1968

Chapter Twenty-Five: July 24th, 1968

Lorelei's point of view:

Life had finally begun to be normal as it could possibly be under the circumstances. The warmth of the American summer got to me and I had no ability within my body to be sad or miserable anymore. Nash's funeral had me in shambles, and my tears were all genuine that day, but it had been nearly four days since then and I was okay again.

The beaches of Washington had a ring to them like no other in this country. I loved riding my bike along the line of waters of the coast. There was no coast in DC, where we originally lived, but we decided after Nash's funeral to get away for a while and relax. So, we all packed up and went to the coasts, to an oceanic town in Washington about an hour or so away from Seattle. It was a quaint and peaceful town, with a large population of younger people. It was a booming town that we all seemed to really enjoy. I adored it, personally, and even more when I took my bike around it.

The waves of heat raved around as my sisters and I rode our bikes along the pier, laughing and talking. Carina did not come, seeing as she was tired and a little to pregnant to be riding her bike everywhere. She spent most of her days in the cabin we rented with Peter. We didn't mind though, Elora, Emmaleigh and I had the best of times without anyone or anything limiting us. It was nice to get away from all the boys as well, seeing as I had spent months with only them in Vietnam.

"Who wants ice cream?" Elora asked as we traversed along the sleek and hot roads and sidewalks. All of us voted to get some. We parked our bikes and I adjusted my little sailor romper and skipped along the walk to follow my sisters to the little café.

"You think they play Ray Charles here a little too much?" Emmaleigh asked with a giggle. Elora shook her head and ordered us all vanillas, leaning against the counter and standing on her toes to see over it.

"Can't play too much good music. We could do with some Beatles though. I am sure everyone likes them," I said as Elora handed us both our ice cream. I bounced my head to the music as I looked around the pier.

"Oh yes, we all know how much I love Twist and Shout!" Elora exclaimed with excitement and enthusiasm. We used to listen to that when it first came out a few years back, and we would listen all the time. Something about it that we just loved, I suppose.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for the nearest gas station. Do any of you girls know where that is?" Someone asked us in a definitive German accent. I turned my head to the direction it came from and saw a woman standing there. She was about my age, wearing a red sunhat and a white dress. Her hair was brown and matched the darkness of her eyes, her skin tan and freckled from the sun. She was small, maybe only a few inches taller than me, and a little slim in build. She was pretty, with almond shaped eyes and a sharp face that made her seem cute and approachable.

"I think the nearest one is up the road about five blocks. Say, is that a German accent I hear?" I asked after I pointed to the south of the town, where the three of us passed a gas station a while back ago.

"Thank you, and yes, I'm from Frankfurt originally. I lived from town to town for a while and I've just come here a few weeks ago with my mother. My car broke down down the road from the town and I've been looking for a place to buy some gas," the woman replied. I nodded, interested in the fact that she was German.

"Well, if you want, we can walk you up to the station and help you out to your car?" I suggested. My sisters looked a little hesitant when I offered, seeing as they hated being spoken for. I didn't mean to do that, but I wanted to talk to her about what Germany was like. I've been to Hamburg, where my aunt and cousins live, but that's about once every year. Not to mention, my grandfather lives in Washington with us. I wanted to know what the rest of it was like.