Page 87 of Memories By the Shore
The pure nostalgia of us together, combined with the sound of the waves in the background and the salty breeze whipping through my hair, is utterly dynamic. I am transported back to simpler times when the only things we worried about were ourselves.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Then
Jasper
“Still can’t believe you got her pregnant,” Bodhi comments, slapping the blanket and laying it flat on the sand. “Have I not taught you anything?”
I roll my eyes, tossing the rest of the pillows under the umbrella. “I love her, Bodhi. I know you don’t know what that’s like, but when you love someone, you don’t worry about things like that,” I say, then suddenly I turn to see Easton, Riley, and Bodhi with smirks on their faces. They don’t believe a word I’m saying. “Fuck off, guys. I do love Avery.”
Easton sets one of the tall lanterns on the side of the blanket. “Oh, we know you definitely love her—” he begins, but then I abruptly cut him off. My friend knows me better than this. They’re trying to get me to admit that I fucked up—which I did, but I don’t want to think of it that way.
“Fine, it was an accident,” I snap. “Happy?”
Riley rests a hand on my shoulder. “Again, did Bodhi not teach you anything?”
“I guess not.” I roll my shoulders, pushing it off. “Besides, I’d rather refer to the baby as an unexpected surprise.”
“Whatever you want to call it,” Bodhi busts once again. “I must say, at least it’s Arizona and not some tourist.”
“Or worse, a girl from Coconut Grove,” Riley chimes in.
I chuckle, fist-bumping both of them. “That’s true.”
Easton lightly scatters red rose petals on top of the blanket. “How’d Duke take it when you told him?”
When Avery and I spoke with Helen and my dad, he was surprisingly calm. Helen was, too, but she was more concerned with how Avery felt about it. Understandably, her whole life is about to change. During the conversation, I kept reminding her this wasn’t something she would do alone. There’s an entire network of people out here to support us.
“He and Helen both handled it well,” I say. “Later that day, my dad and I took a drive over to the beach house and gave me a heart-to-heart.”
“Good ol’ Duke,” Bodhi muses. “That man is a legend.”
Easton tosses the last handful of petals into the air. “So, your dad waited until you two were alone to tell you how he really felt, huh?”
I shake my finger in the air. “You’d think that, right? But our talk was mostly about me and how I need to step up for Arizona. He’s very supportive of her.”
“Huh, imagine that,” Riley mumbles more to himself than to us.
“Out of the four of us, we knew you’d get married and have kids first,” Bodhi comments.
Riley grimaces. “I actually thought it would be Bodhi who’dknock up a girl first.”
I huff in frustration. “I didn’t justknock her up. It’s deeper than that.”
Riley throws a handful of rose petals into my face. “Aww,” he pokes fun.
“Fuck off,” I spit, sweeping the petals back onto the blanket with my hand. “A baby just adds another layer to our relationship.”
“God, you’re making me sick.” Bodhi gags with exaggeration.
“I don’t know why I asked you guys to help me,” I snap.
Riley hooks an arm around me. “Because we’re your brothers and love that we’re now getting a sister.”
We all share a laugh.
As dusk hits, the four of us step back to look at the setup. Rose petals cover the ground of the small area, and an umbrella rests in the middle with two small, dim lanterns on either side.
