Memories in Sea Glass: Driftwood Key Beach Reads #2

12. Liberty

Liberty found herself pacing around the living room while waiting for Chase to arrive.

Somehow, everyone else was out, so there was no one to distract her from the strange case of nerves she was battling.

I’m a grown woman, and I’m as nervous as a teenager on prom night waiting for my own husband,she thought to herself. What’s wrong with me?

But that thought changed nothing. She barely remembered the boy who had taken her to prom. Chase was important to her. He was her world.

A knock at the door roused her from her thoughts, and she stopped pacing to open it.

“Hey,” Chase said with a gentle smile.

“Hey,” she said, reminding herself not to go up on her toes and kiss him, like she always did back home. “Come on in. What do you have there?”

She gestured to the reusable shopping bag he carried under one arm.

“Well, I was thinking I could make you my famous fried chicken,” he said.

She couldn’t help smiling. Chase’s fried chicken was legendary, and it had always been one of her personal favorites.

“We still don’t have water in the kitchen,” she reminded him.

“I brought a jug of water,” he told her. “And I’ll do the dishes in the bathtub.”

“That sounds amazing,” she laughed.

“I mean, it’s not as adventurous as camping,” he said. “But I thought it would be fun to cook before we go out.”

They had gone camping so many times when they were first married. A flash of fond memories danced through Liberty’s mind.

“Where are we going after dinner?” she asked.

“We’re going to the movies,” he told her, but he had a secret smile on his face.

“What movie?” she asked. It had been a while since she’d been to a movie theater. She didn’t even know what the current crop of movies was right now.

“I think I’ll let it be a surprise,” Chase decided.

She laughed again, and led the way to the kitchen, where Chase got right to work, laying out his ingredients and preparing the chicken.

Liberty decided to make a garden salad to go with their meal. It felt good to busy her hands instead of just staring at her handsome husband with his sleeves rolled up, showing off his muscular forearms as he worked.

She washed off the lettuce using the jug of water, humming to herself a little. When she turned from the sink, she saw Chase was gazing down at her. She smiled, and grabbed the tomatoes next, before she realized what she had been humming and stopped in her tracks.

It was “Riptide,” the song they had danced to at their wedding.

“Let’s put on the radio,” she suggested, feeling her cheeks heat.

“I’d rather hear you hum,” he said. “May I have this dance?”

Liberty began to laugh it off, but when she saw that he was serious, she nodded. He took her hands in his, and broke into song himself.

What he lacked in vocal talent, he made up for in personality. He spun her around while he crooned out their song, ending with a huge dip that had Liberty’s head inches from the floor.

She was too helpless with laughter to stand on her own, but he swept her back up, setting on her feet like she was light as a paper doll.

Liberty laughed and leaned into him, feeling breathless.

“We’ve still got it,” Chase decided. For a moment, she was sure he would kiss her, but then he turned his head away. “I’d better get back to my chicken. I’m not getting paid to dance.”

They headed back to their respective tasks, and Liberty turned the radio on after all. Soon, the kitchen smelled incredible and they were both dancing around a bit as they worked.

It reminded her of cooking back home, but it was nice in this big kitchen, and even nicer to be aware of Chase in a way she hadn’t been since they were dating.

She had always felt incredibly lucky that the big, laid-back teddy bear of a man had chosen her. Liberty was disciplined, hard-working, and kind, but no one would really think of her as fun. She was more the serious type.

Chase always brought her walls down, though. She hadn’t realized how much she missed being silly.

An hour later,they were finishing up their incredible meal of fried chicken and salad as the sun dipped below the horizon.

“Drumstick?” Chase asked, offering her the one on his plate.

“I couldn’t eat another bite,” Liberty said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “At least not without taking a nap afterward. I’m a little worried I’m going to fall asleep during the movie.”

“I highly doubt it,” Chase chuckled. “I’ll clean all this up. Why don’t you go get ready. Put on your favorite swimsuit.”

“Swimsuit?” Liberty echoed as he stood and gathered their plates. “I thought we were going to the movies.”

“Trust me,” he said, winking.

She smiled to herself as she headed upstairs to put on a suit.

She’d been thinking that the nearest big movie theater was the Key West one. But they definitely wouldn’t need swimsuits there. Maybe he just wanted to take a dip and cool off along the way somewhere.

She threw a couple of towels into a bag and changed into a pretty lavender two-piece that Chase had always been a fan of. Liberty was usually pretty modest, but Chase loved the idea of her in a bikini. This one covered her enough that Liberty thought of it more as a rash guard with cute bottoms than a bikini. But the promise of a flash of her belly or back was apparently good enough for Chase to wolf whistle whenever she put it on. You’re so gorgeous, he would say. I can’t believe you’re my wife.

Tonight was no exception. She came down the stairs in her flip-flops with a beach bag slung over her shoulder and Chase whistled low.

“You’re so gorgeous,” he said, shaking his head as if in wonder.

There was a strange silence when he didn’t complete the thought as usual. Liberty felt a stab of guilt and sadness pierce the happy bubble of their evening together.

“I can’t wait to show you off tonight,” Chase said quickly. “Come on, beautiful. Let’s go.”

She headed out with him, hopping in the passenger side of his car when he opened the door for her, just like always.

Once he got in, she realized he hadn’t worked on the boat today. She couldn’t help drinking in the familiar scent of him. The spice of his aftershave mixed with the fried chicken he’d prepared and the underlying woodsy scent that was all is own.

She wished she could bottle it and sprinkle drops on the pillow she hugged when she tried to go to sleep at night.

“You okay?” Chase asked softly.

“Yes,” she said quickly. “Definitely.”

“Good,” he told her, turning the key.

The engine rumbled to life and they headed out into the night. It was dark already, but Liberty could easily see they were headed toward the town center, not the highway. Only when they got to town, Chase didn’t park. They went right through town and kept going in the direction of the resort.

“Where in the world are we headed?” Liberty asked.

“You’ll see,” Chase told her, sounding pleased.

He turned down a sandy road and she immediately saw the signs.

Movie-by-the-Marina Tonight!

A special treat for horror fans.

JAWS: You’ll never go in the water again.

“No…” she breathed.

“Yes,” he said. “It’s going to be epic.

“I love this movie,” she said.

“I know.” He was grinning happily even though his eyes were on the road ahead of them, scouting out a spot among the other cars.

It was out of character maybe, since she wasn’t actually much a horror fan, but Liberty had loved the suspenseful movie ever since she first saw it at a sleepover in middle school.

Chase was so thoughtful, finding this opportunity and bringing her here tonight even though he could have used the evening to try and convince her to come home with him.

He always did want me to have more fun…

“Okay, this looks like a good spot,” Chase said, backing in. “No one can block us, so we’ll be the first ones at the ice cream shop afterward.”

Liberty laughed in spite of herself.

“Tell me you won’t be ready for ice cream after this movie?” he demanded, winking.

“You know I will,” she laughed.

They piled out of the car and an older lady came up to them carrying two big inner tubes.

“Tickets are five dollars each,” she said. “Benefits the marina fund.”

“Sure,” Chase said, handing over a ten. “Here you go.”

“Enjoy,” the lady said. “And stay safe. We won’t have any drunken or disorderly behavior.”

She gave Chase such a stern look Liberty thought he might start apologizing, even though they had done nothing wrong.

“Got it,” he said solemnly.

“Good boy,” the lady said, handing off the tubes and patting his shoulder.

“Okay,” Chase said. “Let’s do this.”

He grabbed a rope out of his trunk and a small plastic bucket with a lid on it. They waded out into the water together, and Chase used the rope to attach their tubes, with the end threaded through the handle of the bucket.

“What’s in there?” Liberty asked.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Chase teased. “You’ll have to wait until the movie starts.”

She shook her head, but couldn’t hide her smile. He was full of surprises tonight. The water felt good on her legs, and she settled into her tube, letting the whole experience wash over her.

A big screen had been set up on one of the piers, and a man was currently focusing a projector on it while another adjusted the speakers so that they pointed out over the water. She guessed the movie would start up soon.

Liberty looked around while they waited, wondering if she knew anyone here. It did look more like a collection of locals than the fancy vacation people. But it was still pretty unlikely, since she didn’t really know too many people in town yet, and she probably would have heard about it if anyone in her family had been planning to attend.

As if summoned by the thought, Glory came wading through the water in Liberty and Chase’s direction. She looked absolutely lovely in her black swimsuit, her golden hair piled up on her head and a big smile on her face.

“Glory,” Liberty said in surprise.

“What are you doing here?” Glory asked, bending to pat Liberty’s knee.

“Chase invited me,” Liberty said with a smile.

“Hey,” Glory said fondly to Chase.

“Howdy, grasshopper,” Chase replied, winking at her. The two had always shared a special bond that Liberty was thankful for.

“What are you doing here?” Liberty asked her baby sister.

“Tristan invited me,” Glory said in a sort of dreamy way, indicating a very handsome, dark-haired boy in a tube a bit deeper into the water.

“He’s the boy from work, right?” Liberty asked.

“Yes,” Glory said. “We’re all going to have dinner with his dad at the resort tomorrow night, remember?”

“Right,” Liberty said.

“I’m just going to run to the ladies’ room,” Glory said. “I don’t want to miss the movie.”

“Sure,” Liberty said. “Go on, maybe we’ll see you after.”

Glory gave them a little wave and Liberty watched after her.

Maybe it was because she’d been living away from home, but it always seemed shocking to Liberty that Glory was almost an adult now. She still thought of her as her adorable baby sister.

“Wow,” Chase said.

Liberty turned to see what he was looking at.

Tristan, the boy Glory was there with, was talking with a girl in a pretty skimpy string bikini. She was bent over him flirtatiously, making it easy for him to see her practically spilling out of her suit.

And Tristan was taking full advantage.

Liberty watched in horror as he wrapped a hand around the girl’s arm and bent her further, his eyes roving over her like there was going to be a test on her measurements later.

“You want me to beat him up?” Chase offered darkly.

“He’d better not be acting like that with my sister,” Liberty said, her voice cold as ice.

“I don’t think Glory would let anyone manhandle her like that,” Chase said. “But I don’t think she’d like to see him acting like that with another girl either.”

“Well, she works for his dad, so we’d better not start any trouble here,” Liberty said. “I’ll talk with her privately tonight.”

Chase made a grumpy noise, but he settled back into his float as the lady who brought them the tubes began speaking to the crowd, thanking them for coming out and supporting the marina.

Glory passed by again and gave them a little wave.

When Liberty looked back to see what Tristan was up to, she could see that he was sitting alone in his tube beside Glory’s empty one, looking as innocent as a cherub.

“Hmph,” Chase grunted disapprovingly, apparently having turned around for the same reason as Liberty.

But they both turned back to the screen, which was already showing the opening credits.

“Here,” Chase said, pushing the bucket on the rope closer to Liberty.

Mystified, she peeled the lid off.

The whole pail was filled to the brim with extra-large gummy sharks.

Liberty was so surprised that she let out a bark of laughter that was loud enough that the people on either side of them turned to see what the fuss was about.

“Sorry,” she managed to whisper.

She turned to Chase.

“I thought you might get hungry,” he whispered loudly, winking at her before grabbing a giant gummy shark and shoving the whole thing in his mouth, chewing exaggeratedly and practically daring her to laugh at him.

She tried her best not to get them in trouble by giggling, but it wasn’t easy.

“Go on,” he whispered. “Try one.”

She took a piece of the sticky candy and bit the head off.

The delicious sweetness filled her mouth, reminding her of the gummy bears Chase used to sneak into the movies when they were dating and didn’t have a lot of money to spend on overpriced treats at the concession stands.

When she was finished, Chase held out his hand. Liberty placed hers in it without even thinking about it. As Chase wrapped his fingers around hers, a sensation of rightness settled over her.

I really, really missed him,Liberty thought to herself.