“Kelly.”
“It’s not what you think. The thought of going, just doesn’t appeal to me because it’s a reunion. I don’t want to stand around and head bop to techno/emo/rock rap from the two-thousands. Literally, the worse genre of music ever. I’d rather eat a pint of ice cream and binge watch Friends.”
“You’ve seen every episode.”
“What’s your point?” she looked over at Melody. “They get me through the tough times.”
Mel shook her head. Kelly figured the fight wasn’t over and it was likely she’d end up going, hating it and coming home to Netflix. She didn’t want to believe she’d have a good time especially since she had a feeling Danny would be there.
When the bottle of wine was empty, Melody called Chad and asked him to come pick her up. He did, and stood below the terrace, calling up to his wife. Kelly wanted that kind of love. Not the kind she had with Alan, where she was second or third best to whatever he was doing. She wanted to be worshipped and thought of as an equal, not something her husband took out of the closet when he needed a date.
In the early hours of the morning, Kelly woke. She was hot, sweaty and disorientated. She had fallen asleep on the couch, watching Friends, her usual go to when she was feeling melancholy. Her screen was stagnant, the season she had turned on had finished. The worst part, she couldn’t remember what episode she last watched before falling asleep.
She’d brought Kori a bowl of soup, watched a few cartoons with her in her room and came to the living room to watch a little TV of her own. She apparently had just slept the night away.
She looked at the clock and noticed that her alarm was about to go off. She had set it for five so she could start baking. She chided herself for not doing it all the night before, but mentally, she was exhausted, and the lack of sleep didn’t help matters.
The door to her terrace was still open so she rose and went out. The peaceful calm of the night gave her the ability to hear the ocean clearly. The ebb and flow of the waves pushing against the sandy shore was calming to her. She stepped back inside and locked the doors, checked on Kori, and made sure she had her phone. She touched the app that brought Kori’s video monitor to life. Even though she just looked in on her, she found herself smiling at her sleeping beauty. Her shoes sat by the door, slipping them on easily knowing she would only be gone for a few minutes, no more than ten. She wanted to feel the saltwater against her toes before she had to go back to being an adult.
As soon as she hit the sand, she was running. Sand flipped up behind her, pelting her in the back of her legs. When she reached the water, she bent over, gasping for air. She hadn’t realized she was crying, but the tears were coming down faster than she could wipe them away.
She screamed. The sound seemed foreign to her. It started deep in her belly, coming out more like a growl. “I HATE YOU!” Her words didn’t echo, but she imagined they traveled to where ever Alan was right now. She wanted to believe he was standing outside or in an open window and could hear her yelling at him. It gave her some weird satisfaction, even if deep down she knew none of it was true. Oh, she hated him alright, that was fact.
She turned and looked at her pink shop and apartment. The quaint space already felt like home and it had only been a few days. She smiled and trudged up the sandy beach until she felt the sun pushing against her back. She turned and faced the water and closed her eyes. The early morning rays dried her tears. She sank down into the sand, pulling her knees to her chest. Checking her app once again seeing Kori sleeping peacefully Kelly decided on just a few more minutes, and then she’d start her day.
A new day.
One with promise and hope.
10
Danny
Rambo hopped over Danny the second he had the van door open. He watched as his dog took off toward the surf, thankful for the deserted beach. Another hour or so and more people would be out, getting in their daily run or riding the waves like him. He couldn’t sleep, which is how he found himself here at the crack of dawn. It wasn’t the safest time to surf, however he wanted to be out in the ocean when the sun peaked over the horizon.
With his wetsuit on and his board tucked under his arm, he walked down the wooden planks, stepping right into the cool sand. Later, once the sun had baked the tiny shards of glass, it’d be too unbearable to wander in barefoot.
He was about to yell for Rambo, when he happened to notice his dog, resting comfortably in the embrace of a woman. A therapy dog, he wasn’t, but he seemed to have a keen sense of when people needed him. Danny didn’t need to get a good look at the woman who was hugging his friend, he just knew.
Slamming the end of his board down into the sand, he took the free spot to her right and sat there, staring out into the wide-open abyss. As much as he longed to be out there, he was content right where he was. Sitting there was a risk. However, he was ready to take it.
Kelly hadn’t exactly been excited to see him yesterday. He figured he could chalk that up to his gorgeous looks or the fact that the last time they saw each other, she was crying, and he laughed it off. He wished he could take it all back, take her pain away and make it his, theirs, something they could’ve handled together.
“He cheated.” Kelly stated. “Once, that I know of, but I suspected he did it a lot more. He chose her over his family, which is why I’m here. I don’t know what the rumors are, not that I care, but this is the truth.”
“I’m sorry, Kelly.” Danny had a choice to make. Sit by her side and listen or offer her a shoulder to cry. The latter meant he could touch her, feel her breathing against him, and that’s what he wanted. He moved closer, their hips touching and without hesitation put his arm around her. For a brief second, he thought he heard Rambo growl, but his dog simply laid down and rested his head on Kelly’s knee. Even Rambo knew that Kelly was someone important. The first sob almost broke him. He had no idea who this asshole was, but he wanted to beat him to a pulp all while asking how he could give up someone so amazing as Kelly.
“I got married within a month of graduating college,” she started. “I didn’t even plan my own wedding, his mother did. My mom had very little input. I hated everything about the day. It was hot, my dress wasn’t what I ordered, and the flowers were hideous. There were people there that I didn’t know, didn’t care to know, and I felt like I didn’t have a voice. Every thought I had about what I wanted my wedding to be like went in one ear and out the other. I walked down the aisle, holding my dad’s arm, and married Alan. I thought I was in love. That he loved me.” The douche’s name was Alan Franklin. Easy enough to remember, Danny thought. “According to Mel, I was living the life. High rise apartment, galas all the time, expensive vacations. Everything girls dream of when they’re planning their lives, except my husband was never home and when he was, it was to sleep. I wanted another baby, and he didn’t. When he started wearing condoms, I should’ve known something was up.”
“I’m sorry, Taffy.” Danny couldn’t resist using his nickname for her. She in t
urn, snuggled into him more.
“She’s a supermodel. Right now, they’re in Greece or Milan, I don’t know. But she’s nineteen, thin and well—”
“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”
She shook her head but smiled. “I think there’s some law that says you have to say that right now.”