Oliver (6): One thing (8)

Beach Living

I opened the door and greeted Francine with a huge hug. She laughed and ran behind me to hug her mother, leaving her poor husband there with me. He was an awkward young man who shook my hand without saying anything. He nodded as he dodged past me to enter the house.

"So, how was the drive over?" I called back.

"I didn't know this was so close to Elwood City!" Francine exclaimed. I laughed, knowing that was exactly why I picked this place. Trinidad Beach wasn't as warm as the place it was named for, but it was my place.

After getting drinks from the kitchen, we all settled in on the balcony. It jutted off the second floor master bedroom, but it was the only spot where all of us could see out over the dunes at once. The sea rolled beyond the sand as swimmers bobbed up and down in the water. A few families were on the beach. I recognized them all from afar, the perk of small-town beach living.

Francine shook her head, "I can't believe this is where you ended up moving to, Dad. I mean, I'm jealous! I know it's not always warm, and you get some crazy tourists from time to time, but this is…I envy you."

"I'm happy to hear that, Frankie," I grinned.

"Oh, Oliver!" Laverne laughed, shaking her head.

"What made you move out here with him, Mom? I thought you hated the beach," Francine said.

"I don't hate it. I mean, I like to look at it, but I don't want all that sand all over me. You learn to live with it getting into the house, but I don't go out much. There's a walking path in town I use instead," Laverne explained.

"But…okay, the part that Catherine and I are still struggling to figure out is when this all came to be. I mean, we never really did vacations. All of my beach trips were with the Crosswire's," she said, looking between us, "So, where did this come from?"

"When I was younger, I took beach trips with my high school buddies. We'd drive over and fish off that pier you passed in town. I told those guys I was going to have one of these houses one day, and while I was sort of joking at first, the soon became the goal. The waste management company had a 401k program, so I let that sit, a little nest egg—"

"It used to make me so mad when we needed something expensive and he wouldn't pay for it, but he's serious," Laverne interrupted.

I nodded, "I felt bad about it too, but this was my dream. I had to make it happen, so I had to scrounge. That money was mine, so I just had to watch it closely. I let it build and build, and then about two years ago, I decided it was time to retire. I hurt my arm at that barbecue, remember?"

"Yeah, you burned your arm all up," Francine winced.

"So, I decided it was time. I pooled the money and contacted a real estate agent, and this house was the…what, honey, fourth or fifth we looked at?" I asked.

Laverne shrugged, "I lost count."

"Well, it wasn't the first, but something about it—"

"The deck out front," Laverne interrupted, shaking her head, "And he's called all of his teenage buddies. They're all a bunch of old farts like him now, but you get the picture," she smirked.

"They'll be here in three days. I wanted Catherine to be here too, but it's fine. I've got you, Frankie, and now you can see what I was working for," I said, standing up and looking out over the water, "I'm going to rent a boat out Saturday and we're going fishing. Jake, I'd like you to join me," I said, turning to Francine's husband. He gave Francine a wary look before nodding in agreement. I smiled, "You'll love it. There's nothing like being out on the water."

"Francine, you and I get to drive over to Metropolis for a girls' day with the wives. Catherine can meet us there, but the kids will be with her," Laverne said.

"Sounds like a plan, but why aren't we staying around here? I mean, that's the point of the trip—"

"Well the girls decided to shop in the city," I shrugged. This wasn't what I wanted, but it was appeasing everyone so I'd tolerate it. Besides, I'd be out on the boat with the guys just like old times.

After getting Francine and Jake settled in the guest bedroom, I checked my phone to make sure all was well. Some of my friends were already on their way, so I made sure the basement bedrooms were ready. Five different couples at one time was going to push the house to its limits, but that's what it was built for, and that's why I bought it. We could all fit, though some people would be more uncomfortable than others. Francine, for instance, had to share a bunk bed with her husband, which appeased Laverne. She wanted grandkids but couldn't tolerate hanky-panky. Go figure.

Later while Laverne had lunch with Francine and Jake in town, I shopped for the cookout, preordering all the best seafood from the best fishermen in town. They agreed to my numbers, then I hit up the grocery store for everything else. There would be plenty of beer, chips, and beer, just like we dreamed of back in the day. We didn't realize how much beer tasted like piss back then, but you live and learn.

With everything gathered, I returned home and had a cookout dinner of burgers while Jake and Francine swam at the beach. As I grilled out on the front deck, Laverne joined me with a platter she prepared with all the lettuce, tomatoes, and onions we would need for later.

"I'm glad we're getting to do this, but do you think it'll be too much?"

"Of course not. I just wanted to show the guys that I made it, you know?" I smiled.

Laverne sighed, "I just…I've friended these women online just to see what we were getting ourselves into. I've talked to them, just to see what they'll be like. I don't want to get stuck with a bunch of stinkers, you know?"

"You won't," I promised.

"I know that now," Laverne nodded, taking a seat, "I just…your dream wasn't attainable for these people. Mikey went into the automobile industry, fixing them until he lost a thumb, then he had to sell them for a living. He's on wife number three, and he never left the neighborhood because his mom's house was paid for. He couldn't leave—"

"Yeah, and Mikey seemed proud of that when we talked. He's made that house look real good," I said.

"Well, what about Bill? Bill was a firefighter until he got injured, and now he's disabled. He has to fight the state regularly for benefits because they'll stop without reason. His wife left because she couldn't handle the uncertainty, the care he needs. The girl he's with now isn't really a wife. She's a mail-order bride, a glorified nurse. He rescues her from Communist Russia, and, in return, she does everything he asks. She's a really nice girl, but that's not what anyone wanted," she said.

"Laverne, what are you trying to say?"

"I think you're shoving it in their faces without meaning to. You're saying, 'Hey guys, look what I did!', but you didn't realize how bad they had it—"

"I've talked to these people. They can't wait to get here," I countered.

Laverne stood, "Well, I'm just warning you that they could be freeloading off your luck, okay? We've set the budget, by the way. Don't add anything to it, and we can't offer them any money okay?"

"Okay," I said, not understanding why I needed to agree to that. I served the burgers and placed them on the buffet just under the house so no seagulls could swoop in. Laverne called in Francine and Jake, who raced each other back to the house with wide grins on their faces. They were happy as we ate on the front deck, glad to be here. I just hoped my old friends would be the same way.

As I lay awake thinking about the get together, I couldn't help but realize how right Laverne was. I'd never tell her, of course, but she wasn't wrong. Talking to the wives was a good indicator. The guys had too much pride to admit they were hurting, yet they didn't mind asking me for small loans. When they found out on the boat that I was just scraping by just like them, but now I was scraping by at the beach just like I said I would, things got awkward. They thought I'd made it big, but that wasn't true.

The shopping trip for the girls went fine, but the boat trip was something else. Bill had to sit the whole time until he finally decided to go below deck to sleep. Mikey got so drunk he was stumbling everywhere. I didn't know he'd had a problem, a problem I didn't help with my plentiful supply of alcohol. Jim and I got on okay, but he did okay with himself, just no beach house okay.

I knew my goal was something not everyone could attain, but I didn't know it would turn out like this. Having a house on the water was my dream from a young age, a dream I thought I shared with others. I forgot it had been thirty years. Things happened since then, things none of us could control. Even though I went into waste management, I lucked out. I didn't get hurt, I didn't lose any limbs. My wife and family stayed with me from the beginning. Everything fell into place, and I used my earnings to get the house I always wanted. I didn't expect to hurt people, but at least the guys shook my hand as they left. I'll have to forget about them now, but…it's hard to realize things got crazy when you weren't even watching.

And I'll never tell Laverne how right she was. She'll never let me live it down.

~End

A/N: This is my fourth piece for the 10x10 Challenge. For more info, see my profile. Please note that yes, I'm trying to do it in a month, but you can take all the time you want. PM me for more info.