Page 126 of Champagne Nights

“So I take it you’ve never heard of Dear Paisley?” I asked with the hope that he hadn’t.

“No, I haven’t. But I think now I’ll subscribe to the L.A. Times so I can read your column.”

“Don’t you dare.” I laughed.

Laughing. I hadn’t done that in a long time, and it felt good.

“Who taught you how to surf?” he asked.

“I taught myself.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” I smiled as I brought the coffee cup up to my lips. “My family loves the beach. My mom took us every weekend to unwind from the long school week. She told us to forget about school for a day and just have fun.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Three. Two sisters and Keaton. I used to sit on the sand and watch the surfers carry their surfboards down to the water and get in. I thought it was so cool that you could actually ride a wave, and I wanted to do it. A friend of mine had a sister who was away at college, so she let me use her surfboard to practice. I would sit on my board in the water and just watch people. I’d watch the way they positioned their feet and bodies so they could hold their balance. It took a while, but I learned, and I love it. When Keaton was old enough, I taught him to surf. Now that’s all he does.”

“Wow. That’s a great story, Paisley. Doesn’t he work?”

“Yeah. He designs websites and works from home. He’s super smart. He’s almost on a genius level when it comes to technology. He’s twenty-one years old and has the bank account of someone who’s been working for forty-plus years.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah. I guess you can have that when you live at home with your parents, and they don’t make you pay for anything.”

“I take it you’re really close to him.”

“I am. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very close with my sisters, too. But Keaton and I have a special bond. Maybe it’s all that surfing I taught him.”

Chapter Thirteen

Ben

Sitting across from Paisley and having coffee was nice. She was becoming a friend. Did I want a friend? Did I even need another friend? No. But Paisley was different. She understood.

“Do you run every day?” she asked.

“Yes. I do run every day. It’s important that I keep in shape for my job.”

“I used to run every morning. In fact, I used to run the same path you do.”

“Really? Maybe we saw each other once in passing. You don’t run anymore?”

“No. Not since my husband passed away. It’s been too hard since that day.”

My heart broke for her. “I’m sorry.”

“Thanks,” she said as she looked around.

My thought was that she didn’t want me to see the tears in her eyes.

“It’s still hard, you know,” she said.

“I know it is. It’s very hard and difficult to get through the day when all you want to do is climb into bed and never get out.”

When I said that, she looked straight into my eyes and gave me a small smile. “Exactly.”

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