Chapter 35
Summer
“Come on, let me see it.”
“No.”
“Just once.”
Anita smiles at me and it’s hard to say no to her bright blue eyes and huge stomach.
“Why,” I ask, “do you want to see my sunburn?”
“I don’t know, I just do.”
I sigh and lay the stack of books I’ve been shelving on the counter. Anita walks around and faces me. “This is ridiculous.”
“Show me.”
I lift up my shirt, revealing the red blotchy skin that’s already starting to peel. Gently she reaches out and tugs at a piece of skin, slowly pulling it off my body. “Gross.”
She holds up my dried, crispy skin. “I can’t help it! None of us burn like this!”
“You have a problem.”
“Maybe I do, but you need to wear sunscreen if you don’t want to peel.”
She had me there.
We’re interrupted by the sound of the chiming doorbell. A woman walks in looking like a confused, lost tourist. Anita and I glance at one another. It’s not the woman’s pale skin that makes her appear out of place, it’s the stylish pants and flowy blouse. The sensible shoes.
None of those are acceptable in Ocean Beach. This is the home of flip-flops, cut-off jeans and bikini tops. Anita jumps in before I can react. “Welcome to Books by the Ocean, can I help you with something?”
She smiles, “I’m looking for Summer Barnes.”
Instantly it clicks. The reporter.
I drop my shirt.
“I’m Summer,” I say, pretending Anita hadn’t just been picking at my skin like a gorilla.
The woman gives me a broad, professional smile. “Summer, I’m Shay Merrill from the New York Times. So glad to finally meet you.”
We’d been emailing for a few days. She’d sent me a few questions to think about—things about my mother, being raised by an author, learning about her story.
This wasn’t the first time I’d been involved with an interview, but it was the first time someone wanted to talk to me alone—as an adult. I felt a strange sense of pressure.
I introduced Shay to Anita, clarifying she’s my cousin and Sugar’s daughter, since Sugar is part of the Donald Gaskins story. We give her a tour of the shop and I suggest we sit in the office for the interview.
“I was hoping maybe you’d take me on a tour.”
“Around Ocean Beach?”
“We can walk around and talk—I’ve never been here before.”
I take in her outfit. No. Apparently not.
“Sure, we can do that.”
I tell Anita I’ll be back a little later and we leave the shop. I pull my sunglasses off my head and cover my eyes. It’s super bright today.
“What do you want to see first?” I ask.
“How about the ocean?”
“You’ve got it.”
We walk down the block, past Hullabaloo to the corner.
We cross over the street that’s much more crowded now that summer has officially begun.
The public beach parking is packed and the strip of ocean by the pier is crowded.
We walk over to the boardwalk and then to the pavilion, feeling relief from the heat of the day.
“This is really quaint,” Shay says, taking it all in. “So, if I understand your history correctly, you came here for the first time last year.”
“Yep.” I led her past the concession stand and down the wide planks of wood that jut into the ocean.
“So your mother spent her childhood summers down here, but stopped coming after the attack by Gaskins.”
“Yes. The whole thing was traumatizing—she withdrew from the family. It took her a long time to decide to return.”
“And what did it feel like, realizing you had family and a darker history down here?”
The warm breeze slaps my cheeks and my hair flies behind me. Shay looks out of place in her fancy clothes amongst the fishermen and tourists, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
“At first it was overwhelming but then everything slowly clicked into place. I understood her better—even before learning about Gaskins. I spent months helping her research, talking to victims and their families. I got to know her family—my family—and it put everything in tighter perspective.”
We get about midway down the pier and she stops, looking over the edge. “What’s going on down there?”
The right side of the pier is never quite as crowded as the left because it’s further from the parking lot.
A few yards away is a group at the edge of the water.
It’s mostly kids standing in the shallows, with large surfboards next to them.
They’ve all got their attention focused on their instructor. He’s got my attention too.
Whit’s wearing a white Surf School T-shirt and red shorts, only accentuating his tan.
We can’t hear him but he speaks animatedly.
The kids are enthralled, well, all but one, and as he has them hop on their boards on the sand, practicing a few moves before they hit the water, one little girl doesn’t move.
Whit moves to her and crouches on one knee, speaking to her intently. I have no idea what he says but it works, and a moment later she’s joined the rest of the group.
“That guy’s got the touch,” Shay says, ready to move on.
“With kids?” I ask, a little flabbergasted by what I’d seen. Whit’s sweet to Sibley but not like Justin. I’ve never seen him so engaged.
“Anyone who can talk a kid down is impressive. I’ve got three at home—they can be little nightmares sometimes.”
I glance back over my shoulder and see that he’s now waist-deep in the water. “I don’t think talking to kids is Whit’s gift. I think it’s simply being in and near the water. It’s his happy place.”
“You know him?” she asks, suddenly interested.
“He’s a friend of the family.”
Her eyes slide down to the water and then back to me. We continue walking and I continue talking and before long, we’re back at the store. Anita has already locked up. Wow, we spoke for that long?
“Thanks for meeting with me today.” She flips through a small pad she’s been using to take notes.
“We still have a fair amount to cover. I’m dying to know why you decided to come along last year on this trip, what made you interested in working with your mother on this case in particular?
” She looks at her watch. “I’ve got to check in to my rental, but I thought maybe we could go on a drive tomorrow.
See some of the locations from the interviews in your mom’s book. ”
I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t know about that. Seems like something she may want to do with you.”
“I know and I agree, but with her schedule there’s not much time for us to meet while she’s here. I’ll be around for the party but after that, I’m on a deadline.”
“Sure, come by tomorrow then.”
“I’ll be over around ten.”
“Perfect.”
The instant she drives off, I start feeling regret. Did I say too much? Talk too much? I’m not a huge sharer. It wasn’t how I was raised—we’d always been private. Mom and I have been doing better but that whole thing was a lot.
My phone vibrates.
J—want to do something tonight?
S—I’m beat. Spent the day with the interviewer. Maybe tomorrow?
J—Yep.
I walk to my car, determined to just spend the night alone—settling my brain and preparing for another round tomorrow.
I’m snuggled under the blankets on my bed, binge-watching movies on my laptop, when I hear a rap at the door. It’s past ten and the trailer park and residents are quiet, so the arrival of a guest surprises me.
There’s only a tiny window to peek through, but from the tiny amount of light casting on my doorstep I see the sharp angle of Justin’s face and his hair.
“Hey,” I say, opening the door. “What are you doing here?”
He holds up a bag.
“I brought you some food.”
I tilt my head. “Is this just a sly way of seeing me?”
“Yes, absolutely, but you seemed tired and I didn’t have anything to do and I do have trailer park approval.” He jerks his head behind him. “I parked over at Bobby’s. But I’m happy to drop this off and go. I just wanted to make sure you were fed.”
There’s no way I’m sending him home, not when he looks so adorable. “Come on, you can watch my rom-com with me.”
“Rom-com?” He looks a little scared.
“Yep. Girls’ night in. That’s what I do.”
There’s so little room in the trailer we eat on the bed, two hamburgers and a massive pile of fries. Justin makes fun of my rom-com, asking a million questions. Do girls really think that’s cute? What is going on? No way a guy would ever do something like that!
But the truth is that he’s sitting on my bed, watching cheesy movies with me, eating food he brought me and being the sweetest so yeah, guys do things like that. I just don’t tell him so, but I do kiss him and snuggle with him under the covers until my eyes grow heavy.
The next thing I know is that it’s bright outside, Justin’s arm is wrapped around my stomach and there’s a loud banging on the door.
“Shit,” I say, scrambling for my phone. It’s 10 a.m. I totally overslept. “Jay, wake up.”
He groans and rubs his eyes, revealing the thin strip of skin above his waist.
“We overslept. Or I overslept. I don’t know where you had to be today, but I have an interview with that woman and she’s here.”
Another knock bangs on the door. I hop out of bed and throw the curtain, hiding Justin behind it. I squeeze past the table and fling open the door. Shay stands on my little gravel path in her high heels and fashionable skirt. Her blouse hangs from her shoulders, exposing her pale skin.
“Shay! I apologize I totally overslep—” I look behind her and see Nick standing with his hands in his pockets. An amused smile curves his lips. “Nick?”
“Oh, I tracked down Nick last night to talk to him about his exquisite photos. He agreed to go along with us today as we recreate your mother’s path.”
He shrugs and I hear a grunt behind me—most likely Justin banging his head on the ceiling. Shay’s eyebrow rises, implying she heard it too. “I’ll be ready in a minute. I’d invite you in, but…well, it’s tiny in here.” I gesture to the chairs. “Feel free to wait out here.”
“Of course.”
I shoot Nick an undeserved glare and shut the door.
“Sorry, babe, I don’t go in until one today. I didn’t set my alarm,” Justin says, but I shush him to lower his voice.
“Look, that lady is in all of my business and I’m willing to do it for Mom, but I do not need her to know about you or anyone else.”
Quickly I wash my face and brush my teeth before securing my hair on top of my head.
I reach for a sundress in the small, narrow closet.
I strip off my pajamas and tug it over my head.
I smooth it down and Justin moves behind me, zipping up the zipper.
I feel his breath on my neck. “You’re keeping this secret from a lot of people, Summer. You think you can handle that?”
I spin and we’re face to face. I glance to the window that’s covered in a floral curtain and don’t respond, other than kissing him hard on the mouth.
My heart hammers in my chest and I see a flare of want on his face.
“Secrets are what this family does best, Justin. And oddly enough, we’re family now. ”
I slip away, exiting the trailer and shutting the door before anyone can see him. I know Nick won’t be mad about this but the last thing I need is my worlds colliding in front of Shay. This interview is about my mother. Not me. And I plan to keep it that way.