Spring Break Secret by Holly Rayner
Tom
Tom half expected Louisa to be a no-show that afternoon. To be fair, he’d deserve it after the stunt he’d pulled the day before. But he hoped she would at least hear him out. She didn’t have to forgive him, or even agree to let him see Rei again, but he wanted a chance to explain what had happened.
They arranged to meet at the beach near Louisa’s house, and sure enough, there was Louisa, her arms crossed and her posture angry. She had a right to be angry with him, and Tom told himself not to get defensive as she approached him.
“Tom,” she said, and his name sounded hard in her mouth. “Care to tell me what’s been going on?”
Tom wanted nothing more than to tell her. He suggested that they sit down on a wooden bench nearby, but Louisa declined, so they remained standing on the sand, the residential bungalows of old La Vega towering over them in the afternoon sun.
“The truth is,” Tom began, and then the words just started pouring out. “I was at the beach yesterday. I saw you and Rei. She’s adorable. She looks just like you. She’s amazing.”
“Then why did you cancel?” Louisa demanded.
“I…I knew I wouldn’t be able to look her in the eye and tell her that the project would be happening anyway. I saw how much she reminded me of you, the girl I met ten years ago, the one who was so dedicated to her home and everything that lived there. I realized that I have to protect Rei’s future, to give her a chance at growing up in such an amazing place just like you did. I couldn’t do that to her, to her future, and I couldn’t let her first meeting with me be with a guy who was just another callous businessman trying to destroy her home.”
Louisa’s arms were still crossed, but her expression had softened as she listened to Tom tell his story.
“I turned around right then and there, and I went back to the office. I canceled the project. Not delayed, not changed slightly—canceled. There will be no Palmco development in La Vega, and there will be no use of Comentex.”
Louisa’s mouth fell open and her arms dropped to her sides. “Tom, that’s—thank you so much! That’s incredible. What about the company?”
Tom shrugged. “Everyone’s pretty angry. Nick, especially. It looks like we’ll lose a lot of money, and possibly some investors and other projects. Nick is worried that I’ve sent us into a financial death spiral, but I don’t care. I’ll shutter the whole company tomorrow if it means I can have a relationship with my kid where I can look her in the eye with pride.”
Louisa threw her arms around Tom’s neck, leaping into his arms. “I didn’t realize,” she said, right into his ear.
“How could you? I’m so sorry I flaked on you two last minute, and I really hope I can make it up to Rei.”
“She’ll understand,” Louisa promised.
Tom held her tight, hoping that she was right.
“Why don’t we get together tonight?” Louisa said.
“I’d love that,” Tom said, feeling himself get a little choked up. He could hardly believe that he was getting yet another second chance with this wonderful woman.
“One more thing,” Louisa said, “Rei is going to ask you what your favorite sea mammal is. You should probably have an answer for her.”
They agreed to meet up that evening, in the same spot on the beach. The moon shone brightly, and Tom was there early, holding a stuffed sea otter he intended to give to Rei. He had visited the conservation center that day, hoping to learn more about local sea mammals so he could have a good answer.
After poking around their exhibits, Tom had decided on sea otters, hoping that Rei would approve of his choice. He had bought her a stuffed one at the gift shop, and made a large anonymous donation to the center on his way out.
Tom made sure to be at the beach early, so Louisa and Rei wouldn’t have to wait for him. Sure enough, they were right on time, Rei in the same blue and pink shirt he had seen her in the day before.
Louisa waved at him, and Rei started sprinting across the sand. “Dad! You’re my dad!” she shouted, launching herself at him with a full-body hug.
“Rei, honey,” Louisa said, hurrying to catch up. “You can’t just jump on people like that.”
“I’m not just people,” Tom said, scooping her up and twirling her around, making her shriek with laughter. “I’m her dad! We have ten years’ worth of hugs to catch up on.”
“What’s that?” Rei pointed to the stuffed toy now squished in one of Tom’s hands.
“I brought it for you.” Tom set the little girl down on the sand and handed her the stuffed otter. “It’s a sea otter.”
Rei squealed in delight and hugged the otter tight. “I saw a real-life sea otter once,” she said. “We were out on our kayaks with the Eco Scouts, and Ellen let me hold her binoculars and I saw one floating on its back! They carry rocks on their tummies, did you know that? To open their food! From inside seashells!”
“I did, actually.” Tom nodded. “I only learned that today, though. I was doing research on sea mammals, because your mom said that to be your friend, I needed to have a favorite one.”
“You like sea otters!” Rei seemed thrilled with this information. “My friend Shanna likes sea otters too. But my favorite sea mammal is dolphins. See?” She pointed to the dolphins on her shirt, beaming. “I know so many facts about dolphins. Do you want to learn them?”
“Rei,” Louisa said, sounding a bit tired. “You have to let people talk too, when you have a conversation. He might not want to hear every single dolphin fact in the entire world.”
Tom sat down on the sand, patting the spot next to him. “I would love to learn about dolphins from you.”
Louisa gave him a shrug, as if to say, you got yourself into this, and sat down too. Rei was digging in the sand, building a couch for her stuffed otter, and talking a mile a minute about dolphins.
They hung out together on the beach while the sun went down and the air cooled. Rei climbed into Louisa’s lap, tired out from the day, and Tom wrapped an arm around Louisa’s shoulders. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was part of a happy, comfortable family—one where everyone was free to be themselves.
The moon rose, and Rei began to yawn, cuddling up with the otter she had named Tommy, after Tom. “All right, I think it’s time to head home,” Louisa said, rubbing Rei’s back.
“Nooo,” Rei whined. “I want to keep hanging out with Daddy Tom.”
“I know,” Louisa said, “but it’s getting close to bedtime. Even daddies need to sleep sometimes, too.”
Taking the cue, Tom gave a big yawn, stretching his arms out. “All that learning about dolphins has really tired me out,” he said. “You must be exhausted after doing so much teaching!”
“I’m not tired,” Rei protested, but she was rubbing her eyes.
“Let’s go,” Louisa said, standing up and hoisting Rei on her hip.
“Wait, Mom! What’s that?” Rei was pointing over Louisa’s shoulder toward a patch of dune grass.
“Stop stalling, Rei.” Louisa sighed.
But Tom had followed her pointing, and there was something moving.
“There’s something there.” He took a few steps closer, then stopped short, a hand over his mouth. “Louisa—look!”
From a small mound of sand beneath the dune grass, tiny baby sea turtles were emerging, flapping their miniature fins as they made a beeline for the ocean.
“Hatchlings!” Rei said, suddenly wide awake.
“Wow.” Even Louisa seemed surprised by the sight. “They don’t usually nest this close to the houses.”
Not wanting to deprive Rei of the rare experience, they sat down, keeping their voices low. In the glow of the moon, they watched as, one by one, baby turtles climbed out of the sand, crawling toward the sea until the waves picked them up and carried them off.
It felt like something had come full circle. Tom had first met Louisa on this very beach, in this little town, trying to save a nest of sea turtle eggs. Now here they were, reunited, watching a new generation of turtles come to life.
They stayed silent until the last of the turtles had disappeared, and Tom noticed that Rei had dozed off in her mother’s arms. After checking that Rei was definitely asleep, Tom leaned in close and kissed Louisa. Unlike their previous kisses, which had a sense of anxiety to them, never knowing what it meant or whether it would be their last one, this one seemed to go straight to Tom’s heart, letting him know that this was not an ending but a beginning.