“And a small white ball with dimples is going to be enough for you get your sexual aggravation out?”
“I’m not sexually aggravated.”
“According to Taya, you are. She saw you this morning.”
“I surf every morning. I’m not sure how that equates to anything sexual.”
“Oh, Doc. You’re so fun to tease. I’m free right now.”
Danny looked at his schedule and saw he still had a few hours before anyone was due to come in. “I’ll meet you there,” he said, hanging up. “I’m going out for a bit. You can reach me on my cell if it’s an emergency,” he yelled to Martha with Rambo hot on his heels. As soon as he stepped outside, he remembered he left his van at the beach. He looked down at Rambo and shook his head. Even the dog knew he was out of sorts.
Gray doesn’t have Uber or taxi cabs, but what it does have are nice people. As soon as Danny started walking toward downtown, Mr. Lange pulled over, offering him and Rambo a ride. “Thank you,” he said. “Left my van at the beach this morning.”
“I heard.” Mr. Lange was the husband of Ida Lange, everyone’s favorite schoolteacher. To this day, Danny still brought her a present on the first day of school.
Of course, he did. “How’s retirement treating ya?”
“Good, good. Waiting for Ida to finally call it quits so I can pester her during the day. Although with Kelly back and running Java Hut, I might start drinking coffee. She’s definitely a looker.” Mr. Lange pulled into the spot next to his van. He didn’t want to comment on Kelly, coffee or anything related to either matter.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“You’re welcome. Best make amends before someone swoops in on your girl.” He chuckled and didn’t wait for Danny to reply before pulling away.
He sighed. She wasn’t his girl any longer and if he had been half as smart back then as he is now, he would’ve never let her go. He eyed the café and slowly made his way across the street.
Inside, music played softly. Kelly had her back to the door, giving Danny a chance to fully stare at her. This was the girl he was in love with, the one he thought he’d marry and start a family with. They had plans. Each one seemed attainable with minimal effort. When they were together, they fit perfectly. Why it took them so long to get together, he’ll never understand. For years, he crushed on her and in a matter of months, embarrassed her to the point where their friends turned on her. He considered himself lucky to even stand in her presence.
He cleared his throat, startling her. She placed her hand over her heart and gasped for air. “You scared me.”
“I’m sorry,” he said while shaking his head and stepping closer. “I think I left my wallet here earlier.”
She reached under the counter and pulled it out. Their fingers touched when he went to grab it, neither of them letting go when the familiar jolt of excitement surged through him, and he was confident it went through her as well. Their eyes met and he knew in that moment, he was done for. Kelly Taft was back home, and single.
Mr. Lange’s voice rang out, reminding him to make amends, and so he started. “Taffy, I will never forgive myself for what I did, the shame I caused you and for not kicking everyone’s ass afterward. I’m sorry.” He took his wallet and walked out, not giving her a chance to say anything, mostly because he didn’t want to hear her tell him to go to hell.
7
Kelly
The first thought that popped into her mind as she watched Danny walk out of her store was that she wanted to move. It was an irrational thought, but the same one she had years ago when her teenage life tumbled into shambles. She had to be an adult and not run from the boy who once had her heart. That was until she met Alan Franklin and he swept her off her feet.
Changing colleges and heading north was a rash decision. One she made heatedly, even as her parents begged her to change her mind. She never understood why though because her first choice was three thousand miles away from them. Now, she’d be closer. A day’s drive if they pushed it or a two-hour flight from boarding to disembarking. She thought her parents would be ecstatic, but they weren’t. She never asked them why, probably because she was caught up in her own head. She wanted out and she wanted away from Danny.
Both wishes came true when she found a school that would accept her late application and had found someone needing a roommate. She packed and was gone days after graduation with little fanfare. Her father drove her to the tiny upstate New York College, stopping in Delaware, which was about halfway from home. They spent the night in a roadside hotel, not far from the mall, where they dined on Chinese food from the food court. Her father barely spoke to her and when he did, his sentences were clipped and to the point. The tension between them didn’t subside when they arrived at her new school, and she gave him an awkward hug when he dropped her off, which left her feeling lonely and wondering if she was truly making a mistake.
She wasn’t. There, no one knew her. There wasn’t anyone to remind her of the social mishap that spiraled out of control. She had a roommate, who was shy, didn’t party and liked to study. Her roommate was the complete opposite of Melody, who she missed dearly. However, Mel understood and promised to visit because Kelly vowed to never return.
She kept her vow and was incredibly thankful to Melody for having a destination wedding. The event gave her a chance to show off Alan, who Kelly was madly in love with. They had met at a frat party. It was the end of her sophomore year. She finally decided to live a little and went to a party off campus at one of the frat houses. She walked around, bobbed her head to the music and sipped warm beer from a red cup. She had no idea what she was doing there, other
than trying to come out of her shell.
Kelly wandered around, laughing when she’d hear a joke, saying hi to people she’d met in class, but soon she felt out of place. This wasn’t her scene. These aren’t her people. She belonged in the library, studying or in the lounge of her dorm, watching television with the few people that actually did such a thing. This wasn’t how she imagined college to be.
Her days were supposed to be filled with football games at Stanford, taking the train with Danny to San Francisco for a romantic getaway, basking under the California sun while she waited for her guy to drive across town to pick her up so they could just be together. They planned to live there, maybe south near San Diego where she would work for the Padres in marketing and Danny would teach.
Her life was anything like her initial dream. She was alone. She was boring and spent her days studying business and tourism because she had nothing better to do with her time, except schoolwork. Calls home to her parents only made things worse. She could hear the ocean through the receiver. She longed for the warm spring days over the dark dreary ones in New York. Kelly hated the snow, the wind and the rain.
And she decided she hated school. She turned to leave the party, tripping over someone’s foot. Her tepid beer sloshed from her cup, spilling onto the person next to her. Hands, strong firm hands, gripped her hips in order to keep her upright. They locked eyes, he smiled and for the first time in years, Kelly felt alive. She felt like someone had heard her pleas for mercy.