"Mom, can I take this too?" Chester jumped up and down beside me, holding up a Frisbee.
"Honey, you already have the bucket, the spade, the football and the kite. How many things do you think you'll have time to play with there?" I chuckled as I loaded the food into the cooler bag. Sandwiches, fruit, jello, cookies, chips, soda... It was as if I'd packed for a month in a bunker instead of a few hours at the beach!
"But I need this," he said. He obviously thought that adding stress on the word “need” would get him whatever he wanted. I wasn't convinced that taking a Frisbee with us was a matter of grave urgency.
"You need oxygen to breathe, honey, but you don't need the Frisbee."
"Please. Pretty please."
"Fine! All right, you can bring it. But that's the last thing. We have to get going in a minute."
I was in a giving in mood. It was a pleasant Sunday, and we were about to have a family day on the beach. At least, my idea of a family day.
Dominic pulled into the driveway as Chester and I were leaving. He hadn't come home the night before, and was still wearing yesterday's clothes. You can probably guess how little I cared about that.
"Hey, champ. Where are you off to?" he said, giving Chester a playful punch to the stomach.
"We're going to the beach," Chester said excitedly. "I'm gonna build the biggest sand castle ever, with a moat and everything. And right beside it I'm going to build pyramids, like they have in Egypt."
"Sounds like fun. Why wasn't I invited?" He said it to Chester, but I knew it was directed at me.
"Because I want to enjoy the day," I muttered.
"You can come, Dad. Then you can help me."
"No, he can't," I broke in quickly. "He's busy. Get in the car, Chester."
Dominic looked as though he wanted to argue, wanted to make my life that much harder by tagging along. I prayed he didn't insist on coming, because that would have been dire. The family day I had in mind didn't include him.
"Another time, bud. I've got a lot to do today."
Chester slumped into the passenger seat dejectedly. "You always have a lot to do."
I didn't want to feel bad for depriving them of time together, but nevertheless the guilt hit me as I strapped myself in. Dominic had all the time in the world to spend with his son, but he chose to sleep around instead. I shouldn't have felt bad.
"And there I thought you only ever went out these days with your new bosom buddy," Dominic said, leaning through the driver's seat window as I started the engine.
I pressed the button to close the window, and he quickly jumped away before he got trapped in it.
"Real mature, Danielle," he grumbled as I pulled out of the driveway.
I spotted her immediately when the car pulled to a stop in the parking lot. She was standing by her car, big shades on, sarong wrapped around her torso. Her hair was tied up. I grinned to myself when I looked at her. Men and women of all ages strolled by on their way to the beach, marveling at her flawless beauty. She paid no attention, just kept her head buried in her magazine. Without seeing I knew it was a manga comic. She had piles of them at her house. Hoarded them, by her own admission.
She looked like an incongruous joke someone was playing on the whole beach: this beautiful woman, more stunning than a supermodel, reading a comic, and paying no one any attention.
But I knew better. This was the woman I'd been spending my evenings with for the past three months. My lover and best friend.
"There's Miss Petal, Mom," Chester shouted, pointing excitedly. I hadn't informed him that she would be joining us. And I was glad, too. He would have told Dominic, and Dominic, in turn, knowing that he could destroy the day for me, would have insisted on coming.
"Is she waiting for us?"
"She might be," I said coyly.
He unbuckled himself hastily, in a hurry to get to the woman he saw five days a week, several hours a day. He spent more time with her than I did, yet he still wanted more. I certainly knew how that felt.
"Well hello there, you two," she said when she looked up and saw us.
"Hi Miss Petal," Chester said in that singsong voice all kids seem to have when they address their teachers.
"What have you got there? Is someone going to make a sandcastle today?"
He nodded shyly. He got like this around her still. It was hilarious. My son was crushing on my girlfriend!
She bent down to his level. "Can I let you in on a secret? I love building sandcastles. Do you think maybe we can pool our resources and build one together, to make the biggest, baddest sandcastle anyone has ever seen?"
He nodded emphatically, grinning. He didn't know what pooling one's resources entailed, but I guessed he would have gone along with anything she said. She spoke like that to her pupils often, using big words and foreign words to enrich minds.
"I thought I would surprise him, so I didn't tell him that you were coming," I said as we made our way down to the beach to find a good spot. Surprisingly it wasn't nearly as full as I'd expected. Likely because the sun wasn't out, though there was a sweltering heat.
Chester chased his ball, playing a one-man game of soccer. As Ava and I walked, our arms rubbed. I needed that contact, however fleeting and innocent it was.
"I so want to hold your hand right now," she whispered.
It was always agony to be out with her in public, hence why most of the time we stayed at her place, away from prying eyes.
"And I'm fighting the urge to kiss you," I whispered back. No one would have batted an eyelid if she had been Dominic, a man I despised but still a man all the same. It wasn't fair that I couldn't show my affection for her in public.
We found a spot not too far from the sea, and set down our blanket and baskets. Ava and I didn't get a chance to speak much, because Chester pulled her back up and demanded that she make good on her promise to build a super sandcastle with him.
"Chester, let Miss Petal have a rest before you put her to work," I pleaded.
"It's fine," she laughed. And they were off.
I could have gone home and left the two of them there. That was how much I was ignored while they amused themselves. When they realized that their super sandcastle wasn't working out, they abandoned it and set off for the sea instead.
"Is this really happening to me? I'm actually in competition with my son for your attention?" I joked, as Ava stripped off her sarong and prepared to catch up with Chester. Although she'd dressed appropriately – a top and shorts swimsuit combo – and I'd seen her far more naked than this, her body always stunned me.
"'Fraid so, sweetie. Sorry."
"You're going to have some serious making up to do later."
She laughed. "I can't wait." It would have been the optimum time to lock lips, but as it were, no kiss came.
I rested back on my elbow and watched them frolic in the sea. I'd never been so happy. And I'd never felt like a family unit more than I did then. The perfect image: two parents who didn't hate each other, a son they both adored, and who loved them back.
I laughed as they splashed each other. She was such a big kid when it came to Chester, but more mature than I'd been at her age when we were alone. I still couldn't believe how seamlessly we all fit together.
"Dani, is that you?"
I spun around, startled, and saw Miranda, her husband and daughter approaching.
"Great," I muttered under my breath. What perfect timing. Not! Of all the days to come to the beach, they had to pick today.
"Hi guys." I forced a smile. "I guess you had the same idea."
She set up her blanket right beside mine.
"Look, Mama, Miss Petal is playing with Chester in the sea," Emma pointed out, and I cringed a little.
Miranda squinted in the distance. "You're right, Em', it is Miss Petal. You came here together?" She turned to me with a curious expression.
I shrugged. "She was going and I thought it might be good if we tagged along, that's all."
"Hmm." She grinned mischievously. "You sure ditched us, didn't you? For a younger model. We're not good enough for you now that sexy Miss Mississippi is on the scene?"
I didn't bother telling her that Ava was from Savannah, Georgia, and not from Mississippi. To her, the Deep South only consisted of that one place.
"It's not like that at all," I said miserably.
"For God's sake, Fred, pull your tongue in! Have you never seen a woman in a swimsuit before?" Miranda snapped at her husband, who hadn't taken his eyes off Ava since discovering she was here.
"Don't be so crude, Miranda," he grumbled, embarrassed, his cheeks turning red.
They settled down, and their daughter eventually joined Chester and Ava in the sea.
"It's actually really good having our children's teacher as a friend. It's like having a babysitter on tap," Miranda commented, lounging back and watching the three of them splashing around. "And Emma loves Miss Petal. Maybe I should go everywhere with her too. Could be an investment in my daughter's future."
This bothered me more than it should have, her intimating that my friendship with Ava was tactical. Beth had said something similar.
"I'm not friends with her for any reason other than that she's a really nice person, and we have a lot in common." I hated having to defend myself. Her ogling husband would have annoyed me more if I hadn't been used to most men gawking at Ava like that. It went with the territory of dating a beautiful woman. And even before Ava, it had happened with Dominic. Would I ever learn my lesson about dating great-looking people?
"Hi Miss Petal," Miranda said when Ava joined us, soaking wet all over. "Good to see you."
"You too, Mrs. Hawthorne." She reached for her towel and dried herself off, unaware that she had an admirer, and it wasn't me. Miranda's husband was having a hard time keeping his eyes off her. I didn't blame him.
Unfortunately Miranda did, and noticed immediately. "Go play the kids," she ordered.
Knowing that he'd screwed up, he didn't dare disobey.
"Men are disgusting sometimes!" she said, making a face. "Sorry for that, Miss Petal."
"For what?" Ava asked, completely oblivious. She settled down beside me, but made sure to keep some distance between us.
"Just my husband being a pervert."
"Oh." Ava shot me a cringing look, which I responded to with a clueless shrug.
"I keep telling him, whenever he brings you up, that you'll never be interested in him. That chances are you like your men with more hair on their heads, and less stomach." She cackled to herself and didn't see me and Ava exchange another look.
She doesn't like men, period, I fought back the urge to say.
"I think he's just being polite," Ava said.
"Unlikely. He's into you. They all are. Sorry if it makes you uncomfortable me saying that, but it's true. Isn't that right, Dani?"
I cleared my throat. "I'm not sure it's really an appropriate topic of conversation–"
"Oh relax, would you. Miss Petal's one of us now. We can tell her these things. I bet you girls talk about this stuff all the time when you meet up on your special little dates."
I knew Miranda, and I knew that she wasn't implying anything close to what was actually happening, but it still made me uneasy. I also wanted to save Ava from this. I loved Miranda and all, but she was as coarse as they came, unapologetic with it, and had no filter. I had a feeling that the day was on its way to becoming even more awkward for both me and Ava.
"The water's really nice, Dani. You should go for a quick swim," Ava said. I heard the desperation in her voice for a change of subject.
"Are you seeing anyone right now? Everyone's just eager to know. It would also stop a lot of the hounding at school if they knew that you were taken," Miranda continued. She'd never been able to take a hint.
Through the corner of my eye I saw Ava smirking. "My love life isn't nearly as interesting as people think it is."
Miranda sat up, intrigued. "Oh? What does that mean?"
"Well, it's all very simple. I am seeing someone, and I'm happy." She looked at me quickly, then added, "Very happy, in fact."
Miranda, thankfully, didn't notice a thing, because the look we exchanged was so telling. Ava might as well have just outright blurted the name of her lover to the whole beach.
But, her confession touched me. We'd said it to each other several times, that we were happy, but hearing her admit it to another person really brought it home.
"Ha! See, I told you, Fred, she's taken and very happy. Tough luck!" Miranda shouted to her husband, who was currently being buried in the sand by his daughter and Chester.
Miranda had made it her goal, it seemed, to embarrass him at every opportunity. I wondered how they'd stayed together so long. I certainly couldn't have been married to her for a day, let alone fifteen years.
He ignored her, looked away grumpily. I wasn't sure whether that was because of the news about Ava's relationship status, or because his wife was demeaning him in public.
"Dominic didn't want to come?" she went on, looking at me.
"Uh, no, he was busy." And wasn't invited.
How many awkward questions would she squeeze in today before I or Ava decided enough was enough and split? I prayed Ava wouldn't get too uncomfortable and leave. The beach had been my idea, and I didn't want it ruined for her. It had started off so well.
Miranda searched in her bag for something, chattering away about something she saw on television, and Ava leaned in and whispered to me, "I'm going to find a restroom. I think you should come too."
Beach restrooms were the filthiest, most insalubrious places on the planet, but anything beat sitting here with Miranda.
"Uh, Danielle, do you know where the restrooms are?" Ava asked.
"Over there. Wait, I'll show you. I need to go myself. Be back soon, Miranda. Are you all right watching Chester?"
She waved us away dismissively, thought nothing about our speedy departure.
We never made it to the restroom. Ava dragged me behind a wall, and we were alone at last. She snaked her tongue into my waiting mouth, and didn't come up for air until she'd stolen my breath from me.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," she said.
I stood in her embrace, a sort of relief washing over me now that we could finally be affectionate. I sniffed her in, kissed and sucked at her neck. I was insatiable when it came to her. Nothing else mattered but holding her in my arms.
"This wasn't how I envisioned the day going," I said.
She let out a laugh. "I know. It's a tad messy, but I'm still having fun." She kissed my face; I closed my eyes and felt each kiss fall. I knew we didn't have much time, and that soon we would have to return to the group. I wanted to savor every kiss.
"Let's just leave. Right now. We can go for pizza or something. I just wanted it to be you, me and Chester."
"Hey, don't worry so much. Miranda's funny. I do feel sorry for her husband, though."
"You just can't help seeing the good in everyone, can you?" I said, sulking a little.
"Isn't that one of the reasons why you like me?"
We stayed there a few minutes more, but then someone walked past and we separated quickly, before returning to the others.
I couldn't kiss her goodbye that day, because Chester was there. But I did risk a brief stroke of her hand. That had become our replacement kiss when we were around others. We'd gotten good at doing it surreptitiously.
"Did you have fun today, honey?" I asked Chester when we were in the car and heading back home. I looked at him through the rear-view. Worn out and covered in sand.
He nodded tiredly.
"Were you happy that Emma came?"
"Yeah." He peered out the window, then turned back and looked at me. "I was happy that Miss Petal came too."
"So was I. You like her, don't you?"
He nodded. "Can she come with us the next time we go to the beach?"
"We'll see." If it were up to me she would accompany us everywhere. It embarrassed me slightly to admit to myself that I'd fallen so hard and so fast that I couldn't bear the thought of spending a moment away from her.
Dominic was waiting in the living room, finishing up a conversation (that didn't sound very child-friendly) when we got home.
"Hey, champ. How was the beach?" he asked when he'd hung up.
I dreaded what was coming next, knowing my son would never be able to keep his mouth shut about our day, and particularly who had been there with us.
As soon as Chester mentioned Miss Petal, Dominic shot me a look.
"Miss Petal was there, was she?"
"Yeah. And we played in the sea, and she taught me how to do a breaststroke."
"Did she also teach you how to do a breaststroke, Danielle?" he said.
He knew! There was no way he couldn't, not after that question.
I swallowed, tried not to panic. He couldn't prove anything. As far as anyone knew, Ava and I were just good friends. Nothing more. And jumping to the conclusion that we were lovers would have made anyone look delusional.
I glared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You didn't tell me she would be there."
"There was nothing to tell. I didn't know she would be there either."
"I find that hard to believe."
"Believe what you want, Dominic."
He followed me into the kitchen. "Why is it that she seems to go everywhere you go? Do you ever do anything alone any more?"
"She's a good friend, someone I like spending time with. But of course you would have a problem with that, wouldn't you? You don't like the thought of me having fun."
"Depends what kind of fun we're talking about."
He definitely knew! Oh, God. How long would it take for him to come out and say it?
"Just leave me alone," I said.
"Let me make something clear to you, Danielle." He towered over me, a menacing look in his eye. "If you try to make a fool of me, you'll be sorry." That was his last word before he stormed out of the room, leaving me feeling unsettled, shaken.