Page 14 of Sea La Vie
The corner of Lainey’s mouth turns up ever so slightly.
“Why do you assume I want to get out of here so badly? I just got here.”
Lainey shrugs. “I figured since you hadn’t been back since—,” she trails off and bites her lip.
I sigh, resigning myself to address the elephant in the room—or boat—earlier than I had planned. “Lainey, I don’t know if you remember, but the day we went over to Pirate Island with you and your brothers, Cara and I had snuck out of the house because our parents were in the middle of having one of the biggest fights they had ever had. I grabbed Cara and got out of there so she wouldn’t have to listen anymore. And when we got back, our parents wasted no time telling us they were getting a divorce. I was crushed that I didn’t even get to finish out the summer with you.” I took a deep breath and continued. “And then…I told you I had been accepted to UCLA and you weresoangry with me. You said you never wanted to speak to me again, if I recall correctly. But, please hear me out. I took that opportunity because it was my only choice. I had a free ride, Lainey. I wanted to wait a year for you so we could go to Eastern Carolina, I really did. But I had to take that offer to make something of myself.” I wring my hands together before finally shoving them in my pockets. “So yes, I did try my best to erase all the memories of this place from my mind. My final memories here weren’t exactly happy.”
Lainey’s eyes mist over and she turns from me. “I’m sorry your parents were fighting that day.”
I wish she’d say more about the fightwehad. I would rather just fight about it and get it over with so we can at leasttryto be friends again. I shrug and let out a pent-up breath. “It was what was best for them, and us. Mom didn’t even bother going back home. She took me and Cara to the airport with what we had in our suitcases. We flew to Ohio and stayed with one of her friends for a while.”
“You never even got to say goodbye to your friends?” Lainey asks, her brows drawn together in a deep V.
I shake my head. “Nope.”Not that we had many, I say to myself.
Lainey walks to the edge of the boat and peers out at the sun that’s stretching across the sky, tinting everything to a balmy pink. “I always wished you would’ve changed your mind. But, I get it now. Looking back, I realize how selfish I was.” She pauses and chews on her bottom lip. “It took me a long time to realize I was wrong, but I was so proud of you. You found a way out, and from the looks of it, you really excelled.”
I lean against the rail of the boat and study her. She’s still the same wild Lainey from years ago, with her mess of tangled waves and freckles splattered across her nose like an abstract painting. She’s tall, lean, and tan and I’m sure if it weren’t for the necessary waders, she’d be barefoot right now, sporting a rainbow of friendship bracelets on her ankle. Time has been very,verykind to her, dousing her with beauty and grace. But I also notice the way the line between her eyebrows never fully goes away, even when she’s smiling. And that her smile doesn’t quite reach her sparkling eyes the way it did years ago. It looks like Lainey’s worried about something, but what, I have no idea.
“For what it’s worth, I tried finding you on social media. If you have one, you must have it locked down tighter than the Pentagon.”
Lainey snorts. “Why would I need social media? Everyone I need to talk to lives within a five mile radius.”
That makes me smile. Still stubborn too. Then, a thought hits me.
“You didn’t even have social media in college?”
“I didn’t go to college,” Lainey mutters. She starts fiddling with a loose strand on the sleeve of her shirt before she finally jerks it free.
“You didn’t?” I ask. “But Eastern Carolina was your dream.”
Lainey scoffs. “Yeah, well, things change. Other people have dreams, then someone else needs help, and eventually dreams just kind of…disappear altogether.”
Is she talking about waiting tables at Shuckin’ Hucks? Did she give up all her dreams to help her family? Before I can ask, she walks to the back of the boat and starts pulling up the anchor. “The hardware store is definitely open by now. Are you okay if we head that way?”
“I’m kind of at your mercy,” I say. She rolls her eyes then walks back to the wheel. I take my place at the back of the boat and enjoy the rest of the sunrise…and the view of my friend from years ago.
We’re headed back with a date scheduled for a contractor to come out, some paint and rollers, cleaning supplies, and a few other odds and ends. It took all of two minutes before Lainey bumped into someone she knew who knew someone who had an uncle whose brother (or something like that) was a contractor, and within ten minutes, an appointment was scheduled to fix the hole in the ceiling Tuesday morning. That leaves only the smaller things to me like painting, changing out the hardware, and ripping up the nasty carpet so I can decide what to do with what’s underneath.
The sun is high in the sky now, and my stomach starts to rumble. Lainey has shed her waders and I’ve done the same, enjoying the breeze on my skin. I hear muffled laughter and turn around. Lainey is standing behind me, biting her lip to keep from doubling over in laughter.
“What?” I ask, paranoid. Did my trunks fall down without me noticing? Did I step in toilet paper back at the hardware store?
“Enjoying the breeze?” Lainey asks, pointing to my shorts.
“Why?” I glance down at my shorts. Sure, they’re cinched as tight as possible. The previous owner was a few sizes bigger than me, and they’re faded from red to orange but isn’t vintage all the rage right now?
“I think a moth found its way into your dresser and had a little feast.” Lainey covers her eyes with her hand but peeks through the slit of two fingers.
I reach my hand around to feel for what she’s talking about and find…nothing. Instead of the textured fabric I was expecting, my hand is touching the soft cotton of my boxer shorts. My face immediately heats as I try to recall which ones I’m wearing—praying they’re not my favorite Baby Yoda ones, but my more simplistic black ones instead—when suddenly, a whirring noise fills the air, disrupting my train of panicked thoughts.
Lainey hops up and runs to a bent pole and I follow, one hand thrown around my backside. She heaves and reels and heaves some more until finally, she nods over her shoulder and says, “Get that net, will you?”
Finally feeling useful and ready to show her I’m not some uncultured city boy, I do as she says as she guides me on where to place the net. I manage to scoop up the fish and…is that an octopus?
Together we heave it over the side of the boat, and within seconds the octopus Houdinis itself out of the net and slithers straight toward me. I scream so loud I startle a seagull perched on the edge of the boat. All my thoughts of the hole in my shorts are gone, because I don’t have time to be embarrassed. This slimy, disgusting creature is climbing my leg faster than Usain Bolt in the 2008 Olympics. The last thing I see before my worldstarts to go white around the edges is Lainey doubled over in laughter.
“Help me!” I screech, my voice foreign even to my own ears. “I’m going to pass out, Lainey. I can’t see. Everything is dark. Please help me,” I beg. Who knew my voice could become so high pitched so quickly. I sound like the middle school version of my sister. “It’s on my arm! Oh my gosh, it’s suctioned to my arm!” Lainey’s cackles are poorly muffled by her fist and I’m afraid if she doesn’t get this thing off me soon, I’m going to hurl or seriously pass out.
