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A wrinkled face surrounded by a halo of sunshine leans over me. "Well, I'll be damned. Ithoughtthat was you. I told Beth—I think that's Jamie down at the beach. I recognized your car out front."
David Pearl offers me a hand and reality slams into me. I passed out on the private stretch of beach behind the Pearl's house. I wanted to go to the hotel to clean up before I saw them. Too late now.
Taking his hand, I pull myself up and sigh. "I don't even remember falling asleep." The sun is low to the east and the gray haze of morning tells me it's not very late.
David shrugs. "It's the sand. Powder-soft, my boy. Best in the state. You know they filmed the Truman Show here, right?"
He's told me this nearly a hundred times. It's not even that he's lacking in memory, it's just something he's proud of. I'm fully awake now. "Man, I missed you guys." I hug him before I can stop myself.
David hesitates, but not because he's not a hugger. If anything, he's the affectionate one, and I'm the one who pauses in the presence of his kindness. I've taken him by surprise and maybe I'm an idiot for that. I’m about to let him go when his arms tighten around me.
The emotion that had gotten caught in my throat earlier suddenly spills out.
"Hey now." David's voice is soft. "It's okay, son." His jacket absorbs my tears, and the sound of my sobs is at once embarrassing and a relief. When I finally pull away, David is looking at me in the way my father used to—and it takes all my strength to not break down again.
He keeps his hand on my shoulders. "You know, I was going to ask why you came to town early, but now I'm thinking that maybe you should have come here a month ago."
I can't hold my laugher in. A weight dissolves in my chest. "It's really good to see you."
David cocks his head. "Jamie, you know we don't see you enough. Now c'mon, Beth has breakfast on the stove. I hoped I was right, so I told her to put on extra." Before I can ask him tonotmention my outbreak to Beth, David slings his arm over my shoulder as he guides us toward the house. "And don't you worry, we'll keep this between the boys, eh?"
I wipe the moisture from my eyes and shake the sand from my hair. "You read my mind."
David pats my back. "It's the way Chris would have done things. You’re family, kid."
His words stab me deeper than I expected.
Family. Do I even know what that means anymore?
The backdoor swings open, releasing the aroma of fresh bacon into the salty air. The Pearls bought the beach house after Chris's death and although it sits on prime real estate, it's a piece of shit, for lack of a better term. The real estate community refers to it asthe teardown on the beach, and is constantly trying to convince David to sell it.
In all fairness, they bought it as a fixer upper but never got around to fixing it up. Unlike the colossal mansions surrounding it, their place is more like a cottage with peeling paint and a sagging roof. David's pension from the post office is just enough to cover their mortgage, but they both work part time at the library to cover the rest of the bills.
"Bethy, I told you it was our Jamie."
Beth turns from the kitchen, a giant grin spreading across her wrinkled face. Her smile is identical to her son's, and seeing it is both comforting and heartbreaking at the same time. "Well, I'll be," she announces.
I wait until after breakfast to tell them the real reason I’ve come to visit. "So, you know that business you guys invested in?"
David rolls his eyes. "Investment is a loose term. We hardly put any money down."
Beth swats David's hand. "Let him talk."
I smile. "Well, it's doing well. Very well, in fact." Pulling a check out of my pocket, I pass it across the table to David. "This is for both of you."
They slide on their glasses, and David does a double take. Beth curses.
David blinks. "Jamie—we can't accept this."
Beth grips her chest. "This is too much. Did you sell the business or something?"
I chuckle. "No, we just had a really good month. Business is finally turning around."
"This is from one month?" David gasps.
"Yep. I wanted to deliver the first one in person, but I'll probably have to mail the check next month."
Beth's eyes gloss over. "Jamie. We told you we didn't want your money."
