Page 21 of A Daddy for Christmas 3: Nova
“They hold a sand sculpture contest right on this stretch of beach each summer,” Robbie said as we walked.
“Have you ever entered?”
“Not a chance, but I love to park my ass on a dune and watch,” he said. “Some of the sea creatures are so realistic it’s mind-blowing. One year these three guys made a dolphin that looked like it was leaping up out of a wave, and another, there was a dragon with its tail wrapped around an egg. The levels of detailing that go into some of the prize-winning ones are staggering. I don’t have the patience or the skill for something like that. I wouldn’t even know where to start.”
“I made a sea turtle once,” I said, thinking back to how much fun I’d had trying to sculpt the flippers and the face, since the shell had been the easiest part. “The town I grew up in had a lake that was surrounded by sand that they truck in from somewhere whenever it washes away. I loved to go down there after school and just decompress after being stuck in a classroom all day. Sometimes I’d bring a book, if I needed to get it finished for an assignment, but most times I just waded in the water or sat daydreaming and building sandcastles.”
“Sounds like a good place to go to chill out and relax.”
“It was. It took me so long to build the turtle that I didn’t have time to build the sandcastle I’d planned to build on its back. Then it rained, and the whole thing got wrecked. I never had time to try again, but I really wanted to. The squishy feel of sand between my fingers and the rough rasp of running my hand over the surface to smooth it out was better than most of the stem toys I’ve found.”
“For me it’s waxing my board,” Robbie explained. “There’s something about the rhythm of the repetition that chases everything else from my mind. You know, we could always make your turtle while you’re here. We’ve got all the sand you’d ever need and plenty of free time and opportunity.”
I was so shocked by his offer that I dropped the shell I’d just picked up and had to recapture the pretty spiral. It would make a great horn or tail for one of the critters.
“Are you sure I’m not boring you?” I asked as I placed it in the bucket.
His hand on my arm was gentle as he stroked it, then cupped me beneath the chin to get me to look at him.
“I’m enjoying the opportunity to get to know you,” he said. “Which is much easier to do like this. Relaxing, walking, talking, reminiscing about the things that we like but haven’t had the opportunity to enjoy to their fullest. Would it help if I told you something I’d love to do that I haven’t had the chance to do in what feels like forever?”
“Very much so.”
“When I first stopped surfing competitively, I started wandering the beach with a metal detector, just to see what I’d find.”
“Really? That sounds like fun.”
“It was.”
“Did you ever find anything cool?”
“A few times, I’ll show you when we get back to the house. Mostly, though, I just found pocket change and bottle caps. Some of the coins were pretty cool though and not American. Those, along with an old pocket watch, are in a shadowbox on the wall in the living room. Some were too degraded; I couldn’t tell where they came from, but others I was able to identify, so I printed out maps to show where they came from and labeled what they were.”
“Why’d you stop?” I asked.
“I didn’t mean to,” he explained. “I guess I just gradually stopped making time for it when I started to get my business off the ground.”
“Do you still have your metal detector?”
“I’ve got two of them if you’d like to give it a try.”
“I’d love to, and I think I’d like to try and build my sea turtle too. I doubt it will be anything fancy or detailed, but it would be fun to finally see if I could build a sandcastle on its back.”
“Look at us, making goals that aren’t work-related.”
“We should celebrate,” I suggested, though I didn’t tell him I was celebrating something besides our plans; a plan was taking shape in my mind and growing brighter with each step we took along that sandy beach.
“Really? What did you have in mind?” he asked.
“Cake,” I replied. “From the bakery we passed the other night. A couple giant pieces of those four-layer ones in the window. And ice cream. And music, since we’ll need to dance off all the sugar.”
“I like the way you think,” he said. “And in case you’re still struggling to figure out if I’m enjoying myself, I am. Meeting you has brightened up a holiday season I’d have otherwise spent aimlessly bouncing between my board and the seafood shack. Thank you for wandering onto my beach.”
He hugged me then, as emotion caught in my throat and left me powerless to do anything but hug back and enjoy the moment and the beautiful anticipation of the days to come.
Chapter 10
(Robbie)