Page 7 of The Man on the Beach
“Wait, isn’t that a movie? I feel like I saw that.”
“I wrote the screenplay, too. Co-wrote.”
“Oh shit, I remember that was really good.”
“Thanks.”
“I’ll have to read it. How many other books do you have out?”
“Six, now. I’m working on number seven.”
“Is it almost finished?”
“Not really.” Adam made an exasperated sound. “It’s going to be fine. But it’s been a bigger lift than usual. I’m a little burned out. I usually write at home, but…” Adam trailed off.
Nathan waited, and Adam didn’t continue. The silence stretched between them before Nathan prompted him. “Did something happen?”
Adam sighed deeply. “A while back, I guess. My husband and I separated. Divorced. I took a year off writing to deal with it. We sold our house. I promised this book by the end of summer and it’s… close. But I can’t quite get into the trance like I used to. I thought the ocean might help.”
“Has it?”
“A little. I like the smell. And the sounds at night. I used to come here with my family when I was a kid. It’s relaxing.” He paused. “I got burnt bad like you once when I was a kid. I went fishing and took my shirt off. I forgot to put sunscreen on. Or Ididn’t want to and thought I’d be fine. My shoulders blistered so badly my shirts would get glued to my shoulders. You can see the spots here.”
Adam pointed at the tops of his shoulders. Sure enough, his shoulders were dotted with clusters of brown freckles and light pock marks.
“Damn.” Nathan touched the scars. “Sorry about your divorce.”
“Thanks. I don’t think it’s the only reason I’ve been having a hard time writing, but it hasn’t helped. I used to get obsessed with my books, and I’d never come up for air. One book after another.” Adam turned to look at Nathan. “Turns out, ignoring everything around you isn’t a strategy for a long-lasting marriage.”
“Sorry.” Nathan said again. He didn’t know what else to say. He looked down at his hand on Adam’s thigh.
“Appreciate it.” Adam kissed the side of Nathan’s face. “If I had been glued to the keyboard, I wouldn’t have been on the beach trying to fight heart disease. And look what I would have missed.” Nathan smiled.
“Speaking of the ocean, do you want to grab our coffees and sit on the porch? The porch is nice for another hour or so before it starts to heat up outside.”
“Yeah, sure.” Nathan watched Adam stand and pull on his shorts before doing the same. They reheated their coffee mugs and moved to the screened-in porch. It was still early enough the air was relatively cool.
“Do you have to go back today? You can stay if you want.” Adam put his arm around Nathan, and Nathan leaned into Adam’s side.
“I’d better go back. They might report me missing if I’m gone too long.”
“Can you come back? After dinner?”
“I probably shouldn’t. I’m here for this stupid bachelor thing.” Nathan felt deflated thinking about. He reconsidered.
“You know what, fuck it. I’ll come back.”
FIVE
The front door wasn’t locked to the beach house. The eight men sat on all the available chairs, and a few sat on the floor. Everyone was balancing paper plates with ham and cheese sandwiches on their laps. Nathan went to the countertop to get his own paper plate.
“Nate! What the fuck happened, bro?” Aiden asked.
“Oh shit, Nathan’s back?” Another man asked, looking around. Nathan’s stepbrother looked over to make eye contact with Nathan. He looked away without comment.
“I passed out on the beach and ya’ll left me, what do you mean ‘what happened’?” Nathan rolled his eyes. He pulled two slices of white bread from the plastic.
“We thought you’d wake up and walk back. Didn’t think your nap would last all night. We tried to call you, but you left your phone here.”
