Page 58 of The Magic of Sea Glass
With the late hour, everyone else had gone home. The camera crew must have given up waiting and gone to bed, which was a welcome break. Brody had insisted on following Lauren and Mary back to help clean up what was left of his celebration. After the events of the evening, Brody told Mary she could turn in for the night and he’d get everything picked up. Clearly exhausted, Mary hadn’t objected.
“You didn’t have to help me clear all this,” Lauren told him as she threw a couple of bottles into the trash bag.
“It’s fine. And I wanted to be sure that you and Mary got back safely.”
“I think we could’ve managed,” she said with a smile.
He grabbed a couple of plates off the railing and tossed them into the trash. “You looked white as a sheet in the waiting room at the hospital.” He turned to her, his hands stilling as if he were giving her permission to explain. That was when she realized that he really came back to the inn with them to make sureshegot back safely.
“It was hard to be in a medical setting after losing Mason last year.”
He nodded. “That’s understandable. Are you all right now?”
“Yeah,” she said, glad that he’d come. His warmth and attention soothed her. To avoid blushing in front of him, she went over to another small table in the shadows and gathered a couple of paper cups.
“I overheard what you said to Stephanie about Joe calling you by your mother’s name. That’s peculiar, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she said, stopping to face him. She’d wanted to talk about it ever since it had happened but just wasn’t sure how to bring it up or whether it was even appropriate, given the situation. “How did he know that?”
“I have no idea. It was probably just a happy coincidence.”
“We recently found out that my mother was adopted. All evening, I’ve been wondering, did he know her or her family somehow? But there’s no way that I can think of that happening.” She plopped down into one of the chairs and Brody followed. “Then again, hewasfixated on this bracelet, which he has no ties to,” she said with a shrug, “so maybe he just guessed correctly, and it was a big coincidence, like you say.”
“It’s definitely unusual, though, right?”
“Yeah.” She twisted the smooth pieces of sea glass on her wrist. “Your grandfather had this bracelet, your mom said. Perhaps Joe had seen him with it?”
He stretched his fingers over his knees, leaning forward. “Possibly.”
She was grateful to have Brody to talk to. He brought her to a state of calm that no one else had been able to achieve in the last year. He always responded to her with utter kindness and no judgment, even after knowing her story. As natural as can be, the urge washed over her and she reached out, putting her hand on his. He peered down at her fingers and then back up at her. A mixture of shock and delight swirled in his eyes like a hurricane. He abruptly sprang to his feet and faced the water.
“I’m sorry,” she said, moving beside him, her face flaming from her boldness. “I don’t know what came over me. I just like you. It was… an honest reaction.”
He turned to her with intensity. “I know.”
His response stunned her. “You do?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to let your guard down and let me in. But I guess I didn’t expect you to make the first move. It took me by surprise. A nice surprise,” he quickly added.
“Really?” she asked, the word barely coming out on her breath.
He looked out toward the Atlantic, his eyes unstill as if choosing his words. “You know, I was only supposed to replace half the boards on the deck, but I chipped in my own money to finish the whole thing so that I could see you more.” He smiled down at her, vulnerability in his face.
In the past year she’d never thought beyond her grief, and she wasn’t sure that she was even ready. Would Mason approve of this? “I don’t know what to do,” she said honestly.
“I don’t either. I hadn’t really planned on this…” He smirked. “I was fine, just fishing, spending time with Mom, and helping Mary.”
She allowed a small smile in return, but their conversation the other night about how he didn’t believe in marriage came back to her. While there were definitely no plans for marriage, she knew that she was too fragile to become serious with someone who didn’t share her same beliefs. There was so much to learn about him. “Tell me about you and your family,” she said, sitting back down.
He obliged, taking a seat as well. “What do you want to know?”
“You weren’t close with your dad?”
“My dad officially left a year ago, but he wasn’t ever reallythere. I blame my grandfather.” He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the new railing.
“Why do you blame your grandfather?” She could guess the answer, but she wanted to hear his perspective.
“He was a terrible example. He worked all the time, and while I do have a few good memories with him, he never seemed emotionally present, and I don’t think he ever actually loved my grandmother. I think a lot of their years were spent together out of some sort of duty he felt.”
