CHAPTER 12
Life in the Fast Lane (Everything, All the Time)
We stayed at the Sea Island cottage for the next two nights, spending our days taking advantage of such nearby activities as horseback riding along the south end of the beach, marsh kayaking, a sea turtle walk, even skeet shooting. Ty used the evenings to introduce me to a couple of his favorite nearby restaurants, where we didn't have to wait for a table, although the places were obviously working off a wait list. He simply walked up to the hostess, confidently, and said something in a low voice that I was unable to hear. We were always seated immediately. Wherever we went, we were treated like royalty, and I was beginning to relax and enjoy the many perks available to those who could afford such an indulgent lifestyle.
After dinner, on our last night at the beach, we walked for what seemed like hours, hand in hand, at the ocean's edge. When I was so tired that I could barely stand, Ty walked me to the guest room and kissed my forehead, saying, "Good night, sweet Essie." To my relief, he remained a total gentleman, honoring his promise to keep his hands to himself. As my head hit the pillow, I wondered why he never seemed to get tired. Maybe he was a vampire. That would certainly explain some things. I had about two seconds to ponder that before I was fast asleep. But instead of dreaming of vampires who required no sleep, I dreamt of the beautiful guy with the picnic lunch.
Feeling happy, but still groggy, when I awoke, it took me a few seconds to remember where I was, and who I was with. I was grateful that Ty had allowed me to sleep in this morning. I was worn out from too much fun and too little sleep, and I didn't want to be grouchy or sleepy on our last day. I ventured through the house, finding him on the patio, drinking coffee.
"What time is it?" I asked, my voice gravelly, my eyes squinting in the bright light. The sun was well above the horizon, indicating that it was probably embarrassingly late.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully.
"Sorry. Good morning. So, it's still morning?"
"Sure. It's only 11:45. Would you like some coffee?" he offered as he reached for the carafe that held the promise of reanimation.
"Please." I watched him pour the steaming coffee into a large ceramic mug that looked like it had been handmade by some local artisan. "I'm so sorry that I slept so late. I hope you ate breakfast without me."
"Hours and hours ago. And I went for a run on the beach, too."
"I'm so sorry."
"I'm kidding. I just got up myself," he said with a wink.
I picked up the mug and took a seat across the table from him. He looked at me for a moment, then got up and dragged his chair right next to mine. I smiled and proceeded with fixing my coffee.
"I missed you last night," he said sincerely.
I laughed uneasily, not sure if I should read anything into his comment. As usual, he picked up on that and clarified, "I only meant that I really like being with you and wished we didn't have to waste any time sleeping."
"Funny you should say that. I remember thinking before I fell asleep last night that you might be a vampire because you didn't appear to require any sleep."
Now it was his turn to laugh. "Vampire, huh? And how would you feel about that?"
"I guess it would depend on whether or not I was breakfast."
"Not today."
"Then I'm okay with it for now."
We lounged around for a long while, enjoying our coffee. Upon hearing my stomach growl, Ty ran out to get some breakfast. I used the time alone to go swimming, something we hadn't done during our time on the island. The water was so warm here, quite unlike the frigid waters off the coasts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. I swam out a ways, beyond the breaking waves, occasionally allowing one of the small swells to carry me gently to the shore. On one of my rides in, I saw Ty watching me from the patio. I didn't want to leave the serenity of the ocean, but my stomach insisted.
Emerging from the water, I did my best Jinx impersonation. When I arrived on the patio and grabbed my towel, he quoted, "Magnificent view."
"It is, isn't it?" I quoted back before erupting into laughter.
"It sure is," he said as he took the towel from me and proceeded to slowly dry my shoulders, my back, my waist. With his hands inside the towel that was now drying my right thigh, he stopped. I looked down and caught him examining my "beauty spot", as my mother referred to it.
"Weird birthmark, huh?" I winced, as he touched the odd hand-shaped mark on my right hip. "My mother always said it meant that I was touched by an angel every time I asked her if I could have it removed."
He regarded me curiously. "It looks like a hamsa, a sign of protection against evil."
"Really? I thought it resembled a corn husk and was an omen that I would someday attend the University of Nebraska," I joked.
He laughed and pulled out a chair for me to sit down in as he finished by drying my feet. "Hope you're hungry."
I thought he was going to the grocery store to pick up some breakfast ingredients and I'd make the meal, giving me a chance to do something for him. Instead, he showed up with sliced strawberries with cr?me fra?che, orange juice, and two gigantic baked apple pancakes.
"Wow! This looks amazing. Thanks."
We devoured enough food for a family of four and I insisted on getting back in the water in an effort to burn off a few of the thousands of calories we had just consumed. We played till late afternoon, not wanting to leave this idyllic setting. But I'd been gone long enough; Mum depended on me at home. Plus, I kind of missed my sisters and brother.
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Once back home, we continued to spend most of our time together. Mum was not very happy about this; she thought it was too much. "Essie, you're only sixteen. I don't think it's healthy for you to spend every waking moment with your boyfriend," she'd nag every other day. I, of course, knew better. Without Ty, it would have been an endless summer of lonely, boring days spent missing Jane, Peggie and Annie. Luckily, my mother could now afford to hire a nanny for my younger siblings so I wasn't responsible for daily babysitting duty like I was in Bradford.
Ty picked me up every morning at exactly nine, always keeping the day's itinerary secret. I could tell how much he enjoyed surprising me, sometimes taking me to places that I had mentioned in passing.
This particular morning, we stopped at the Waffle House where we had, indeed, become regulars, much to his chagrin.
"There's my favorite couple," Donna greeted us cheerfully.
I loved to sit at the counter and watch the waitresses call out their orders to the cook. It never ceased to amaze me how he could be in the middle of preparing one order, and a waitress would just start calling out another. And I had yet to see him make a mistake.
After breakfast, we sped off in the shiny red Ferrari and picked up I-16 West. "Are we going to Atlanta today?" I asked excitedly. Although he hadn't given any clues as to where we were heading, I knew that 16W was the way to Atlanta.
"You know I'm not going to tell you, so you might as well stop guessing."
I looked at him with a fake pout at which he just grinned and popped open the glove compartment. A box of Whoppers! After retrieving them and mouthing "thank you," I tuned the radio to classic rock, turned it up loud, and settled into my seat. He'd sing occasionally, but stop if I looked over, so I learned to just pretend I didn't hear him.
I knew the trip to Atlanta normally took nearly four hours; however, with Ty driving, we reached the I-75 North exit in under an hour and a half, despite having been stopped briefly by a Georgia State Patrol officer. I was sure he was going to get a ticket, but the trooper seemed to be just as susceptible to Ty's charm as everyone else. Lucky us!
Now I knew we were definitely going somewhere in Atlanta, but where? The High Museum of Art? The Georgia Aquarium? Either would be great. I smiled in anticipation. Less than an hour later, we were inside the city limits. I felt like a little kid on her way to Chuck E. Cheese's. I had come to expect nothing short of fabulous whenever Ty took me somewhere. I wasn't sure tha
t was a good thing, but I was having the time of my life. Before I knew it, we were pulling into a parking lot on Hank Aaron Drive.
"Are we going to a Braves game?"
He smiled broadly. "Yes. They're playing Boston."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm so excited. You know that Boston is part of the American League so they rarely play each other. This is going to be great."
He took my hand and we walked to Will Call where he picked up our tickets. The game started at 2:10, so we only had a few minutes to walk around the impressive stadium. Ty knew a lot about Turner Field, the Braves, and baseball in general.
"Did you know that the Atlanta Braves were originally the Boston Braves?"
"I did, actually."
"My dad is a huge baseball fan and I guess he passed his love of the game on to me. He even named me after Ty Cobb, The Georgia Peach. I'm Tyrus Cobb Gregory, born on July 17, the date of his death."
"That's pretty cool. I love it when there's a story behind a name. I wish mine was that interesting. I was named after my dad's grandmother, Esther, but I think that was out of obligation. She passed away before I was born so I never had a chance to know her. Essie is my nickname, in case you hadn't already figured that out. By the way, please don't ever call me Esther. I don't like it, despite the fact that my grandmother always told me that I should be proud of it. Oh, and my middle name is Claire, after a favorite aunt."
He turned and took both my hands in his, saying, "Essie Claire. Now that sounds like a proper southern name to me!" It sounded lovely when he said it. But I'm sure he could read aloud a dissertation on quantum mechanics and I'd melt.
He smiled. "Are you ready to find our seats?"
"Let's go."
Our seats were amazing, the front row of section #101, just slightly to the left of the catcher. The sky was clear and pale blue. It was hot, of course, being late July in Georgia, but the sun had shifted enough to allow the stadium to cast a shadow over our seats. Ty ordered us hot dogs and cokes, standard ballpark fare, and we watched the game from the opening pitch to the final out, thrilled when Atlanta won. On our way out, Ty insisted on outfitting me in a Braves t-shirt and ball cap, as well as getting one for each of my siblings and even my mother.
We filled what was left of the dwindling summer days in much the same way, taking day trips all over Georgia and whiling away the late evenings rocking in my back porch swing.