The Beach House 🌸Beth

 Beth was at a loss. Sort of. She didn't mean to be. Of course, she was glad when Roco finally left that night she moved in. She kind of hoped he wouldn't be back. And then he wasn't.

Oh, she'd gotten phone calls most of the day from work. It seemed a bunch of men couldn't do anything without her. She called them the old farts. They couldn't even make coffee and how long were they supposed to wait for someone who went to Dialaysis?

It seemed endless. She was supposed to be away from all of that. And Jasper was no help.

"What?" She looked at him a little suspiciously. "You want to find your friend again?" 

Jasper looked more sad than usual. How was that possible? By mid-morning, she put on his leash and they went to the beach. It was a cold ocean wind, but it felt good next to the bright sunlight on Beth's skin. She'd remembered her sweater this time and some extra sunscreen. She wore her cutoffs.

Yes, she could get used to this. Maybe. Although, she felt so alone with the ocean and it wasn't at all inviting. In fact, it frightened her. For a second she imagined Roco actually living in the sea, like a merman.

Naturally, she shook the thought. Still, where was he? His appearance was so mysterious. Maybe she imagined him. Yet, it was Jasper who brought him to the house, and Roco did finish off the coffee and the cookies.

Oh, she felt all alone. Although, the people she knew from back home were still in contact with her. They just wouldn't leave her alone. Why did they need her so much? 

Just when she thought she was alone, she saw someone walking up the beach. No, it wasn't Roco, but an old woman with her metal detector and a young woman. After a while, they met each other. Beth was in no hurry to know them. Yet, she wanted to meet her neighbors too.

They were Thelma and Louisa. Thelma was decked in her old bucket hat and Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts while her granddaughter was a redhead with a sunny smile. 

"We were wondering who had the dog," Thelma looked up at her with her peaked blueberry eyes. She looked a bit withered from the weather, but it wasn't stopping her from looking for treasures.

Louisa said they just lived up from where Beth was staying. She pointed. She was here for a few weeks too. "Mimi loves this place." She smiled. "She comes back here, every year."

"Then..then you must know Roco," Beth smiled as if she wasn't losing her mind.

"Who?" Louisa winced in the sunlight with her hand shading her freckled face.

"He's an artist," Beth nodded.

"I don't know him," Louisa looked at her grandmother.

"I wouldn't know," she assured Beth.

Louisa was soon petting Jasper and Jasper didn't seem to mind the attention. Beth couldn't help but smile.

"Have you been to the farmer's market yet?" Louisa asked.

"No, I..I don't even know where it is," Beth shrugged looking at Louisa who was younger than her, but she wasn't a teen either. Evidently, she was her grandmother's caregiver.

"We could go later," she told her. "It's not far from here. We could walk. And the place is dog friendly."

Beth looked at Jasper. She hated the thought of bringing him. He could get a little testy. He only got along with dogs that were smaller than him. It seemed he loved challenging the big ones.

"Oh, I don't know." Beth gritted a smile.

"It'll be fine." Louisa's smile was open. It was as if she had more faith in Jasper than Beth did.