Second Chances in Lavender Bay (The Lavender Bay Chronicles #3)

44. Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Two

1959

D iana pulled the wagon behind her, coming back from the beach. In it, Gail, four, and Louise, two, looked slightly dazed from an afternoon spent in the sun and splashing around in the water. Diana herself didn’t know how to swim, but she was determined that the girls would learn. Laura’s daughter, Edna, now almost twenty, was teaching Gail the basics. It was almost nap time, and Diana wanted to get the girls home before they fell asleep. Over her left shoulder, she carried a beach bag she’d designed and made herself. Joy and Sam had offered to give her a ride home, but she’d declined, saying she didn’t mind the walk. It wasn’t that far.

Images of a nice cool bath filled her head. She was hot and sweaty, and if the girls could stay asleep, she’d soak in the tub for a while. The heat and activity had made her tired as well.

As she approached home, she spotted Mark over on her mother’s porch, the two of them sitting next to each other in the porch rockers. They stood as she came into view, Mark in his standard summer attire of light-colored pants and a short-sleeved shirt. She didn’t know how he did it; she was overheating even in the light cotton shift she wore over her bathing suit.

He and Millie walked down the front steps to meet her. Mark went first and waited to make sure Millie got down all right.

“Gammie,” said Gail, holding out her hands to Millie.

Smiling, Millie stooped to pick her up. “Did you have a good day at the beach?”

Drowsy, Gail nodded.

In the wagon, two-year-old Louise was fighting to stay awake.

“How was the beach?” Mark asked.

“Good, they love it there,” Diana said.

Mark had never been. His excuse was that he didn’t own a pair of shorts and didn’t know how to swim. Louise lay back in the wagon, eyes closed.

“They’re tired,” Diana said, “and I’m going to put them down for a nap now.”

She went to reach for Gail, who clung tight to Millie and wailed, “No!”

Millie laughed. “That’s my girl. Diana, leave her with me. I’ll put her down here.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” And before Diana or Mark could say anything, Millie turned and went around the side of the house to go in the back door, carrying Gail and telling her what a good little girl she was.

Mark pulled the wagon to their house next door. With a glance at the sleeping baby, he said, “I’ll carry her up.”

“Thanks, hon. I’m going to soak in the tub for a while.”

Diana dropped her beach bag on the floor as soon as she walked in. Mark followed her in carrying a sleeping Louise, and after closing the door behind him, Diana trailed him up the stairs and went into the bathroom as he laid Louise gently in her crib.

She filled the tub with tepid water and stripped down quickly, sinking into the coolness of it. She slid down until she was submerged, soaking her hair. She felt she might have sand in her scarred scalp, as it had irritated her since she got out of the water. Even though she never took off the bathing cap, it was inevitable that sand would get in. Sitting in the hot sun wearing a rubber bathing cap created a sweaty head. It was best to get it rinsed and washed.

The water was nice, and her body cooled down immediately. She stretched her arms out, noting the brown color of her limbs from spending a lot of time outdoors. It contrasted starkly with the milky-white color of the tops of her thighs, her belly, and her breasts.

Once her hair was washed and rinsed, she leaned back against the gentle slope of the tub, thinking she’d close her eyes just for a moment.

A knock on the door roused her, startling her.

“Diana?” Mark said on the other side. “Are you all right in there, or do I need to send in a search party?”

She laughed. “I’m fine. Be down in a minute.” The bath and the short nap had revived her, and she pulled the plug. As the water drained out, she stood and climbed out of the tub.

Wrapping a towel around her, she darted to her bedroom to get dressed, choosing a red and white summer dress with straps that tied at her shoulders. She gave her hair a quick brush. What hair she had left, she wore short, just below her ear. One of the girls at the beauty salon came to the house to cut her hair in private, and they bartered: haircuts in exchange for mending. She fixed a matching scarf onto her head.

She gave a quick peek into the girls’ bedroom, satisfied to see Louise on her back in her romper and sound asleep.

Holding the ruched bodice of the dress, she walked down the stairs barefoot, meeting Mark at the bottom.

“Can you tie these straps for me?” she asked.

“With pleasure, Mrs. Sturges,” he said. Deftly, he tied the straps over her shoulders as he’d done a hundred times before. When he was finished, he laid a soft kiss on her tanned shoulder.

She and Mark made their way out onto the porch, and he carried two bottles of Coke from the fridge out with him, handing her one as they sat down on the steps.

As always, they clinked their bottles together and said at the same time, “Cheers.”

“How’s it going with the committee?” she asked.

Mark had come up with the idea the previous year that Lavender Bay should have a day to celebrate the town’s founder. There had been plenty of local interest, and a committee had been formed. It looked as if the first annual Jacques Aubert Day would be celebrated the following year.

“Good. Everyone’s in agreement that it should be celebrated on June fourth, as that’s his birthday.”

“That’s great.” The project had given Mark a specific focus. And between that, his job, his family, and teaching fellow veterans how to play chess at the VFW, he was kept busy. His nightmares had lessened since the girls were born.

“Did you have a good time at the beach?” he asked.

“Of course. The girls love it, and Gail is like a little fish with the swimming,” she said with a smile.

“You know, I was thinking . . .” Mark started.

She smiled to herself. Mark did a lot of thinking. “Yes?” She took a refreshing gulp of the ice-cold drink.

“I think I’d like to go to the beach with you sometime. You and the girls.”

“We’d love that.”

“All right. Maybe next weekend if it’s nice,” he said.

“You know, you’ll have to get a pair of shorts.”

“Shorts?” He flinched. Of course, she’d seen her husband’s legs, but she’d never seen him in a pair of shorts. “Can’t I wear pants?”

“Honey, it’s too hot at the beach for pants. You’ll roast.” She looked at him. “You must have worn shorts as a child.”

“Only under penalty of death,” he joked. “Mother used to say I was out of short pants and into long pants by the time I was three.”

Diana laughed. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll make you a pair.”