The local twitter site for Cranberry Cove erupted with photos
that people took of the rescue. Jase was being hailed as a “hero
lifeguard”. The pictures were great, especially
the one of Jase in the throes of giving me “mouth to mouth”. I think I’ll have
that one printed out and framed!
Luckily, I didn't see any which revealed my bathing suit top around my
neck instead of where it was supposed to be.
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Chapter Sixteen ~ Who's That Blonde?
My mouth was parched as I opened my eyes to view Phoebe napping
soundly on the blanket sprawled out in front of me. I pulled my beach bag
towards me and dug through to find my cell phone and glanced at the time. It
was one o’clock and we’d been sleeping up here for almost two hours. My stomach
was growling in protest, so I dug back into my bag to grab the pretzel rods and
grapes I stashed there, along with my bottle of iced tea. While I nibbled and sipped, I let myself get
lost in the scenery - the ocean waves filled with plenty of swimmers, the
walkers and shell collectors carrying their finds in plastic buckets, and the
boats far out in the water bobbing and drifting over the waves with fishing
lines out in search of fluke. It was yet another perfect day at the beach,
except for that display of the girl in the one-piece that was somehow nagging
at me. I glanced over to where I saw her settling before my nap and noticed her
chair was empty. I glanced over to the
lifeguard stand. Only Jessica was up there. I then noticed that Jase was
standing in front of the stand near the water’s edge with the orange lifesaving
float in his hand. He was talking to someone. I moved to my left to get a
better view. GASP! It’s her. He’s
talking to her!
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Chapter Fifteen ~ Friendly Comp
PHHHTTTT! The watermelon seed flew through the air and stuck
perfectly on the side of the shed. PHHHHTTTT! A second seed followed, but hit
the shed and fell into the white daisies below.
“Yessss! That’s 16 to 2!” I
shouted, the competitor in me showing itself once again while Phoebe mumbled some
expletives under her breath and wiped her mouth with a swipe from the back of
her hand...
Chapter Fourteen ~ Ugh, boys!
Nick’s dad was taking Nick and Zack out for dinner that
night, so Phoebe and I just hung inside at my house for the evening. She came
over after she ate with her family, and parked herself in my room. Of course the conversation drifted
immediately into what happened at the movie theater.
“I just
don’t get what’s going on with Nick. One minute he acts like he likes me, and
then I’m practically throwing myself at him to make him pay attention to me. Is
he thick? Do I need to hit him over the head with a brick or something?” Phoebe
was beside herself. She just couldn't figure this one out. Short of putting a
neon sign on top of her head that says PHOEBE LOVES NICK, along with a few
bottle rockets and roman candles shooting out from her ponytail, she was
running out of ideas as to how to get him to loosen up with her. “And you, all
you do is tell Zack you have a chill and he’s throwing his arm around you like
he’s putting out a fire! Why does he get it, and Nick doesn’t?”
Chapter Thirteen ~ At the Movies
The movie was hysterical, and I sat with Zack’s arm around my
shoulder, sharing a popcorn and soda with one straw, enjoying the company of
this hunk of a guy. Next to me, Phoebe was trying everything she could to get
Nick to make a move on her, either to hold her hand or wrap his arm around
her. With about 10 minutes left in the
movie, poor Nick looked to finally have the courage to throw his arm around the
back of Phoebe’s chair. She finally relaxed, and sunk down with a smile on her
face. Zack and I finished our popcorn, giggled and whispered, and when the
lights came up and the credits began to roll on the screen, I felt a tinge of
sadness that this experience would now come to an end.
Chapter Twelve ~ Rainy Day Monday
After a Sunday night of slinging ice cream at the Polar
Palace, which was preceded with a day full of fun and frolic on Nick’s boat,
the chilly Monday morning rain was actually a pleasant surprise. It gave me
some time to just cuddle up in bed and rest my aching muscles, and allowed me
to re-examine the battle scars from Saturday’s epic body-surfing session. The island was filling up with vacationers,
and now with today’s rain, I imagined that the local movie theaters and stores
would enjoy the vacationers’ wallets. It
was all part of living in a tourist area - everyone wanted a piece of the
action, and the weather played a huge role in who would benefit. On a sunny day, the local stores selling all
types of beach attire and accessories would win out, but on a rainy day the
local malls and movie theaters would be on the winning end. Rain usually cut down on the amount of
visitors we would get at the Polar Palace, but it didn't matter to me right
now, as it was my day off. All I wanted to do was relax.
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Chapter Eleven - Wakeboarding and Zach
I must be a good teacher because I was pretty impressed with
how quickly Zack had picked up the skill of wakeboarding. After a few tries and
losing the tow rope a couple of times as Nick accelerated, Zack seemed to get
the hang of it and was able to cruise around the bay for a good 10 minute run
before he would drop the line and cruise into a soft water landing. Each time we circled around to pick him up,
he’d ask to try it again. I noticed that Zack didn’t like to fail, and wanted
to keep going until he felt he had mastered it.
Phoebe and I
sat in the back of the boat, eating our bagels, spotting together, and admiring
the view. Phoebe was more so admiring Nick at the helm, but I kept my eye on
Zack. He really was a good looking guy, I noticed. I guess I noticed too much, because before
long I was poked in the arm by someone next to me.
“Hello!
Earth to Casey! Didn’t you hear anything I said?”
“Wh-hat? No,
I was spotting.”
“Spotting my
butt! You are so checking him out! You like him! You like Zack….”
© 2015 Susan Kotch All Rights Reserved
Chapter Ten - Jersey Girl
“Casey, you are everything a Jersey
Shore girl should be - smart, funny, tan, the best boogie-boarder and ice-cream
scooper ever.”
“Really? Why, Zack, you are the most
handsome, sweetest, tannest North Jersey boy I’ve ever met. Please carry my beach chair for me? I want to
see your big muscles protrude from under that tank top you are wearing.”
“Oh Casey, please let me kiss
you...Smack! Slobber!” What the...heck?
“Sasha! get off my
bed!” I yelled at my GoldenDoodle who has just returned from a romp along the
bay and has obviously decided to test the water and then run through the sand
and come back to the house to let me know all about it. Her course tongue
cleaned any bit of drool that may have dripped down my chin from the dream I
was just having about me and…. Zack? What? I glanced at the clock. It’s 9:00 am and
I was reminded that today was wakeboarding day with Nick, Zack and Phoebe. We
wanted to get onto the water before a lot of boat traffic appeared as its
easier for beginners to learn the sport on a flat bay rather than a choppy one...
© 2015 Susan Kotch All Rights Reserved
Chapter Nine - Night time at the Cove
There is nothing like the beach at night. The sounds of the
ocean waves breaking on shore, and the stillness of the night make for a very
relaxing, almost spiritual experience.
The beach is black - no lights at all - except for the moon shining over
the water. Many of the vacationers will
stay on the beach until around 8 at night flying kites, watching their children
build sandcastles, and just taking in the cool breezes, but once night falls,
it is virtually empty. Except for the
few stargazers (lovers) who will venture up when its dark to talk (ahem) and
talk some more (ahem)...
© 2015 Susan Kotch All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Chapter Eight - Palace Happenings
Phoebe and I continued to take care of our customers while
belting out the tunes that were wafting in from The Crabby Tuna next door. The
Palace closed at 10:00 p.m. on the weekends, and we had about a half-hour to
go. Clean up after that was a breeze, since
Phoebe’s specialty is wiping down anything that moves during the quiet periods
in between customers. For the most part, the evening ran smoothly with just one
mishap that occurred when a young boy decided that the vanilla cone his mother
ordered for him wasn't as much fun to eat as the chocolate one his brother had
and proceeded to throw it at his grandmother who tried to talk him down from
his tirade. It ended up in her face, on her shirt, and on the lady sitting next
to them who had just had her hair done for a wedding she had to attend the next
afternoon. How did we know all this? She
screamed it at the top of her lungs at the young boy’s parents who seemed to
want to disappear under the bench before anyone recognized them. After a brief visit from Cranberry Cove’s
finest men in blue, the matter was resolved and we were able to resume our
duties without further incident...
© 2015 Susan Kotch All Rights Reserved
Monday, May 4, 2015
Chapter Seven - The Polar Palace
The Polar Palace isn't a palace at all, but a run down yet
cozy nook of an ice cream parlor that is decorated with wooden replicas of
beach badges from all the neighboring beaches on the island. Beach badges are a Jersey thing - you need to
buy one and wear it or they don’t let you on the beach. The rest of the United
States seemed to have this thing called “free beaches” going on, but here in
Jersey, you paid. Not that anyone really
minded here at the Cove. The beaches were kept really clean, and people liked
noticing everyone else’s badge. People seemed to wear them like a badge of
honor.
Phoebes and
I parked our bikes outside at the bike rack. It was already crowded but we
found ourselves a spot. Phoebe pulled
out her bike lock and locked up her sherbert colored beauty, but my rusty old
hunk of aluminum just sat freely. Believe me, no one was going to take mine
with the smorgasbord of pretty colored Schwinn Cruisers on the menu that were
out here tonight...
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Chapter Six - The Town
The Polar Palace sat in the center of
town, nestled between The Crabby Tuna, and Benny’s, the local pizza joint. All of the businesses do well in the summer
as scores of tourists walk the sidewalks enjoying the fresh salty breezes,
beautiful sunsets, and the fact they paid for a week of bliss and they plan on
enjoying every minute of it. The shops in town offer touristy trinkets,
clothing, beach essentials, gifts and boxes upon boxes of salt water taffy, the
perfect item to bring home to the neighbors who are stuck back up in North
Jersey watching your dog while you spend time at the beach.
Besides walking, the second most
popular mode of transportation in town is the bike. Beach bikes are the bike of
choice, which allow for cruising the streets without the hassle of hand brakes
or gear shifting. You sit up straight,
and simply pedal backward to stop. No hassle. The beach bikes of choice for the
locals are the old rusty ones you’ve had for years, but the summer residents
and tourists prefer the new sherbert-colored ones, and you’ll see them all over
town parked in bike racks at the beach and in front of the stores. Cranberry Cove is like a fairy tale town in
that no one locks their bikes or their homes. It’s as if everyone thinks that
because they are on vacation nothing will happen. Usually it doesn’t. Sometimes
it does.
© 2015 Susan Kotch All Rights Reserved
Saturday, May 2, 2015
Chapter 5 - The Comp
“I’m getting out! I’m freeeeezing!” I heard Phoebe yelling
out to me from the spot where the waves were breaking right on her. After 6 perfect rides into the shore (all
after my run-in with the old-timer and the bathing suit mishap), I was
exhausted, so I nodded to my fellow bodysurfers and began to head in.
“Nice
riding,” my competition said to me with a nod of his head.
“You
too.” I returned the compliment. We actually bonded when I found out that
bathing cap lady and the old timer were husband and wife, and she complimented
me on how gracefully I was able to take him out with my first ride in. She swam in after that to check on him, and I
just turned to my competition and shrugged my shoulders in an “I’m sorry” sort
of way...
© 2015 Susan Kotch All Rights Reserved
Friday, May 1, 2015
Chapter Four - Getting Wet
The water was chilly, but felt good since we had baked for an
hour in the sun. We made our way gingerly over the small breakers, turning our
backs to the waves and jumping as we reached the point where they were rolling
in and breaking on our thighs. Never sure why people did this, since its
inevitable that everyone at this point was going to be wet anyway, but we held
our arms up out of the water like that was going to help. It didn't. I guess it
was just a reaction to do that.
The next wave rolled in and I decided
it was time to bite the bullet. I dove into the wave as it broke and came up
the other side of it, hair slicked back. I adjusted the suit. No need to have
the cops called at this point.
Phoebe still
continued to dodge the waves, so I decided to help her get on with this swim. I
headed over to her, wrapped my arms around her and brought her down into the
next wave. We emerged and she spat water in my face...
© 2015 Susan Kotch All Rights Reserved
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