Chapter Twenty #2
Chad chuckled. “That’s the other reason. When Dad put it up, he miscalculated and made the ropes a little too short for Mom to be able to get on. He tried to pretend he’d done it that way on purpose, that his plan was to use the box all along, but we all knew differently.”
Not for the first time, Britt wished she could’ve met Austin Young. He’d raised some fine sons, and it was more than obvious how much love he had for his little corner of the world here at Lobster Cove.
Zach let out a Tarzan yell as he flew through the air after launching himself off the swing and into the water. Britt had to admit that everything about the swing looked fun.
“Why is it called a lobster swing?” she asked Chad as Zach grabbed the rope used to pull the swing in and headed for shore.
“Everything around here is called lobster something or other,” he told her. “It’s kind of a running joke. Mainers know that lobster anything sells to tourists, so they use it as much as they can. And since this is Lobster Cove, we figured lobster swing was an appropriate name.”
“Tell her the real story,” Evelyn chided her son.
To Britt’s surprise, Chad’s cheeks turned pink.
“Oh, this I have to hear,” she teased.
But Evelyn didn’t give Chad a chance to explain.
She told the story herself. “When Chad was around eight, before Austin put up the swing and about a year after Zach was born, he and Lincoln were playing in the water here. As you can see, there’s a small protected area where it’s not as deep.
Lincoln was around eleven, and he knew he was in charge of keeping his younger brother safe.
They had to adhere to the buddy system when they were playing.
Anyway, he came running into the house screaming that Chad was being attacked.
“I, of course, panicked, and Austin and I ran to see what was happening. Chad was standing down there in the water, crying hysterically—with a lobster attached to his penis. They’d been skinny-dipping, as our boys did all the time, and somehow this lobster mistook his .
.. you know ... for something it wanted to eat.
“Austin and I did our best not to laugh, because we knew poor Chad had to be in a lot of pain, but after we got the lobster detached and realized he was just bruised and not truly hurt, we couldn’t hold back our laughter anymore.
It wasn’t too much later that Austin put the swing up.
We started calling it the lobster swing because of where it was and what happened to Chad. The name stuck.”
Britt tried really hard not to laugh, but it was impossible not to, especially when all Chad’s brothers were practically rolling on the ground. Zach and Knox were too young to remember the incident, but it was obviously a well-loved story that had been told over and over.
“I’m sorry,” she said as she tried to control her mirth, “but I can just picture you standing down there, trying not to move, scared to do anything that might make that lobster pinch even harder.”
“I was literally afraid it would cut off my dick,” Chad said with a small smile and shrug.
“I have one question ...,” Britt asked. It was taking all her control not to burst into giggles.
“What’s that?” Chad asked.
“What happened to the lobster?”
“Austin took it home and we had it for dinner, of course,” Evelyn said.
That did it. Britt burst out laughing. Everyone joined in, including Chad. She was glad he wasn’t upset that they were essentially laughing at what had to have been a traumatic experience for him.
“My turn!” Evelyn exclaimed as she stepped toward the box. Lincoln helped his mom climb up, while Knox steadied her from behind.
Britt was in awe of the woman. She didn’t have any hesitation, and the joy on her face as she stepped off that box and flew through the air was contagious.
This was a woman who loved the little things.
Who would never be content to sit in her house and hibernate away from life and all it had to offer.
She might not be the most well-traveled woman in the world, having spent most of her days right here on Lobster Cove, but she was content with who she was.
With what she had. And from where Britt was standing, it seemed as if she had everything anyone could ever want.
Lincoln pushed his mom when she swung back toward shore, but not quite as hard as he’d pushed his brother. After a few swings, when she felt she was high enough, the matriarch of the Young family leaped off the swing. She laughed loudly as she flew through the air and landed in the water.
Chad moved from Britt’s side and headed down the bank, holding out his hand to his mom as she came toward shore.
The love he and his brothers had for their mother brought tears to Britt’s eyes.
Yet again, she thought about the kind of relationship she had with her own mother, and how much they’d both missed out on for years.
A slight noise behind her had Britt turning, and to her surprise, she saw a little boy peeking around a tree next to the path that led back into the trees.
Stepping toward Lincoln, she nudged him with her elbow and gestured subtly to where the boy was watching Evelyn and Chad climb up the crude steps.
It was Kash. His red hair was sticking up all over his head, and he had a look of longing on his face that made Britt’s heart hurt.
She knew all too well the feeling of being on the outside looking in at others having fun.
Birthday parties she wasn’t invited to, neighborhood cookouts that her mom hadn’t been asked to attend, or couldn’t attend because she was working.
Staring at an amusement park full of people as she and her mom drove by.
It wasn’t a secret that the Youngs didn’t get along with their neighbor. That they thought Victor Rogers was a grumpy asshole. Britt wondered for a split second if that dislike would extend to his grandchild, but to her relief, Lincoln didn’t seem upset that the boy was spying on them.
“Hey, you must be Kash. Heard you’d moved in next door. Also heard you’ve taken over our fort in the woods. That’s cool,” Lincoln said, keeping his voice low and friendly as he spoke to the boy.
“Fort Bad Assery,” Chad said as he stepped back onto the flat area around the tree. “Hey, Kash. Good to see you again. I’m impressed that you did such a good job securing the fort and your stuff so nothing was damaged too much in the storm. That’s awesome.”
The men’s casual banter and welcoming words had Kash stepping out from behind the tree he’d been using as a hiding spot. “Yeah. Some of the books were a little damp, but nothing too bad,” he said.
“That’s good. Great. Do you know my brothers?” Chad asked.
The boy shook his head.
“This is Lincoln, he’s the oldest. I’m next. Then there’s Knox, and Zach is our baby brother. And this is my mom.”
“Hello, sweetie,” Evelyn said.
“You went on the swing,” he said, staring at Evelyn.
“I sure did. And it was fun !” she told him with a smile.
“My granddad says you’re mean. That you’re a stick-in-the-mud.”
Britt tensed, but no one took offense to the boy’s words.
Evelyn chuckled. “That’s because your granddad’s a grump.
He doesn’t seem to like anything or anyone who doesn’t fit into his idea of what he thinks they should be.
For example, he thinks I should be forever wearing an apron and standing in the kitchen.
Which is ridiculous. For one, there are so many other things to do here on Lobster Cove than stay inside cooking all day.
And two ... I don’t think I’ve owned an apron in my whole life. ”
Kash looked at the ground briefly. “He thinks I should be on the football team. Or baseball. But I’d rather read and look at the stars.”
Evelyn smiled. “Reading and looking at the stars is awesome. I like that stuff too.”
Kash nodded eagerly, and Britt wondered if that was the first time in his life he’d heard someone tell him it was okay to be himself. It made her wonder about his mother. Where was she? Was she as grumpy as her father? Did she also wish her son was more athletic?
“You want to take a turn?” Lincoln asked Kash.
The boy’s head whipped around as he stared up at Lincoln. “Really?”
“Sure. It’s tradition that anyone who lives or works at Lobster Cove has to swing. Britt hasn’t gone yet, but she will, since she’s living here now and dating my brother.”
“I don’t live or work here,” Kash said.
“You’re hanging out in our fort. That counts,” Lincoln said with a shrug.
Kash looked from him to the swing in his hand, then back the way he’d come on the path. “I don’t know,” he said, biting his lip. “I’m not supposed to be over here. If Granddad knew ...”
“How about if you just watch, then?” Lincoln said, not putting any pressure on the kid.
“Maybe for a while.”
Britt turned her head so Kash didn’t see her smile. She had a feeling it was only a matter of time before he’d be giving in to his obvious desire to take a turn on the swing. How could any little boy resist?
“Okay, Britt. Your turn,” Lincoln said firmly, looking in her direction.
The smile dropped from her face. “Oh, um ... I’m not sure.”
“Come on. It’s a blast!” Evelyn said.
Britt wasn’t convinced. She liked swings, of course she did, but she’d never been all that good at jumping off one.
All her friends had done it when she was little, but to Britt, it always seemed a little dangerous.
And when Becky Coleman had done it when they were in fourth grade, and misjudged her landing and fell on her face, scraping it all up and needing three stitches in her chin, it solidified her desire to use the swing as it was intended .
.. and keep her butt planted at all times.
But she found herself moving toward the box even as everything inside her was screaming to back away. To run to the house and hide. If Evelyn can do it, so can I. That was what she told herself as she took a deep breath and lifted her leg to the first step of the box.