It Had to Be You

Summer 2024

Walker Andrews had not changed one bit in the year since Eliza had seen him last. It was going on five summers that they had encountered one another for no more than a weekend together. Eliza had learned long ago to not live in anticipation the entire summer. She pushed down her excitement and pretended not to wonder when he was showing up. This year she had managed to move through all of June and July without asking out loud if and when Walker would be visiting. She had learned that it was best not to say his name for fear of Millie thinking she was saying it weird or implying she still had a crush on him (which she did) but that was beside the point.

The point was, that after five summers of being around him for one whole weekend, Eliza had finally figured out how to put some distance between her and him. Sure she still felt electrified near him. She had day dreams about him pinning her up against the wall of their laundry room to make out. But this year she felt like she had matured and maturity meant that she would not under any circumstances freak out about being in the same room as him. She would carry herself with grace and dignity and under no circumstances would she make a fool of herself.

"What time are they getting here?" Eliza had been cautious not to name names.

"I'm not sure. Sometime tonight." Millie had this incredibly annoying habit of being intentionally vague which did nothing for Eliza's anxiety. It was midafternoon, nearly 4 pm.

"Oh okay, then I'm going to go to the beach with mom and dad."

"Sure have fun." Millie didn't glance up from her computer as Eliza threw on her flip flops and headed outside. On the short walk from their house to the beach, she pushed back thoughts of spending an entire weekend with Walker. She instead turned her attention to remaining calm.

"You can do this. He has a girlfriend. You do not need to be in love with someone who loves someone else. There are plenty of other men in the world for you to fall in love with. Just think about him like he's ugly." She spoke her thoughts under her breathe while sending a silent thank you to the large yards of her neighbors which afforded her personal space.

Yet, even her best efforts did little to quell her feelings of anxiety.

"Hey! There she is!" Eliza walked up the dunes to the beach and saw her dad waving her down a short distance away.

"You're right on time. We just opened the Chablis." Mark Stone was an ebullient man with a robust love of all things wine related. Popping open a bottle of a 2004 Chablis on the beach was well within his realm of nonsensical but lovable character traits.

"Did the kids arrive yet?" Margot Stone, Eliza's mom was tiny in stature but strong in heart. She paled in comparison to Mark's large frame and sat shivering under a beach towel despite the 80 degree weather. Eliza had gotten used to her mother's idiosyncrasies. She pulled out a jacket from her beach bag and handed it to her mom.

"Not yet, Millie said some time this afternoon or tonight." She handed her mother the jacket.

"Ah thank you, I'm catching a draft." Mark and Eliza shared a knowing look and clinked their plastic wine glasses together.

"To another wonderful weekend at the beach." Mark took a sip and quickly added, "And maybe to us getting another son-in-law next year." Eliza watched out of the corner of her eye as her mom lightly pushed him on the shoulder.

"Mark, stop rushing her. She'll meet someone when she's ready. Besides, the boys are bringing their girlfriends this year. They are not eligible partners."

"I know that. But maybe they have friends of friends."

"That's true, maybe Walker knows someone in the city he can set you up with. He has to have single friends."