Chapter 28 #2
“Give him a chance to get over you,” Camille said. “Out of sight, out of mind.”
“I hope it’s not that dramatic!” Edie swatted Camille’s arm.
“But it’s always good to step back from your life every once in a while, to really get a scope of the bigger picture.
The forest for the trees and all of that.
Going to Italy gives me that big picture opportunity.
” She kicked at a clump of sand. “Anyway. Enough about me. How are things with the Inn? And with Foster and James?”
“Well, ironically, things are good with Foster and James and the Inn, as in James is going to do his post-op recovery at The Getaway, and Foster is going to be one of his main caretakers.”
Both Tabitha and Edie’s eyes went silver dollar wide. “That’s something,” Edie said incredulously. “Wow. And how do you feel about that?”
“Honestly? I feel really good about it because Foster feels really good about it. It’s funny how things always seem better when the people we love are at peace, right?”
“I, for one, think it’s a beautiful gesture,” Tabitha said to her sister. “And I think it’ll be an opportunity for more than just physical healing.”
“That’s my hope, too.”
The three continued strolling down the beach, careful to keep their steps on the portion of shoreline where the sand had been compacted from the back and forth of the pummeling waves. Water lapped at their feet; sea breeze swept through their hair. And smiles permanently adorned their faces.
Friendship was a true gift. Especially one that endured the ups, the downs, the joys, and the heartbreaks from many years of togetherness.
Theirs was one for the books.
“What’s that?” Edie shaded her brow, squinting into the distance.
Up ahead, two seagulls fought over something in the sand, their big white wings flapping as they vied for possession.
“I’m not sure.” The women moved closer. Uncomfortable with their encroaching presence, the gulls squawked a few times before finally abandoning the object. They soared up into the skies overhead but continued to grumble their shrill disappointment as they circled above.
“It looks like a piece of paper.” Camille stooped to collect the slip of parchment from the sand. She dusted it off and passed it to Edie since she had been the first to spot it.
Taking it by its crumpled edge, Edie unfolded the paper. Tabitha and Camille watched something shift over their friend’s face. It was almost as if she’d seen a ghost.
“What does it say?”
A hand went to Edie’s chest. Her breath caught.
“Edie?” Tabitha stepped toward her. “You okay?”
“It says: Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.” She held the paper between her fingers, eyes locked on the poetic words.
“It was all those years ago that I met Evan on a beach just like this one. And it was a silly seagull that brought us together back then, too.”
“It’s almost like he’s sending you a message,” Camille said softly.
Edie studied the note, switching her gaze between it and the crashing waves.
“You know? Every meaningful relationship I’ve ever had has had the ocean as its backdrop.
From meeting Evan, to living in side-by-side beach houses next to my two best friends.
This ocean has given my life so much meaning. So much purpose.”
“It’s the same for me.” Camille’s mouth curved into a wistful grin. “Tabitha was jogging along this very shoreline when she first discovered The Getaway. And now look at me, running an Inn with the man of my dreams.”
“It’s powerful, this ocean,” Tabitha agreed. “Beautiful and scary and consistent yet still unpredictable all at once.”
“Sounds like a metaphor for life in general,” Camille said.
“For life. For love,” Edie said. “Even friendship, minus the scary part.”
“I don’t know,” Tabitha countered. “Camille can be pretty scary at times.”
“Oh, whatever, sis.” Camille just rolled her eyes. “I think that note was meant to find you today, Edie. A little reminder that you’ll always have the memories, even if you don’t have the person you originally made them with.”
“And that it’s okay to make new ones,” Tabitha added.
“To new memories,” Camille agreed. “And to taking big risks, embracing the unknown, and finding comfort in the fact that with friends by your side, you’ll always be able to navigate the ever-changing seas of life.”
Tabitha snorted at her sister. “Maybe you should start leaving little poems along the shore for others to find.”
“Hey, I’m doing my best to clean up the beach, not add more litter to it.”
“Well, all I know is that you both add so much to my life,” Edie said sentimentally. “And I don’t know what I’d do if you weren’t in it.”
“Not something you’ll ever have to experience,” Camille assured. “You’re stuck with us.”
“Is that a threat?” Edie said in jest with a wide smile stretched across her lips. These precious friends of hers always knew how to do that—turn her melancholy into joy, her sorrow into sweet laughter.
“Nope.” Camille took Edie’s hand with her left, Tabitha’s with her right. “It’s a whole-hearted promise.”