Jess shrugged. “It’s different with older people. They know what they want and when they find it, they hold onto it.”
“Are you calling me old?” I teased.
Jess looked at me over the brim of her s
unglasses. “Not at all.”
I had moved quickly with Jess. Only two weeks after our break up all those months ago I moved to her hometown and invited her to live with Gina and me. But from that point, our relationship stayed at a plateau. It was the happiest plateau, but I wasn’t ready to shake that up with the next step. And I knew Jess wasn’t either. Sure, we got the “when are you getting married?” question all the time. And sometimes from Gina. But we were happy. Neither of us needed to show anyone that as long as we knew it deep down.
“Are you hungry?” Jess asked some time later.
“I could eat,” I said.
Jess stood up from the chair and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll bring down the sandwiches.”
With our house within twenty feet off the beach, it was nice that we didn’t have to worry about food to pack for any beach trip.
When Jess was inside, I went over to Gina. “How’s the castle coming?”
“Good, Daddy,” she said. “Help me dig the moat.”
I was halfway around the castle, digging a trench with a tiny plastic shovel, by the time Jess came back outside.
“Yum!” Gina said, bouncing up to her.
“I made turkey and cheese for everyone.” Jess gave me a paper plate with the sandwich on top. “And I cut yours into triangles with no crust,” she said to Gina.
Gina hugged Jess’s leg, and they sat together on Jess’s lounge chair, Gina on Jess’s lap.
Gina looked up at Jess. “Can we play Frisbee?”
“Sure,” Jess said. “After we finish eating, I’m all yours.”
Gina leaned back against Jess, the both of them comfortable together. Gina’s hair had grown so much in the last few months, every day she started to look more like Wendy. But to those who had no idea about Gina’s mom, they thought Jess and Gina were mother and daughter. Something I never corrected. Jess was the closest person to a mother that Gina would ever have. There was no reason for anyone to think otherwise.
While the girls played Frisbee, I sat back in my chair and lifted my chin to the sky, soaking in as much sun as I could before the weather was too cold to do this.
My phone rang, and I jumped up, startled by the sound.
I searched around for it and realized it was in the pocket of my pants.
I rarely brought my cell to the beach, but today I happened to have it when we came out to the sand. I lifted the phone and checked the Caller ID.
Jess looked over at me, and I mouthed the name, “Brandon”. She nodded and continued playing Frisbee with Gina.
“Hey, man,” I said into the phone.
“Where’s the g’day?” Brandon asked.
I rolled my eyes. “You know I’m still from the States, right?”
“Not anymore!” Jess called.
I smiled and waved her away. “Did you hear that?”
“I did,” Brandon said, laughing.
“How have you been?” I asked him.