Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 102719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 514(@200wpm)___ 411(@250wpm)___ 342(@300wpm)
To be honest, I don’t hate it. It’s a stunning late summer morning, sunny and seventy-five degrees. Needless to say, I’ll be taking the scenic route to the club.
A warm breeze blows back my hair as I trundle through the shaded tunnel formed by the island’s dense maritime forest. I breathe in familiar scents: salt, sand, the loamy smell of marshland beyond.
Old Winny whines her way across the island, a virtual jungle enveloping me in bright green and pale, knuckle-like trunks that form a sun-dappled ceiling overhead. The marsh, alive, thrums to my left; it’s very quiet otherwise.
I round a bend and the forest falls away, revealing a wide, pristine swath of glorious North Carolina beach. It’s the same as it was when I first came to Bald Head years and years ago. Shallow dunes, slate-blue ocean, wisps of beach grass bent in the breeze.
My heart twists. I’ve avoided coming back to Bald Head for a very good reason. But damn, have I missed this view. The feeling of freedom I get experiencing this slice of ocean roaring beneath this Carolina blue sky is unlike anything else on Earth. You could get addicted to it.
Once upon a time, I was.
Makes me miss Granny. Bald Head was always her happy place—it was her idea to build a second home on the island—and it’s a huge bummer she can’t travel anymore.
Grabbing my phone, I give her a call. When she doesn’t pick up her cell phone—sometimes she forgets to charge it—I try the assisted living facility’s main line. The receptionist, Laurel, answers.
“How did the Berry First birthday go?” I ask.
I hear the smile in Laurel’s voice when she replies, “It went so well! Ava loved her smash cake.”
“Aw, that’s wonderful. Give that sweet baby a kiss for me.”
“Will do. Your grandmother is in a great mood today.”
“Let me guess—y’all served cinnamon rolls for breakfast?”
“Sure did. Here, I’ll put you through.”
Granny laughs when she hears my greeting. “Well hello, Lulu! What a nice surprise to hear from you first thing. I know you’re always so busy with work.”
“I’m off this week to help with Goldie’s wedding, remember?”
“Oh, yes, that’s right. What a kind friend you are to lend a hand. How’s Bald Head? Beautiful as ever?”
I let out a long, low breath. “Just gorgeous. I miss you, though. It’s not the same without you and Pa here.”
“Aw, don’t let that stop you from having some fun. You need it, sugar. I still can’t believe what that son of a bitch did to you. Lord forgive me, but I hope Patrick’s dick falls off.”
I don’t know if it’s Pa’s passing, old age, or just not giving a shit, but Granny’s gotten spicy over the past year. I adore it. My family and I grew up idolizing Granny and Pa’s marriage, attending their extravagant fiftieth wedding anniversary party, seeing the beautiful jewelry he’d give her for Christmas every year. We were told their relationship was magical. Perfect. Just like my parents’.
As I got older, though, I began to pick up on the not so perfect parts of Granny and Pa’s marriage. How controlling he was. The demeaning way he talked to Granny sometimes. He’d never do it in public, of course, which meant everyone thought they were “hashtag couple goals” until the very end. And even as I knew things weren’t picture perfect, I still toed the line as the good girl Pa wanted me to be. I still followed the path he wanted me to follow, working at The Gibbes Group, dating Patrick, buying a house in a prestigious neighborhood beside Pa’s prestigious country club.
Is that what I even want, though?
Is that kind of life Granny wanted? Or was she just following the path laid out for her by her parents?
No wonder she feels liberated as an eighty-something-year-old widow.
My turn to laugh, even as my throat tightens. “It’s good to be away from Charlotte, that’s for sure.”
“In my humble opinion, the men are much better looking on Bald Head anyway. Did you know they let the boys at the ferry dock take off their shirts when it gets hot?”
My heart does a somersault. Seriously, why does the universe keep fucking with me? I can’t escape Captain Dockmaster Pornstar.
“Yup,” is all I can think to say.
“Just reminding you of nature’s bounty is all. There are other fish in the sea, Lulu. You just have to look.”
“I need to look for another fish like I need a hole in my head.”
“If you say so. Oh my, would you look at the time—I’m sorry, sugar, but I have to run. My mah-jongg group meets at ten on Wednesdays.”
“Y’all have fun. Oh! Lady and I are going to make your barbecue shrimp tonight.”
“Delicious! Be sure to use more butter than you think is wise. And speaking of Lady, keep an eye on her, would you? I’m beginning to suspect she’s getting antsy, which means she’ll be on the hunt for a new beau sooner rather than later.”