Sarasota, Florida
Eleanor sniffed deeply of the sea air and smiled while listening to and watching the crash of waves as they swept ashore. She had not been to the beach since she was a teenager and had come with a group of her friends. Doretta had been among them, as well as two other young women. They’d stayed in the village of Pinecraft, at a home owned by Doretta’s paternal grandparents. The elderly couple had bought the place to rent out when they weren’t there on vacation themselves. Staying in Pinecraft, where so many other Amish folks were, had been fine back then. But Eleanor was glad she and Vic had been able to rent a small cottage within walking distance of Lido Beach. They’d tried to get something right on the beach, but those places were either too expensive or had already been rented. Well, it didn’t matter. Eleanor was glad to be here, away from the stresses of home and where the weather was nice and warm. It didn’t even bother her that they would be alone to celebrate Thanksgiving in a few days. In fact, she looked forward to it being just the two of them.
She glanced over at her husband, busy putting up the colorful red-and-blue beach umbrella they’d found at the cottage for guests to use. They’d only been here one day, but already Vic seemed more relaxed.
Last night, after Eleanor had finished writing a postcard to her parents, as well as one to Doretta, she and Vic had eaten a delicious meal at a little café in St. Armands Circle. Following that, they’d taken a walk out to the beach. It had almost seemed magical as they’d sat on a blanket, holding hands, while viewing a most glorious sunset that had turned the sky a vivid gold. Vic had whispered sweet words of love against her ear and made promises she hoped he would be able to keep. Eleanor also hoped that when they returned to Pennsylvania in two weeks the memories they’d make here would go with them, and Vic would feel no need to drink away his pain.
“Okay, we’re all set. The umbrella is up and our beach chairs are in place. We can get some vitamin D from the sunshine now.” Vic’s deep voice drove Eleanor’s thoughts aside.
“Not too much, though.” Eleanor reached into the wicker basket she’d brought along and pulled out a tube of sunscreen. She smiled as he flopped into one of the chairs and gestured for her to take the other one.
“Ah, this is the life.” Vic grinned over at her as he lathered some sunscreen on his arms, face, and lower legs. “I could get used to lounging around like this. Couldn’t you?”
She nodded and seated herself. After pushing up her dress sleeves and pulling her skirt a little above her knees, she put plenty of sunscreen on too. She wiped off her hands on a towel she had in the bag and retied the lightweight scarf that covered her hair. She didn’t want to mess with her stiff prayer kapp while on the beach. It was nice to enjoy the relaxing rays of the sun and have quality time with Vic. Even though a good many people were at Lido Beach today, it was still a nice place to unwind and relax.
As Eleanor lay back in her chair, she could smell food in the air. Since there was a snack bar not far from where they sat, she assumed that the pleasant odors were coming from there. Eleanor wondered if she’d find very many shells on this beach. It would be nice to bring home some pretty ones. She could display them on a shelf and have them to remember this trip to Florida. Once children came, the trips they’d be taking would probably be fewer and closer to home. Eleanor imagined them going camping to some popular places that the Amish often visited. When she was growing up, her family went on camping trips a few times each year. Her parents often chose a beautiful place where the family could soak up the views and enjoy seeing wildlife.
She paused her thinking and swatted at a pesky bug, then let out a long sigh. Those were some good days, but I’m glad Vic and I are here now, creating new memories to share. Eleanor turned her face more toward the sun, eager to get nice, sun-kissed coloring to replace her pale skin tone.
They remained like that for a while, until Vic said they should walk out to the water and get their feet wet.
Eleanor didn’t have to be asked twice. “That’s a great idea.” She got off her chair and grabbed a plastic bag from the picnic basket with a small cooler inside.
“What’s the bag for?” Vic asked.
“Shells. I’m sure we’ll find some on the shoreline, where the water’s coming in, and maybe on the dryer part of the sand as well.”
“Okay.” He glanced around. “You think our stuff will be okay here while we’re gone?”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Eleanor gestured to all the other giant umbrellas, beach chairs, and colorful towels that had been laid out on the sand. “No one else seems to be worried about their belongings when they go running off to get in the water.”
“Guess you’re right, so let’s go see what treasures we can find.” Vic took hold of Eleanor’s hand and gave her fingers a tender squeeze.
Joyful tears sprang to her eyes. It was a delight to see her husband looking so happy and sounding so positive. This was the man she’d fallen in love with and had agreed to marry. Was it possible that Vic would remain this cheerful and calm when they returned to Pennsylvania? Eleanor hoped and prayed for that. Maybe this getaway was all her husband needed to release the tension he’d felt for so many months.
As they walked toward the surf, the soft, white sand sifted between Eleanor’s bare toes. It felt good to be without shoes in such a warm, tropical place. Others on the beach must have thought so too, for many of them were barefoot.
Eleanor shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun when a plane flew overhead with an advertising banner. Her gaze flitted to two young children tossing a striped beach ball to each other in the shallow, frothy water. It looked like fun as the young kids smiled, continuing to play. The shrill sounds of their happy voices couldn’t be missed. A breeze blew in off the gulf, but it wasn’t cold at all. The sun was intense, and she wondered how long they should remain under its warm rays. At least they had their beach umbrella set up, and Eleanor could easily set her chair under the shade it provided.
As they walked farther, Vic spoke in Pennsylvania Dutch. “You look pretty, Eleanor.”
“Danki.” She smiled back at him.
A gust of wind tugged at the skirt of her dress, but she held it in place as they hurried along. A trickle of sweat ran down her forehead and nose, but Eleanor didn’t mind one bit. This was all a part of being on the beach, and she loved every minute of it.
Vic rolled his pant legs up past his knees and waded into the water. It felt surprisingly warm. Not cold like their pond at home. He squeezed his eyes shut as an image of Eddie lying facedown in the water flashed into his mind. Don’t think about it, Vic told himself. I’m in sunny Sarasota with my beautiful wife, and I need to keep my concentration on what we’re doing now.
He opened his eyes, paused, and drew in a few deep, calming breaths. The truth was, being here on the beach had caused Vic to feel more relaxed than he had in a long while. This was much better than the temporary stress release he’d gotten from drinking a few beers. The euphoric feeling made him wish that he and Eleanor could stay right here and never go home. But it’s just wishful thinking, he reminded himself. The man we hired to bring us to Florida will be driving us back to Pennsylvania in two weeks, so I am determined to make every minute count while Eleanor and I are on vacation. I want this to be a special trip that we’ll always remember. And hopefully, by the time we get home, I’ll have no desire to drink beer or any other alcoholic beverage.
Vic turned his head to the left and spotted Eleanor on her knees in the sand. One by one, she dropped pretty shells into her plastic bag. He smiled. I wish we would have come here sooner.
He knelt next to her, not caring in the least that he now had sand stuck to his knees. “Looks like you’ve gotten quite a collection of shells already.”
She turned her head toward him and smiled. “Jah, and this is so much fun. I think I can use some of the little ones I’ve found to decorate greeting cards that I’ll be stamping after we go home.”
Vic found a shell in the sand. “How about this one?”
“That’s nice. It looks like a corkscrew.” She held the bag closer to him.
He put his shell in and found another one right away. “This same corkscrew shell is bigger than the previous one I found. Let’s keep it too.” Vic placed the pretty shell inside the bag. “I have to admit, it is fun looking for different kinds of seeschdal on the beach. There seems to be an endless supply of them.”
Eleanor flashed him another heart-melting smile. He wished he could take his lovely wife in his arms right now and kiss her soundly, but that would have to wait until they were away from the crowd of people and had returned to their rented cottage.
As a young English couple walked by holding hands, Vic nuzzled Eleanor’s neck with the tip of his nose. He did wonder if the couple walking past or anyone else who might be nearby could be watching them. It wasn’t the norm for a married Amish couple to show affection in public. But in this quick moment, Vic didn’t care what anyone else might think or what was normal or not. Today he felt like he and Eleanor were on a date and didn’t have a single care in the world.
When Eleanor had done enough shelling and Vic said he was hungry, they returned to their beach chairs. The umbrella was still in place, despite the wind, and so was their picnic basket. Vic pulled the chairs under the umbrella for shade. Eleanor was glad they had put the basket under the umbrella before going down to the water, because it had become quite hot over the last few hours. Even with the cooler inside the basket, the heat of the day might have melted some of the ice she’d put in before leaving their rental this morning.
“I’m glad we remembered to put sunscreen on.” Eleanor opened the picnic basket and reached into the small cooler bag inside. “Otherwise, we’d probably both be red as lobsters,” she added after handing Vic a bottle of cold water, along with a ham and cheese sandwich.
He pointed to his bare legs. “I think the sunscreen got washed off while I was in the water.”
Eleanor grimaced when she saw how pink her husband’s legs had gotten. “I guess the sunscreen I bought wasn’t the waterproof kind. I’ll give you some aloe vera gel to put on your legs after we get back to the cottage. In the meantime, you might want to pull your pant legs down so you don’t get any more direct sunlight on them.”
“You’re right about that.” Vic placed the water bottle and sandwich in his lap and bent over to do as Eleanor had suggested. “My arms are often exposed to the sun when I’m working outside, at home or on the job, but I don’t usually go around with my pant legs pulled up.” He chuckled. “Now wouldn’t that look schpassich?”
“Jah, it would look rather funny.” Eleanor smiled. It was good to see her husband in such a pleasant mood. Even with sunburned legs he’d managed to keep a positive attitude. “Guess we’d better pray before we eat our lunch,” she said.
Vic nodded, bowed his head, and closed his eyes. Eleanor did the same. Her prayer was one of praise—thanking God not only for the food they were about to eat but for allowing them to have this special time together. She ended her prayer by asking God to continue healing her husband’s emotional wounds so that he wouldn’t be tempted to start drinking again once they got back to their home in Paradise.
Eleanor took her sandwich from the cellophane wrap. While savoring the taste of ham, cheese, and mayonnaise, she watched the seagulls screeching and swooping overhead. Every gull on the beach seemed to know when someone had dropped a piece of food, for they converged within seconds of it landing in the sand. A young girl sitting with her parents under their umbrella nearby began to cry when a hungry bird swooped too close, nearly snatching a cracker from her hand. The girl’s father shooed the seagull away, and his daughter’s crying stopped as suddenly as it had begun.
“Oh yuck!” Vic’s nose wrinkled.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just crunched down on some gritty sand that must have blown into my sandwich.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Guess that’s what happens when a person chooses to eat a meal while sitting on the beach.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Just didn’t think it would happen to me.”
She rolled her eyes and giggled. “Drink some water. I’m sure it will push the gritty sand right down.”
“You won’t think it’s so funny if you end up with some sand in your sandwich.” Vic reached over with a feather he’d just found and tickled Eleanor under her chin. “There, now you have something to laugh about.”
She pushed Vic’s hand away and gave his arm a gentle poke. “You don’t play fair.”
“You’re right—not when it comes to teasing my beautiful fraa.” He pulled the feather across the back of her neck. “There. How’s that make you feel?”
She feigned a frown. “You gave me goose bumps, even though we are sitting here in what feels like at least eighty-some-degree weather.”
“Good. Then this should help you cool off.” Vic tickled Eleanor behind the ear and slid the tip of the feather slowly up and down her arm.
She reached over and tousled his thick brown hair. “If you keep teasing me like that, you might end up sleeping on the couch tonight.”
Vic quickly pulled the feather aside. “No, please. I surrender, and I promise to be good. At least for now, anyways,” he added with a wink.
All Eleanor could do was shake her head and smile. What a blessing it was to see this playful side of Vic again. Although it was too soon to tell for sure, at this moment, Eleanor felt more hopeful than ever that things would be better for them during, and even after, their vacation was over. Vic had already changed so much since they’d left home. Surely he would not sink back into depression.