As we got out of bed and redressed in our pajamas, Noah helped me make the bed.
“What do you want to do today?” I asked.
“Let’s have a lazy day at the beach,” he said. “I want to relax right away so we can get this vacation started off right.”
“That sounds nice,” I said. In the time I was away from home, I missed being so close to the beach. It was nice to make a split decision and head down to the sand for an hour or all day. That was much harder to do in the States since the weather rarely cooperated in Minnesota, and I had to travel quite a distance to any decent beach.
Today, I was going to soak it all in and relive the memory whenever I missed this place.
Even thought my relationship with Mom wasn’t perfect, I could tell she was trying. She mentioned a few times yesterday that I was good with Gina and I was suited for the job. A compliment was a step forward. Then she mentioned not getting too attached to Gina and Noah because if something went wrong, then I would lose them forever. So then we went two steps back. Why couldn’t she just stop talking after the positive remarks?
I wanted to talk to her more about our past, as I was finally ready to face it. But not with Noah and Gina around. I wasn’t a coward, but this was something we’d have to talk about when we had an ocean between us. We Holland women had a nasty habit of holding grudges, something that was easier to deal with when we had distance. I hoped it would turn out all right in the end, but it would take time.
Noah and I changed into our bathing suits. I slid on a terry cloth cover-up dress and Noah wore a white shirt. I noticed he didn’t like to show off his body unless we were making love. His modesty added to the many things that I liked about him.
We went out into the kitchen where Mom was working on breakfast. The scent of bacon filled my nose the moment I opened the bedroom door.
“What’s for brekkie?” I asked her. My Aussie slang had come back easier than I’d anticipated. Sierra was going to go at me hard when I got back to the States.
She turned around, holding a pan with sizzling bacon inside. “I wanted to show Noah and Gina a real Aussie brekkie.”
“Are those baked beans?” Noah asked, leaning over the stove top.
Mom shooed him away, and he narrowly avoided a poke from the metal tongs in her free hand. “I need to do the whole presentation.”
“Sit down,” I said to him, laughing. I started up the coffee machine while Noah sat and picked up the local newspaper.
In addition to being obsessed with my life, Mom read every single word in the paper each morning. She was up to date on everything going on around town and the surrounding areas. It was one of the hobbies she picked up after she put down the bottle. Volunteering at local events kept her busy at night, and still years later she kept up with it. Where she had alienated everyone in her life when she was drinking, our community embraced her completely. And as much as she annoyed me most of the time, she was still my mom, and I was proud of her.
As Mom placed four plates on the table, the door to the guest room opened.
Gina stepped out, rubbing her eyes. She made a show of smelling the food and then rushed over to the table.
“Beans for breakfast?” she asked.
Noah laughed and clapped his hands together. “See, I’m not the only one who thinks it’s different.”
“Down here, love, it’s not strange,” Mom said. “So eat up and tell me how much you love it.”
I cut one of the snags in half and popped it into my mouth. American sausage had nothing on these. “It’s good, Mom.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” she said in a teasing tone. “These two might think you were raised in a barn.”
Gina giggled. “Like a piggy!” Then she snorted a few times.
Her c
hoice in farm animal was ironic considering what I was currently eating.
“Gina, do you want to go to the beach today?” Noah asked.
“Yes! Jess, can I use your boogie board?”
I looked to Mom. “I have a boogie board?”
She shrugged. “It was in the garage. It’s a little old, but I’m sure it will float.”
“And if not, I’ll buy you a new one,” Noah said.