Memories in Sea Glass: Driftwood Key Beach Reads #2

21. Jess

Jess walked along the downtown sidewalk with Clint by her side, looking out over the cheerful little town with its flags and banners waving.

Neighbors were chatting as families set up in lawn chairs on porches and along the little park, eager for the fun to start. Someone must have been handing out stick flags, because lots of the children were waving them proudly.

When Clint had asked if Jess and her family would like to go to the events today, she had been happy to say yes. It wasn’t a date after all, since her family would be there too.

Then Liberty had mentioned that she and Chase might want to do their own thing. And of course, Jess had special hopes for the evening, so it made perfect sense for them to have a romantic day.

A day later, Anthem made the exciting announcement that she and Zara had been asked to perform outside the café. Naturally, Jess knew that meant the two would be discussing, rehearsing, and hanging out all day.

Justine and Everett would want time to catch up, of course. That went without saying. And, from a brief meeting they’d had at the house the other day, Jess had the idea that Clint and Everett hadn’t hit it off, though she couldn’t really say why.

But that left Jess and Clint with just Glory, who might flit off with her resort friends here and there, but Jess would be responsible for her, so the holiday spent with Clint still wouldn’t feel like a date.

This morning, after agreeing that Glory could spend the whole day with Mary, Jess realized that she was most definitely going to be spending the whole day alone with Clint.

It’s not a date, she had reassured herself as she drove her daughter over to Mary’s. But she’d been nervous anyway. And she really hoped Clint didn’t think she had orchestrated all of this just to get him alone.

He swung over at eight, and when she told him it would be just the two of them he laughed and told her she had earned a day to enjoy herself without worrying over her brood. Jess felt a blessed relief that was still lifting her heart now that they had arrived in town.

“This place really goes all out,” Jess said, gazing at one of the decorated porches.

“Oh, wow,” Clint said, looking over at the red, white, and blue fabric hanging from the rails.

“That’s a really high-quality pleated fan,” Jess said. “Looks like nylon.”

“Pleated fan?” Clint asked.

“You know,” Jess laughed. “The shape of it.”

Suddenly she felt silly. No one cared about flag styles and quality like Silas had. All his talk about it had sunk in with her over the years, to the point where she had become genuinely interested.

But Clint wasn’t laughing at her. He looked sort of like he might be interested too.

“I thought that was bunting,” he said.

“Bunting is a material,” Jess explained. “And pleated fans can be made of bunting. But when you’re buying bunting from a flag manufacturer, generally it’s just a rectangle of red, white, and blue that you can drape over a podium.”

“It’s so cool that you know all this stuff,” Clint said, shaking his head. “I almost forgot that you guys are a flag family.”

“Yes, I guess we are,” Jess laughed. “The kids definitely got into it when they were little. Silas used to bring Anthem to work with him from time to time, so she knows more about it than the rest of us.”

“I’ll bet you guys really did it up for Fourth of July,” Clint guessed.

“We sure did,” Jess said. “Still do. I wish we’d thought to bring some of the flags down when we came back.”

He smiled at that and they walked on, taking in the sights and sounds of the happy little town.

As she gazed at the colorful fabric, Jess thought of Silas again. When he first left her, she’d felt a measure of pain almost every time she saw a flag flying.

Now it was different. A light breeze drifted in and the one she was looking at now fluttered merrily, colors unfurling.

Are you waving to me, Silas?

“Oh look. The kids with the decorated bikes are the best,” Clint said, pointing down the block a ways. “Mind if we head over to see?”

“Not at all. It’s my favorite too,” Jess said, shaking off her thoughts. “I remember decorating my bike when I was little.”

“I’ll bet you were adorable,” Clint chuckled.

“You too,” she said. “Did you love it?”

But he didn’t answer. When she glanced up, his face was tense.

She had never seen him look that way before. It occurred to her that normally if Clint felt uncomfortable, he applied himself to some task or other around her house. Here on the sun-dappled sidewalk, there were no shutters to check on, and nothing to repair or clean.

“My, uh, family didn’t really do this kind of thing,” he said after a moment.

Jess, you idiot…

“I’m so sorry, Clint,” she said gently. “Did you start coming once you were with Mary?”

“Every year,” he said, sounding relieved. “Kyle always lost the bike race. But when he got a little older, he owned the watermelon eating contest. Still does.”

“Not you, huh?” Jess asked.

“I’m not very competitive,” he said flatly.

Jess wondered about that, but decided not to press the point.

“Becca usually headed up the face painting station,” he said. “With Anna as her assistant.”

“That must have been so much fun,” Jess said. “We had a Fourth of July celebration up in Aynwick, but it was all pretty low-key. There was a kids’ parade and a local band played. Then civic medals were awarded, and they wrapped up the day with a half-marathon. There wasn’t a lot of fun stuff like here.”

“You mean there was no dog costume parade?” Clint asked, pretending to be scandalized. “No town water balloon fight?”

“I know, I know,” Jess laughed. “It was hardly the Fourth of July at all.”

Clint chuckled and they made their way down to the area where the kids were setting up their decorated bikes. Among the other parents and caregivers, Becca was holding little Fern’s hand while she helped Jeb put the finishing touches on his bike.

“Hey, Bec,” Clint called out to her.

“Hi, guys,” Becca said, straightening. “Look, kids, it’s your great-aunt and great-uncle.”

“Hi,” Jeb said excitedly. “I’m in the bike decorating contest, and then I’m going to race.”

“Your bike looks awesome,” Clint told him, admiring the streamers on the handles.

“Can I take her for a minute?” Jess asked Becca. “So you can help him?”

“That would be amazing,” Becca said. “Hey, Fern, want to go see Aunt Jess for a minute?”

Jess crouched down and was delighted to see the little one reach for her hand.

“What a pretty dress,” Jess told her, admiring the flag print.

“I big,” Fern announced.

“Oh yes,” Becca said, helping Jeb wrap more streamers around the body of the bike. “We were talking about how last year that dress was too big. But this year it’s just right.”

“Just right,” Fern said happily, holding up the dress at her sides and inadvertently showing off the matching bloomers underneath.

“It is just right,” Jess agreed.

“Zub-bub,” Fern said importantly, tugging on Clint’s leg.

“Oh, you want zerberts, huh?” Clint laughed.

“Yess,” Fern agreed.

Jess watched as he gently lifted the little one up and blew raspberries on her belly while she screamed with laughter. Clint grinned and pressed a kiss to the top of her little head before putting her down again.

He looked so relaxed today that it made Jess smile too.

Fern patted Clint’s knee absentmindedly when she was down again, before going for Jess’s hand and twirling herself around. They spent about fifteen minutes playing with the baby and chatting with Becca and Jeb.

All around them, other families were laughing and adding last-minute details to their own bicycles. It was clear that the whole town still got into the parade just as much as Jess remembered—maybe even more.

When Jeb and the other kids joined the mayor in the street to show off their handiwork, everyone cheered. The decorations were all amazing—from simple and festive to complicated and impractical for riding. And the race had everyone on their feet yelling encouragement.

A little girl who had decorated her bike to look like a sunflower won the decorating contest, and Jeb cheered for her without showing any disappointment.

He didn’t win the race either, though he came in a respectable fifth place. And Jess was happy to see that he still wore a victorious smile as he rode back to them. He already knew it wasn’t about winning. It was about being part of something so cool.

Once the race was over, Becca and the kids bid their goodbyes, since it was time for Fern to have a snack and a nap.

“Now what?” Clint asked.

“Are the horses still next?” Jess asked.

“They sure are,” he told her with a smile. “I can’t believe you remember. Should we have a treat while we watch?”

“That sounds great,” Jess said.

She had been too nervous to eat breakfast, and something sweet really did sound incredible.

“Wait until you see this,” Clint said.

He held out his hand as if to take hers, then paused and shoved it in his pocket instead, heading across the street while Jess blinked at him. Jogging to catch up, she just managed to hide her smile before he turned back to her.

It was hard not to appreciate both his instinct to take her hand, and his sensitivity in deciding not to put her on the spot in that way. He was a good man. And thinking about that made her cheeks warm.

“Anna’s got the coolest thing for today,” he said. “No pun intended.”

Sure enough, out front of the bakery, Anna was standing by a little cart with a pretty sign advertising frozen key lime pie.

“Two please,” Clint said as he approached his little sister.

“Hi, guys,” Anna said happily, glancing between them.

Clint reached for his wallet, but Anna smacked his hand away.

“Are you kidding me?” she laughed, reaching into the cart and pulling out two of the frozen confections.

“Oh, wow,” Jess moaned.

Each slice of pie had been slid onto a wooden stick and dipped in chocolate before freezing.

“Eat ‘em slowly,” Anna advised. “You don’t want to get brain freeze. Hey, did you see Zeb in the bike race?”

“The kid’s pretty fast,” Clint said.

Jess’s mouth was too full of chocolatey key lime goodness to answer, but she nodded enthusiastically.

“Reminds me of Kyle,” Anna said thoughtfully. “I always thought he was so cool riding in that race.”

“But Zeb’s not hung up about winning like Kyle always was,” Clint chuckled. “Makes him even cooler.”

Anna laughed and nodded.

Clipping and clopping on the pavement alerted them to the coming of the horses, and they turned to watch. A couple of people led flag-draped ponies along the street. Some were prancing and nervous, others looked like they were ready to take a nap under a tree.

The crowd clapped for them all.

Jess even caught sight of Anthem and her friend, Zara, cheering from across the street in the park.

Anthem made big eyes and mimed praying hands at her mother, as if she were begging for a flag-draped pony of her own.

Jess laughed and Anthem winked at her.

Everyone was so happy today.

Anna had more customers approaching, so Jess and Clint waved their goodbyes and headed to a shady spot to watch the parade continue.

“Vintage cars are up next,” Clint said. “Albert’s going to be in that part.”

“The owner of Stowaway Cottage,” Jess remembered. “I’ll have to thank him for all that leftover paint. Or maybe invite him to dinner. It really was a lot of paint.”

“You might have to name the house after him at this point,” Clint teased. “But he’d be happy to know it went to good use. The man wants what he wants.”

Just then a horn tooted and they turned to see a little old gentleman in a vintage yellow VW bug waving to them. He wore sunglasses and his beard was close trimmed and snowy white.

“Hey, Albert,” Clint called. “Looking sharp.”

The man tooted again, smiling proudly, and drove on.

“Amazing,” Jess said. “And look at the paint job on that car.”

“I wonder who his mechanic is,” Clint wondered suddenly. “And his body guy.”

Jess could only laugh.

After the vintage cars had passed they walked down the street for a bit, passing where Zara’s Aunt Cheryl was sitting on the front porch of her beautifully restored bungalow, with Zeus by her side, holding court with a small group of people.

“Hi, Cheryl,” Jess called to her as they went by. “It’s Jess.”

“As if I wouldn’t know that friendly voice anywhere,” Cheryl called back, giving her a wave.

The military veterans were the next to march in the parade. Jess cheered extra hard when she saw Mr. Raymond, who she now knew as a regular at the flower shop and a library volunteer, looking handsome in his uniform.

Then came the fire brigade, and finally the pets in costumes.

The owners laughed and marched along proudly with their dressed-up pooches. There was a dachshund dressed as a hot dog, a bearded collie mix in a house dress with curlers, and a greyhound who somehow looked exactly like the Statue of Liberty, among at least a dozen others.

Near the end of the dog costume parade, there was a moment of added excitement as an interloper joined their midst.

“Uh oh,” Clint said, as they both watched the big shaggy beach dog gallop among the competitors, completely free of owner or costume. “Is that Anthem’s dog?”

“Not yet,” Jess said. “Or he’d be on a leash. And probably wearing a costume. She’s still trying to tame him.”

“I don’t know if he wants to be tamed,” Clint chuckled.

“He does look pretty happy,” Jess replied, shaking her head.

The big dog wore a wide, goofy smile on his face. His tongue lolled out one side of his mouth as he ran circles around the other dogs, barking for joy at the crowd.

Everyone laughed, but eventually the mayor came jogging after him, clearly in hopes of capturing the shaggy stray.

But the big dog darted out into the park, snatching a lobster roll from an unsuspecting person’s hand as he bid a hasty exit, easily escaping his pursuer.

“You sure you want that dog?” Clint asked dubiously.

“Everyone deserves to have a family,” Jess said firmly. “I’ll just have to keep a sharp eye on my lobster rolls.”

He didn’t laugh, and when she looked up at him there was a warmth in his steel gray eyes that made them look almost blue.