Alexis 2010
Greyson and I escaped the heat of the city with a long weekend on the Jersey shore. It was different from the beaches at home, more congested and there were the casinos as backdrop. I loved it. We spent our days swimming and sunbathing and the nights eating, drinking and making love. Best vacation ever.
Greyson was swimming now, had gone past the waves and every once in a while I saw him cutting the water, a strong front stroke that would make our gym teacher proud. Remembering that day in the pool, the first time I saw him in board shorts. That was a really great memory.
I’d gotten us hot dogs, but I couldn’t wait to eat mine. There was something about a hot dog on the beach that was just so freaking good. Greyson appeared, walking from the water, and I almost choked because my husband was hot. Those muscles he had at eighteen were bigger and more defined. He moved with that unhurried grace he had, his long hair pulled back from his face. As long as we’d been together and still I got those butterflies.
I wasn’t the only one checking him out, but I was the only one he was checking out. He dropped down next to me, water from his body dripped on me. For a second, I almost forgot we were on the beach because I had ideas about touching that body, first with my hands then with my tongue.
“Stop looking at me like that or this is going to get really interesting.”
I stuck my tongue out because honestly none of my thoughts were private.
I handed him a dog, he ate half of it in one mouthful.
“Do you remember that day in the pool?”
His eyes grew warm. “You saved my life. I never did thank you properly.”
“It’s been almost fourteen years since I first saw you on my jetty.”
“Your jetty?” he teased.
“My jetty.”
“Best fucking day of my life,” he said with sincerity, then he teased, “Whatever happened to your bike?”
“Paige has it.” I really was going to give it to him, a homecoming gift when we moved back to Mendocino.
“That thing was fucking ugly.”
“It is, present tense, not ugly. It is just old.”
“No, it is ugly.”
“I loved that bike.” I glanced at him and he looked bewildered. I added, “That bike brought me to you.”
I couldn’t read his expression, but he then said, “I fucking love that bike.”
I had just lathered up and intended to soak up some rays. Greyson had other plans. My breath was knocked from me when he swept me up and over his shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“I have a damsel to rescue.”
I couldn’t help the laugh, because playful Greyson was charming. He didn’t put me down until a wave came then he took us both under. He never let me go, pulled me up against him. I didn’t know how long we played in the water like kids. At one point, he pressed me close and kissed me, a kiss that was both passionate and sweet. He let his lips linger when he whispered, “Here’s to another seventy years as fucking amazing as the last fourteen.
It was me who kissed him until we were knocked over by a wave, but even as we tossed and turned, he never let go of my hand.
Quarter slots, I was rocking at them, up by a hundred dollars. I looked around; some people were using two or three machines, dropping the coins in, pressing the buttons. Most had a cigarette in one hand and a glass of something in the other. These were the diehards. Was it the quest for money, or the familiarity of the routine, I didn’t know. It was fascinating. An idea for a book started to form, I pulled out the pad and pen I always carried around and wrote it down.
We’d been to dinner. Greyson had learned not to ask the concierge for the best places to eat, but the housekeeper or the bellhop. They always knew about the gems and dinner was no exception. The little Greek place we’d dined at was amazing. I didn’t get out a lot, I liked being home, but I had fun dressing up for the evening. Greyson looking dapper in a black suit with a pale green shirt, and me, I was a firm believer in the little black dress, so versatile from simple and elegant to sexy when embellished with shoes, hair and jewelry. I was going simple tonight. My hair down and my only jewelry were my wedding and engagement rings that I never took off.
Greyson had left to get us drinks. Not the cheap stuff they gave for free, the good stuff. If my liver was taking a hit, it would do so with quality. He’d been gone a while though, almost a half an hour. The place was crowded but not that crowded. I hesitated leaving my spot. We could spend hours looking for one another because I still didn’t have a cell phone. I knew they were all the rage. Everyone who was anyone had one. Not me. I didn’t care for talking on the phone, so why would I carry one around with me so I never had an excuse not to answer it. No thanks.
I dropped a few more quarters in the machine, but I was just losing the nice little stash I’d made so I called it quits and waited near the closest pillar for Greyson. About ten minutes later I saw him moving through the crowd. He was easy to spot because he was taller than most people. I noticed two things, he looked irritated and he didn’t have drinks. He reached me, caught my hand and kept on moving.
“Do you have to cash out?”
“Yes.”
We detoured to one of the cashiers and while I collected my winnings, he looked around but not out of curiosity, more like a lookout. As soon as I put my money away, he took my hand again and beelined for the door leading out to the boardwalk.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on or should I guess?”
It was like walking into a wall of heat when we stepped outside, even with the sun down. I reached into my purse for an elastic and tied my hair back or I’d be a puddle. Like I so eloquently told Greyson once, I sweat I did not perspire.
“I was detained.”
“Like by a cop?”
Greyson’s expression was comical.
“You were arrested for looking too good. Right? Am I right?”
He tried not to smile but his lips moved anyway.
“Two women wanted an autograph, then a photograph. When they offered a home cooked meal I bailed.”
“Those bastards.” I threw my arms in the air in feigned outrage. “They offered to feed you a home cooked meal. Son of a bitch.” I looked around the boardwalk. “Where are the cops? They need to be arrested.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You’re making fun of me.”
I was going for innocent, but I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. “Me? No.” I got it, some of the attention was irritating and some was disturbing, but this was just women taking advantage of an opportunity. If I saw Brad Pitt, I’d be asking for a photograph. Hell, I’d offer him dinner too.
“When you’re on the other side of it we’ll see if you find it so funny.”
“That’s not going to happen. I’m a hermit; people have no idea who I am except for your wife. I like it that way. Besides, one celebrity in the house is enough.”
Greyson wasn’t hunted down, he wasn’t Hollywood star famous, but he still showed up on magazine covers occasionally. Sometimes I was even in those pictures with him. But there was a time when his face had been everywhere including on the side of buses. He was to the art world what Mikhail Baryshnikov was to ballet. It wasn’t a bad thing, but when you couldn’t order a drink for your wife and yourself, I could see that being irritating.
“Those pictures will no doubt show up on the website,” he was muttering to himself.
What website? “What now?”
He actually blushed. It was the first time I’d ever seen Greyson blush. “There’s a website?”
He had his own website for his work, but I was pretty sure he wasn’t talking about that. “You have a fan website? You’ve really arrived.”
It was the best ‘duh’ face I’d ever seen. “There’s a website dedicated to a cat who can play the piano. It’s not a big accomplishment.”
I loved that cat.
“So there’s a website where fans post pictures of you. Is that a bad thing?”
“When you have a woman like the one who wrote those letters, having a place you can track where I am. Yeah, it can be a bad thing.”
I felt the blood drain from my face. He saw it too, he closed the distance and yanked me into his arms.
“I didn’t think of that,” I confessed.
“That’s all I thought about.”
I should have known there was more to his irritation. It wasn’t like Greyson to be melodramatic.
He kissed my head. “Sorry for acting like an ass.”
“Temperamental artist. Comes with the territory.”
He chuckled, “I owe you a drink.”
I looked up into those green eyes. “Let’s have it back at the room.”
He kissed me long and hard. “My thoughts exactly.”
Alexis
Summer flew by and fall was approaching. We were at UCLA, dropping Tara off for her freshmen year. Tara, little Tara, was in college. I was trying not to cry, but I couldn’t stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. Greyson’s arm was wrapped around me offering strength as well as taking some. Paige and Grant were all smiles, but I knew the tears were threatening. The twins were returning the grocery carts the kids were using to get their stuff inside.
Mandy didn’t leave Tara’s side. They had always been very close; I couldn’t imagine how Mandy was feeling. Happy for her sister, absolutely, but her best friend no longer would be one room away. Heather being so much younger than her siblings, moved to the beat of her own drum. Like at the moment, she was hanging from a nearby tree.
Paige and Grant had gotten through the road trip that took two days, the family dinners that would signify the last time in a while, maybe ever, that they would all be under the same roof as a family. They endured the unloading of their baby’s things and the setting up of those things in her room. We had gone to lunch and then dinner and now it was time for them to let her go.
Grant hugged her, spoke softly in her ear. Tara had been putting on a brave face too but whatever he said she broke down. Grant held her closer, yanked Paige to them who dragged Mandy into it. Heather, seeing the group hug, jumped from the tree and pressed herself against her dad’s legs.
I turned my head into Greyson’s chest. I was happy for Tara and wanted only the best for her. Growing up, leaving home, it was all a part of life, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell. They were lucky though, coming from such a loving and close family. They’d always have that, no matter how much distance separated them; they’d always have each other.
Greyson kissed my head, his arm tightened around me. “Tara is walking over.”
I wiped at my eyes and tried to hold it in, but seeing her beautiful face, a face I had watch mature from an infant to the young lady she was, I lost it. She hugged me, like she always did, as tightly as possible.
“Be safe, be smart and have fun,” I whispered in her ear. “We are all only a phone call away.”
Her face was wet with tears. “Thank you for coming, Auntie Alexis.”
“I wouldn’t have missed this.”
She turned to Greyson. Her crush had mellowed over the years, as we all became family. The thought brought a smile, history repeating itself. Greyson wrapped her close and pressed a kiss on her head. He too whispered something in her ear. She nodded her head before he released her. Mandy walked with her to the door and my heart broke when they hugged, a hug only sisters could have. It was a hug Paige and I shared every time we left the other. Tara looked back at us and waved and then she was gone. Heather walked up to Mandy and took her hand, staring up at her big sister with a smile. Paige wrapped her arm around Mandy’s shoulders as the three of them joined Grant. Greyson and I gave them some time and headed back to the hotel.
“Are you okay?” he asked taking my hand in his.
My focus was out the window, my heart hurt, but not in a bad way. It was beautiful the scene we’d just left. “They are lucky they have that.”
“Yes they are.”
I glanced over at him; he looked back. “One day we’ll experience that.”
He smiled. “Several times I’m hoping.”
“Me too. I can’t believe she’s in college. Life goes so fast. You blink and it’s over.”
He brought my hand to his lips. “But it’s a beautiful ride.”
That night after the girls fell asleep, Paige, Grant, Greyson and I sat at the hotel bar. It had been an emotionally draining few days.
Paige’s eyes were puffy and I knew she wasn’t done crying. “I can’t believe we’re here already. I’ve been preparing for this day, but damn it came so fast.”
I reached across the table for her hand. She held mine tightly. Her focus shifted to Greyson. “What did you say to her?”
“Distance doesn’t make a difference when you’re family.”
Paige teared up.
“We’ll be doing this next year for Mandy,” Grant said then added, “At least we’ll get a break before it’s Heather’s turn.”
Trying to lighten the mood I said, “When Heather is ready, Tara and Mandy might be back home.”
Paige smiled. “I hope so.”