Forces of Nature

The Beach House

The street was lined with quaint houses, most of them two story structures with wrap around porches. I was having a hard time keeping my eyes from bugging out of my head as I meandered the car down the street where I knew the house I was looking for was perched right at the end. I slowed to a complete crawl, struggling to take everything in at once, absolutely in awe of the sight before me.

Each house I drove past was gorgeous in its own right. All had their imperfections - most were in need of a good paint job, the sand and salt from the sea main contributors to the peeling paint and scratched weather boards. Sand dusted the front porches, disturbed every now and then by trails of footprints. Some of the railings were buried under drying clothes, the grass in some of the yards was slightly patchy where mounds of sand were warring for dominance. One house had a garden that was so over flown the colourful flowers threatened to spill out onto the paved foot path and crawl up the front steps.

Surf boards, boogie boards, old worn beach towels, flip flops, goggles and other assorted beach associated knickknacks were strewn everywhere. Bicycles were perched against the sides of houses or thrown carelessly across driveways, cars were parked haphazardly with windows down to stop the insides from overheating. A smile bloomed over my face, so wide it made my cheeks hurt. Coming from a life and home where everything was so perfectly organised and modern made this little beach town all the more appealing. I loved the old houses, the feeling of tranquillity that stole threw me as I drove further on. Tension I didn't know I had was leaking from my shoulders, giving me an almost weightless feel and a bubble of excitement began to build in my chest. We were here! We'd finally made it to the beach.

A salty tang was in the air, wafting in through the open car window and I breathed it in deep, savouring it. Beside me Tyson was dead to the world, his hood pulled up to cover most of his face, his breathing slow and even. He'd fallen asleep less than ten minutes after throwing my éclairs out the window, not even stirring the two times I almost forgot to put in the clutch while braking for a light and the car practically groaned in protest, vibrating intensely. I managed to get everything under control before the bunny-hopping kicked in, though admittedly I let out a small girlish shriek the first time.

I pulled right at the end of the street into a wide driveway, briefly toying with the idea of stalling the car on purpose while yelling "Earthquake!", but self preservation kicked in at the last second and told me that if I wanted to live to see the inside of the beach house I should opt for a more gentler approach.

"Tyson, we're here," I said, turning the car off and jabbed him in the ribs with my fingers.

He half gasped, half grunted and cracked his eyes open to give me a sleepy death glare but the effect was ruined by the huge yawn he let loose. Sitting up a little straighter, he rubbed at his eyes and pushed his hood off his face.

"What?" he grumbled, blinking owlishly in the bright light.

"Well, aren't we just cheerful when we wake up?" I said, rolling my eyes as he continued to grumble under his breath.

"Maybe if you woke me up differently I'd have more reason to be happy," he snarked back, hands automatically going for his pockets. When they came up empty, he cursed fluently and enthusiastically, probably reliving the moment I chucked his precious smokes out the window and the bet we made. I was definitely going to enjoy collecting that ten bucks off him, and if his reaction was anything to go by I could see it in my hand before the night was through.

I couldn't help but smile. "Trust me, I don't think happy would've been your first reaction for what I'd originally planned. You're lucky I settled for this."

Choosing to ignore me he peered blearily out the windscreen. The big lemon yellow house was a sprawling two story structure with a wrap around deck and pretty little flower gardens lining either side of the path leading to the front door. A front door that was bright red I realised with a startled laugh.