Sam stood nervously inside Fernandina’s small airport and watched Junior’s plane safely contact the runway. As it came to a complete stop she took deep breaths and tried to calm herself.
God, please give me guidance and comfort. I need You with me through all this. Thank You for getting Junior here unharmed.
Immediately Sam could feel herself calm, and was glad she had healed enough so her relationship with the Lord was back on track. Without Him she knew she would struggle with the visit from her friend from Connecticut.
Sam stepped away from the window that provided a grand view of the airstrip and took a seat near the exit where Junior would arrive in a few minutes. She did her best to focus on being grateful to see him again and not on the feelings welling up inside her. She suspected his reason for visiting was more than he had said, but wasn’t prepared to think about that.
After sitting in the hard-plastic chair and feeling like a teenager again, she saw him walk out of the tunnel and had to smile. Feelings she didn’t want to deal with arrived against her will, and Sam realized she missed Junior more than she wanted to admit. She stood and walked toward him as his head turned in her direction; he graced her with his award-winning smile.
“Hey!” He greeted her with enthusiasm. “You look amazing!”
She wrapped her arms around him as he took her within his. They held on to each other for only a moment. Afterward, she stepped back and grinned up at him.
“Thank you, and so do you. How was your flight?” she asked.
Sliding his hand down her arm, sending shivers up her spine, he answered, “It wasn’t bad. I mean I have been on better, more enjoyable flights, but it was alright. I guess the best part was knowing where it was taking me.”
Smiling, she looked into his eyes and could see a longing. She couldn’t stare and turned away.
“Come on,” she told him and tugged on his hand. “Let’s get your luggage and get out of here.”
Together, they chatted and walked over to where the luggage was coming out on a conveyor belt and waited. People were bustling around them as he told her about his flight and how it had been a while since he had been on a plane. They didn’t have to wait long before he grabbed the bag he brought with him and they walked back out into the sunshine and breeze. The sound of another plane lifting off filled the short silence between them. They both stopped to watch it rise into the blue sky and disappear into the distance.
“I think you will like my new car. Well, new to me at least,” Sam attempted to start a conversation.
“What kind of car do you have?”
“I bought a Chrysler PT Cruiser convertible. When the Cruisers first came out years ago, I wanted one. Now that I live at the beach I couldn’t resist getting the convertible.”
As they approached it he was visibly impressed.
“Very nice! I can definitely see this wrapped around you. If I lived here I’d love to have a Jeep, but this is great.”
She resisted the urge to let the idea of him living there play around in her head. Knowing where her thoughts would have taken her, she didn’t want to tempt herself. She smiled at him and told him to put his things in the back seat.
“You’ll love the view down here.” She changed the subject. “There’s plenty of tourists and a lot of women come here to get away from wherever they come from.”
Looking at her with a sideways glance, he told her, “I didn’t come down to meet someone. I came to get away from it all for a week and to spend a little time with you.”
On the way to her bungalow she told him about some of the sights and that as far as fun things to do, it wasn’t like most beaches.
“So, it’ll be boring while I’m here?” he asked with a laugh.
“I love it here. I seriously doubt you’ll get bored. What I meant was that it isn’t like Virginia Beach or Myrtle Beach where there’s tons of rides and college students. Things like that. There are things to do here. It’s just different is all.”
With the top down on her Cruiser, they enjoyed the wind in their hair, the warmth of the sun, and the salt in the air.
“You have gotten a great tan since you have been here. It looks fantastic on you. I’ll be sure to buy some lotion later. If not, I’ll look like a lobster within a day or so. I’ve never tanned good, but I always burn easy.”
“Thank you, and good idea. There will be no visiting the hospital while you are here,” she joked.
“I hope not.”
***
As they pulled into the pebbled driveway in front of her bungalow Junior saw all the trees that surrounded the area. Sam could see the astonishment in his expression and laughed.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?”
“Yeah, but there’s so many of them.”
“You see those right there?” She pointed at the ones closest to the bungalow. “That’s actually called the Amelia Christmas Tree.”
He raised his eyebrows and his expression made her laugh even harder. They got out of the car and he grabbed his bags. He looked around like a child at a new playground as they walked inside. When he saw how she lived he was immediately impressed and comfortable.
“Dang, you go girl! This would be a sweet place to live!”
Grinning from his excitement, Sam told him “Set your bag down and I’ll show you around. It’s small, but it’s all I need. I have my kitchen, which of course for me is the main room. There’s my bedroom, the bathroom, and the living room. It’s comfortable and with all the trees it doesn’t get very hot in here most days, and there’s a nice porch facing the beach. I love sitting out there, especially after my walks in the morning, to drink my tea or coffee.”
“Yeah, I can feel it. It’s very comfortable. You could probably go all summer without an air conditioner.”
“I don’t have one. For me, it’s perfect. Sometimes, though,” she continued as she walked into the kitchen, “sometimes when I get home from a long day at the restaurant I’m tired and hot, but it’s nothing a fan and a cool shower can’t fix.”
She poured herself a glass of ice water from the refrigerator and turned to look at him. When she saw the look in his eyes her heart thumped quicker. She could sense there was more than friendship in his gaze. She wasn’t sure what to say or even how to feel so she turned away.
God, please guide both of us through this. Please, don’t let us ruin what little of a relationship we have.
They stepped out onto the porch and sat in wicker chairs a few feet from one another. The bright rays of sunlight were barely out of reach, although with all the surrounding trees, there was an ample amount of shade. Not a word was said as they took in the view of the sand and water and watched a few people who walked past.
The sound of a large dog barking sang through the air. Sam watched Junior’s reaction because she knew what was getting ready to happen. Seconds later, a yellow Labrador came bounding around the edge of the trees and onto the porch. Fear immediately controlled Junior’s expression and Sam couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Once the huge dog brushed past him he began to feel more at ease, but not completely.
“Sheeba! Hey, girl, how you doing baby?” Sam let the dog named Sheeba lick her face as she furiously rubbed its mane and behind its ears. Junior grinned in realization that Sam and the dog knew each other. Sam lifted her head and smiled back at him as she continued to love on the friendly animal.
“This is my neighbor’s dog. She’s a rather big, and I should say spoiled, child. She must have heard my voice because if she’s outside and she knows I’m home she loves to run over here to be with me.”
Junior relaxed and shook his head with a large grin spread across his face.
“She scared the crap out of me!”
Laughing, Sam said, “Sorry about that. I should have warned you this would happen, but I forgot. She’s really a big baby though. You have nothing to worry about.”
Sheeba gave Sam another sloppy kiss then looked at Junior. She then turned to him and laid her chin on his bare leg as if she was asking him to like her. Junior and Sam both laughed at her and he gave in to her request. He commenced to rubbing the top of her head and they were immediately friends.
After a few minutes of Sheeba relishing in glory, Sam’s neighbor walked over and shook her head at her needy dog; Sam and Junior laughed.
“I think in a way she’s so spoiled because you love her so much,” her neighbor joked.
“That’s possible I guess,” Sam agreed. “Wanda, this is one of my very best friends, Junior. He just got here from Connecticut for a vacation.”
Junior stood and shook Wanda’s hand. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you and Sheeba.”
“Nice to meet you, too. I have no doubt you’ll be seeing plenty of her,” Wanda said as she took Sheeba by the collar. “Come on you spoiled brat. Let’s leave them alone so they can visit. I’ll see you both later. Nice to meet you, Junior. I hope you have a great vacation.”
“Nice to meet you too, Wanda, and thank you.”
After Wanda left, Sam spoke up. “Hey, why don’t we go to the restaurant? I’ll buy you dinner and you’ll get to see the place and Tonya.”
“Sounds like a great plan to me,” he replied. “I am actually starting to get a little hungry. The food on the plane wasn’t much to brag about. I had a slight layover in Atlanta and got a sandwich, but it’s about gone now.”
“Trust me when I tell you the food there will more than satisfy you.”