Page 27 of The House on Firefly Beach
With the boat anchored down, Nate grabbed a fishing pole and walked over to Robby. “Want to see what we can catch out here?” he asked.
Robby’s head bounced up and down, his face beaming with delight.
“Perfect. Okay, here’s how you work this rod. Put your thumb against the line here…” He showed him where to place his thumb on the spool to keep it from unwinding too quickly—a trick Nate had learned from Uncle Hank on one of the countless fishing trips when Sydney had tagged along.
Sydney turned her attention back to Juliana. “So will you be doing any work while you’re here?”
“No, I’m taking some time off from modeling,” Juliana said. “The schedule is hectic… Things became so crazy. My soul was suffering.”
“Your soul?”
“I was so busy trying to… manage things… I lost who I was.”
Juliana showed an intense sadness just then, the emotion surfacing even through those big sunglasses of hers. Her honesty seemed brave, given the fact that she looked like she wanted to close in on herself. And now she was dealing with relationship issues with Nate. Poor girl. Looking at her, it was clear that the Juliana in all those glossy magazines wasn’t necessarily representative of who Juliana was. She was hurting and uncertain—a far cry from the self-assured bikini model who seemed to have the world at her fingertips.
“What will you do now?” Sydney asked.
Juliana grabbed her sarong and draped it over her lap, smoothing it out on her legs. “I’m not totally sure. I have been modeling since I was fifteen. I have no experience doing anything else.” She dragged her manicured finger under her glasses and sniffled before she turned toward the wind, her dark tresses cascading down her back.
Nate let Robby hold the rod by himself and came to join them. “That’s why you’re here,” he said, his voice gentle and calming. “Take your time; don’t rush it. You are one of the most resilient and passionate people I know. Breathe in this air and let it soak down to your bones. I find inspiration everywhere here. I’m hoping it’ll do the same for you.”
Nate’s fondness for Juliana was clear, which only left Sydney feeling more confused, and hurt.
“I got one, Nate!” Robby called, reeling as fast as his little fingers would allow him to, the rod bending at the tip, giving him quite a struggle.
Nate rushed over to him to help pull in the fish.
“I wish I had your talent,” Juliana said with a sigh, still clearly immersed in their prior conversation. “Nathan said you are an amazing writer.”
Her comment surprised Sydney. “I don’t know about that.”
“One thing I can say about Nathan is that he tells the truth. If he tells me you’re a great writer, I believe him.” She took off her dark glasses, revealing her tired but beautiful almond-colored eyes. “He says you’re a better writer than he is.”
Completely baffled, she turned to look at Nate, only to find his eyes already on her, those unsaid words crashing upon her like the roll of a stormy tide. He quickly moved his attention back to Robby and the fish that was dangling from his line.
“Doyoulike to write?” she asked Juliana.
“I don’t think so. I would like to design things. I really love choosing the layout for my photos. Sometimes I was able to collaborate with the photographers on the photo shoots, and tell them my ideas. The ones who would listen usually liked them.”
“So perhaps you’d like to be a layout editor for a magazine?”
Juliana smiled. “That is exactly what Nathan suggested. But we searched online and for most of the jobs, I need a graphic design degree. I do not have a degree or any formal experience.”
If someone had told her even a day ago that she would be suggesting this to Nate’s on-and-off girlfriend, Sydney might have died laughing at the absurdity of the idea, but Juliana seemed genuinely kind, and it only made sense, given what she’d shared. “I’ll tell you what. If you enjoy that sort of thing, maybe you can show me some of your ideas for the magazine I’m working on as a favor for Mary Alice for the wellness center. I’m designing the cover.”
Juliana sat up straighter, her interest clear.
“I wanted to talk to you about the cover anyway. I was going to ask you… Would you and Nate pose for the cover image?”
“Oh, I am sorry,” she said, “I am no longer modeling.” Tears swelled suddenly in her eyes. She slipped her glasses back on.
Sydney thought she said she was taking a break from it, but Juliana’s reaction just now told her something totally different. Then, as though Juliana could read her mind, it was if she realized her blunder and wanted to take her words back. Sydney’s question had put her on the spot and caused her just enough anxiety that she clearly couldn’t hide her feelings anymore. Had Juliana Vargas, one of the world’s top supermodels, literally at the height of fame, left modeling for good? And was Sydney the first to know of this decision?
Nate quickly got Robby’s line baited and talked him through casting it before rushing over to Juliana. “You okay?” he asked quietly in her ear but Sydney heard. Juliana nodded, wiping a tear from her cheek. The exchange made Sydney feel like she was eavesdropping, so she got up and walked over to Robby.
“What did you catch?” she asked him, turning all her attention to the rocking sea surrounding them to give her calm.
“Nate said it was a snapper,” he told her, reeling in, checking his line, and casting back out. He was becoming quite skillful, and she had to wonder if Nate had taught him a thing or two in their short time together.
