and there it is, a mark of the divine | JENLISA

Chapter 2

October (2)

When drunk Jennie agreed to let Lisa teach her how to swim, she really hadn't been thinking about sober Jennie.

Actually, there are a few things sober Jennie would like to question drunk Jennie about. Especially since drunk Jennie wasn't nearly as drunk as she's been in the past. Something about consuming alcohol combined with proximity to Lisa seems to equal stupidity on her part.

When she rolls over to switch off her phone's alarm, she groans loudly into her pillow. Not only did she agree to learn how to swim, something she has been terrified of since infancy, but she agreed to get up early on a Saturday morning to do it. And she has to face Lisa, who she may or may not have humiliated herself in front of the night before.

(She knows she most certainly did, but it's really up to Lisa's judgement.)

Jennie opts for her long-sleeved sun shirt again along with a pair of black shorts. Today's hat of choice is a maroon cap with 'She'll be right' on the front in white lettering. She'd bought it about a week ago after asking the cashier what the phrase meant, and naturally, she fell in love. Now, she's glad she did, because she knows Lisa will appreciate it, and that seems to be her standard by which to measure things now.

She walks down to the beach after breakfast, and it becomes more of a leisurely stroll as she takes her time soaking in the sea air. She takes her time absorbing the details — the sound of the wind rustling the beach grass, the distant crash of the waves, the seagulls circling one another overhead. It's another pleasantly warm day in paradise, and she's starting to wonder if this town has some sort of secret, grisly history, because it seems a little too good to be true.

Or, maybe it's just the company.

The beach isn't too crowded at this time of the morning. It's too early for any families to have shown up, so it's mostly surfers, people exercising, and she can see a couple of dogs in the off-leash section of the beach in the far distance.

Due to the lack of people, it makes Lisa very easy to spot.

Jennie completely melts when she sees her, and not just because it's Lisa, but because of what she's doing. She's surrounded by half a dozen children with surfboards lined up on the sand, demonstrating how to jump up on the board in one fluid motion. The kids are attempting it with varying levels of success, and she can hear Lisa's laugh long before she approaches her. Jennie's heart rattles senselessly against her ribcage, like it's shaking the bars of a cell, desperate to be free.

Lisa is teaching. She teaches little kids how to surf. On the weekend. In her spare time. Jennie could probably run up to her and kiss her right now, if those weren't the same thoughts that had gotten her in trouble last night.

She's wearing a wetsuit, and Jennie thinks her brain chemistry is altered on sight, because she's gotten so used to seeing her in loose-fitting clothing. Witnessing every curve of her body causes a brief malfunction, like she's some sort of Victorian gentleman. For a moment, it almost feels like she should look away. Almost.

Jennie hasn't spent enough time around water to appreciate the humble wetsuit, and if this is the backdrop for her very first swimming lesson, then she's in trouble.

At least if she starts to drown, she'll have an unbelievably attractive lifeguard.

She wanders over slowly, taking off her shoes and letting them hang from her fingers as she walks. The sand is pleasantly warm beneath her feet, the mid-morning sun encouraging her every step. Lisa's hair is tied back again, with a few sun-bleached strands perfectly framing her face. There's something about her here, in this particular setting. They'd been out in the sunshine yesterday, but this feels different. It's almost iridescent, the way she simply exists in this space as nature's centrepiece.