Far Country (19 page)

           
“Beach!” Deborah exclaimed.  “I’ve already seen all of Jacksonville, you
know.”

           
“Beach,” Pete agreed.

           
They turned to Chuck, who had been reading the comics in the newspaper, and
were silent for a long moment.  “He’s asleep. Right there in the chair,”
Pete said in wonder.

           
“I can’t believe it!” Deborah complained softly. “He slept almost all the way
here! I did most of the driving!”

           
“Excuse me, I believe I was driving the last two hours,” Pete reminded her in a
wounded voice.

           
“Only after snoring for most of the first three hours,” she shot back. 
Deborah looked at Steve and rolled her eyes. “You can’t imagine the range of
noises that these two are capable of.”  She shuddered at the memory.

           
“You were pretty impressive yourself,” Pete informed her. He turned to
Steve.  “I’ll be giving the groom a year’s supply of earplugs for a
wedding present, if she ever gets married.”

           
“You’re not nearly as amusing as you like to think you are.” She sniffed
loftily and turned back to her coffee.

           
Steve remained silent.  He nibbled on a slice of bacon, all the while
observing Pete and Deborah.  He didn’t think it was his imagination.
Beneath the constant barrage of insults, there was – something else. 
Something shared.  Did they even realize it yet? Or were they aware and
only trying to hide it from him to save his feelings?  He frowned slightly
at the thought.  How did he feel? He thought of that day in the cave.
There had been a moment…a breathless moment awash with possibilities…but David
had destroyed those feelings just as quickly as they had formed, he realized
sadly. He didn’t blame her for anything, but David would always be in the
background as well as the knowledge that, in his mind at least, the moment in
the cave had been a final betrayal of Sarah. He knew that he could never be
more than friends with Deborah.

           
With a final swig of his coffee, he stood up. “Majority rules, if we want to go
to the beach we’d better get moving, he informed them.  He reached over to
shake Chuck. “Hey Sleeping Beauty,” he said.  “Time to get dressed for a
ride in the chariot.”

           
Chuck groaned. “I just got OUT of the chariot!” He complained, stretching like
a cat.  “Where are you taking me now?” 

           
To the beach, of course. What else do you do when you drive five hours to the
coast of North Carolina?”  Steve said.

           
“Sleep?”  Chuck replied hopefully.

           
“Wrong answer,” Pete said cheerfully. “C’mon then,” he said firmly pulling out
Chuck’s chair. “I know you didn’t drive all this way just to sleep in Steve’s
kitchen.”

           
“’Course not,” Chuck answered.  “Breakfast was a pretty good break.”

           
Deborah shook her head. “You’re pathetic, sometimes. You need a girlfriend to
get you straightened out.”

           
 Chuck smiled. “Could be you’re right.  Did you want to apply for the
position?”

           
Deborah suddenly blushed crimson. Her eyes flickered toward Pete and
Steve.  “Not in this lifetime!” She muttered. “Let’s just get going,
Okay?”

           
Chuck stretched. “Okay. But we don’t have to drive to the beach. We could just…

           
“’Could just what?’” Deborah demanded in irritation.

           
Chuck seemed to deflate.  “Fine, let me get my swimming trunks on,” he
agreed  with some reluctance.

           
“I know
your
tired of driving, but it’s not that much
farther to the beach from here,” Steve reassured him.

           
Chuck smiled but it did not seem to reach his eyes. “Great,” he replied, and
ambled out to the car to grab his gear.

           
Once on the road to Emerald Isle, Pete and Deborah vied with each other to
catch him up on the happenings at Hanging Rock since he had been gone, while
Chuck provided commentary on their disjointed tales.  Steve grinned in
relief at how quickly they all settled back into the old camaraderie they had shared.
It almost felt as if he hadn't been away for six months already, and he was
glad to find that he could still fit in with the group. He was just driving
over the bridge onto the island when his cell phone rang.  He glanced at
the caller ID and smiled.

           
“Good morning, Beth!” He called cheerfully over the phone.

           
There was a brief pause before she answered. “You sound perky for this hour of
the morning. Why so cheerful?”

           
“Surprise visitors!” He replied. “The gang from Hanging Rock drove in for the
day.”

           
“Really.” She didn’t sound as happy for him as Steve would have expected. “I
guess that means that I rearranged my schedule at work to get today off for
nothing then.”

           
Steve groaned.  “Beth, I’m sorry. I had no idea that they were coming
until they showed up on my doorstep at 9:00! But hey, we’re heading to Emerald
Isle to spend a few hours at the beach. Why don’t you join us?”

           
“No thanks,” she said, still sounding a little miffed. “I don’t want to be in
the way.”

           
“You won’t be in the way,” Steve cajoled. “They’re a great group. I'd love to
introduce you to all my friends.”

           
Beth wavered for a moment. “Well, maybe for a little while,” she said at
last.  “Tell you what. I’ll bring you all a light lunch and visit for a
bit.  How does that sound?”

           
Steve grinned.  “Now I know you’ll be welcomed!  We’ll be at the
pier.” After deciding on a time, Steve closed his phone and glanced around at
his friends. He was surprised to find that three sets of eyes were focused on
him.  The silence inside the SUV was deafening.

           
“And who is Beth?” Deborah asked at last, emphasizing each word in a deceptively
light voice.

           
Steve paused for a red light.  “Beth Stewart. I met her a few months
ago.  She’s my diving instructor.” He felt his cheeks flushing slightly
under her scrutiny.

           
Chuck leaned over the back seat. “Dude, 
just
your driving
instructor?” He asked, clearly implying that Steve was holding back with some
important information.

           
“Yeah, she is,” Steve replied a little too sharply.  “And she’s a member
of Reverend Graham’s new believer class. That’s where I first met her.”

           
“Really?” Deborah said, frowning slightly.  “That name DOES ring a bell,
but I don’t remember anyone named Beth at Dad’s church.”

           
“You probably wouldn’t,” Steve agreed.  “She didn’t join the class until a
couple of weeks after I did. I don’t think she was attending church much before
then.

           
“
Hmmmm
,” Deborah replied, deep in thought.  “I
know
that name, though.”

           
“Well, she’s also a pediatric nurse,” Steve offered.  She talked me into
getting my diving certificate last month.”  Steve shook his head.  “I
can’t believe that I grew up within spitting distance of ‘The Graveyard of the
Atlantic’ and never once considered scuba diving!  I’m going to miss it
when I get back to the Park.”

           
“Miss
it
or miss
her
?” Prodded Chuck, none too subtly, his blue
eyes gleaming mischievously.

           
Steve paused, giving the question serious thought for a moment. “I suppose,” he
said slowly, “a little of both.

           
“I knew it!” Chuck announced with a satisfied grin and fell back on the seat
next to Pete, oblivious to Deborah’s fixed stare, or that Pete watched
Deborah’s response just as intently, his brown eyes filled with a wistful
resignation.

           
“It’s not like that, Chuck!” Steve insisted in an exasperated tone. Then, in
the rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of Pete’s pained expression and
realized that Deb had grown very quiet beside him.  Steve suddenly
considered that Deborah might not have let go of the idea of the two of them
getting together still. Had she hoped that seeing him again would revive that
lost moment at the cave? He supposed that for now, it would be kinder to
stretch the truth about his friendship with Beth for everyone’s sake.

           
“At least,” he amended after a moment, as if he’d been giving it some thought,
“it’s not like that YET. I mean, she’s pretty special, and we’ve had some great
times together, but I’m not sure that getting involved right now, with me about
to return to Hanging Rock would be a good move.”

           
Chuck leaned forward in his seat and gave an exaggerated cough that managed to
come out sounding mostly like the word “coward.”

           
Steve grinned at Chuck in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, probably a little,” he
conceded. “It’s been a thousand years since I dated anyone.”

           
“All the more reason to practice with this one!” Chuck insisted.  “If it
doesn’t go well, then you can escape to Hanging Rock, and let it die a distant
death.”

           
“I suppose,” Steve agreed doubtfully. “But what if I actually do end up liking
her?”

           
Chuck looked slightly startled at the possibility “
That
would be a
bummer,” he agreed gloomily. 

           
Chuck suddenly looked from Pete to Deb.  “You two are awfully quiet,” he
complained suddenly. “I thought you’d be helping me encourage our boy to get
out there and start meeting some women!”

           
“Sorry,” Pete mumbled. “Guess I’m kind of tired.”

           
“Yeah,” Deb agreed hastily, shaking herself as if she were coming out of a
trance. “Me too.  Some of us had to stay awake and drive this morning.”

           
The barb did not sink in.  “And I appreciate how quiet you were. The extra
three hours of siesta time really helped out a lot,” Chuck replied serenely.
Deborah rolled her eyes. “You’re impossible,” she muttered under her breath.

           
“And you’re just jealous,” Chuck parried with a grin, stretching out in the
seat and closing his eyes.

           
Deborah glared and threw up her hands.  “There he goes again!” She
complained to Pete. “It is amazing to me that he can manage to get through a
shift at work without taking a nap!” She grumbled.

           
Chuck opened one incredibly blue eye. “Who’s to say that I do?” He questioned
mildly.  Deborah came back with a less than flattering reply, and the
bickering continued until, with a sigh of relief, Steve made a right hand turn
into the public parking area, and quickly found a parking spot.  “Save it
for later, kids,” he advised them. “Time to mellow out and catch some rays.
Let’s hit the beach!” 

           
Disagreements forgotten, they all piled out of the SUV, and loaded their arms
full of towels, water bottles and sun tan lotion.  Steve led the way around
the dune and tossed his towel down in the first empty stretch of sand that he
could find.  Even though it was still May, the unusually warm weather had
brought the sun worshippers out in droves. Pale bodies glistened in the sun as
far as the eye could see.

           
“Chances are we’ll get separated out in the water, so let’s all plan on meeting
back here in about an hour, okay?”  Steve advised.

           
“Sounds good,” Chuck agreed.  He dropped his towel beside Steve’s, tucked
a boogie board under one arm, and headed down the beach, away from most 
crowded swimming areas. 

           
“Right,” Deborah chimed in, balancing her board in the sand while she tightened
the wrist strap. “Last one in the pool’s a rotten egg!”  She called over
her shoulder as she headed straight toward the vast strip of blue water.

           
Steve turned to Pete, expecting that he would be following closely behind
Deborah, but Pete had not moved. He stood with his bare feet buried in the warm
sand and stared in wonder at the endless white beach around them. The tide was
coming in, and white crested waves seemed to crash in slow motion against the
shoreline, leaving wide arcs of sea foam in their wake as they retreated back
into the sea.  Puffy clouds dotted the horizon, and sea gulls hovered
effortlessly above the glittering blue water, in search of careless fish.

           
Steve took it all in at a glance, but did not see what was holding Pete’s
attention so completely.  “What?” He asked at last.

           
After a moment, Pete answered with a touch of awe in his voice.  “Except
for a glimpse of Chuck’s copy of the swimsuit edition of
Sports Illustrated
,
this is the closest I’ve ever been to the ocean.”

           
“You’re kidding!” Steve replied, in surprise. “Your family never took a
vacation at the beach?  I thought that everyone from the mountains headed
this way in the summer.”