Page 66 of The Progressions

“Is this Kasia Beach? I thought the shoreline was public, like in California.”

“Why are we going here? It’s kind of cold,” I mentioned, glancing down at Iva’s outfit. I didn’t have as much coverage as usual.

Tyler’s thoughts were running in the same direction. “You’re exposing more skin than normal,” he said.

“That’s what people do at night, which you already know. Also, Iva is two inches shorter and it does make a difference. That’s why I usually wear leggings when I put on her mustard dress.”

“What is that?”

“It’s a dress that she gave me because she didn’t like it, because it’s not attractive. It’s pretty much the color of mustard, and also, I got some actual mustard on it that won’t come out,” I explained.

“Why the fuck are you wearing it if it doesn’t fit, it’s ugly, and it’s stained?”

When he put it that way, it didn’t sound very nice, but it wasn’t all that bad. “Maybe I should talk to your former stylist,” I suggested. “I know that she totally understands what’s seasonally appropriate.”

“Here we are at the beach,” he announced and got out, slamming the door behind himself. A moment later, though, he came around and opened mine for me.

It wasn’t exactly freezing, but it was fall now, and it felt like it. I wasn’t shivering but it was nicer when Tyler put his arm around me. “What are we doing here?” I asked.

“I thought you said that you liked coming to this place.”

“I do,” I agreed. “You wanted to come because I like it?”

“Also, there’s no cell coverage, so you have to stop checking to see if anyone needs you.”

“You noticed me doing that?”

“About every ten, fifteen minutes you were staring down at your lap,” he agreed. “They’re fine and if someone isn’t, the other two can step in.”

“I know you’re right,” I answered.

“How come you’re always checking, then?”

“I think I never quite got over the whole thing of finding my dad after the stroke, like, the shock of it,” I said. “I dream about it and sometimes when I’m awake, it pops into my head. When I walk into the house and he doesn’t answer me fast enough, or if he doesn’t pick up my calls, then I see it again. I can smell the burned coffee that he had left on the stove until it boiled away to nothing. The handle of the pot melted and he was so upset about that later, because it had been my mother’s that she’d brought with her when she moved here.”

“I get that,” Tyler said. “Sometimes memories stick. I have one…no, I don’t want to talk about that.”

I waited, but he didn’t continue. “Do you want to put our feet in the lake?” I had already kicked off my shoes when we stepped onto the sand and he looked down at his own.

“I don’t like the water,” he answered, which I knew. “I nearly threw up on that ferry to the island.”

“You got seasick?”

“I was scared out of my damn mind,” he said. “We were out in the middle of that bay or whatever it is, and I knew I’d never make it to the other side if the boat went down. Can you swim?”

“Yes, but only open water swimmers would be able to make that distance. It must be over three miles to shore in the middle of the straights, but maybe you could have clung to debris from the wreck and gotten rescued.”

He stopped and looked up at the sky. There were only faint stars out tonight, but he wasn’t looking at them. He was shaking his head and I realized that I hadn’t been very comforting.

“Also, your boat wouldn’t have sunk,” I added. “You weren’t in any danger, no more than when…I’ll leave it at that.”

“Thanks,” he said, and we resumed walking. “I’d go back to that island.”

“You will next summer, and the one after that,” I agreed. “The team meetings are there every year.”

“I’d go with you,” he corrected. “I didn’t get to see too much and you said you never went. I would be glad to take you, even if we have to be on a boat.”

“You don’t need to pay for a bunch of stuff for me, Tyler. I don’t expect that. But if you really did want to go…”

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