The Art of Second Chances by Coleen Patrick

Author:Coleen Patrick [Patrick, Coleen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, friendship, coming of age, romantic comedy, sisters, funny, Contemporary, first love, boy next door
Published: 2014-09-11T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

A Splash of Beige on a Lime Green Pool Noodle, Sand Textured in Oil

Not long after my mom delivered the divorce bomb, I walked to the beach to find Chloe. I only got halfway across the smaller dune, when Chloe headed my way down the beach pathway.

Even from the distance, I could see something wasn’t right with her hair. Earlier, she’d had it in a neat ballerina type bun. Now, it looked askew, the bun bobbing above her right ear.

“Wow,” I said when she got closer. “You must be freezing. Did you get hit by a wave?”

She shook her head, and a chunk of wet sand fell from her hair bun. “I didn’t have to go in the water. We’ve got full service here at the beach.”

“Huh?”

“Yeah. The water came to me. In the form of a preschooler wielding a shovel and bucket.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” Chloe tsked. “The girl tripped. Then she cried. Although, it was really more of a wail.”

“Aw, she felt bad.”

“But not for me, for her sand castle.”

“Oh.”

“Remind me never to have kids.”

“Well, parents aren’t so great either,” I said as we both headed toward the house.

“What’s wrong?”

“My parents are officially getting divorced.”

“Damn, Grace. I’m sorry.” Another piece of wet sand fell from her lopsided hair bun and hit the black pavement.

“Whatever. It wasn’t like I couldn’t see it coming. It’s like reaching the end of a road for which you’d already seen the dead end sign.” I kicked at a broken shell. “The divorce part, anyway, but a wedding? That’s the part that’s really throwing me.”

“Your dad is getting married? Already?”

I nodded. “They don’t have a date yet, because, obviously, the divorce isn’t final, but yeah. It’s so crappy. Her name is Stacey and she’s thirty-something, as if the whole thing isn’t sick enough already.”

“It’s like he signed up for Middle Age Cliché 101,” Chloe said.

“I know, right? All that’s missing is the flashy car.”

“I guess since he found the chick first, he didn’t need the car.” Chloe reached over the fence gate and tugged on the latch.

“Hmm.”

I stopped at the pool. I didn’t feel like going in the house yet. I’d left to go find Chloe because Mrs. Anderson had returned from fishing. I was pretty sure she and my mom were deep into the icky details of the surprise run in with Stacey.

I stared at the lime green pool noodle that floated alongside a floundering dragonfly with a massive wingspan. I picked up the pool net and dipped it into the chlorinated water, sliding it toward the bug. I couldn’t get the dragonfly in the net so I pulled it toward me and the shallow end thinking maybe it could de-waterlog itself and fly away.

Except it struggled too much. Hello dude. I’m trying to help.

“Are you trying to save it?” Chloe waited for me at the back door.

I shrugged. The dragonfly didn’t recognize me as any sort of help, so I stopped. The water sucked back, and bug rode along on the tiny wave and right into the pool filter two feet away.

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