Chapter Seven
It was just past five o’clock when Rosemary crossed the North Carolina state line and pulled into the gas station and visitor’s center at the border.
While she pumped the gas, she texted Kathleen.
Rosemary
About an hour out
Kathleen
Welcome to North Carolina! Can’t wait. Don’t speed. You’ll get a ticket.
Rosemary laughed. Okay, so not everything has changed since I was a teenager around here. She’d gotten her very first speeding ticket on her way to Nags Head. Not even being young, tan, and in a tank top could get her out of that ticket—and she tried it all, right down to crying. She’d lost car privileges for an entire month because of it.
The closer she got to Kathleen’s, the more excited she became. Kathleen said she’d dragged out all the old yearbooks. Rosemary had lost track of hers eons ago. It would be a hoot to look through them.
She passed the Kitty Hawk sign, trusting the GPS to get her to where she was going. She could just as easily be in Florida, and she wouldn’t know the difference.
“In one mile, turn left,” the GPS said.
Up ahead, a small nondescript sign read Whelk’s Island 12miles in black letters with an arrow. If she hadn’t been following the GPS instructions, she’d have cruised right past it.
There was absolutely no one on the road. It was a little eerie for a beach town to be this empty on a summer evening. Finally, she came upon a couple of small shopping centers and a go-kart track next to a gas station.
The speed limit dropped to twenty-five miles per hour, and Kathleen’s warning about speeding caused her to tap the brakes.
So, this is Whelk’s Island.
Each street sign had a little whelk shell decorating the corner and a beachy font for the street name.
Homes along this stretch were an array of muted pinks, blues, and greens, reminding her of one community back in Hawaii.
If it weren’t for the boards covering many of the windows, it would probably look very welcoming.
As it was, it felt a bit daunting.
I sure hope I’m not setting myself up for a big old “I told you so” from Nina.
It wasn’t much farther to Kathleen’s, but she could see on the map that the ocean was just a couple of blocks over. Dying to even peek at the water, she took the next turn and parked at the end of the street.
She got out of her car, and emotion washed over her.
It had been months since she left behind the sun-kissed beaches of Hawaii. The rhythmic sound of crashing waves greeted her like an old friend, instantly transporting her back to the days of salty air and endless horizons.
The familiar sounds brought her comfort. When she saw the water, she couldn’t hold back the joy that rose within her. She ran toward the shoreline. “Oh, it’s so beautiful. I’ve missed this.” She threw her arms in the air and breathed in. Each breath renewed her.
She stopped short of the water and slipped off her shoes. The wet sand shifted beneath her eager feet.
She kicked her toes through the warm water. A wave rolled in, swirling around her feet and causing her to sink into the sand. She laughed in sheer delight when the wave churned up around her ankles and splashed her high on her legs.
In that moment, all the stress back in Pennsylvania fell into the past, replaced by a sense of peace that only the ocean could provide.
Kathleen was waiting—and she could come back—so she headed to the car, brushed the damp sand from her legs and feet, and patted her clothes. Thank goodness her outfit was light and gauzy. It would dry quickly in the heat. She leaned against the car, fluffing her pant legs to let them air-dry.
“That was therapeutic. Oh my gosh, it’s going to be so relaxing being here.” It didn’t look like a threatening storm was on the horizon.
She slipped on her shoes and started the car. “Best decision I ever made.”
With a touch of her finger, the GPS showed she was only three miles from Kathleen’s house.
Rosemary drove past a row of beach cottages and then over a four-lane highway. On the other side, a few big commercial buildings looked a little out of place, although they were beautifully landscaped. Probably the city buildings.
Typical beach houses up on stilts lined the next blocks.
She turned onto Kathleen’s road and started checking house numbers.
The houses on this street were on big lots. When she pulled into the driveway, she felt as excited as a teenager going to her first sleepover.
Kathleen’s house was inviting with its classic coastal style, showcasing a beautiful shade of seafoam green on its shiplap siding. It stood out from her neighbors’, which were all pastel colors. Nautical navy-blue shutters complemented the siding, and her front porch had rocking chairs with playful navy-blue polka-dot cushions. It was bright and cheerful, and that didn’t surprise Rosemary in the least. Kathleen had been a big personality back in school.
Three cars were parked in the driveway. She pulled in beside them to not block anyone in.
Rosemary grabbed the gift bag from the passenger seat, a simple hostess gift to thank Kathleen for inviting her to visit. The curling ribbons she’d tied to the handles of the bag were in their old school colors: black, gold, and white. That felt kind of silly now, but it was too late to change it.
As Rosemary walked toward the house, laughter drifted out from the patio. She hadn’t expected there to be anyone else here. She hadn’t really prepared herself to meet a group of people, just one old school pal from a long time ago. Why hadn’t Kathleen mentioned she was entertaining?
She knocked on the front door and waited, feeling more nervous by the second.
A moment later, Kathleen swung open the front door. “Perfect timing. Come in. Come in.”
Kathleen wore a cotton tank dress and sparkly flip-flops, and although it was clearly casual beachwear, she looked like a million bucks with her silver hair styled in a fashionable bob, flashy jewelry, manicured nails, and glasses with fancy crystals on the sides.
Rosemary felt underdressed, even in her gauzy outfit. She tugged the loose ends of her linen blouse, shifting self-consciously.
Kathleen gave her a big hug, then gestured her inside. “This is one of my high school buddies,” she announced to her friends. “Y’all, meet Rosemary Allen.”
“Hi.” Rosemary took in the faces of the men and women seated around the room—mostly couples. It was clear this was a group that got together often, which left her feeling a bit awkward. “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Allen was your name in high school. What’s your married last name again?”
“Palakiko.”
Kathleen let out a hearty laugh. “Pal-uh…”
“Kiko. Palakiko. You got it.”
“Palakiko. Whew, well, give me some grace if I slip up and call you Rosemary Allen like when we were back in school.”
“Fair enough.” Rosemary handed Kathleen the hostess gift. “Just something small to say thank you.”
“You always were the sweet one. Thank you.” Kathleen set the gift on the counter and gave Rosemary a glass of wine. “Let me introduce you to everyone.”
There was no way she’d remember a single name in five minutes. It was overwhelming and a little rowdy, with beach music playing and one couple doing the old Carolina shag in the middle of the living room.
Kathleen walked Rosemary out to the deck, where even more people were hanging out. “Y’all, this is my high school friend Rosemary. She’s come to visit for a while.”
“Nice to meet you” and “Hope you’re hungry” were tossed around.
“This is Johnny.” Kathleen gestured to the tall silver-haired man at the grill. “He can fix anything, and he’s so much fun. A big flirt, but it’s all in friendship.”
“Nice to meet you, Rosemary. We got one heck of a deal on all this shrimp and a bushel of oysters, since everyone was heading out of town. You like your oysters raw or steamed?”
“Both,” she said. “I haven’t had oysters in a long time, though, and that was on the West Coast.”
“If you liked those, you’ll love these,” Johnny explained. “Our oysters are a little more briny, I’d say. This area of the coast is known for the best oysters, and it isn’t even an R month. You’ll see. They’ll be great.”
“Living my whole adult life in Hawaii, I’m well versed in seafood.”
Johnny’s brows perked up, and he swung his gaze toward Kathleen. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing hula dancers, Kathleen.” Johnny swiveled his hips, his extended belly lobbing over his belt.
“Oh, Johnny. You’re such a card. Get back to work. Everyone is starving.”
Kathleen leaned in and whispered to Rosemary as they went back inside, “The way he drinks, there’s no telling when he’ll actually get around to cooking all that stuff. Doesn’t matter, I don’t guess. We have the whole storm to get it cooked and eaten.”
“All these folks live right here in the neighborhood?”
“Yeah. Pretty much. One big happy family. Almost everybody is retired, so it’s super easygoing. Nice people. You’ll love them.”
Rosemary tried to look enthusiastic, but she was tired from the long drive, and Kathleen hadn’t even shown her where her room was yet. The evening of giggling over yearbooks together that she’d been looking forward to wouldn’t happen tonight.
“I’ll be right back.” Kathleen squeezed her arm as she swept past her and headed outside.
Rosemary sipped her wine and took a seat at the end of the couch. The people were nice enough, but no one seemed in a hurry about eating or getting the house prepared for the storm, despite the pile of plywood on the porch.
She got up and walked into the kitchen to see if any snacks were out. There were oodles of libation options, but no snacks.
Rosemary’s stomach rumbled. She set her wineglass in the sink. The last thing she needed was to drink wine on an empty stomach. Just as she reached for her purse, ready to head back into town for something to eat, Kathleen burst through the door, laughing with her hair tousled. She looked breathless and wild-eyed, as if the outside world had chased her all the way back inside.