Chapter 8
Ryan watched as his aunts, uncles, and cousins, along with all their families, filed into the house carrying trays of food. No one had come empty-handed.
“Aunt Lorraine, you didn’t have to bring all this!” He took the tray of fried eggplant from her hands.
“I just had a little bit of eggplant in my garden,” she explained as she opened up the tinfoil. The smells of Ryan’s childhood filled the room. “So I decided to make a little eggplant parmesan.”
A little meant a full tray.
“This smells amazing,” he said, inhaling the garlic-infused tomato sauce that brought him back home immediately.
His aunt kissed him on the cheek before taking the dish back and heading to the kitchen as Cece came out of it. Donned in an apron and with his cousin’s son in her arms, Cece looked like she was in heaven. She slightly raised the young boy up and said, “This is what I want for Christmas.”
Everyone in the room laughed, but Ryan almost growled.
All vacation, she had encouraged him to break up with a beautiful woman who loved him, and now she wants grandchildren?
Ainsley was a smart… A nice… She was ready to be a wife and a mother, right?
Why didn’t she like her again? Why had he broken up with her?
He stood thinking of reasons why Ainsley was perfect, but then he realized he didn’t really miss her.
Even now, with her gone, he didn’t wish she were there to talk to.
In fact, having her there had been stressful even before his mother had started in on her.
She’d always been pouting about something, he’d been overcompensating because of his family, and the whole time they’d both wished they were somewhere else.
They had nothing in common. She didn’t even like sports all that much, and he had no clue what it took to be a pageant beauty queen.
His mother was right, but did she have to rub it in his face?
Thea slid into his head. The beautiful renaissance woman perplexed and fascinated him.
She kept slipping into his thoughts throughout the day, ever since that morning on the beach.
Like a mythological goddess, her taking that wave, stepping off into the water so effortlessly, the smile of triumph on her face as she got out of the water, filled his mind.
He glanced at her art piece he’d hung on the wall in the front hall. One of the first pieces someone would see when they walked into the house. The view of the harbor from the inn had been his favorite view since he was a kid.
He stepped closer to the artwork to really study it, when he noticed a shadow of a mermaid in the water that he hadn’t noticed before. Maybe it was his mind’s eye making the illusion, but the whimsical touch, he hoped, had been on purpose.
“Ryan!” his mom called from the kitchen.
As more of his cousins came inside the house with beach bags and even more trays of food, he wondered how many more family members his mother had invited.
He didn’t mind; in fact, nothing made him prouder than to have a place for his whole family to gather.
What a gorgeous spot to celebrate being together.
He felt a pride he’d never felt with football, at seeing his mother run this big, beautiful house on the ocean, inviting everyone she had always dreamed of.
This would be a family memory long after the weekend ends, and he had done this.
“Ma, let me help you,” he said, taking another tray of food from her hands.
“That’s your Uncle Ed’s antipasto,” she said, handing him the glass serving platter.
“What’s in this thing?” he asked his uncle, who had an unlit cigar stub in his mouth. “It’s heavier than my Heisman Trophy.”
His uncle patted him on the back. The surrogate father had been the person everyone in the family said Ryan looked most like.
He took after his uncle in the way he looked, and according to his mother, on how he behaved for a lot of his childhood.
Whenever he got into trouble, she’d compare him to her brother, Ed.
They were both big, stocky, and tough as nails
“When will I meet the lucky lady?” his uncle Ed asked, looking around the room.
“She actually left this morning.” Ryan flinched as he recalled Ainsley’s reaction. First, she cried. Then packed. While she packed, she changed her status on all her socials. He could hear her talk to her publicist. He put the tray down on the counter. “What if we took this out by the pool?”
“You have a pool on the beach?” His uncle shook his head and said a little prayer. Then grabbed his face with both hands. “I’m so proud of you.”
He slapped Ryan playfully, but his face stung after his uncle carried his tray outside onto the back patio.
His mother came over to the counter. “I hope you didn’t mind that I invited everyone.”
“Of course I don’t mind,” he said, putting his arm around his mother’s shoulders. She grabbed his hand, both of them looking out to where everyone welcomed Ed, Denny, and the rest of them. “I’m just happy I can provide this for everyone.”
The Fourth of July was a holiday he’d never really thought much about, until he’d spent it on the island as a kid, then it became a whole different kind of holiday. A day that was up there with the big ones like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
It was all about celebrating and being together. No fluff, no frills, just food, music, and some fireworks.
“When are we going into town?” his cousin asked.
Luckily, the island had continued the traditions he remembered as a child.
The entire week of the fourth, the town decorated to the max with red, white, and blue, and lobster paraphernalia.
American flags hung from every street post. Patriotic bunting and pleated flags draped under all the windows and front porch railings, gardens were designed with flowers of red, white, and blue.
Seashells were strung together as garland hanging around the trees and bushes with fairy lights.
Gardens decorated with starfish and driftwood lobster claws and colorful bouts.
That morning, kids walked the main streets as neighbors shared summer treats, like trick-or-treating, but with glasses of homemade lemonade and fresh blueberries instead of candy.
Then the parade started, with all the businesses’ floats, fire trucks, police vehicles, and the island lobster princess started waving with the school marching band following her.
“We’ll head back down for the town’s lobster bake later tonight,” he said.
He’d never forgot his first time eating fresh lobster out of the sea. Nothing tasted better. Dipped in melted butter, a bit of sea salt, and nothing else. He understood why the sea gold was a delicacy.
After the parade, they all headed back to Ryan’s place, and more of Ryan’s family arrived, with even more food.
Everyone welcomed one another with hugs and jokes.
His uncles razzed him on being “a big football star” but then gave him hugs and kisses on the cheeks.
His uncle Denny even slipped him a hundred-dollar bill, like he did when he was a kid.
“Denny, you don’t need to give me money,” he said, handing the bill back to his uncle.
But he patted Ryan’s cheek while tears welled up in his eyes. “I take care of you. Not the other way around.”
But Ryan understood they were tears of pride.
As lunch was served, he looked out at his family catching up with one another, sharing their big life’s moments together. Together, they slowed down with the rhythm of the waves. Once again, the island gave him a gift.
As he stood watching everyone enjoying themselves, he decided he needed to take in this moment.
“Who wants to go surfing?” he called out, as he walked out with a pitcher of fresh lemonade in his hand.
All his cousins’ children raised their hands.
“Do you know how to surf?” Anna, his cousin Mikey’s wife, asked.
He took his phone out of the back pocket of his surf trunks. “No, but I know someone who does.”
He opened his contacts and pulled up Thea’s number. He started a text with, Good morning, then erased it and started over.
Hi Thea! then he erased that, too.
He started again. He stared down at her name on his phone. Why did this woman frazzle him so much?
With no more hesitation, he began punching in the words and sent the text to her before he could change his mind. Simple. Right to the point. Nothing left open-ended.
Want to come over and surf?
He took a picture of the table with all the food.
Her three surfboards stood up in the sand in the background, with his private beach beyond.
The sun sparkled perfectly off the water, making the frigid waters seem appealing.
He didn’t hide the fact that his whole family was also there—all of them standing in the background.
Invite a friend. Make it friendly, he thought to himself. No need to come off heavy, even though his whole head swirled with her in it.
If she invites a guy, then he’ll know better luck next time. If she comes alone, then game on. And Ryan always won when it came to a game.
After two hours, a text finally appeared on his screen, and he couldn’t hold back his smile.
What can I bring? was all she wrote. But that was all he needed.
He immediately wrote back. Just a surfboard.
For over an hour, Ryan tried to play cool, but nothing got past Cece Palmer.
“Who do you keep looking for?” she asked when he looked out the front window.
“No one,” he said, moving away from the glass, but he caught one last glance at the driveway.
“Who?” she asked more sternly, reminding him who’s in charge.
“Ma, it’s no one,” he said, hoping she’d drop it.
But Cece Palmer didn’t drop anything. “Don’t tell me you got back together with Ainsley.”
“Tell me how you really feel.” He shook his head. “No, Ma, seriously, I just sent out a few texts to a couple people. Just friends. No big deal.”