Addy's Redemption: A Novel. Juliana Ormsby

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СКАЧАТЬ She vowed to avoid studying these photographs too closely during the vacation.

      Lionel hated when Addy would drift off into her dream world. He said sharply, “There’s a restaurant near the beach parking lot. I thought I’d take you and the kids there for lunch.”

      Addy figured Lionel might be feeling a slight pang of guilt for leaving them while he went off to Denver, but no. He wasn’t that selfless. She suspected the real reason for his sudden generosity was that he wanted a lobster roll.

      Although the restaurant was within walking distance, Lionel drove them there. Addy saw him check his watch several times; he must be on a tight schedule. They drove to the parking lot of Wells Beach, and then walked over to McKenna’s Sea Side Grill. The intoxicating smell of fried fresh seafood mixed with salt air immediately brought back memories of Addy’s summers at Sound View Beach. In fact, the whole place resembled a scene from a 1920s picture postcard.

      The kids ran quickly to save a picnic table by the sea wall. You could walk down some stone stairs to the beach about thirty feet below. Hot dogs and fries for the kids, a lobster roll for Lionel, and a fried scallop roll for Addy; what a delicious break from their normal routine of always eating at home. The children’s faces were already pink from the sun, but they didn’t mind the heat. A soft breeze played gently with the wisps of auburn hair that framed Mary’s sweet face. Anyone watching Lionel, Addy, Peter, James, and Mary eating lunch by the sea would assume they were a normal, happy American family. When Addy noticed the impatient look in Lionel’s eyes, she knew she had better eat faster.

      While they rode back to the house, Lionel spouted inane directions, which he always assumed she needed. “Don’t lose the keys to the cottage; make sure the kids shower outside so they don’t track sand into the house; leave the place as spotless as you found it; be sure to wash all the towels and sheets after stripping the beds … and blah, blah, blah.”

      Lionel immediately jumped out of the car as soon as they returned to the house and didn’t even bother to walk inside with them. Tousling the boys’ hair, and giving Mary a quick peck on the cheek, Lionel reminded them he would be back to pick them up on the 21^st around 6:00 p.m., and he wanted them all packed and ready to go. He glanced toward Addy, then reached into his pocket, took out his wallet, and handed her a fifty-dollar bill. “This is in case you guys want to eat at McKenna’s sometimes. Now don’t think you have to spend it all.”

      “Thanks,” Addy said cheerfully, trying to disguise her eagerness for him to leave. Once Lionel’s dark spirit had gone, the true sweetness and light of this enchanted cottage could shine through at its brightest. There were two other bedrooms so the boys quickly called “dibs” on the one with matching twin beds. That made more sense since the other bedroom had one double bed. By the time they unpacked their clothes and made up the beds, it was nearly four o’clock. “Can we go to the beach now, Mom?” James asked excitedly.

      Addy hesitated … she thought, after all, dinner would be at six, and that wouldn’t give them much time. Just before responding, Addy had a revelation: Who said we have to eat dinner at six? Lionel isn’t here, and we four are on VACATION.

      “Sure. Go change into your suits.” The boys raced to their room, digging through their dresser drawers to find their swim trunks. Addy had to stop herself from saying, “Hey, we just finished putting everything so neatly into the bureau, and now your clothes are all scrambled up.”

      Before the words tumbled automatically from her lips, she made a silent vow to herself that the kids were going to have the time of their lives, and it didn’t matter if the drawers were neat. She really wasn’t a stickler for tidiness but had to conform to Lionel’s expectations. He controlled every aspect of the kids’ and her life. Rejoice! Rejoice! He’s not here to see!

      Mary tended to be neater than her brothers were. She knew exactly where she had placed her beautiful new bathing suit. She had picked it out herself. It was a pink and yellow floral and butterfly print trimmed at the top with a small pink ruffle. The pink straps crossed in the back and were held together by a lovely appliquéd butterfly.

      Addy struggled to pull her new old lady’s dowdy swim dress up over her thunderous thighs. Suddenly the picture of the Italian lady’s huge rump flashed again across her mind. Laughing aloud, Addy said to herself, “Now I know how she felt.”

      Addy gathered up a beach blanket, towels, fruit, and some bug spray. She asked the kids if they would like sandwiches for dinner after they got home from the beach. The spontaneity of the situation was too rare a treat for the kids to comprehend at first.

      “Sandwiches for dinner?” Peter questioned. Then, three birds trilling with joy, chirped, “Sure, Wow, Great.”

      Addy, too, already felt lighter inside. She had spent so many hours of her life making dinners for the family that putting sandwiches together for supper was going to be a new experience. Maybe she would place all the fixings in assembly-line fashion on the counter so the kids could create their own sandwiches.

      Addy didn’t want to walk down the stone stairs to the beach just below McKenna’s Sea Side Grill. It was not a very pretty beach; the sand looked rough, and it was still crowded with noisy people. When she had flipped through the O’Malley’s loose-leaf notebook that contained restaurant menus and other tidbits of information about the area, she found a flyer for Wells Town Beach. If you had a sticker on your car, you could park free in the beach lot all summer. Of course, walkers entered the beach free any time of the day. The kids divided the towels and other beach gear and trudged over to the Town Beach. There were just a few cars still left in the lot. A long wooden board pathway wound its way through sand dunes to the ocean. It was quite a hike up the inclined trail to the water. Addy was out of breath, but her slender kids bobbed along cheerfully. Why had she “let herself go?”

      On the horizon, Addy saw the peacock blue water sparking in the late afternoon sun. She stepped out of her beach slippers and let the sugar white sand sift through her toes. Addy felt as if her heart would erupt. Yes, the Connecticut shore was nice, but something about this Maine beach was so different. It felt timeless, eternal ... Antique maps; spyglasses; young men shipping out on fishing vessels; women waiting breathlessly at the wharf’s edge to greet their sweethearts returning home from sea voyages … Connecticut had the same maritime history, but the Maine coast was more rugged, wild, confirming the passion and ceaseless transformation of nature. As she watched her three beautiful children race to the water, Addy suddenly felt ashamed of herself. Why did she continually wallow in self-pity? Look at her perfectly formed, smart, sweet babies. She spent so much time locked up in her own head or trying to dodge Lionel’s barbs; she rarely stopped to realize how lucky she was to have the children. Lionel had given her that one good, spotless gift. In fact, if you did not know beforehand they were Lionel’s children, you would never have guessed he was their father. Addy wondered why Lionel hadn’t accused her of having had sex with at least three different men because the children each looked so different.

      The eldest, Peter, or Pete, his preferred moniker, was tall and lanky with blonde hair, large brown eyes, and skin that tanned easily. He was smart, easy-going, and very athletic. Lionel favored him, but Pete never took advantage of his father’s preference. On the contrary, he was loyal to Addy, James, and Mary, and would always rush to their aid. James, who preferred “Jimmy,” was very different from his brother. He also had skin that tanned easily but had curly dark brown hair and vibrant blue eyes. Addy remembered how surprised she was to give birth to a child with dark hair and light eyes. Elizabeth Taylor, supposedly the most beautiful woman in the world, was famous for her raven-black hair and violet-blue eyes. These traits made a rare combination. Jimmy preferred books to sports, but to satisfy his father, Jimmy played on the town’s soccer and baseball teams. He was also an excellent writer and artist. Unfortunately, Lionel did not view Jimmy’s gifts as “masculine.” СКАЧАТЬ