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Lola gazed at him for a moment before letting out a big sigh and lowering her head. When she started talking, it looked like she was going back in time. “It was my lucky thing, you know—the knife. I still remember when I saw it at a summer fair in a gypsy store. They had all these interesting things, but that knife caught my eye.”
Ryan said, “A knife of all things.”
Lola shrugged her shoulders. “So, I bought it and took it to the church near me so Father Patrick could bless it.”
“And then the story gets religious.”
“It had been with me for so long,” she said with a sigh. “I can’t believe it’s gone.”
“Did you know that you’re a very interesting person?”
“Huh?” It was as if she had just come back to the present after a lengthy trek into the past. “What did you say?”
Ryan responded, “I said you’re weird,” with a blank look on his face.
He was tugging her leg again. She hit him in the upper arm and damaged her own knuckles. Once more. Well, this wasn’t the first time she had hit him there just to hurt herself and be astonished by that brick arm.
The arrogant smirk on his face made her feel even worse about losing her knife.
****
Beach at Sea Town.
That’s where Lola wanted to have her birthday party this year. It was a gorgeous beach that wasn’t as congested as Velden’s. It was two hours distant. There were kilometers of sand that met the water, and the black stones were a wonderful addition.
She found this spot by chance a few years ago. It was on the road to Damien’s mother’s and sister’s house in his hometown. He had also set up a modest clothing factory in his hometown.
Lola looked at her companions and said, “I found this little piece of heaven from the car while we were driving to his town.”  “I told him to stop the car right away so I could see it. I fell in love with this place right away.”
Ryan remarked, “Did you two used to travel a lot together?” There was an edge to his voice. Lola didn’t know whether anyone else saw that.
“I’ve been in this business with him since he started. We’re also good friends, even though he’s a bit of a jerk sometimes. So, yes, we’ve had to travel a lot together,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “And we’ll have to do it again in the future.”
Ryan suddenly went into a profound state of contemplation for some reason.
Strange.
Damien was softly putting the chunks of firewood in front of them. The sun will shortly start its glorious descent down into the sea. After that, it would be a bit cooler, which is not what it is today. They would need a beautiful fire to make the night brighter, warmer, and happier. And for that, they had carried the wood for the fire in the trunk of Ryan’s car.
Lena shook Dave in her lap while moving her folded legs on the carpet. The tiny child was slowly waking up. “I remember when these two first brought me here,” she said, pointing to Damien and Lola. Damien had both of my eyes covered with his hands while Lola held my shoulders. I could tell it was a beach because I could hear the waves crashing. But I didn’t expect how beautiful it was.
Ashley was drinking some water. She started to cough and sputter all of a sudden.
Damien and Ryan were hitting Lola’s back hard before she could get to her.
Ashley was shocked by the abrupt onslaught that was meant to aid her as the poor girl attempted to catch her breath.
Lola stared at the two men, going back and forth between them. She said, “Are you two crazy?”  “At this rate, you’re going to kill the girl! For Heaven’s sake, stop!”
Both men turned to look at Lola with a look of disbelief. Thank goodness they had both stopped doing their comprehensive first-aid work.
Ryan responded, “Putting pressure on her back should help her—”
Damien quickly added, “I agree.”
“Yeah. See?” Ryan nodded.
Lola tsked. “She can cough, which means it was only a partial blockage. Coughing and deep breathing help her clear her windpipe.”
“Just let her relax, okay?” Lena said. “There’s no need to freak out so much.”
Ashley was still coughing. “I’m… alright. Don’t… worry…” she replied between coughing.
Damien walked back after looking at her for a long time.
But Ryan stayed on his knees next to her. “Do you need some water?”
Ashley shook her head to say no.
Damien’s gaze abruptly narrowed. “Are you going to drown her with more water?” He frowned and directed his finger at Ryan, who still had his hand loosely on Ashley’s waist. “She’s hurt there, right under your hand. I suggest you take it off right away. Come on, take it off.”
Ryan was surprised by how Damien acted, but he did what he was ordered to do. “How did she get hurt?” he questioned Damien. Ashley was gathering her breath, but her coughing spell had ceased by now. It did correct itself, though.
“She said she fell down the stairs,” Damien said.
“According to her! Where were you?” Ryan inquired again.
Lena, Lola, and Dave, who was now fully awake, glanced back and forth between the two. Dave’s lips were twitching in subtle ways. His face showed that he was about to weep.
“I don’t follow her around all day, Ryan. We both work in different places,” Damien said, dragging his palm over his face. “And it happened before our—”
“Your?” Ryan pushed.
Lola now felt that Ryan had started his legendary game of teasing. And Damien was going along with it so readily.
That’s crazy!
“Ryan!” Lena sought to scold her childhood buddy in a quiet way.
“You know it very well!” Damien was really angry with Ryan now, with his fists on his hips.
Ashley, who is now well, was nevertheless shocked by what was said.
Ryan didn’t look like he wanted to quit. “But—”
“That’s enough!” Lola yelled like a grizzly. “Ryan, you need to stop asking questions now.”
Ryan let out a deep sigh in a dramatic way. “My queen, anything you want.”
The way he said “my queen” was so unique and special.
Was that part of his teasing?
Ryan got up from Ashley and went back to sit where he had been before.
Dave started to sniff and sniffle all of a sudden, and then he started to cry, which made everyone look at him. There were sounds of damp squelching and a couple of bangs.
Lena laughed uncomfortably. “Damien, can you please give me your car keys? It looks like baby Dave has pooped, and I need to change his diaper.”
“Sure. In fact, let’s go together,” Damien answered with a sigh. Ryan’s signs of displeasure and their short conversation went away quickly. “Allow me to assist you.”
Lena turned down his help a few times, stating she didn’t want to ruin the enjoyment for everyone else and that she would be back soon. Most of the time, though, Damien could be quite convincing. In the end, they all departed together for the car and told everyone they would be back soon after cleaning up and feeding the young kid.
“Are you okay now, Ashley?” Lola inquired with worry. She was sad to see Ashley looking at the backs of the two who were leaving. There were so many feelings on her face that it was hard to tell where they came from or why they were there. Ashley had a complicated tempest in her eyes till she blinked and turned away.
She felt close to this girl as much as she did to Lena.
“Huh? Ah, yes, I’m fine now,” Ashley said with a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
Ashley always had her camera bag right next to her. She turned toward it, unlocked the chain, and took out her DSLR.
Ryan whistled in amazement. “It’s cool to see women handle tools, gadgets, and gears so well,” he said as he watched Ashley neatly connect the huge lens to it.
Ashley smiled but didn’t glance up from what she was doing.
Lola said, “That camera looks like a shotgun now. Good job, girl.”  “Are you going to start taking pictures?”
Ashley nodded. “I think I can get a few good clicks closer to the sea,” she said, pointing to the distance. “Thanks for inviting me to this beautiful beach, Lola. It’s quiet, empty, and peaceful.”
Lola waved her hand and replied, “Eh. No need to thank you and all that. You’re in this circle now.”
A few minutes later, Ryan and Lola were the only ones left on the mat, with their legs stretched out in front of them on the sand. From a distance, Ashley’s body seemed petite. As she gazed through the lens of her camera, the waves crept up to her feet from behind her.