“Yeah, yeah.” I giggled and watched my daughter run up to me, the floaties around her arms and chest making her waddle. “Speaking of the devil, I think she wants to talk to you.” I passed Aria the phone and listened while she blabbered on about jumping and waves and crashing. At least, I assumed she’d said “crash.” It could’ve very well been “Cash.”
“She’s cute,” a voice came from just over my shoulder. When I glanced behind me, I noticed a woman, couldn’t have been much older than me. Standing near her, watching Aria walk in circles while holding the phone to her ear, was a little boy. And it dawned on me that this was the woman and child I’d seen a couple of weeks ago after my phone call with Stevie.
She was striking. Her long, dark hair was the color of a midnight sky, and her creamy complexion set off the most alluring green eyes I’d ever seen. Women paid thousands to have a nose that perfect, and when I took in the rest of her, there didn’t seem to be a flaw anywhere. But what caught my attention even more than her tiny frame and petite build was the ginger who accompanied her. Her son’s fiery-red mop was in desperate need of a cut, but the way the sun reflected off it made him appear angelic. I couldn’t help but notice his large, brown irises and the smattering of freckles that dotted his face and arms. But where she was rather short, he was exceptionally tall. The only thing hinting at his younger age was the innocence in his sad eyes.
“Thank you.” I beamed at her and then held out my hand. “I’m Jade, and that’s my daughter, Aria.”
Her soft hand held mine before she gave it a slight squeeze, which kept me from feeling like I’d held a limp noodle. She had a good shake, which immediately earned my respect. “I’m Cora, and this is Legend. He’s five. How old’s your little girl?”
“Oh, she’s two and a half.” Just then, Aria came back, holding the phone in my direction. I pressed it to my ear long enough to hear Cash say he had to go and that he’d call me later. After saying goodbye, I flipped it closed and tossed it into the beach bag sitting in the sand next to Aria’s toy shovel and pail.
Legend and Aria played in the surf while Cora and I regarded them and fell into easy conversation. “He’s having a hard time adjusting…” Her gaze cut to mine before shifting back onto her son. “He’s used to being home, and now that he’s in school, I’ve been in a battle with him almost every day of the week.”
“That sounds familiar—except the school part,” I added with a laugh. “We actually just moved here a couple of months ago…” I pointed behind us to the house across the street. “And I just recently got a part-time job at the library, so Aria hasn’t adjusted to that yet.”
“Oh, that sounds like fun.”
“Once a month they host a kids’ theater. They have games and activities…you should bring Legend one night and check it out. I’ll grab more information for you tomorrow when I get there. I’m sure he’ll love it.”
“That sounds amazing. Thanks.” Her smile was gentle and sincere, and I knew right then and there I’d found a friend.
We talked a little more while the kids played together, then she announced that she had to leave. Her husband would be coming home so they had to get back and clean off. It was getting late, and Aria would need to be fed and bathed, but I wasn’t ready to go home. The silence in the house was stifling on Mondays. So I relaxed in the sand on a towel and fell in love with my child all over again while watching her scoop water up in a green pail, only to dump it out and repeat the process all over again.
Just after five, I called her over to head back across the street.
After Aria was cleaned off and fed, I went into the laundry room to wash her suit and towel. The sight of the tote sitting on top of the washer—riddled with sand both inside and out—reminded me of the phone I’d tossed inside after Aria’s conversation with Cash earlier. I dug around the sunscreen and lotion, random hair ties, and a few sippy cups half-filled with water before taking everything out. Once I had every last item placed on top of the dryer, I realized my phone wasn’t there. I’d interrogated Aria, accusing her of removing it, but she never copped to it. Then, like a slap in the face, I remembered the pail she’d played with. After she’d handed the phone back and I said goodbye to Cash, I’d tossed it in, not paying attention to where it had landed. And if it had managed to get inside the bucket…
All I could think about was Aria filling it with water and dumping it out.
And my phone—as cheap as it was, the only thing I could afford for myself—washed away at sea. I groaned, praying I was wrong, hoping I’d stuffed it into my pocket and it’d fallen out somewhere in the house. But that was a pipe dream.
I’d been looking forward to my paycheck ever since the moment I’d gotten the job. Just the thought of putting money back into my account gave me a sense of peace. The thought of spending it on a phone left me frustrated beyond belief. I’d gone back and forth about what to do. My savings was depleting on a weekly basis, and I only got paid twice a month—and the amount wasn’t much—so I’d decided to forgo the phone. I figured I’d wait until I had gotten the bank account into a place where I no longer stressed about how much milk Aria drank.
In the end, I didn’t have much of a social life, so there was really no point in having a cell. The only two people I spoke to were Cash and Stevie, both of whom had email addresses I could use to correspond with in the meantime. Aside from them, I didn’t care if I missed a call from my mother, and it wasn’t like I couldn’t inform the library of my situation and request they reach me by email if necessary. I had Cash’s computer, so at least I’d be able to keep in touch that way until I could afford the luxury of replacing the phone.
After putting Aria to bed, I snuck into Cash’s room—it never stopped feeling strange to go in there when he wasn’t home—and grabbed the laptop. Even though it had a way to send and receive messages, I had no clue how to use it, nor did I have Cash’s number memorized, so I couldn’t send him a text that way. Instead, I resorted to the old-fashioned method of messaging and typed out an email, explaining what had happened with the phone, and asked him to help me figure out how to use iMessage on the account he’d set up for me.
By the next morning, I still hadn’t received a reply. Before heading off to work, I tried again, informing him that I’d be at the library until four, but I’d check my email when I got home. However, the only response I had waiting for me when I returned was from Stevie, who’d asked for my Apple username—she was smart enough to give me instructions on how to find it—and said she’d send me a message.
I actually had somewhat of a life prior to Aria, filled with advanced technology such as smartphones and computers, though none of which were made by Apple. Cash had laughed at me at first, saying I was a visitor from the past, which was exactly how I felt when using his laptop. But I’d gotten the last laugh when I’d introduced him to Netflix.