Escape the Sea (COMPLETED)

Chapter 21: New Experiences

Josh walked along the beach, with Lydia's hand intertwined with his. The occasional gusts of wind blew into Lydia's long curly brown hair, making her hair look flowy and soft. "Josh, where are we going?" Lydia curiously asked. "You'll see." Josh replied with a suspicious smile on his face. "Come on, please!" Lydia impatiently pleaded. Josh let out an amused chuckle. He knew that she was excited, heck, he was excited. It was Lydia's first date so he wanted to take her somewhere memorable.

He brought her into the town to a fancy restaurant for lunch called "Feurs", which means flower in French, and for good reason. They walked through a small white garden door, entering a beautiful little inside flower garden that took you to the front desk. The receptionist sat them down in a white booth with a big picture of a dandelion next to them. Lydia looked at the place of her fantasies, appreciating every flower she saw. The scent in that place was like none other she'd ever smelled before. "What do you think?" Josh asked hopeful. "This place is amazing!!" Lydia chirped, jumping in her booth. Josh laughed at the childish look on Lydia's face. She was going to be the death of him. They ordered their food and chatted for a bit about each other. "What do you think of your parents?" Josh questioned. "I love them! They are the absolute best, I couldn't have asked for better parents." She smiled, then frowned. Speaking of parents, she had to figure out how to bring up the subject of her staying. As Lydia got lost in her thoughts, Josh took notice of her sudden change in facial expression and reached for her hand. She snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Josh with loving eyes. "Are you Ok?" He asked concerned. "Yeah." She assured, squeezing his hand just the slightest. He fake smiled knowing that she was not fine. "How come I've never met your dad before? I've only seen a couple of pictures of him." She said, changing the subject. This is a question that has been on Lydia's mind for some time now.

He pondered for a moment, took a deep breath and spoke, "He left us." He simply said. "Oh, I'm so sorry Josh." Lydia said with sympathy in her voice. "It's ok, it was a long time ago. I was 10." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "My father had an affair with an exotic dancer he met on a business trip. She 'loved' him so much that she moved here to win his heart. I remember the night it happened too..." Lydia held his hand tight, rubbing his fingers with her thumb. "They were fighting, as they always did, but this one was by far the ugliest fight they've ever had. He was so sick of fighting with my mom that he packed up his bags and left that same night. I remember crying myself to sleep, praying that it was all a dream. That I'd wake up to my father reading his newspaper and drinking his black coffee, then asking me if I wanted to go to the park and I'd jump up and down in excitement. The anticipation running through my veins all day until he got back from a long day at work, in spite of his feet being in excruciating pain, he would take me to the park and we'd play some baseball." "Josh..." was all Lydia could say. She couldn't believe her ears, she never knew about this. "Hey, it's in the past. It's done. All we can do is move forward, right?" He said. Lydia didn't know why he was still happy, that's some traumatizing stuff. Then it clicked. The reason Josh was so closed off because of his traumatizing experiences and the fact that he was so open to talk about it with her made her feel honored. They continued on with their conversations then left the gorgeous restaurant.

"Where are we going now?" Lydia asked, eager to find out where Josh was taking her next. "The zoo." He answered with a smile on his face. "What's a zoo?" She pondered aloud. "You'll love it, I know it." He said confidently. She smiled, knowing that Josh knew what he was doing. He called for an Uber then sat on a bench with his love by his side. She rested her head on his strong shoulder, softly stroking his bicep. The Uber arrived, then took them to their destination. "Thanks man!" Josh called, giving the guy a nice tip. The man waved good bye and drove to his next customer. They got the tickets and walked into the humongous zoo. Lydia dragged Josh all around the park, looking and asking what everything was. Once she spotted the aquarium, she rushed over in an instant. "Lydia, wait up!" Josh called to her. He pushed through the crowds then finally found her next to the clown fish, speaking some fish language then laughing hysterically. "Lydia, what are you doing?" Josh asked, partially weirded out. "Talking to the fish! They just told me the most hilarious joke! Why couldn't the clown fish afford a house?" She asked with enthusiasm. "...Why?" He worryingly asked. "Because they don't have anemone!" She laughed. Josh rolled his eyes and grabbed Lydia by the arm, "Yeah, let's go." He said, dragging Lydia out of there. Before they left, they went on the sky way, bought a bracelet keepsake from the gift shop, then they headed to the carnival for their families would be awaiting their arrival.

"Josh, thank you for today. And thank you for my bracelet!" She said, hugging Josh tightly. "You are very welcome Lydia. I wanted your last day on land to be the best." He said, hugging her back. "It really has been the best." She said, going on her tiptoes to give Josh a kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He kissed back, deepening the kiss with his hands around her waist. He then pulled away, looked into her eyes and said "You are the best thing that could've happened to me." She smiled and said "No, you are the best thing that could've ever happened to me." "I guess we're both the best that could've happened to each other." He chuckled, placing a kiss on her forehead. **BEEP BEEP** went their Uber, the woman was a bit agitated. She had places to be so she did not have time for lovey dovey teenage stuff. They laughed and ran into the car. They held hands and exchanged looks throughout the whole car ride. He gave the woman his thanks and headed into the carnival.

After 10 minutes of trying to find the others, they all finally reunited. "How was your day my dear?" Lydia's father asked, embracing his daughter. "It was amazing!!" She cheerfully stated. "Your father has been worried about you all day." Elizabeth said, directing her raised brow to her husband. He laughed inwardly, "Of course I was! It's my baby girl we're talking about!" He said, giving Josh a 'You-better-never-hurt-my-baby-girl,-for-if-you-do,-I-will-hunt-you-down-and-break-every-bone-in-your-body' look. Josh stared at the King for a moment, then giving him an awkward smile. The King returned the smile, now giving him an accepting nod. "Now that we're all together, let's have some fun!" Mrs.Ramone jumped excitedly. "Mom, remember, they have to get home soon." Caleb reminded. "Of course dear." She smiled. Mrs.Ramone has always been enthusiastic and is full positivity.

They all went on the Ferris wheel, (which Robert was not too thrilled about) and on some spinning tea cups. Lydia has been trying to talk to her parents about her situation all night but they always got distracted by something. "Try this." Josh insisted, handing Lydia cotton candy. "What is it??" She curiously asked, looking at the spun sugar in interest. "Cotton candy." She touched the mysteriously soft substance and bit into it. "I LOVE cotton candy!" She joyously said, digging into it. "Ronal, try this!" Lydia said, handing the cotton candy to Ronal. He pulled it apart and had a disgusted look on his face. "It tastes like cavities. No wonder humans have bad teeth." He stated, wanting to spit it out. Lydia playfully rolled her eyes and took it back. "Alrighty everyone, it has been a fun and slightly terrifying day but now marks the end of it. It's getting late and we need to get to the Atlantic before dawn." The King proclaimed. "Wait, now?" Lydia desperately questioned. "Yes dear." Her mother said with a sigh. Lydia looked at her father and mother. "Mom, dad, I need to speak with you." She shyly said. Robert and Elizabeth brought her somewhere to talk privately.

"What is it honey? I noticed that you were a bit acting weird today, is everything ok?" Her mother worryingly asked. Lydia looked down at the ground, pondering if this really was a good idea. "You know I love you, right?" She started off. Her parents nodded in assurance. She looked into their eyes and saw the love they had for her. She couldn't do it. "Well, good! I just was making sure." Lydia awkwardly said, looking down to ground in shame. "Lydia, do you want to stay?" Her father suddenly said. "How did you know?" Lydia perplexedly asked. "Because I was in your place too." He said with sympathy in his eyes.

"Wait, what?"