Down the Shore (2 page)

"I understand, but I just want you to be careful and be very vigilant about where you are, and who you are with, okay?” Her voice took on a pleading tone.

I didn't know really what to say, but I knew she made me feel uncomfortable. I just looked down and fumbled with the iPod laying on my bed. I could tell she wanted to keep talking, but I desperately wanted it to stop. After a minute or two of her refolding my clothes in my suitcase, I realized she'd let me off the hook.

"You will call me in case you need anything...right?” A tear fell from her eye onto her cheek.

"Mom, it's just for the summer. I'll be back for a week before school. Stop freaking out."

I started to get up from the corner of my bed, where she had me knee-deep in unwanted conversation, when she pulled me back down.

"One more thing, Abby. Be careful and please whatever you do, do not, I repeat
do not
go to the beach alone at night,” she insisted. “Always bring a friend with you and please, for the love of God, do not go night swimming. I know you and your father always go, but please wait for us to come down.” Her unsteady voice pleaded at this point. She looked so frustrated—I was afraid she might get physically sick and vomit. I couldn't understand why this was all happening; I never gave them any trouble, unlike Mike, whose activities were enough to give any parent ulcers.

"I promise.” I hoped it would be enough to ease her mind. At this point, I felt like I was being honest. I had no idea what would go on during the summer, but my intentions were good.

I looked at my watch, then back at my alarm clock, checking the time as I waited for my ride. I heard the Honda (her graduation present) screeching down the street. I could depend on Makenna to be right on time and I knew once I walked out that door, my life would be different. I was officially on my own. I looked forward to an exciting summer, but my nerves screamed at me—I'd never been on a vacation without my parents.

"Makenna's here, I gotta go.” My tone sounded a little more demanding than I intended.

"All right then, Daddy put some extra money in your bag, and please don't forget the muffins I made for you girls.” She broke down and began to cry. I reached over, hugged her and said goodbye. We lingered there for several minutes, and I wondered what could possibly take Makenna so damn long to get to my door. I tried to console Mom, when I finally heard the doorbell ring. What a beautiful sound. I wanted to run. I was afraid if I hesitated a minute longer, Mom would change her mind and make me stay.

"Okay.” She pulled back and looked up at me. “You'd better be going. I know your father is eager to say goodbye to you.” She hugged me one last time and sat back down. She didn't follow. She blew a kiss from the edge of my bed, and tucked her head into her hands. I breathed in and smelled her perfume that lingered on my clothes.

I turned around once briefly, and yelled out to her as I went bouncing down the stairs, “I'll see you when you come to visit in a few weeks. Love you."

I ran down to the door to let Makenna in, and asked her to give me a few minutes to say goodbye to Mike and my dad. I looked out the back patio door, and there they were—kicking the soccer ball around like they did every weekend. I realized I felt a little jealous that I couldn't join in this perfect moment. He was the greatest dad, and both Mike and I knew how much we meant to him. He showed it in everything he did.

"Hey, guys. I gotta get going, so come say your goodbyes.” I waved my hands to say ‘bring it on.'

"Pleaseeeee, we'll see you in a few weeks when we come down, remember?” Mike kicked the ball up in the air, then let it rest on his ankle and kicked it back up into the air. What a showoff.

"I know, I'm gonna miss you too, little brother,” I teased.

I reached over, stole the ball away, then gave him a quick hug. I could tell he was going to miss me, too. I looked over his shoulder. My father stood there, fumbling with the change in his pocket, looking for something to say.

"Dad..."

"I love you, kiddo. Take care of yourself and make sure you call every night before you turn in, so your mother doesn't worry, okay?"

I knew in my heart it wasn't just for my mother's benefit, but for his, too.

"Are you serious? How about twice a week? I'll be really busy down there."

He gave me a quick kiss on my forehead. “Four times at least.” He gave me one last quick hug and walked me back inside the house.

"See you in a few weeks, Dad,” I murmured, turning to leave.

He winked. “See you in a few weeks, kiddo."

Makenna and I jumped into her car and drove down the street. I didn't look back. She cranked up the radio, rolled down the windows, and both of us sang for what seemed to be the whole ride to the shore.

Excitement surged all through me about the possibilities of the summer, the house, the job, the boys, all of it. I stared out the car window, peering at the different license plates as they passed by. A new chapter in my life had started, and I was ready; ready for whatever this summer had to offer.

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I loved the Jersey shore. Every summer, my family packed up the car and headed down to the beach for two weeks of paradise. We always rented a different house on a different beach block, sometimes even different beaches. We liked to experience all that the towns had to offer: the boardwalk, the shops, the restaurants, everything.

I had gotten my first summer job at the beach, waitressing on the boardwalk. Makenna and I would both be working at a restaurant called Clancy's in Ocean City.

We had found the perfect summer house, just two blocks off the beach and close to work. We rented the downstairs. It looked like your typical seashore house, a two-level split with large decks on the front of the house, yellow weathered siding and outside showers. It had two small bedrooms and one bath—just a quaint beach home, our perfect little summer escape.

At the beginning of summer, I had finally turned eighteen. I had just graduated from high school and was officially enrolled in college. I had been accepted at several schools, but I decided to go to Rutgers University where my father had worked for years. My friends had been accepted all over the country. Makenna would be attending Ithaca College in New York state. Always a little more adventurous than I, she was excited to move away. My nerves tingled when I considered the next few months. I'd never given much thought to how one summer might change my life forever.

I considered Makenna a natural beauty with her long blonde hair and big brown eyes. She always tanned easily, the boys adored her and she adored them. I, on the other hand, thought myself the complete opposite. I had very little experience with boys, even though they started showing an interest in me. I just never felt as comfortable with them as Makenna and my other friends did. This summer, I planned to change that. I vowed to get a tan like never before, leave my long brown hair down so it flowed over my shoulders and discover love for the first time. I'd never had a serious boyfriend and never really did anything too exciting. Not that I had zero experience; I just wasn't quite ready for anything too crazy before.

I had one boy I hung out with. Jason turned out to be sort of my best friend/boyfriend my junior year. We had fun together. We went to the movies, he taught me how to drive a stick shift, we went to prom together—but he grew frustrated with me. Guys get to the place where they are looking for more than I was ready to give, and he didn't feel like waiting. Jason was my only experience. I had several boys interested in me senior year, but I never could get past their immaturity. I knew eventually I would be ready to give up the big V, but not to Jason or any other boy from my school. I had known so many girls who had given in to the pressure of fitting in and pleasing their boyfriends and regretted it later when they were dumped. I didn't want to be one of those girls. Those relationships hadn't even last that long, under a year.

We drove along the Garden State Parkway heading south and my entire body felt euphoric with the sense that something was laying in wait for me. I had traveled this road every summer since childhood. Every time we started to cross over the bridge to enter the shore, I closed my eyes, and let the smell of the bay consume me.

There truly is no smell like the seashore. I can't explain it, but it always made me feel serene, like I was home. Of course my father always joked that it was the smell of the sewer, not the bay that we loved so much, but we never paid him any attention. As I reopened my eyes, I saw the ocean ahead and knew we would arrive at our little piece of paradise in a matter of minutes.

As we pulled onto Asbury Avenue, I counted the blocks until our summer rental came into full view. Yep, just as I remembered. It was our perfect little yellow split level house. We had rented the entire downstairs, not knowing if the upstairs was rented, but we assumed it would be. We just prayed it wouldn't be a family with loud kids, banging around all day and night.

We made plans with the owner to meet him there to pick up the keys since we weren't going through one of the local realty companies. We saw him already there waiting for us. He was tall and hefty with a bald head and his clothes shouted ‘money.'

"Mr. Barton, it's good to see you again. I'm Abby and this is Makenna. We met over the spring with our folks.” I wondered if he remembered what we looked like.

"Sure, girls, c'mon in, I want to show you around.” He nodded, pointing into the house.

As we walked through, he showed us the bedrooms, the bathroom, how to use the appliances and wrote out the trash removal schedule. There were so many rules, parking spaces, facing your car the right way on the street so we didn't get ticketed, and on and on. He walked us back outside to show us the outdoor shower. There were two. One belonged to us and the other to the renters above. He turned to walk away and threw the keys in the air for us to catch. As they fell into my hand, Makenna and I both looked at each other and smiled.

"All right then, any questions, give me a call. My number's posted on the fridge,” he assured us.

"Great, Mr. Barton, thanks so much,” Makenna responded quickly.

He jumped into his car, but before he drove away he yelled out the window, “Oh, yeah, you'll be having people upstairs in a few days, three boys. I told them all about you girls. I asked them to look after you in case you needed anything,” he smiled and drove off.

We looked at each other, thinking the same exact thing, leaving us laughing in the driveway. We sprinted inside, running around like two little girls in a toy store.

Makenna stopped me, grabbing my arm, “Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That depends, are you thinking how amazing this summer is going to be?” I asked back.

"No, well yeah, but I was thinking about the guys upstairs. God, I hope they're hot,” she smiled.

"I'm sure you'll have no problem in the boyfriend department,” I assured her.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Well, aren't you excited about three guys living right above us?"

"Let's see what they're like first,” I said.

"Fine, this is going to be so freaking awesome."

Just like that she turned and ran to her bedroom. As I peeked in her room, I couldn't help but laugh as I saw her jumping up and down on her bed.

I walked farther down the hall to my room and started to unpack. Boys upstairs for the summer—I wasn't exactly expecting that. It made me a little nervous. I just hoped they weren't total jerks like every other boy in school. I wanted to be able to count on them if Makenna and I ever needed any help. “I hope they're nice,” I uttered under my breath.

I finished unpacking as quickly as I could. Makenna and I hoped to get to the beach before two o'clock. I walked into the kitchen to put away a few of the things my mother had given me, and looked around in amazement. Someone had decorated the house with the typical beach antiquities: seashells, anchors and fish hanging on the walls. It was perfect! My first summer alone, no parents, no brother and no rules. I just had myself to worry about, and for a brief moment I relaxed, letting images of first love run through my head.

As I walked back to my bright blue room to get ready, I couldn't erase the grin that seemed like it might take up permanent residence on my face. I ransacked my luggage looking for the perfect bathing suit to wear and discovered a letter my mom must have slipped in when I wasn't looking. How typical.

My Dearest Abby,

How do I start? I guess by telling you that your father and I will miss you so much this summer. We have faith in you and that you'll make the right choices while you're away. Please be careful and take care with whom you hang out. You've grown up so beautifully, almost unaware of yourself. You have such a naive way about you that draws people in and they don't want to say goodbye. It's always been a great trait that you have; embrace it. Take pride in yourself and make good decisions. We want you to have a great time and enjoy yourself for you have your whole life in front of you.

We Love You,

Mom and Dad

PS. We'll see you in a few weeks, and don't forget to call.

It was so like her. I shouldn't have been surprised to find the letter hidden in my bag. I placed it back in its envelope and started to put it away when I noticed Makenna standing in the doorway.

"Ready?” she asked, impatience written all over her face.

"Yeah, almost,” I said as I tripped over the cord to the tiny seashell lamp on my dresser. “Be right out, I need to throw my suit on.” I sent her an apologetic look.

I remembered the two block walk to the beach exactly. We walked past house after house, decks overflowing with patio furniture, kids’ wagons and bikes nestled up against the side of houses, and the sound of seagulls flying overhead. I loved the smell and sound of the ocean wafting and whistling through the air. It all brought me a feeling of overwhelming peace.

It had been a year since I had last been here, and every year nothing changed. There was one change, though. I had no parents watching over me. I had made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let that bother me, or take advantage of the situation.