CHAPTER THIRTEEN
After they left the aquarium, Jamie and Lucy continued to ride their bikes until they came upon some big ponds behind a place called the South Bay Salt Works.
“What are those?” she asked Jamie.
Jamie pulled his bike up next to her and said, “Evaporation ponds. If you look closely, you can see the water being agitated. It sits there, being manipulated in different ways for about a year before the water completely evaporates off and only the salt is left.”
“Cool,” she said.
“It is pretty cool,” Jamie said. “It’s…well…”
“What?”
“It’s one of the businesses my family has stock in. It’s been here for over 100 years. It’s had a lot of different names, but they’ve been processing salt pretty much the same way the entire time.”
“Wow, I guess when you have a good system you stick to it. It’s funny, I’ve never once thought about the time and effort that goes into the salt that I so easily stroll into the market and buy.”
“That’s true of most people,” he said. “Unfortunately, during my time studying and teaching about the environment, I’ve discovered that as long as people can go buy it, they don’t spend much time thinking where it came from, or how it got there, or even how what was produced has affected the environment. I’m not judging,” he said quickly. “Or at least, I’m trying not to. I know how busy people are. How many are overwhelmed with everyday concerns. But so much of what we consume is either damaging the environment in the processing of it, or damaging the environment because of the waste it produces.” Jamie stopped suddenly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a lecture.”
Lucy grinned at him and said, “No problem, Professor. I’ve been meaning to sit in on one of your classes, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know that. I’ve sat in on a couple of yours.”
“You have?”
“Your general ed ones.”
“Oh.” The ones that were so big she felt like she was teaching in a sports arena. “How come you never told me?”
“I guess it just never came up. You’re good at what you do, Luce. But I’ve never doubted that.”
“Thank you,” she said quietly. What he was saying was so real. So genuine. She tried to give him the same thing back. “I think it’s admirable that you’re so passionate about the environment. Most people, rich and poor, don’t give it much thought. They think it’s someone else’s problem, and someday when their grandchildren are older, there won’t be an earth for them to live on.”
“You know what else I’m passionate about?”
“I think I can guess, but…” She waved her hand for him to continue.
“Right now, I’m really hungry.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yep.”
“For what?”
“Lunch, for starters. What do you say we finish up our ride, grab something to eat, and then…” He wiggled his brows up and down.
“Then…what?”
“Then I’ll eat some more. Only I’ll eat you.”
She actually blushed. Without commenting, she started pedaling again. As they left the trail and headed back into Coronado, Lucy enjoyed seeing the freshly painted buildings and perfectly manicured lawns. There were more people strolling down the sidewalk than there were driving in cars, and the whole place had a nice “homey” feel to it. Of course, she knew that was in part because the community was so affluent, and thus life on the island was a bit like living in a bubble. A very nice bubble, but a bubble nonetheless.
At one point they got off their bikes and walked them through a residential area so she could admire the beautiful homes lining the street.
“I bet it was fun growing up here,” she said.
“It was,” he said. “I had a good childhood here, but it wasn’t perfect.”
“Oh?”
“That surprise you?”
“A little. It looks ideal. Your family is wonderful. You probably didn’t want for anything. What was there to ruin all that?”
“Exactly what caused you to freak when you found out I was rich. Assholes and snobs who have too much money but a decided lack of compassion or integrity. Intolerance isn’t directed only between those from different classes, but those in the same class, too, even the upper class.”
She stopped walking and so did Jamie. “People were intolerant of you? Why?”
He shrugged. “Because, as you like to remind me, I’m a nice guy. I’ve never been the stud or the rebel. I love my family and often preferred to spend time with them rather than go out partying with my friends. There were plenty of times I felt out of place. Pressured to be something I wasn’t.”
“But?”
“What?”
“I can hear it coming. You were going to say you felt out of place but...what? You didn’t let it change who you were? Didn’t let it change your attitude about people or who you chose to associate with?”
“I wish I could say that, but it’s not true. Stuff happens, and as a result of that stuff, I am careful about who I associate with. About what kind of women I’ll get involved with.”
“And what kind of women is that?”
“You already know the answer to that, too, Lucy. For any long-term relationship to work out between me and woman, she has to be willing to fit into my world.”
“You mean compromise who she is.”
“If she thinks there’s a need to compromise, that’s her decision. Or if she decides not to compromise because she needs to be herself, that’s her decision, too. I just need to know she can deal with the consequences in a way that doesn’t involve her hurting herself or running away.”
“And you think I’m a runner. I mean, obviously you do. I left my family. And broke up with you. Which is why we’re not getting involved.”
He just stared at her.
She stared back at him.
She was the first to look away.
Until he put a hand under her chin and turned her gaze back to his. “Lucy…”
She shook her head. “Sorry. You must think I’m crazy saying something like that given I’m the one who broke up with you in the first place.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy. And I’m the one that’s sorry. I didn’t mean to steer the conversation that way. I’ve been having a great time with you. Can we just enjoy the rest of the day?”
She smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.”
* * *
Jamie and Lucy stopped at a quaint little café for lunch. The food was delicious, and Jamie and Lucy were enjoying a piece of chocolate cake when a woman sitting with a man at a nearby table squealed as if she’d noticed Jamie for the first time. She jumped up from her seat and approached their table. Lucy noticed that she was wearing a three hundred dollar pair of jeans and a pair of shoes that had to be worth at least five. Her bag was designer, as well, and her hair was long and straight with a perfect cut and color, which was probably touched up weekly.
Lucy suddenly became accutely aware how she must look, dressed in her bike clothes and tennis shoes, wind-blown from their jaunt.
“Jamie Whitcomb! What are you doing?” the woman screamed out in one of those fake, annoying voices that Lucy hated.
Jamie stood up and said, “Hi, Rachel. I was just out for a bike ride with my fiancée. This is Lucy Conrad. Lucy, this is Rachel Smythe.”
Rachel glanced sideways at her and gave her a fake smile as she nodded. Then she turned back to Jamie and said, “That’s Rachel Smythe Landon, if you don’t mind! Michael, get over here,” she called to the man who was still in the middle of his lunch. He pushed himself back from the table and did as he was told. To Lucy, he looked like a man who had already been beaten into submission.
“Hey Jamie, long time no see,” the man said, holding out his hand. At least his smile seemed genuine.
“Yes, it’s great to see you too, Michael. I didn’t realize you two had gotten married.”
“Oh please!” Rachel cried out, indignantly, “Are you trying to tell me that your mother didn’t tell you? The wedding was in Hawaii at the end of April. We had nearly the entire island of Maui rented out. Everyone was there except you.” She batted her eyes and stuck out her bottom lip. Lucy thought she looked an awful lot like a woman who was flirting despite standing next to her new husband.
“Maybe Mother mentioned it,” Jamie was saying. “I would have been in the midst of administering mid-terms at that time, so I wouldn’t have been able to make it….”
“Oh my God, are you still teaching?” Rachel rolled her eyes and shook her head. “When are you going to get over your ‘I feel guilty for being rich so I want to save the world’ complex?”
“I didn’t teach because I felt guilty but because I loved it,” he said, looking slightly annoyed.
Michael suppressed a smile, but Rachel once again rolled her eyes before turning to Lucy. As if only just noticing her, she held out her hand and said, “Congratulations on landing a Whitcomb.”
Lucy looked her up and down, leaving the other woman’s hand extended and untouched. Finally she reached out and took the hand and gave it a small squeeze. She saw Rachel staring at the engagement ring on her finger as she did.
“Even better than landing just a Whitcomb, I landed Jamie. That’s cause for congratulations, indeed,” Lucy said.
Jamie coughed and suppressed a smile.
Rachel smiled tightly, gave Lucy a once-over, then turned back to Jamie and said, “You really should have her put that ring in the safe if you’re going to be peddling around town.”
Abruptly, Lucy pushed back from the table and looked at Jamie. “I’m going to use the ladies room.”
As she walked away she heard Rachel say, “Is she always that rude? Really, Jamie couldn’t you have found a woman with a little more class?”
She didn’t stick around long enough to hear what Jamie said in response. She spent several minutes pacing in the bathroom and calming herself down. She’d had a great day with Jamie. She didn’t want to spoil it by getting into a cat fight with a snooty bitch who clearly wasn’t even a good friend of his.
When Lucy finally walked back onto the patio, Rachel and Michael were gone. Jamie stood and immediately said, “I’m sorry. God, I never realized what a bitch Rachel could be.”
Lucy couldn’t help it. She burst out laughing.
“What?” Jamie warily asked.
“I think that’s the first time I’ve ever heard you call someone a bad name.”
He shook his head. “Nope. Remember I called cousin Gretchen’s husband a dickhead?”
Lucy thought about it and said, “You’re right. You did.”
“I call ’em like I see ’em, sweet thing. And I wouldn’t have blamed you for ripping Rachel a new one. In fact, I would have enjoyed seeing it. I settled for telling her you had more class than she could ever dream of having.”
She grabbed his head and jerked him down so she could plant a passionate kiss on him. By the time she broke the kiss, they were both breathing heavy and he was rubbing her lower back, clearly wanting to rub her other places but trying to exercise some restraint in public.
“Want me to call someone else a bitch? Because if that’s what I get as my reward…”
Lucy laughed and pulled his head down for another kiss.