Secrets in the Sand by Carolyn Brown

            She didn’t wait for him to come around and open the door for her but got out of his Bronco and plopped down on the grass. She removed her sandals and stretched her legs out so her toes were in the narrow bit of sand by the water. Sure enough, she could hear crickets and tree frogs blending their voices together to make a fine concert.

            “You know, for years, I fantasized about the day you would take me to the Dairy Queen and we’d walk in looking like two people in love. I expected it to be the most wonderful day in the whole world.” She picked up a stick and drew two hearts in the wet sand. They touched but they didn’t overlap. “That last night we were together and I told you about the baby, I had drawn a couple of entwined hearts in the sand and wrote ‘baby’ in the part where they joined.”

            “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he sat down close to her.

            The night breeze brought a whiff of his cologne to her, and she inhaled deeply. “Don’t be sorry. Tonight, I realized that if we would have done things differently then, we wouldn’t be the people we are today. What I feel for you today is much stronger than it was ten years ago, Clancy. If you had given up your hopes and dreams then, you might have resented me. I’m not totally sure we would have stayed together. Very few teenage marriages, especially those that start out because of a pregnancy, ever last.”

            “You’re right again.” He scooted over closer to her and kissed her on the cheek. “Want to go home and take a moonlight swim?”

            “Sure.” Angel hopped up, took a final look at the two hearts, and didn’t kick sand over them this time.

            The drive from one end of town to the other took all of five minutes, and that was even stopping at the two traffic lights. When they reached the guesthouse, Clancy swept her up like a bride and carried her into the small bedroom.

            “I thought this kind of thing was saved for a wedding night,” Angel said, giggling.

            “You and I do things different than most people.” He grinned as he set her down on the floor. “Swim or…” He waggled his eyebrows.

            “I kind of like that ‘or’ business,” she told him as she untucked his shirt and tugged at the bottom to undo all the snaps in one fell swoop.

            He cupped her cheeks in his hands and kissed her, and at the same time kicked the door shut with his bootheel. “‘Or’ has always been a favorite of mine,” Clancy said as he walked her backward to the edge of the bed.

            ***

            Angel dived into the water and decided that the next thing on her list for the farm was a swimming pool. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before now. She had always loved water, and sometimes she even rented a hotel room and stayed in the city just so she could have a swim.

            When she came up at the end of the pool, she saw Tom stretched out in a chaise lounge with his feet propped up. “Hey, I thought you two kids were tuckered out.”

            “Not me.” Angel giggled. “I could swim forever. Race you to the other end, Clancy,” she said and started before he even got into the water.

            “You cheated,” he accused when she beat him.

            She shook her head. “All’s fair in love and war.”

            “That’s the gospel truth.” Meredith sat down beside Tom in a second chaise lounge and reached across the space to take his hand. “We had a great time. Tom even danced with me. He’s not too bad on his feet.” She smiled. “Surprised me to be swept around the floor in a perfect waltz. When we were in San Antonio, he told me that he couldn’t dance at all.”

            Tom winked at Clancy. “Only stepped on her feet a few times.”

            “Y’all still goin’ to church with us?” Meredith asked. “Be up and around by eleven if you are. We’ve invited a bunch of friends for a poolside lunch afterward. Nothing too big. Sandwiches and a small wedding cake. The photographer will take a few pictures so we can show the grandchildren someday…we hope.” She directed a smile toward Clancy.

            “We’ll be up and around.” Clancy nodded. “Maybe the photographer can shoot a few of me and Angel,” he suggested.

            Angel propped her arms on the edge of the pool. “If my hair cooperates in the morning, I’d be willing for that.”