Page 65 of The End of Summer

I let this thought marinate.It all kind of makes sense now,I decide.Hurt people hurt people, right?

“I’ll keep you posted if I find out anything else,” Cherry says.

“Thanks, Cherry. Same here.”

“Catch you later,” she says, and ends the call.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

BRADY

After last night, I’m ready to take this whole thing with Gretchen to the next level. So the following morning, I get myself together, pack up my Yeti cooler, roll up a pair of beach towels and knock on Gretchen’s door promptly at 10:00. It’s sunny and 80, perfect beach weather, and I’m convinced it’s going to be a great day.

When she opens the door, she’s sparkling. Her hair is up in a high ponytail and she’s got on a loose tank top over a black string bikini, a pair of cutoff jean shorts and flip flops. She tells me I look nice. I kiss her on the cheek, noticing how the scent of sunscreen mixes with her shampoo. “You smell incredible,” I reply.

I offer to drive, because I stashed the beach chairs in my trunk this morning and because it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. This is a date, and I want to treat it that way. We get to First Light Beach in minutes; it’s a stone’s throw from the Diamond Excelsior resort. First Light is on the bay side and the tide is out so we trudge out to a sandbar in the middle of the crystal clear Brewster Flats. I hope that I give off five-star boyfriend material vibes instead of male stripper vibes. I really want her to take me seriously.

We unfold the beach chairs and settle in. I offer her a bottle of water, which she gratefully accepts.

“So, how did everything go last night after I left?”

“Good, I guess,” she says. “It was weird, though. I learned a lot about Arrow and her personal life.”

“Bad stuff?”

“Just complicated. I feel bad for her. She’s had a lot of rough things happen in her younger years that have made her pretty guarded.”

“I hear that.”

Gretchen wrinkles her forehead. “Was your childhood…” Her voice trails off, the trace of a question resting in the inflection at the end.

“Bad? No. I mean, not really, anyway. I’ve been pretty fortunate overall. But, you know, my dad’s always been an asshole. When I was younger and my mom left, she told me to go easy on him, and I couldn’t understand why she would say that when all he ever did was act like a piece of shit towards her. So, on one of my visits to see her, I asked her how she could forgive him like that. And she told me that he had a terrible childhood – his father was abusive to everyone in the household, and he had to grow up much, much faster than most kids do.”

“That’s sad,” she says.

“It is sad. It doesn't excuse the way he treats people now, but at least it provides an explanation.”

“So you’re not mad at him for kicking you out?”

“No. I don’t appreciate it, that’s for sure, but I think it’s just part of who he is. He’s happiest alone, I think. Also, I try to channel those feelings into something positive. I keep a running list in my head of all the things I’ll never do when I become a parent, just based on the things that have been done to me that I didn’t think were right.”

“I like that. I think it’s a smart way to cope with a difficult relationship,” she says. “Still, I’m sorry. That sucks.”

“It’s really okay,” I assure her.

“Are you close with your mom?”

“I am. She’s in Iowa. We talk several times a week on the phone and I visit her a few times a year.”

“That’s sweet. Does she ever come here?”

I shake my head. “Not to the Cape. Sometimes she’ll visit someplace that’s not too far away, though. She’s done author events and things like that,” I explain. “She’s actually got a writing conference in Connecticut in a few weeks. I might see her then,” I say. “But I’m sure she’ll come visit more once I settle down somewhere.”

“And where are you hoping to settle, exactly?”

“I’m not sure. I need to start by finding a job. The stripping is incredible money, but you know. It’s not a life plan – at least not for me.”

“No, I hear you. This is definitely a temporary thing for me as well,” she says. “How’s your job search going?”

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