Page 12 of Where the Waves Kiss the Shore
“I can’t. I didn’t bring a swimsuit with me.”
“That’s never stopped you. In your underwear, like we used to as teenagers.” Joey’s smile was back.
Damn, Joey would think she’d gotten old and boring if she said no, but she had no desire to parade about in her panties and bra in front of her dad’s employee.
“We have spare towels.” Kasia held up a neatly piled stack. Even her beach towels belonged in a hotel room.
“Okay, but it’ll be a long walk back if I’m cold.” That sounded lame.
“A quick swim and then I’ll run us all back to the village.” Joey looked delighted at the turn of events; Kasia less so.
“If I do, will you come for a drink with me one evening this week?” Inviting them to the characterless cottage so she could bare her soul felt a little too intimidating. A quiet corner of the pub would be a better idea.
“Yeah, okay. To celebrate your return to the old country.” Joey stripped off their worn wool sweater to reveal a rash vest. “Last one in the sea buys the pints.” They stepped out of their overalls and boots, raced to the end of the dock and didn’t stop. They dropped with a loud splash and a tiny shriek. Kasia’s chuckle made Tierney turn.
“I suspect it’s colder than they thought.”
Tierney realized Kasia was wearing a dry robe, which she quickly discarded on to the deck of the boat and revealed a one-piece sporty swimsuit in blue and white stripes. Tierney looked away quickly but not without getting a glimpse of Kasia’s pale, muscular legs. She fumbled with her jeans. Kasia let out an unexpectedly joyful laugh as she took the quay at a safer pace than Joey’s headlong dash and jumped gracefully into the water.
“Come on in, Tierney. The water’s perfect.”
Joey’s voice floated up, but she couldn’t see either of them from this end of the pier. The sun had dipped below the cliffs that rimmed the harbor, and it suddenly wasn’t so warm.Just get it over with.
Gritting her teeth, she stripped off her sneakers, socks, and jeans. She considered leaving on her T-shirt, but then she’d have nothing but a towel to cover her on the return journey. She pulled it off over her head, wishing she’d opted for a sports bra this morning. She left her clothes in a pile next to the boat and skipped down the quay at a pace somewhere between Joey’s breakneck dash and Kasia’s dignified jog. The sun-heated wood warmed her feet, but that was her last comforting thought before she took off from the end without a pause, not wanting to be viewed almost naked.
It was like plunging into an ice bath. The volume of her scream startled even her. She shot to the surface, desperate to get her brain out of the icy water and emerged gasping as she spat out the seawater she’d swallowed. She regained some awareness of her surroundings and heard the roar of Joey’s laughter combined with a more restrained giggle from Kasia. They were both treading water nearby as they laughed at her.
“Never scream as your head goes under. Sea swimming 101.” Joey finally managed to get themself under control.
“I’m glad I provided you with some entertainment.” She turned away from them and started to swim, not sure whereshe was going but determined to move to ease the cold seeping into her bones. She did a lap around the bay and started to acclimatize. It really was refreshing.
When she returned to the dock, Joey and Kasia were still bobbing in the water, chatting. Kasia said something that made Joey chuckle.
“I thought you came here to swim.” She immediately hoped she didn’t sound as petty as she felt.
“We call it swimming, but it’s really just a dip while we chat.” Kasia’s tone had a touch more warmth than the water they were immersed in. “Sometimes we do a proper swim, but neither of us are feeling it today.”
Let Joey speak for themself.Where were these childish thoughts coming from? Kasia was entitled to have a close friendship with a person she was here with on this island every day. Why did Tierney feel so left out of a world she’d chosen to distance herself from? “Well, I’m done now. My teeth are starting to chatter. I’ll see you on the boat.”
The chance to exit the water by the ladder on the other side of the dock and get to the security of the towels before the others got out of the water was too good to resist, even if she was enjoying the swim. Unfortunately, they both swam along with her to the ladder, and Tierney burned with self-consciousness as she pulled herself up the rungs quickly.
Back on the boat and wrapped in more than her fair share of towels, she found a large flask. A sniff test told her it was tea, so she poured some in a tin mug she found nearby. The warmth from it seeped into her bones, and she quickly stripped off her wet underwear and replaced her dry outer layers. She crossed to Kasia and handed her the dry robe.
“Thank you,” Kasia said quietly as she pulled it on.
Tierney poured two more mugs of tea, and Kasia took hers with a nod and wrapped her hands around it. There was a blue tinge to her lips.
Joey quickly joined them, pulling on a tattered sweater and a waterproof over their wet garments. “Let’s go back and get cleaned up properly.”
“Won’t you be going home?” Tierney asked. Joey’s small cottage was close by on this side of the island.
“Kasia makes me dinner and lets me crash at the hotel sometimes.” Joey’s smile faded as they glanced at Kasia and back to Tierney. “Is that okay?”
Kasia’s expression was unreadable, and Tierney realized the question was aimed at her. She laughed lightly. “I don’t care what Kasia does at the hotel as long as it’s legal and not costing my dad money.” She caught Kasia’s eye. “It’s your home while you work for the family.”
She hoped that was the right thing to say, but the muscle twitching in Kasia’s jaw suggested otherwise. Tierney broke eye contact first.
She tried to ignore the clenching feeling in the pit of her stomach as she jumped onto the dock and released the mooring ropes to throw them on board as Joey started the engine. So Joey and Kasia were going to have dinner together while she ate alone at the cottage. She’d already forced herself into their swim time. She knew she wasn’t entitled to be fed and entertained. Acknowledging that didn’t make her feel any less excluded.
