Allison

Misunderstandings Suck

The morning after a storm on the beach looks like the ocean barfed all over the sand. Seaweed shells and sticks litter the beach for as far as the eye can see in both directions. Neither David or I have ever been seashell hunting before, so we are headed down to have a go at it while Ridge runs to the store to restock a few things we’ve run out of already.

“Any last minute requests?” he asks from the kitchen. David and I are already on the deck putting on our shoes at Ridge’s insistence, so our feet don’t get cut.

“Dr. Pepper!” David yells.

“Allison?” Ridge says.

“No, I’m good, I don’t need anything. We’re off, see you in a bit.” David and I wave at him and make our way down the steps to the water. We walk up and down picking up the least broken shells and checking out some of the odd things that have washed ashore like a Lego and a shoe.

I’m trying to have fun, but I keep thinking about a text I got this morning. Caroline, who has never text me directly as she’s my boss’s boss, text me saying that her private sources have found out I am indeed dating Ridge Noble. That wouldn’t be bad in and of it self, but, the part after that was upsetting. It was an ultimatum of sorts—hand over the photographs I’ve taken of Ridge or stay in my current position forever with no chance of promotion.

Either way, I can’t win. I may as well start looking for another job, which after that text, isn’t a bad idea anyway. I don’t want to work for people who bully and blackmail their employees into doing unethical things.

“Allison! Earth to Ally Cat!” David yells, and I snap back from my thoughts.

“Yeah, sorry what?”

“Over here, this is so lit. Come look.”

I pick my way through the littered sand to where David is hunched over a little tide pool looking at something.

“What is it?” I ask stepping onto a rock to look in the pool.

“A bunch of starfish. They’re so cool, aren’t they?” I bend down and look at them closer. “Yeah, they’re beautiful.” There are half a dozen bright orange starfish bobbing around in the shallow water.

“Do you think they’ll go out with the tide later?”

“I do, I’m sure it was just the storm that brought them in.”

We stand peering into the tide pool for a while with seagulls squawking overhead, and the sun beating down on our backs until David turns to me. “Ally, are you and Ridge going to get married?”

“Wow, where did that come from?”

“I don’t know. You guys are into each other a lot, and I figured you might.”

I link my arm into his and bump my hip against him. “We haven’t talked about marriage or anything permanent, but if you’re worried about losing me, don’t. No matter what happens with Ridge and me, you are my priority.”

“Yeah, but I shouldn’t be. You’re my sister, not my mom. You should be able to live your life however you want and not worry about me.”

“What makes you think that? I may not be your mom, but I’m your family and family takes care of each other, no matter what. And by the way, I am living my life how I want. Making you happy and keeping you safe is what keeps me going. I love you, little brother. Don’t you ever forget it,” I say, using Ridge’s mantra.

“I love you, too.”

“All right then, now that we have that settled, let’s find some cool shells.”

“Okay.”

For the next hour, we comb the beach until Ridge yells from the house to come inside and eat. David pulled out the bottom edge of his t-shirt to carry our treasures up to the deck. When we get there, he pours them onto the table. “We did good, huh?” he asks.

“Yep, I’d say we found quite a few for a couple of amateurs. Come on, let’s go wash up and eat, I’m starving.”

“Okay, me, too.”

Inside David heads upstairs to use his bathroom sink, and I join Ridge in the kitchen. He’s standing in front of the stove cooking eggs and fried potatoes. It smells like heaven on earth after only having a cup of coffee this morning before shell hunting.

“Smells great, thank you for cooking,” I say turning on the sink to wash my hands. He’s quiet as he stirs the potatoes and when they’re done, he turns away from me to dish them out onto two plates that are sitting on the island.

“Somebody not eating breakfast?” I ask.

“I’m meeting the contractor who’s renovating the house for Ash. He asked me to check on a few things. I don’t have time for breakfast,” he says, and suddenly it feels like the temperature dropped ten degrees in the room. There’s no warm familiarity in his voice, no tenderness, no love.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, but I have to make sure they’re ordering the correct materials.” He’s back at the stove now turning it off and removing the eggs.

“I don’t mean with that, I mean with you. You seem upset.”

“Well, I’m not. I have things to do. I can’t just play around all day and not help my boss when I’m using his house,” he snaps. Geesh, what crawled up his butt this morning? He seemed fine before he went to the grocery store.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were on vacation, too. I didn’t know you were helping with the renovations.”

“I am a part of anything Ash is involved in. I’m his personal assistant, Allison, and that’s not a responsibility I take lightly.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. Do you know when you’ll be home?”

“No, it could be a while. I suggest you find something to do with David today.”

This conversation has gone from cold to frigid in a matter of minutes, and I don’t like it. Something’s wrong, something he apparently doesn’t want to talk about with me.

He swipes his keys off the counter and makes his way to the stairs without so much as a goodbye or a kiss—a first since we’ve met. He passes David on his way up and murmurs goodbye. He closes the front door as David arrives in the kitchen.

“What’s up with him?” he says hitching his thumb toward the stairs.

“I’m not sure. He’s going to check on some things with the contractor who’s going to renovate this house for his boss, Ash, but I’m pretty sure something else is going on.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen him look so grouchy. He barely looked at me when I said goodbye.”

“Me, too.” I sigh and sit down to eat even though my appetite is gone.

David plops down on the stool next to me and starts to dig in. “He’s a damn good cook, isn’t he?”

“David, language.”

“Sorry, but he is.”

He is, he’s good at a lot of things but hiding his feelings isn’t one of them. I’ll give him today to work it out, and if he’s still in this shitty mood when he gets home, I will figure out a way to get him to talk.

I take a bite of egg and try to swallow it down, but the lump in my throat is in the way. Tears fill my eyes, but I blink them away and clear my throat to keep from breaking down in front of David. It’s time to put on my brave face, pull up my big girl panties, and be an adult.

“So it looks like we are on our own today, what do you want to do?”

“Ridge is going to be gone all day?” he asks giving me a quick side glance. Sometimes I forget he’s nearly an adult. He can read the emotion in my voice. He knows Ridge’s mood is bothering me.

“Yes, he said it might take a while. You up for a drive along the coast?”

“Sure, but didn’t Ridge take the car?”

“We’ll rent one ourselves, a red convertible, it’ll be fun,” I say in a cheery voice.

“Okay, cool. Can I drive?”

“Did you bring your permit?” David’s had his permit since he was fourteen, but we rarely have the opportunity to go driving in the city with no car and tons of public transportation.

“Yep.”

“How about I drive first and then you do a little practicing in a parking lot before you get out on the road? It’s been a while.”

“Okay.”

He finishes his food while I push mine around on the plate, and when we’re done, I search for my phone to order a car and have it delivered to the house. “David, have you seen my phone?”

“I thought I saw it on the counter when we went down to the beach.”

“It was. I checked the forecast before we went, and I swear I put it right here,” I say placing my palm on the end of the counter where Ridge was cooking.

“Is that it under the pot holder thing?” he says pointing near the stove. I lift it up, “Yep, Ridge must have moved it when he was cooking.” But why? It wasn’t in his way where it was, and he wouldn’t answer it if it were ringing, or at least he never has before. Oh God, I hope Caroline didn’t call. I didn’t respond to her text this morning. If he answered the call, she would have drilled him.

“Shit.”

“What’s the matter?” David asks. Did I say that out loud? I didn’t think I had.

“Nothing, just remembered something I didn’t do at work. I’m going to change and order the car. I’ll be down in a few.”

“Okay, I’m gonna go see if Jack is surfing this morning.”

“Is that one of the people you met the other day?”

“Yeah, he’s epic, and the best surfer around here.”

“All right, keep your phone on, and I’ll text you when I’m ready to go.”

“Okay.”

Upstairs in our bedroom, I shut the door and dial Ridge. The call goes straight to voicemail, but I hang up since I don’t know what to say. I’m going to have to wait until he comes back tonight to confront him. A thought hits me from out of nowhere. What if he doesn’t come back? What if he’s so angry about the thing with my boss that he decides to go home?

No. He wouldn’t abandon us here without talking it through. Would he?