I know a secret, Diary. All those ads of the beautiful people frolicking in the Pacific Ocean like they are in paradise—LIES. All lies.
THAT OCEAN IS BLOODY FREEZING!
That is all for now.
Yours, Mira
My mum and I were exhausted as we stepped off the plane and walked through LAX. She hadn’t slept at all on our flight over and I barely had either, too excited to be flying for the first time. I could hardly believe I would be seeing Jaxson soon…in America. It was the culmination of all of our dreams finally coming to pass. I lugged the stuffed panda Jaxson had given me a few years before, feeling slightly childish but also still not comfortable with the idea of smooshing a panda in a suitcase due to lack of air quality.
We walked toward baggage claim and when we got through customs and security, Anne was standing with a bouquet of flowers. We beamed at each other as she walked toward us, but I quickly looked behind her and all around…even behind myself…but I couldn’t spot Jaxson. Maybe he was in the loo. Anne hugged my mum and me at the same time, the two of them laughing and crying.
“Where’s Jaxson?” I asked when we pulled away.
“He had to stay after school for football practice,” she said.
My shoulders sagged with disappointment, but Anne put her arm around my shoulder. “Don’t worry, he’ll be home by the time we get there.”
We were only going to be there for a week, so I’d hoped between our limited time and the preparations for the wedding, he wouldn’t have to worry about school.
Anne saw my expression. “He’s had to work really hard to get caught up at school…I barely see him between homework, his jobs doing yard work, and sports.” She scrunched up her nose. “They don’t allow them to miss any practices unless there’s an emergency.” She rolled her eyes. “Believe me, it’s killing him to not be here.”
That soothed me a bit.
“And I’m so sorry,” she added. “Charles is mortified that you had to fly in here instead of closer to home. When you leave, you’ll fly out of San Diego, and it will be much closer!”
We didn’t care; we were just happy to be on the ground. When we reached her car and I saw the steering wheel on the wrong side and the beautiful sunshine with the most perfect puffy white clouds, I got excited all over again. America. I was finally there! Where they made movies! It was too much. I wished Jaxson was by my side when we passed the ocean, which was love at first sight. Jaxson and I had talked about learning to surf, thinking it would come in handy when we swam with the dolphins. Maybe we could try it out that week. The traffic made me a nervous wreck, but there was too much to see and the stretches of moving at a snail’s pace gave me time to take it all in.
It took a couple of hours to get to the house. I thought the anticipation would kill me if we didn’t get there soon. By the time we finally pulled into the driveway of a mansion, I figured we were making another stop before home and I couldn’t take anymore. I flounced back against the seat and groaned just as my mum gasped.
“You’re kidding me,” she yelled. “Is this your place?”
I leaned up, sticking my head between the two of them. “What? This is where you live? How is that possible? Jaxson said swanky, but this is beyond! This is outrageous!” I clamped my hand over my mouth because my voice was getting too loud for the car, but I was in shock.
Anne laughed. “I’m still in shock about it myself. Wait until you see the view from the back. It’s a dream. I’m—well, I assure you I had no idea Charles had…anything like this…when I met him. Honestly, I think he was scared to show me at first. And he was right to be. I nearly did a runner.” She laughed again and I took a good long look at her, noticing for the first time how happy she seemed, how peaceful.
“I’m so happy for you, Anne,” Mum said and burst into tears.
Anne looked at her sharply and put her hand on Mum’s arm. Mum shook her head and opened the car door.
“Don’t pay me any mind. I’m tired and overly sentimental. I can’t wait to meet Charles. And if anyone deserves this lavish lifestyle, it’s you,” she said.
Anne didn’t look like she quite believed my mother’s explanation and I didn’t either, even though I knew she meant what she said about Anne. But she’d been crying more than ever lately and had tried to no avail to get my dad to come with us on this trip. I thought maybe she was depressed and as I stepped out of the car, I hoped being here would help her feel better. Anne came around the car and hugged my mum. I leaned over on my mum’s back and hugged both of them. And then we were nearly barreled over by someone huge who joined the hug. His hair was wet and I pulled away to avoid getting wet too.
I looked up and up and there stood Jaxson.
“What happened?” I asked dumbly.
Jaxson just stood there smiling proudly while Anne answered, “I can’t keep this guy in pants and shoes! All of a sudden, he’s outgrowing everything. Six inches taller since we got here and some days I swear he’s growing right before my eyes.”
My mum gave him another hug while I swallowed hard and looked over his face, which had a few zits that weren’t there before either, but other than that, he looked like my Jaxson. Just lots bigger. It was unsettling, but then he put his arm around my shoulder and turned me toward the house. I could see the ocean waves just past the house.
“As soon as we get your things inside, Mum said I could take you down to the beach. You’re gonna love it here,” he said.
Anne started to say something, but Jaxson jumped in. “Yes, I finished my homework,” he said, smirking.
My shoulders loosened when he smiled down at me. I couldn’t believe how different he looked. While I’d stayed the same short, slightly tubby girl, my best friend had grown into a humongous teenager. I always thought he was beautiful, and now he really was, hormonal skin and all. His newly tanned shade helped conceal the imperfections. A pang sharpened in my chest. It felt like he was passing me by, in more ways than one. He even sounded a wee bit different…deeper, and like the California was weaving its way into every part of him.
“Come on, Bells. I’ve been waiting forever to show you everything.” He picked up Mum’s luggage and I took mine, leaving our mothers behind as we hurried into the house.
He didn’t give me time to gawk at the stunning high ceilings and enormous chandelier in front of the winding staircase. He loped up the stairs and I followed, wishing I hadn’t packed so many outfits. When I reached the guest room, he had the suitcase sitting on a luggage rack and took mine and placed it on the one next to it.
“It’s like a grand hotel,” I told him, excitedly. “This place would fit like, twelve of our houses from home.”
He motioned for me to follow him and when he reached the door, he turned and looked at me. My cheeks bloomed with shyness, which was just crazy. It was Jaxson, for crying out loud.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. He reached down and hugged me.
My world suddenly righted—we were together again. When we pulled away from each other, I beamed up at him. “Me too. I can’t believe how tall you are.” He puffed his chest out, looking even taller, and I rolled my eyes at him as he laughed. “Let’s see that beach.”
I loved the feel of the sand on my feet. Jaxson ran straight to the water and motioned for me to follow him. When the water hit my feet, I yelped and backed up.
“It’s bloody freezin’!” I yelled.
That cracked him up. He tried to pull me in and I tried with all my might to stay on dry ground.
“How are all these people in the water?” I looked around in shock.
“You get used to it,” he said. “Come on. You have to try it if you’re ever going to learn to surf.”
He looked behind him and pointed at the surfers coming in. A couple of them rode the waves all the way in. When they got closer, one of them waved at Jaxson. He flushed and waved back. When I got a better look, I realized it was a girl. She picked up her board and walked toward us, sending sprays of water flying when she shook her hair. It was hard to ignore the fact that her curves were perfectly accentuated in a wet suit. She smiled up at Jaxson, and against her tanned skin, her teeth gleamed bright. I waited for him to introduce us, but he stood still, looking transfixed by her beauty.
I wished I could burrow into the sand like a crab, but then Jaxson spoke.
“Heather, this is the friend I was telling you about…Mirabelle Hart. She’s a year younger than us but cool.”
My hackles rose at that, but he smiled so charmingly, I shoved those feelings down and smiled at Heather. “Hi.” I held my hand up into a tiny wave and awkwardly dropped it when she didn’t say anything.
She moved closer and threw me completely off guard when she put her arm around my shoulder. “Aren’t you adorable!” she said, squeezing my shoulder. “Jaxson has told me all about you and how you’re like his sister. He’s missed you so much.” She gazed at me fondly, but I was stuck on the “sister” part and couldn’t quite formulate words.
“You must be thinking of Gemma,” I muttered.
“No, no. You’re Bells, right?”
Glumly, I nodded. I looked at Jaxson then, hoping he’d say something—anything—to set her straight. Like his sister? But he just looked at us with such contentment on his face, I realized I was the one who needed to be set straight.