The Jump

30 Ashes From Old Flames

Merrill was very worried for Lucinda. He had no idea what was making her so down all of a sudden. Ever since she came home feeling sick, she had been moping around the house in a daze. She apologized profusely for being a bad host, but Merrill didn't mind and he sat around quietly reading a novel as she took a nap. Eventually he closed the book he was reading and let his mind drift off. Since having dinner with Audrey, he couldn't get their conversation out of his head.

She turned out to be easy to talk to and she was a good listener. In fact, it was refreshing having someone his own age to talk to. Or at least someone closer to his age. Merrill let out a sigh and looked to the old pit bull. She sat on her fluffy pillow with a hinde leg stretched forward and scratching her ear with the most blissful look on her face. He was glad he decided to invite the dog with him on his trip. Her little quirks brought him warmth on days where all he could do was keep to himself.

"Come on girl," he said to the dog. "Lets take a walk. Get some of that ocean air!"

The dog wagged her tail and it thumped the pillow loudly as she watched Merrill grab a leash. Then she stood up, but brought her front paws down in a taunting way, however, her tail continued to sway about, revealing she was excited.

"Ok, girl. I know. I know. You can't wait to get out here," Merrill cooed as he placed the leash around her neck.

Together they walked toward the beach with the grainy sounds of sand being smashed between the sidewalk and their feet. It was a beautiful evening, Merrill thought. He could still feel the warm rays of the sun on his skin as it dipped into the ocean. Not wanting to cut the walk short and thinking Lucinda still needed some rest, Merrill decided to test out playing a game fetch on the beach. Finding a decent piece of drift wood on the sand, he removed the leash from the dogs collar and tossed the stick. Immediately she took off running after it, and he was surprised when picked it up and trotted back to him.

For a good half hour they played in the sand, and then sat to rest as they watched the last bit of sun dip below the horizon and create a burst of purple across the ocean. Merrill sighed over the beauty of the sight, but had become a bit chilly as faint stars began appearing in the sky. In the distance he could see white picket fence for Raif's backyard, so he decided to go visit him and introduce Frank to his new companion. As he walked along the beach his phone began ringing, so he fumbled for it in his pocket and managed to flip the phone open with one hand.

"Hello."

"Dad!"

"Hi honey. Just out enjoying a walk on the beach." He smiled into the phone.

"Dad..."

"What? What is it Sylvie?"

"It's Aaron. I'm real sorry, Pop."

"Why? What's going on?" Merrill's heart picked up speed. Despite his dislike for Aaron at the moment, he was still his son and he loved him. "Is he hurt?"

"No." Sylvia responded with her voice sounding far away.

Merrill pressed his ear closer on the phone. "Well honey please tell me. You have me worried!"

"Aaron has been furious about you going to Breeze Bay again. He's been going by your house, waiting to see if you're back. He's called me every day practically, just to chew me out. He's arranged for-"

"Hold on Sylvie," Merrill said quickly.

Standing at the gate to Raif's fence, his eyes focused on the sliding glass door. Through the glass he could see Raif, Gavin and Rachel sitting around the kitchen table eating dinner. Rachel was in mid laugh as she placed her hand over Raif's and began rubbing his knuckles. He was laughing as well and didn't seem to mind Rachel's hand on his...