare feet. She had left her shoes in the car so that she wouldn’t get sand in them. She felt suddenly self-conscious once again. "Well I guess I had better go I have imposed enough for one day," she said softly.
"Oh," he said disappointment clearly in his voice. "I'm sure you have other things to do."
"Yeah," she lied. The only plan she had upon arriving in California was to make her dream of seeing him come true. Now that she had done that everything else paled in comparison.
He came toward her stopping in front of her. She was looking down at the floor, gently he put his hand under her chin and lifted her eyes to met his. "Are you sure you are busy?"
She thought she would melt and seep into the cracks of the hard wood floor. Finally she shook her head no. "I don't have anything else to do today."
"Good then spend it with me." His blue eyes sparkled again for her. "It's been along time since I have been with somebody I felt as comfortable with as I do you."
She blushed and smiled up at him. "And you make me nervous," she said honestly.
"Me?" he tipped his head back and laughed. "You don't have to be nervous with me."
And then he did something that she had dreamed of a million times in her daydreams and her fantasies. He leaned down and bushed her lips with his ever so gently. Her heart was pounding so fast she thought she was faint. Then he hugged her tightly to his bare chest, shyly she place her arms around his waist and held on.
They went for another long walk on the beach then back to the beach house where once again he prepared a meal for her. They sat on the deck and watched the sun set turn the ocean amazing colors. He had his feet propped up on the deck railing and she was stretched out in a deck chair feeling freer than she had in along time.
She was sitting there thinking it was time for her to go but not really wanting too. When he jumped up from his chair and grabbed her by the hand, "Come on."
"Where?" She laughed at the child like excitement in his voice.
He pointed down the beach where she could see a bond fire being built. "Looks like it's party time." He grinned at her. He pulled her into the house grab a blue T-shirt off the back of the couch and slipped it over his head.
She wasn't sure this was the right thing to do. Meeting people that were his neighbors? If there were a reporter around they would end up on the morning tabloids. But she looked at the sparkle in his eyes and couldn't say no. After all if it didn't worry him why should she care.
They made their way down the beach to the roaring fire. Three huge coolers were lined up a distance from the fire. People were roasting marshmallows and hot dogs on sticks. He introduced her to his friends, everybody made her feel welcome and one man that she was sure she had just seen in a movie the week before handed her a stick with a hot dog stuck on the end.
"Buns are over there." The man said cocking his head toward where the coolers sat.
He sat down in the warm sand and pulled her down next to him. She stuck the stick in the fire suddenly she felt his hand over hers also holding the stick. When it was done he got up to retrieve a bun and they shared the hot dog. Then somebody put on some music and the couples began to dance.
He held out his hand to her, "Want to dance?"
She nodded and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Once again her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She could smell his after-shave on his T-shirt as he took her into his arms. Even on the fast songs they dance close together. At first she was stiff in his arms but as the evening wore on she relaxed put her arms around this neck and her head on his chest as they swayed to the music.
It was well after mid night when the party began to break up. She was sorry to see it was over for she knew now it was time for her to go. They walked slowly back toward his beach house as they walked he caught her hand in his. When they arrived at his back door she looked up at him and smiled. "Well I guess it really is time for me to go."
He nodded, "I'll walk you to your car."
She was grateful for that since it was parked clear at the other end of the street. She had never bother to move it from where she had parked early that morning. They walked through the house and out the front. She pointed up the street, "I parked up there," she said softly.
He grinned and shook his head, as they started down the sidewalk he asked. "Where are you staying?"
His question caught her off guard. Since she had come there straight from the airport she hadn't even register at a hotel. "Uh..." She thought feverishly trying to come up with a name of a hotel but her mind was a total blank.
He looked at her in the moonlight, cocked his head and said, "you don’t have a room do you?"
After a long time she finally admitted, "No, I just got in down today."
"And came straight here?" he asked. She nodded as tears filled her eyes. "Hey what's all this?" He asked when he noticed the tears.
"You must think I'm awful." She said tears spilling down her face.
"Look at me," he commanded. She looked up into his handsome face. "I am glad that you showed up on the beach today. You have no idea how much this day has meant to me. I think we were suppose to meet."
She shook her head and looked away she couldn't believe the things he was saying to her. "Really?" she said.
"Yes really," he bent down to look in her eyes. He brushed a tear from her cheek and then gently kissed her. "Stop feeling badly about coming here. I think this was meant to be."
"It does feel right doesn't it," She said finally smiling at him.
"Why don't you spend the night here, it's too late to get a room." He suggested. "Besides you don’t have any business driving around by yourself."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Very sure," he answered. "Just one thing."
"Sure anything."
"Let's move you car down here." He said giving her that smile that melted her heart.
She laughed as they started up the street to get her car.