Clara in America (Clara Andrews Series - Book 7) (13 page)

Oliver looks lost in thought for a moment, as though carefully considering his options.

‘Actually, I think I need to go and talk to my mom.’

‘Oh…’ Totally surprised at his complete one eighty on the situation, I suddenly feel wide awake. ‘What made you change your mind?’

‘Trying to pretend like this isn’t happening isn’t getting me anywhere. She’s a grown up. I might not agree with the decisions that she makes, but at the end of the day she will always be my mother.’

‘Wow.’ I breathe, feeling incredibly proud of him. ‘That’s a very healthy way of looking at it.’

‘Like I said, my time in the hell hole made me think things over.’

A smile plays at the corner of my lips as he refers to the Crazy Cavern as a hell hole.

‘Hey, did you know that Hannah and Joe have invited us to go again tomorrow?’ I pinch the inside of my arm to stop myself from laughing.

‘To be totally honest, I’d rather go join my mom and Paulie…’

You can’t choose your parents,

but you can laugh at them.

‘This is nice.’ I whisper, tipping back my head and enjoying the ocean breeze whipping through my hair. ‘This is really nice.’

‘Isn’t it?’ Looking out to sea, Oliver throws Noah onto his shoulders as we walk along the shore.

The water washes over my feet as we make our way back towards our loungers. After the bedlam of yesterday, this is exactly what was needed. Whilst I snuggled up in the huge hotel bed with Noah, Oliver went off in search of his mother. What exactly went on in the two hours that he was missing, I really do not know. He didn’t say and I didn’t ask. All I know is that when he came back he seemed to be in a clearer state of mind and we haven’t spoken a word about it since. Not that I’m complaining, of course.

The second he rolled out of bed this morning, Oliver declared our penultimate day was to be spent at the beach. Needless to say, I haven’t stopped smiling all afternoon and neither has Noah. Seeing Oliver back to his normal self has lifted a real weight from my shoulders and I feel like we can finally go back to normal. Yes, I wish we could have arrived at this point earlier in the week, but today has been absolutely beautiful. I have to admit that when Oliver proposed this so called beach day over breakfast, I was more than a little concerned at what his motives were. At first I had images of him and Janie wrestling in the sand and trying to drown one another in the ocean. Although I have to hold my hands up and say that things couldn’t have gone any better.

For once, Janie is being rather
un-Janie-like
and has played the part of doting grandmother very well indeed. From building sand castles with Noah to taking him for dips in the ocean, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her act more maternal in all the years I’ve known her. Whatever Oliver said to her last night seems to have worked wonders on her attitude and not that I want to jinx it, but I really think we have managed to turn a corner. Take right now for example, Janie kindly took it upon herself to take on the long trek to the bar to get us some drinks. A little part of me is still expecting her to roll down the beach high on Sambuca, but for now, life is good again.

Collapsing onto my sun lounger, I peel off my dress and reach for the sun cream. What a beautiful day. Don’t get me wrong, the theme parks are fabulous, but it just isn’t a holiday without a little time spent at the ocean’s edge, is it?

‘Come here, little buddy.’ Taking a seat on the sand next to me, Oliver pulls Noah onto his lap and places his baseball cap onto his little head.

‘What are you two doing?’ I ask, looking down at the pair of them as they kick back in the sunshine.

‘Just chilling.’ Oliver rolls his neck and whips off his t-shirt to reveal an already brown stomach.

Stretching out my legs, I roll onto my side and immediately spot Janie striding across the sand with a towering tray of drinks. Clearly struggling with the many cups, she finally manages to make it back to us without spilling a drop.

‘Tequila Sunrise.’ Handing over a crimson glass, she props a pink umbrella on the rim and points to my cherry. ‘Do you want that?’ Not waiting for an answer, she reaches down and pops it into her mouth.

‘Are you sure this is mine?’ I ask, eyeing up the strong liquid and begrudgingly taking a tiny sip. ‘I thought I asked for a soft drink?’

‘That is soft!’ Laughing loudly, she passes a couple of bottles of water to Oliver and points to the remaining plastic glass. ‘Take mine instead.’

‘What is it?’ I go to place the Tequila Sunrise back on the tray and peer at the other drink uncertainly.

‘Long Island Iced Tea.’

Quickly back tracking, I take the Tequila Sunrise and wedge it into the sand next to my lounger. ‘On second thoughts, I’ll stick with mine.’

Oliver slugs away at his bottle of water and I can’t help but feel a little envious. With him being the designated driver, it’s down to me to be Janie’s drinking partner. Not wanting to kick up a fuss now that we are all getting along, I smile gratefully at her and lie back in my seat.

‘So, what’s the plan for the afternoon?’ Janie asks merrily. ‘Where do you wanna go? What do you wanna do?’

‘Nothing.’ Oliver fires back immediately, answering on behalf of us all. ‘I just wanna lay right here and do absolutely
nothing
at all…’

‘Sounds good to me.’ I add, twisting my hair up out of my face.

‘Me too!’ Noah yells, causing the three of us to burst into a fit of laughter.

‘I guess that’s decided then.’ Janie slugs away at her lethal cocktail whilst trying to manoeuvre her lounger directly beneath the sun. ‘We’re just gonna stay here and enjoy doing nothing at all…’

A young couple further along the sand set up a few loungers and strategically place their boom box for the rest of the beach to see. Bracing myself for a racket, I am pleasantly surprised when relaxing, almost hypnotic notes float our way. Now that’s what I’m talking about! Could this day get any better? I think not. After checking that Noah is completely smothered in sun cream, I brace myself before taking a sip of the dreaded Tequila Sunrise and tug down the straps of my swimsuit.

My eyes become heavy and I allow myself to give in to the lure of a much needed nap. The strong rays of the sun shine down onto my skin, warming every inch of me from within and making it almost impossible to move a muscle. Enjoying the gentle music that is encompassing us in a warm haze of relaxation, it’s not long before I find myself well and truly away with the fairies.

When I finally open my eyes, I have no idea how long I’ve snoozed for. Five minutes? An hour? I really do not know. What I do know is that there’s a person making his way over to us and that person is one that we least want to see. What the hell is
he
doing here? Does he have a tracking device on our car or something? Blinking twice to make sure that I’m not hallucinating, I push myself to my elbows and wonder if we can run away before he reaches us.

‘How about we go for some lunch?’ I ask hastily, rolling off my lounger and feeling around for my dress.

‘We just had breakfast!’ Janie scoffs, lifting her head a millimetre. ‘You got worms or something?’

I manage a nervous laugh and look over my shoulder at the nightmare who is fast approaching us.

‘How about another drink then? A walk along the shore? Oh, I know! Who wants to go shopping?’

‘Is that…’ Oliver flips on his sunglasses and passes me Noah. ‘Jesus Christ! I don’t believe it!’

Janie fidgets uncomfortably, obviously not wanting any confrontation when we have been getting along so well. Still not knowing what went down between the three of them last night, I’m not sure how this is going to pan out. Although something tells me that it isn’t going to be all cupcakes and kittens. Noah struggles to get down and I try to pacify him with his beloved dinosaur.

‘Hey.’ Paulie smiles widely as he comes to a stop at the foot of Janie’s lounger. ‘You didn’t tell me you were coming down here.’

Dropping onto the sand next to Janie, he throws an arm around her shoulder and kicks off his sneakers. Who the hell wears Converse to the beach? His yellow bandana, which I am now convinced is superglued onto his head, clashes violently with his neon shorts and orange tank top. He couldn’t look more hideous if he tried.

‘Actually, today is kind of a family day.’ Oliver stands in front of Paulie and folds his arms. ‘I’d appreciate it if you left.’

‘Could he not stay? It would just be for a little while?’ Janie’s voice is small and timid as she dusts sand off her legs and looks up at Oliver hopefully.

I hold my breath and bounce Noah on my hip, waiting for the volcano to explode. Oliver stares at the pair of them for a moment before taking Noah from me and reaching for his sea shoes.

‘Fine.’ He growls, flipping on his baseball cap and swearing under his breath.

Watching him walk off towards the ocean, I stare at the spot where he was standing and try to think of what to do next.

‘Well, that couldn’t have gone any better really, could it?’ I attempt a small laugh and reach for my drink.

‘I thought we could go out for shooters later.’ Paulie whispers to Janie, not so discreetly either. ‘A few Sambucas, maybe a whisky chaser… or ten.’

Janie chuckles in response before shaking her head and taking a sip of her cocktail. ‘I dunno.’

Blimey! Almost choking on my own cocktail, I peer at her from behind my sunglasses and try not to start coughing. Janie turning down the offer of alcohol is most definitely a first. A sudden gust of wind blows my dress up and I fight against it in a poor bid to maintain my modesty. Not that it really matters what I am wearing when all eyes are on the sixty-something wearing nothing more than a purple string bikini.

‘Come on!’ Paulie presses, clearly not happy at missing out on a night on the town. ‘What’s gotten into you?’

‘Nothing!’ She exclaims, reaching over and snuggling into his chest. ‘I’m just gonna spend the night with the rugrat, that’s all.’

Rolling his eyes dramatically, Paulie runs a hand through his hair and tugs off his top before stuffing it behind his head like a makeshift pillow. Not wanting to get into a conversation with him, I pull a magazine from beneath my lounger and pretend to get lost in the text.

‘What about tomorrow then? A few of the gang are going to Bamboo Lounge.’ Slapping her on the thigh, he reaches over and takes a gulp of her drink. ‘It should be a blast. You loved it the last time. You won that wet t-shirt competition, remember?’

Eww! Holding my magazine higher to cover the look of repulsion that washes across my face, I look up at the sky and try to stop myself from vomiting. What a vile creep! He has no idea how lucky he is that Oliver is not here right now.

‘Maybe.’ Janie coughs and applies tanning accelerator to her legs. ‘I’ll let you know.’

‘OK…’ He mumbles, a look of annoyance flashing over his face. ‘Well, if you don’t want to come out tonight, could you sub me some cash and I’ll go alone?’

What? Trying really hard to pretend that I’m not listening, I watch in awe as Janie leans over and pulls a handful of dollar bills out of her purse. Paulie’s eyes light up as he pockets the cash greedily and plants a sloppy kiss on Janie’s lips.

‘Cool. Right, I gotta biz-ounce…’ Jumping to his feet, he winks at Janie and adjusts his bandana. ‘I’ll catch you later. You too, Carla.’

‘It’s
Clara!
’ I yell after him as runs along the beach.

What the hell was that? Did she just give him money? I sneak a peek at Janie who is counting the last few notes in her now very empty purse. I am about to ask her what’s going on when Oliver emerges from the water and starts to make his way back along the sand. Feeling a little concerned about what I’ve just witnessed, I fidget in my seat and hold out my arms for Noah.

‘Was that nice?’ I rub my nose against his, laughing as he shakes his head, showering me in wet droplets.

‘Where’s the gutterpup gone?’ Oliver asks, snatching a towel and rubbing down his hair.

‘He had to leave.’ Janie forces herself to smile and digs a shell out of the sand with her talons.

Raising his eyebrows, Oliver grabs his water before pulling over another lounger. The waves crash wildly against the sand and I watch a couple of children running in and out of the water, laughing like crazy when they get knocked over. I’m about to suggest we go and join them when I spot Paulie turning on his heels and making his way back over. For God’s sake! What does he want now? More cash? Too busy cursing him into oblivion, I don’t realise that he’s with someone until he is just a couple of feet away. Squinting to avoid being blinding by the sun, I take in his new friend carefully. With wiry grey hair which has been tightly curled into a neat chignon, she looks like a wrinkly force to be reckoned with. Her tie-dye kaftan is obviously two sizes too small, making her look even more plump than she already is. Oliver spots Paulie a second too late, meaning that he can’t plan an escape before he is back in our presence.

‘Janie, there’s someone I want you to meet…’ Motioning to the woman besides him, he smiles lazily and pushes her forward. ‘This is my mom, Mary Beth.’

My toes immediately curl and I look over at Oliver for his reaction. Weirdly, he doesn’t say a word. He looks as dumfounded as I am.

‘Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Mary Beth.’ Wiggling to her feet, Janie adjusts her thong and holds out her hand. ‘It’s great to finally put a face to the name.’

Mary Beth squints for a moment before taking off her sunglasses for a better look. ‘
Jeanette?
’ She gasps, her mouth visibly falling open. ‘Jeanette Green, is that you?’