Page 28 of Never Less

Within a few minutes, we’re carrying all our stuff down to the beach. It’s windy today, so the waves are a bit bigger than normal.

“I’ve missed this,” Liliana says, tilting her face up toward the sun. The wind blows some stray hairs that didn’t make it into her messy bun. She looks beautiful like this, all relaxed and happy. “I wish we had a beach back home.”

“It definitely has its perks.” I help her lay out our towels, and then I follow her down to the water. “But you like where you live, don’t you?”

She shrugs as she takes a small step into the water. “It’s nice enough.”

“Just nice enough?”

“It’s a small city, so building a stable client base has been difficult,” she says. “I’ve managed, though. And it’s where Nate has to be for work, so it’s not like we can move. Unless…”

When she doesn’t finish, I nod in understanding. Her future with my son is far from set in stone. My mind latches onto the possibility of Liliana moving in the near future. It’s foolish to hope she’d move down here, but that’s where my thoughts end up going.

She’d have a larger pool of potential clients. And with my connections through work, I could introduce her to all the right people. She’d hit the ground running, and with how driven she is, she’d do amazingly.

“But I don’t want to think about all of that right now.” She moves into the water until it’s up to her waist. “Let’s just have fun.”

I step in next to her. The water is refreshingly cool, and Liliana sinks in until only her head is above the surface.

“I grew up near a beach,” she says. “A lake, not an ocean.”

“Up in Cape Cod, right?”

“Mmhmm. Spent summers swimming and building sandcastles. Me and my friends even won a sandcastle building contest once.”

“Really?”

“I’ll show you pictures when we get back inside. I’ve got them saved on my phone somewhere. The thing was huge.”

“From everything I’ve heard, it sounds like you had a good childhood.”

She nods, and her smile widens. “I got lucky, I think. My parents are like John and Charlotte. Still deeply in love, and their happiness affects everyone around them. I was raised in a house full of acceptance and care. My parents have always supported me in whatever I’ve decided to do, even when they don’t always think I’m making the best decisions.”

“That’s… that’s really good, Liliana.”

Regret swirls in me as I think back on Nate’s childhood. I did my best with what little time I had with him. Now, I want to help him be a better person, but he doesn’t seem to care about my advice. Come to think of it, he never has.

“My mom has never liked Nate much,” she says softly. “And she’s always been a good judge of character. Maybe… maybe I should’ve listened to her earlier on.”

“Or maybe life has led you to exactly where you’re meant to be. It’s painful as hell, I know, but…”

Her eyes lock onto mine. “But maybe something good can come from this?”

“Maybe.”

Hopefully.

She nods slowly, and a thoughtful expression settles over her features. “I don’t think—whoaaa!”

A particularly large wave takes Liliana by surprise. It knocks her into me, and the force is enough to have me stumbling back a few steps. I keep my hands firmly on her waist until she’s regained her balance.

“You all right?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She laughs. “I guess I’m not used to swimming in the ocean anymore.”

I look out over the water. “These waves aren’t going to get any smaller.” As I say it, another one hits us. It’s not as big as the last one, but these aren’t exactly conducive to a leisurely swim.

“Hmm. Maybe ocean swimming was a bad idea,” Liliana says, trying to hide the disappointment in her tone.

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