Mulligans

37. Trying to Help

The oil paint was still glossy and wet in the morning sun as Chase wiped his hands on his T-shirt and slung it over his shoulder. He always found the morning light accentuated details he otherwise might have missed. There was no subject to study, however. He had been painting from memory, and the image there was as detailed as a photograph.

Jarod walked up behind him and said, "Looks great."

"It's getting there."

"No, it's there," Jarod said with a smile. "I'm feeling for some beach right now. What do you say?"

"Let's do it." Chase let his eyes wander over the portrait one last time. Unfortunately, his work didn't bring the satisfaction of accomplishment, but rather a twinge of bittersweet sadness.

Windsurfers skidded across the whitecaps and a lone sailboat bobbed in the waves as Jarod's truck pulled up to the beach. Chase's face dropped as he hopped out and saw Tyler, Bre, and Christie huddled on beach blankets.

"You knew they'd be here?" he accused.

Jarod shrugged. "You can't avoid him forever."

Chase turned back to the truck. "I'm not going."

"I know it's scary, but you gotta try," Jarod said, grabbing his shoulders. "I'll be right here, but you gotta face this."

Chase paused a second, but he was out of fresh excuses. He nodded and his stomach turned to knots. He followed Jarod tentatively to the small cluster on the beach. Bre hopped up and reached out for hugs. "Hey, guys!"

Tyler glanced up and threatened, "This isn't a public party."

"Come on, let's just go," Chase implored Jarod, turning to leave.

"Ladies, I've got beer and snacks in the truck. Give me a hand?" Jarod asked, completely ignoring his request.

"Yeah, we'll help. Come on, Christie," Bre said, giving the other girl a significant look.

Chase took a step closer and sat in the sand. "Tyler, I'm sorry."

Tyler didn't look at him, keeping his eyes on the water. "Why'd you do it?"

"I was trying to help, and I messed up...."

"Trying to help?" Tyler glared at him incredulously.

"I don't have words that can fix this. I know you may not understand this, but what happened between me and your dad... it had nothing to do with you. I wasn't trying to break up your family. I thought that maybe I could help him be who he really is...." Chase stumbled over his words. He had so many thoughts, and it was hard to align them into any coherent sentences. "And then it went too far. I know that. I never meant for that to happen. And now I hate myself for it. If there was anything I could do to change it, I would."

Tyler didn't say a word. He stood up and walked away, leaving Chase alone on the beach. Chase had so much more to say, and yet he wondered if it would've been better if he hadn't spoken at all.

He had to leave. Whatever his dour purpose had been here, he'd screwed it up royally. There was no silver lining, no fast and easy lesson to be learned. He wondered at it, at the complex and yet plainly selfish nature of his actions. And as it was laid before him, he saw the gross and predictable psychology behind it all. This scared him the most because he'd always hoped he was something special, a one-of-a-kind rarity. But he wasn't. He was a self-indulgent human being willing to backstab his best friend to get what he wanted and then try to hide it. There was absolutely nothing special in that.