Page 67 of A Shore Fling
“Yep. When I was a teenager, I’d sometimes get to ride around when he’d patrol. I knew then what I wanted to do for my career.”
“That’s sweet. He must be so proud of you.”
“He seems to be. He showed me the ropes, and I’m thankful he was able to teach me so much.”
“Did you go to college?”
“Yeah, I went to a local university and got a business degree.”
“I also have a business degree. Want to come work for my family’s company?” she jokes.
“No, thanks. I couldn’t handle living or working in a city. I need the smell of the salt air and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore to lull me to sleep at night.” I notice Teddy flagging me down, so I stand. “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t forget napkins,” she reminds me.
Teddy hands me a box with all our food inside and a tray with our drinks. “Nina seems nice,” he says.
“She’s great.”
“Don’t screw it up,” he tells me.
“Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“That’s a question for you to ask yourself,” he says.
I return to Nina, setting the box in the middle of the table. I place her cup of soda in front of her and mine on my side of the table. “There are beef tacos, steak tacos, and chicken quesadillas. I also got queso and chips.” I remove the cover from the queso container. “I couldn’t let you miss the best part.” She dips a chip into the queso, takes a bite, and immediately goes quiet.
“Well?”
She points at me with the next chip. “Okay. I’m mad at you.”
“Why?”
“Because now I’m going to crave this for the rest of my life, and I don’t live here.”
I grin and steal her chip. “Guess you’ll have to come back.”
We eat in easy silence for a while, both of us leaning over our trays to avoid dripping salsa everywhere. Nina keeps looking around at everything and everyone, like she’s trying to memorize the feeling of it all. She wipes her hands on a napkin and then leans back a little.
“Are you getting full?” I ask.
“A little, but I just wanted to take a minute to enjoy this bubble of happiness.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look around us.”
Kids with sandy feet, still in their bathing suits, chase a ball as it rolls between tables while their parents enjoy their meal, an older couple a few tables over share an order of churros, and a teenage couple shyly hold hands as they wait for their order.
“Do you see it too?”
“Yeah.” I place my hand on top of hers where it rests on the table. “I also feel it because of you.”
“Happiness?” she asks.
I nod. “Yes.”
“You make me happy too.”
