Annie and Nick had found a bench near the grandstand, and Nick and Jim turned it around so that Annie and the kids could sit on it and enjoy the band. The brothers jumped up on the railing of the boardwalk directly behind the bench, resting their feet on the bench in front of them. Pam had gone to the bathroom with George to wash the mint chocolate chip ice cream off of his hands. The band was made up of a group of three middle aged men playing bad versions of various songs that had been covered millions of times before. A balding man was jamming out to “Piano Man” when they walked up.
Nick was making a snide comment about the drummer when Jim felt the soft cotton of Pam’s cardigan against his leg. She had sidled up next to him so unexpectedly; he almost lost his balance and fell off the railing. Instead, he offered her a hand, and helped her onto the railing next to him.
Pam stretched out her legs in an attempt to rest her feet on Annie’s bench just as Jim and Nick had, but they had an extra foot on her, and she couldn’t quite reach. Jim laughed at her attempts to stretch.
“Face it, Pam, it’s a lost cause.”
Refusing to accept defeat, she took her flip flops off, stretched out her legs, and rested her feet on Jim’s extended legs.
“There is no such thing as a lost cause.” She said, smiling. Jim looked at her quizzically, sensing a devilish look in her eyes.
Jim forced a little laugh, and a shook his head, but it was hard to concentrate with her bare legs resting on his. She had moved right up next to him during her maneuver, and he had to wonder what she was thinking. She had been the one to first hold his hand, right? Granted, she had dropped it as soon as they got across the street, but she had seemed happy when he made his move. And here she was, sitting closer to him than necessary, with her legs intertwined with his. He wasn’t crazy, was he? He glanced at her profile, and decided it was time to make his move.
“I don’t think I can handle one more verse of the theme song to ‘The Karate Kid,’” he said in a low voice, looking over at her.
“Actually, it’s from ‘The Karate Kid Two.’ Get your Ralph Macchio movies straight, please.”
“I stand corrected. Don’t put me in a body bag, Johnny.” He got a laugh out of her, and took a deep breath. “Want to go on a walk?”
She paused for a second and looked into his eyes. The moment seemed to take forever. “Sure, um, sounds good.”
“Okay, cool.” He said, mentally kicking himself for sounding so eager.
They slid off the railing, but while Pam was grabbing her shoes, Jim felt a tug on his sleeve. “Can I come, too?”
Jim looked down at Henry and groaned inwardly. Come on! He looked up at Nick for some help, but his brother was helping Annie with Holly. “Sure, okay.”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The music from the grandstand was quickly drowned out by the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore. Henry, with his unfailing energy, had run ahead of them, and was inspecting some shells he had found on the beach.
As they walked, Pam pointed out constellations to Jim. He was surprised to find that she knew the stories behind each one. Her favorite was Cassiopeia. She told him about how her father had taken her and her sister out onto the roof of their house during summer nights and taught them about each constellation. Jim had never heard Pam mention her father before. All he knew was that he wasn’t around anymore, and that Pam got uncomfortable every time the topic came up. There was still so much about her that was a mystery. He wanted to know everything.
She carried her shoes, and Jim kept his hands in his pockets. His nervousness was growing. They walked in silence for a few minutes, until Pam suddenly looked at him.
“Do you want to sit down?”
His heart pounded, but he responded with a relaxed “sure.”
They sat down, staring out at the ocean. She was close to him, and the light breeze from the ocean played with her hair. Pam unconsciously grabbed a fistful of sand, and slowly drained it onto her feet, covering them with sand. When she was done, she started to cover his feet, too. The moon provided enough light for them to see Henry playing near the surf.
“His Mom is going to flip. He’s got sand in his hair.”
She gave a little laugh, but said nothing.
Jim couldn’t handle the silence, so he started to talk. About what, he had no idea. It was just a diversionary tactic. She joined in, and soon they were engaged in that silly kind of small talk between two people, neither of whom is actually thinking about the conversation. It was filled with “umms…” and little laughs, and very little of substance. Jim wasn’t even listening while Pam was talking. He was just staring at her lips and thinking “do it do it do it,” but his body seemed paralyzed.
Finally something inside him broke, and he reached his hand up. He had no idea what to do with it once it was in motion, and Pam looked surprised. He decided to simply reach up and tuck a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen loose. In the process, he grazed her cheek with the palm of his hand. Her skin was soft and warm to the touch.
“Listen, Pam…”
Pam’s eyes had been intently focused on his, but he saw her suddenly glace to his side. Looking over, he saw Henry standing two feet away from him. No way. This was not happening.
“Uncle Jim? I have to go bathroom.”
“Just go to the edge of the water and aim out into the ocean.”
Henry looked shocked at the idea. Pam smiled.
“No, I have to go number TWO.”
Jim could not believe Henry’s timing. He slowly shook his head, but knew there wasn’t much he could do, and started to get up.
“Sorry,” he said, looking down at Pam. “Do you want to come with us, or…?”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll wait right here for you.”
Jim started to walk away with Henry. “You better be quick about this, Chief,” he said, “and don’t think I won’t remember this in ten years when you’re on your first date. Trust me, I will.”
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© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali
© 2006-2023 More Than That | Skin created by Kali