I have a deathly fear of sharks. I forced myself to relax and enjoy the scenery that I was sure to miss if I let my paranoia get the best of me. It was beautiful, filled with fish that were unafraid of a lone swimmer in their midst. I could feel my back warming and knew that the suntan lotion was wearing off, so I decided it was time to go to lunch. I found my pants easily enough, swam to them, and left the comfort of the water. It had been one of the most peaceful swims I’d ever had, once I relaxed.
My phone rang just as I returned to the docks to meet Keith.
“Happy Birthday, Auntie Tash! Mommy told me I could call you today but to leave you alone for your trip. Are you having fun? Do you miss me? What’d you get me?” Ash’s excited chatter brought me out of the melancholy mood I’d been in all day from reflecting on my past choices.
“Hey, booger, what makes you think I got you something?” I smiled into the phone. “Of course I miss you.”
“I’m your favorite niece, so you have to get me something,” she replied.
“You’re my only niece,” I clarified as I always did. “You’ll just have to wait and see. How are you? Are you and your mom doing anything fun while I’m gone? Have you been behaving?”
“’Course I have. We’re going to have cake today for your birthday. Mom let me pick it out and everything. When are you going to have your cake? Mom said we could eat ours at any time today so we can have cake together, even though you’re far away. We went to the movies today and saw Janice Kansas in Paris. It was so good. Mommy let me wear my wig. Tomorrow we’re going to the zoo to pet the bunnies, and Mommy even said we might be able to ride one of the little ponies.” She said all of this in one breath, as excited as only an eight year old can be.
“You’re too much. It sounds like you’re having lots of fun. Eat your cake after dinner, and give your mom a hug for me. I have to get going, but thank you for the call. I’ll see you soon, ok? I love you.” I had to get off the phone, talking to her reminded me of how much I missed them both and I could feel a knot forming in the back of my throat as I tried to keep the tears at bay.
“Love you too, bye!” she replied, almost as one word, excited to do whatever was calling her attention.
“Bye,” I said into the phone, even though she’d gone. I had tears in my eyes and a smile on my face as I shut it, glad that I’d thought to bring it with me. I thought again about how unexpectedly wonderful my life turned out with those two. They both would’ve loved this trip, but Katie refused to come. She’d said I needed some time away from being a second mom to Ash and that I deserved to spoil myself for once, instead of them.
“Hey, love, how was your walk? Are you ready for lunch and some shopping?” Keith walked up to me as I approached the pier and gave me a hug, leaving his arm curled around my waist. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I was just talking to my niece, Ashlyn. I really miss them. She’d have loved this trip.” I smiled sadly up at him.
Keith wrapped me in his arms and just held me for a moment. We stood there in silence for a while and just enjoyed the comfort of each other. He brought his hands up my arms, sending shivers across my body and pulled me close so I was looking into his deep blue eyes. It was hard to remember that he’d hurt me, or that a little over eight years had transpired since he left.
“You okay, babe? We’ll be back home in a week and you’ll be able to show her all your pictures. I can’t wait to meet her. She sounds like a great kid. It was nice she called. Why don’t we go get her something special? You haven’t gotten her a trinket from Bimini yet, have you?” It didn’t even seem strange that he’d inserted himself right back into my life. That’s how it always was with us. We clicked and without a thought, we naturally gravitated toward being together.
“No, and I wanted to get a chain to put this on.” I pulled the stone out of my pocket. “I found it on the beach. Have you ever seen writing like this? I think it’s beautiful.”
I showed him the opal and as soon as I dropped it in his hand I regretted it. I wanted to snatch it away from him so he wouldn’t contaminate it. It was the weirdest feeling of possession, and it took everything I had to simply let him look at it. I watched him inspect it for what felt like the longest minute of my life. My relief at having it back was frightening in its severity.
“Nope, I’ve never seen anything like this before, but it definitely took skill. I think it’s a genuine opal, but I’ve never seen one so large or carved so intricately before. The stone is too soft for etching; whoever made this is extremely talented. It’s beautiful and probably worth a fortune. You said you found it on the beach?” he asked, absentmindedly.
I opened my mouth to answer,
