Page 16 of The Hampton Beach Café 2
Closing the fridge, she wandered back out into the café area.
“Hey guys, I think we should get started on the menus,” she said.
“You've been eves dropping?” Lucinda said, matter of fact.
“No!”
“Too quick, now I know you're lying,” she said. “Tomorrow, you are getting out of this house, and we are having a fun day. Aren't we, Alex?”
He grinned awkwardly and nodded. He was a terrible conspirator.
“We really don't have to...” she started protesting, but Lucinda held up a hand to stop her.
“No, not listening,” she said. “You're also required to eat something other than a grilled cheese.”
Alex perked up at that. “I'm going to make dumplings!”
She felt her nose wrinkle up at that––she didn't mean to, but the thought of soggy, slimy pouches of essentially boiled meat was not her idea of a good meal.
“Quit the face. They're delicious,” Lucinda said. “We're frying them so they won't be even a little bit slimy.”
As she so often did with Lucinda, Frances had the overwhelming urge to poke her tongue out at her like a four-year-old.
TEN
Lucinda never fails to amaze me, Frances realized the next day when a white box three feet square arrived at her door. She had taken care of all the hard stuff back in LA––Lucinda had called movers and had her assistant supervise the packing and moving of her belongings into storage, remembering to ship a range of clothes in boxes across the country as well. This box was new, however, and she had no idea what Lucinda had organized or how she'd gotten something delivered overnight.
She placed the box on top of the diaries and pushed her nail through the sticker, holding it closed. As she lifted the lid, she cringed. A bikini top was the first item she noticed. A note was the second.
“Don't worry, there's a long-sleeved sun protector too,” it read.
That woman was too clever for her own good.
Pulling out the bikini, mercifully mid-thigh length board shorts, and a long-sleeved black shirt that seemed to be made out of swimsuit material, Frances turned the card over.
“Time to let Alex show us around,” she read aloud.
What?
That's when she saw the non-slip sandals.
Oh no.
No.
She was NOT going jet skiing.
***
Her arms clamped around Lucinda's waist as her friend whooped loudly at the crest of a wave. Frances managed not to cry out.
The last time she did that, Alex made them pull to a stop so he could go over the safety plan with her again. While she appreciated his attentiveness, she didn't want to feel lectured or put up with Lucinda's grumbling.
Just breathe, try and let go of it, just breathe,she repeated to herself like a mantra.
She opened her eyes and had to admit it was quite beautiful where they were. Alex was ahead of them, navigating. She hadn't let herself think about that too much––how much navigation should a half-day a jaunt take?
Apparently, this hidden cove was one of the wonders of the world––or at least, according to Alex, it should be. They came around a rocky headland, and instead of heading up the coast, they headed out towards an outcropping of rock in the middle of the sea!
