Lost & Found in the Normandy ✓

Lost & Found in the Normandy: 2

Yara did not show up. But he did spot her dog, accompanied by a young man around his age.

Maybe her brother or cousin? Or a boyfriend? Neighbor?

Maybe they visited their grandmother together?

To make sure the Golden Retriever was actually Pearl, he called out to her.

Pearl looked up alertedly, sniffed the air, and as soon as she found him, she ran... straight past him towards Bay. Clearly, his friends dog was more interesting. Both Henry and Léon observed the dogs as the unknown young man came closer.

Bay and Pearl curiously sniffed each other and after a bit began circling each other playfully - also gentle nudging being involved. Henry had been right - they got along just fine.

The young man stopped in front of them, and Léon recognized his face from the supermarket yesterday.

"Hello, how do you know Pearl?" the brown-haired man asked.

"I met her and Yara a few days ago at the beach. Pearl really is a ball of energy from what I've seen so far. I'm Léon - nice to meet you," he said, reaching out his hand. "I'm Henry," his friend added.

"Oh, that makes sense. I'm Oskar," the young man replied and shook Léon's hand. "Yara didn't mention the encounter last time we talked. Sorry I didn't connect the dots."

"No worries," Léon said, brushing it off. But he did feel a twing of disappointment dampening his mood a bit. "Are you related?" he added curiously before he could stop himself.

"Yes, she's my older sister - by a few minutes."

They're twins! But they didn't look alike, even though he did see the family resemblance.

"That's pretty cool!" Léon said, not sure what else to say. As if Henry had heard his thoughts, he steered the topic back to the dogs.

"That's Bay, my dog. Great to see that they get along. Do you mind if they play a bit? Bay has missed some company." Henry added.

Oskar didn't mind. They talked about the breed and love for water as both dogs jumped at the opportunity to catch the ball flying towards the ocean.

"Is that your metal detector? Are you searching for treasures?" Oskar asked Léon.

Léon smiled and nodded: "You could say that. It's part of my summer job to search for lost items of summer guests. Sometimes, there are valuable treasures among the findings. I also clear the beach from the plastic."

Oskar had listened attentively. "That's pretty cool. Found anything interesting today?"

Léon shook his head. "No, not yet. But I haven't come far. Do you want to tag along for a bit?"

"Why not?"

And all three kept walking for a bit. As they reached the volleyball field, Henry took out the volleyball from his bag.

"Anyone fancy playing a bit?"

Oskar looked at the clock on his arm and thought for a second.

"Sorry, I have to go buy breakfast and get back. If not, they'll probably starve. Yara is always moody without a good breakfast. She probably got that from our grandma." Oskar said with a mix of laughter and regret.

́Léon nodded in understanding. "Do you want to exchange socials? Maybe we could play next time. You can also bring Pearl. And Yara, then we'd be four."

"Sure," Oskar said, and they connected on Instagram.

Then they parted ways, and Henry and Léon finished the route Léon took every morning.

˚｡⋆𖦹𓇼𖦹⋆｡°

Today's swim training went very well. Léon got close to his personal best time in both freestyle and butterfly. They had also started to train for the mixed relay for their next regional competition. He was in good shape, and all the training sessions had started to pay off.

After showering and changing into his clothes, he met with his swim peers outside the club building. Henry joined them a bit later.

"Are you guys joining tomorrow's beach party?" a younger member of their club asked the gathered group.
́
A chorus of "yes" or "hell yeah" followed the question, and Léon smiled. Every summer, Villers-sur-Mer hosted live music for their summer guests. After the official part, after 23h00, the maritime clubs took over, and the concert turned into a beach party. It was sponsored by them as a modern team-building event. There, club members could get to know each other better and form friendships. That's also where he and Henry had started their friendship that was tight ever since.

Henry and Léon left the grounds of the Swim & Sail club. They quickly wanted to grab a bite to eat before Léon would go search the beach side again. They sat down inside their local Kebap place, and both ordered sandwiches. The owner of the place greeted them with a nod and a smile, familiar with their routine and already preparing their food.

"Have you thought about inviting Oskar and Yara to tomorrow's beach party?" Henry asked Léon, while they were waiting for their food.

"Yes, I have. But I have been too chicken to reach out."

"Well, if you don't ask, you'll never know the answer," Henry pointed out, and Léon was grateful for having such a wise friend. He went to Oskars' Instagram account and switched to "messages". He typed:

Hi Oskar, Do you want to join Henry and me at tomorrow's beach party. I can definitely recommend it. Feel free to bring a +1.

He hit sent and put his phone back in his pocket.

Later that evening, lying on this bed, he checked Instagram again and took his time to have a closer look at Oskars Instagram profile. He couldn't resist the urge to go through his pictures to find out more about the twins.

Oskar had only five posts on his account. The first one, from September 2019, showed him graduating from school - no picture of his sister, even though they must most probably have graduated at the same time. The second picture showed Oskar with other people his age in the German city Freiburg, where he seemed to be pursuing a university degree.

The third one was one together with his sister and a younger boy - maybe another sibling?

The resemblance was there.

Oskars' sister was tagged in the picture, but when he clicked on it, she didn't have a public profile. He decided not to send a request but rather to wait for the party. Should they attend, he would ask her personally. He didn't want her to feel pressured. He also wanted to get to know her better through in-person conversations rather than from her socials.

He went to bed without an answer to his request.

˚｡⋆𖦹𓇼𖦹⋆｡°

The next morning was cloudy and stormy. At six thirty, just as the sky started to wake up, he left the house equipped with a raincoat and a bonnet. He was worried about the consequences it could have for the festivities planned for in the evening.

He managed to fulfil his task just before the downpour started. The beach was empty, and he was reminded that he hadn't checked his messages yet.

On Instagram, there was an answer:

Oskar
Hi, thanks for the invite. See you this evening. Yara will join too.

Léon was excited. Hopefully, the weather would play along.

The day passed painfully slow. But then it was finally time, and he met with Henry at around 22h00 to listen to the live act. The music was great, and both thought fondly back to their first encounter.

"So, did you get an answer from Oskar?" Henry inquired.

"Yes, he'll join us together with Yara. Then you'll be able to make up your own mind about her," Léon said eagerly

Henry shook his head. "Look, man, that's great news. But honestly, good looks and kind behaviour towards Pearl - which should be a given - is not the only thing that counts. Be careful and see if she is genuinely interested in you. Not just what you feel for and like about her. This should be a two-way street. "

Léon agreed, and they clinked glasses.