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“I know.” And I did. I didn’t want to be that girl who just waits for the guy. “I’ll be good. I won’t wait.”
She raises her eyebrows at me before stifling a big yawn.
“Go back to sleep. I’ll let you know if anything happens.”
“You better. See you soon.”
We hang up, and I wait for a moment, staring at my screen.
No.
The sun streams in through the little window, and I kneel up on the bed to peer out. A gorgeous blue sky awaits.
“Mum?” I call as I walk out of the bedroom.
“Garden!”
“Hi, I’m going to the beach. Get some sun before it gets too crowded.”
“Nice. I’ll join you?” She always phrases it as a question, allowing me space if I want. But this is our time. She didn’t need to ask, and I’ll just mope without her as a distraction.
“Of course. I’ll grab the towels,” I say at the edge of the backdoor. She stands and drains the last of the coffee from her cup.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
We get to the beach before the crowds and pick a perfect spot in the soft, warm sand baked from the sun. We don’t have a windbreak or tent or other ‘camp’ stuff that many people bring. It’s just us, a couple of towels, a large canvas bag to hold a spare towel, our books, and a couple of cans of drink or a bottle of water.
The tide is out, so the beach is much bigger, but we can still enjoy the view of the sun glistening off the water and making the white of the waves look brighter.
And the best thing about the beach? There’s no phone signal. So, I have to leave the thoughts of Jeremy Archer in the back of my mind.
It’s a good goal.
But after reading the same page of my book for the fourth time, I know that I can try, but I’ll fail with that one. I shove the book away and just close my eyes behind my sunglasses.
I’ll let my imagination drift, and if the idea of meeting up with Jeremy plays out behind my eyes, then so be it.
“Come on. Let’s go cool off,” Mum says after a little while. She’s not settled into her book either, and I wonder what’s distracting her.
“Okay.”
“Race ya?”
“Mum!”
“Come on, where’s your fun?” We start walking towards the tide, but she keeps pulling at my hand.
Fine.
I wait until we’re a little closer, then pull my hand out of her grip and push off, my toes digging into the damp sand as I run into the shallow trickles of the water. The smile splits my face as I turn around to watch her racing after me, smiling broadly.
We giggle and laugh as we jump into the waves and feel the chill of the seawater wash over us.
We stay out in the surf until our fingers prune and the cold of the water starts to turn our lips blue. We didn’t want wetsuits, but the sea was certainly chilly, even in summer.
The distraction is exactly what I needed.
Mum hasn’t asked anything about Jeremy this morning, but she must know I’m waiting to hear from him.
