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Rose nodded. “Sure!”
The three chairs that were left dug into the sand almost lifted and ran down the beach like the others. With April’s help, they were able to pull them to the house without a problem.
Under the canopy, they could hear each other better. “Have you seen a young girl run through here? It’s my daughter, Georgia. She stormed off down the beach and I haven’t been able to find her. I want to make sure she’s somewhere safe before this storm hits. It looks bad enough already.”
Rose’s hand went to her chest. “No. Oh my gosh, that’s awful. I’m sorry. Is everything okay?”
For a moment, April thought about lying. She could have easily told her new friend that everything was okay. Rose didn’t need to know about every little miserable detail. It was too much for April to comprehend right now; how could anyone else listen to her sob story?
But then she looked into her eyes and saw the kindness, the worry. It wasn’t Rose just being polite; it was an offer. An offer to listen to April’s story and be there for her, no matter what.
“No. It’s not.” Just saying it pulled a small weight off her chest. Desperation took over as the words began spewing from her mouth, needing more of the weight to come off. “Georgia’s mad at me. She thinks it’s her fault that I’m getting a divorce. That’s a whole mess I don’t know how to fix. And then my old boss came this morning and tried to hit on me. It was so weird and awkward and I told him to get out.
“But my mom came and she told me that I have to go back to them. Because I don’t even own the house I’m working on apparently. She’s not going to give it to me if I don’t get Georgia back to school and go back to work. And, and…”
Tears and wind burned April’s cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping away the tears. “This probably doesn’t make much sense to you.” She chuckled slightly, surprising herself by that reaction. It must have been from the ability to let it all go. The words didn’t come out right, the stories jumbled, but in letting out some of the stress she felt so much better.
Her mouth got dry while staring at Rose, waiting for any kind of response. She sat there sizing her up. So much that April looked herself up and down to see if something was wrong. “What?”
“I’m trying to decide if I should give you advice or if you just needed to get that off your chest. To be honest, I don’t think you want advice, but I think you might need it. You have to be willing to hear me out though.”
April couldn’t express in words how thankful she was for a new friend that could be blatantly honest. This is what she needed, what she was missing. “Please. You can tell me anything. Give me the advice.”
Rose sighed in preparation. “You have to stop letting this happen to you.”
Taken aback, April’s breath caught in her throat. Let this happen to her? Like she was simply asking for all of this to happen? “What do you mean?”
“This is your life, April. All these people keep trying to force you to make decisions. But you are the only one who can decide what you do. No one can force you to go back to that horrible boss. Sure, your mom can pull you from the house. But you’d still have your life. You can keep Georgia’s decisions her own and take control of your life, too.”
She hated how much Rose was right. It was as hard to hear as Rose had warned. Her cheeks now not only burned from the strong winds and tears, but shame from not realizing her problems were her own doing. She wouldn’t be so stressed out if these choices were her own, instead of letting other people dictate her life.
“You’re right,” she replied, staring at the ground unable to look into her friend’s eyes. “I can’t believe I didn’t see it before.”
Rose only smiled. “Sometimes it’s hard to see when you’re in it. I understand. I just hope you can find a way to do what you want with this life, instead of letting everyone else tell you what they want you to do.”
It seemed to be a recurring theme in her life that she followed the lead of other people. Since arriving on the island, April told herself a thousand times that she wouldn’t get back into the habit of listening to everyone else. But so far, she’d seemed to do just that.
In moments of stress, she let anyone tell her what to do next. She would do anything if it meant that she didn’t have to confront someone else. If her mother wanted to use the house as a bargaining chip, then she would let her.
And it was exactly what she didn’t want to do.
It felt like April was fighting against herself, constantly in a battle to win the right to make a decision for herself. But not only did she have to fight herself, she had to fight back against the people who were trying to take control over her.
It was easy against Carl, the man who would soon no longer be her husband. He didn’t have a choice in her life anymore because he was choosing to leave. It was even easier for people in the city to make snap judgements about her and the house. They couldn’t tell her if she was able to fix it up or not. They didn’t know her at all.
But against her mother, the woman who knew her for her entire life, it felt nearly impossible. April had always listened to her mom, out of respect and necessity growing up.
Even now that she was an adult, her mother had this power over her. Like because she had raised her, it meant she could dictate how her life should go.
April knew it wasn’t true. Caroline had no right to take control of her life, even if she was her mother. It wasn’t her mother’s life to live; it was her own. Somehow, she would have to find a way to tell her mom that she wasn’t doing any of the things she’d just promised.
“It’s easier said than done,” April replied with a smirk. “But I’m working on it. Thank you.”
Rose smiled, but immediately was hit by a blast of wind. “We should probably lug these chairs inside.” They tugged the remaining lawn items into the house from the patio and shut the door. The television was turned to the news and Rose listened in as April pulled her last chair inside.
“Well, I think I’m going to go. I have to find Georgia. She’s probably back at the house by now.”
April shook her head, still staring at the television. “You shouldn’t leave. The storm has been upgraded to a hurricane.”
