3. Mia
3
MIA
I can’t wait to see my friends. After the stress from yesterday and into the late night, I need the chance to have a drink and relax.
As I walk down the boardwalk to where Leo’s Tiki Bar is at the end, I spot Aurora’s long, blonde hair first. She’s a beauty. We all knew it in high school too. She was the reason our little group formed, so we could all revolve around Aurora and dream of being as cool as her someday. But she’s actually pretty down-to-earth, if a little conceited, once you get to know her.
Next to her is Madison. Madison has always been the sporty one. In high school, she played volleyball, and she practiced it like having the best spike on Oak Island was her job. Now, she’s more into surfing. I’ve never thought getting up at five a.m. to catch a wave sounds appealing.
Stella suddenly bumps my hip with her own, appearing at my side and causing me to jump. “Long time no see, Mia!”
She squeals and hugs me, and I hug her back. Her hair is a bright, cerulean blue—a color I’ve never seen on her before. But it looks good. It makes her seem even more carefree than she normally does. “Good to see you.”
Aurora turns at hearing our voices, and she waves us over with a dimpled smile.
I hurry forward, throwing my arms around Aurora and Madison. They both hug me back. Madison squeals. “Mia! You haven’t abandoned us. You’re back! Is it for good? Please tell me you’re not going back to Raleigh in a week.”
“Just wait. I’ll tell you all when Zoey gets here. Where is she?” I check my phone for the time.
I settle into a seat at the round table that’s only meant for four, but one of the girls has found a chair at another table and pulled it right over. It sits empty, waiting for Zoey.
A breeze is coming off the ocean, and it’s playing with our hair. I can’t believe how at home I feel even though I’ve never visited this tiki bar in my life. I was barely old enough to drink by the time I left Oak Island, so we always met at our favorite coffee shop instead.
A cocktail waitress comes over wearing an apron and a friendly smile. “My name is Audrey. I’ll be taking care of you this evening. What can I get you started with?”
“Margarita,” Stella answers first.
Madison and Aurora have already ordered, so the waitress looks at me. “I don’t know. I don’t drink very much. Is there something you recommend?”
“Do you have a certain base you like for your drinks—vodka, whisky, wine, gin, rum.”
I stop her. “Nothing that tastes too strong. Something fruity.”
“Then, I’d recommend…” She leans toward the colorful menu standing in the middle of the table, “Hey Ladies is a good one. It’s got a lemon-lime taste.”
I smile at the name, then shrug. “Sure, I’ll take your recommendation. But if it isn’t good, then…”
“Then, I’ll bring you something else you’ll like. But trust me, Leo doesn’t make a bad drink.”
The waitress disappears, and Zoey appears right behind her. We all greet her, Stella squealing more than any of us.
“Nice hair,” Zoey comments to Stella before taking her seat. “I don’t think I’ve seen that color on you before.”
“I’ve gone through all the colors that come in a box. This was a special, hand-mixed color that I got from that salon next to the Food Lion. They’re actually pretty good.”
Before Stella can go off on a tangent about a hair salon she was in last year that absolutely ruined her hair, Aurora takes control. “Are we still calling ourselves the Spinsters Society? Because we need to take a moment to recognize that our ten-year high school reunion is coming up, and none of us are married.”
“I almost was,” Madison points out.
“True, but it never actually happened, so that doesn’t count.”
All of us laugh, even though I don’t feel like laughing. I thought I would meet someone in Raleigh and settle down. I thought I might even have a kid at this point. But I haven’t, and I don’t. And I’m okay with that, especially considering that I have this new project up my sleeve.
There’s another part of me that thinks I might be too messed up to have a kid anyway. What happened with my mom really messed me up, and my dad and I were never close after that.
Aurora continues to keep us focused. “Before we get into our normal talk, we need to know what’s up with Mia. She’s back on Oak Island, but she hasn’t told any of us why. So…did you lose your job?”
I shake my head, though she isn’t far from the truth. I did hear whispers that the company was going to do some layoffs in the next couple of months, but I got out before the whole place could tank. The work environment was pretty toxic anyway, but I don’t tell my friends that. They may be my friends, but I’m not as close to them as I once was. I want to test the waters and see how comfortable I feel telling them about my life
I look down at the menu, concentrating on the picture of an orange drink with a fancy umbrella hanging over the side of it. “My grandma gave me her house in the will.”
“What?” Madison shrieks first. The others follow her. They start asking rapid-fire questions, and I try to keep up with them.
“Did you know she was going to do that?” Stella leans forward, eyes trained on me like she thinks I might try to lie.
“No, I had no idea. I mean, I knew we shared a special bond, but I haven’t visited her much these last couple of years.”
“What’s the house like? We only knew your parents’ house growing up,” Aurora explains.
“It’s… I mean, I’m not going to lie. It’s an old property. Built in the seventies or something.” I hate that I’m pulling out the information Theo gave me in order to answer her question. “But it’s got good bones. It just needs some redecorating.”
“So, are you going to live there or resell it?” Madison asks.
“I’m…going to live there, but…it’s a big house. It has four bedrooms and an office area.”
“So, you’re going to invite us to live with you rent-free,” Stella jokes.
Everyone laughs, and I shake my head, appreciating her ability to lighten a situation. “No, I… I’m actually thinking of opening a bed and breakfast. People can rent rooms and have a nice breakfast every morning before heading out onto the beach. It would be like a hotel but more personal. And I’m only a block off the beach.”
I receive different reactions from that declaration, but they’re interrupted by Audrey, our waitress, coming back. She delivers our drinks with a flourish. “Enjoy!” She smiles at me. “And if you don’t like your drink, you let me know.”
I stare at the slice of orange on the rim before squeezing it into the drink, stirring it up with my straw and taking a big slurp. I blink my eyes, adjusting to the taste of gin underneath the fruity overtones.
“Come on,” Stella elbows me, “don’t tell me you’re super picky about what you drink.”
“I’m not super picky. I just want to make sure I’m going to like whatever I drink.”
I take another sip of my drink, trying to enjoy the fruity flavor without letting the alcohol hit too hard. Then, I glance around the table at my friends, their familiar faces bringing back memories of simpler times. It’s good to be back, even if it’s under strange circumstances.
I didn’t expect to feel this comfortable with them right away. It’s like no time has passed at all. And there’s another part of the story I haven’t told yet.
“So, when are you going to open the bed and breakfast?” Aurora asks.
“Do you need help getting things ready? I don’t have an eye for decoration, but I don’t mind building something or following directions,” Madison offers.
“I don’t know, and I don’t know. The thing is…” I trail off, trying to figure out how to mention what happened yesterday.
Zoey lays a hand on my arm. “Did something happen?”
"Well…there is something else. Yesterday, this guy showed up at my grandma's house."
"Ooooh," Madison coos, wiggling her eyebrows. "A guy? Spill the details!"
I can feel my cheeks heating up, and I hate that I can’t control my reaction. "It’s not like that. It was Theo. You guys remember Theo, right? From high school?"
"Theo?" Stella gasps, almost dropping her drink.
"Theo Roberts? The guy with the stringy hair and the attitude problem? The one you dated for way longer than you should have?" Aurora peppers me with questions.
"That’s the one. Only he’s changed. A lot. He looks...different."
"Different how?" Madison asks, leaning forward with interest. "Good different or bad different?"
"He’s, um, well, he’s definitely grown up.” I twirl my straw in my drink and think about how I can explain exactly how much Theo has changed. It’s not just in the way he looks. It’s in the way he carries himself too. "His hair is short now, and he’s got this confident air about him. He’s handsome, okay? There, I said it."
The table erupts into laughter and teasing comments, but I can tell they’re genuinely curious. "Handsome, huh?" Aurora grins. "But you don’t sound too happy about it. I mean, there are some exes of mine who could show up, and I wouldn’t turn them away without a conversation at least."
I sigh, feeling the weight of the situation. "It’s not just about how he looks. He came over because he wants to buy my grandma’s house. Apparently, he’s planning this huge resort and needs my property to make it happen."
Stella’s eyes grow wide. "Oh, wow. That’s unexpected. What did you say?"
"I told him no, of course. He tried to sweet-talk me with numbers and talking about how much the land is worth, but I’m not selling. The house means a lot to me, and I have plans for it. I mean, I kind of quit my job to come down here and run a bed and breakfast. That plan is out the window if I don’t have the house to do it with.”
"Good for you," Madison says firmly. "Don’t let him push you around.”
“Did anything else happen?" Zoey asks quietly. I appreciate the way she listens instead of just jumping to conclusions.
I take a deep breath, deciding to just lay it all out. "He’s been making things difficult. I think he’s trying to get me to sell by making my life miserable. He used a jackhammer right by my back window at 10:30 at night. Apparently, he’s allowed to make noise that late at night by city ordinance, but it’s annoying. How am I supposed to sleep there or have guests there in a couple of months if he’s still tearing up the place with loud machines?”
“Construction will eventually end,” Madison reminds me.
“I know. I get that. But it’s just the disrespect. Oh, and after I went to pick up dinner yesterday, I came back to find the street practically blocked by his excavator. I was barely able to inch around it. I mean, it’s affecting a lot of people, not just me. It’s like he doesn’t think of anyone else but himself.”
"That’s low. What a jerk!" Stella agrees, running her hand through her blue hair.
"Yeah, he’s definitely full of himself,” Madison agrees. Aurora just watches me.
“The real problem is that he thinks can just throw money at any problem and make it go away. But I’m not giving in."
Aurora raises her glass. "Good for you, Mia. Stand your ground. And if you need us to come over and help you out, just say the word. We’ll form a human shield if we have to."
Everyone laughs, and I feel a warm sense of camaraderie wash over me. These girls have my back, just like they always did. It’s reassuring to know I’m not alone in this.
"But seriously," Zoey says, taking a sip of her drink, "what are you going to do about Theo? You can’t just let him bully you into selling."
"I know," I reply, feeling a knot of frustration in my stomach. "I’m going to have to confront him, tell him to back off. I just don’t know how to do it without making things worse."
"Maybe you should get some legal advice. Find out what your rights are and what he can and can’t do. If he’s crossing any lines, you could have a case against him,” Madison suggests.
"That’s a good idea. I’ll look into it. I just don’t know if one crazy night of loud work and blocking the street would be enough.”
“Well, if he keeps it up,” Madison qualifies.
“So, you’ve figured out how you’re going to deal with the fact that he’s a jerk, but you didn’t say how you felt seeing him again."
I fidget with my straw, trying to find the right words. "It’s...complicated. He’s definitely attractive, but it’s hard to separate that from how he’s acting. He’s so arrogant, and that just overshadows everything else. I mean, there are tons of attractive men out here."
"So, you’re saying you’re attracted to him but also hate him," Stella teases.
"Maybe," I admit with a laugh. "I don’t know. It’s all mixed up. But right now, I’m more focused on keeping my grandma’s house and making my bed and breakfast idea a reality. Theo can shove his resort plans."
But that’s when I look up and see Theo across the tiki bar. He’s leaning casually against the counter. All the stools are occupied, but he still seems to make space for himself. What the hell is he doing here? And can I possibly hide behind my friends?