Chapter Two
Joel
JOEL SEALET WAS known to most as a respectable young man, but he knew it was not a true assessment. He was a good Christian boy on Sunday mornings and even delivered Wednesday night youth sermons, but he partied on Friday nights and had a different girl every few months, if not weeks. He knew it was because he was self-conscious at times, and because he was absolutely confident during others.
He hated Breezewater but loved it at the same time. He had just moved there from the Savannah suburb of Roseland—which housed about ten thousand people as opposed to Breezewater’s three thousand. It was in Roseland where his entire life had been spun, until college had begun the past year. He attended a state school that was affordable and had plenty of pretty girls. His best friend Manny also went there, and a few of their other friends from high school, so it was the perfect situation. He never thought about anywhere else but Georgia, even though he enjoyed visiting other places. He loved Texas.
Yet Joel Sealet knew what was keeping him tied to this region was his status as one of the most popular people his age. Most of the locals knew his name, his social security number, and the gritty details of his ascendancy to state basketball champ only a year before. He was celebrated in many homes as a young man who would be perfect as a husband. But the people who knew him intimately thought quite the opposite, because he was a hypocrite, and he was also a kind hypocrite at the same time.
He had begun working at the small aquarium nestled between Harrisville Lake and the little inlet the locals called Paradiso Bay. It was a steady job, about six or seven hours Monday through Thursday, which gave him something to do and a way to pay for the alcohol he stashed in his closet at home. If his parents ever found out about that, there would be hell to pay, but until then, he was not worried. The job also paid for his gas and other random expenses, like flowers for the current girlfriend, Brie. He loved her per se, but was not really in love with her. Really, he liked to keep up the pretense that he was in love with her. He knew she knew this, but she also used him for ulterior motives.
Brie was a year older and a Breezewater local. She was attending cosmetology school and had been a cheerleader in high school. Plus, she knew the big weekend parties he loved. She went to the same church he and his parents had begun attending after the big move from Savannah to Breezewater, and her mom had gone to grade school with his dad back in the day. Brie’s mother occasionally made jokes that her daughter would become Mrs. Sealet, which was a position coveted by many daughters in the town.
There was one girl who couldn’t care less, but she was not home yet.
Joel was thinking about dumping Brie. He wasn’t sure he wanted to, but he wasn’t sure he didn’t want to. He liked the idea of going stag for the summer, in case someone else piqued his interest, but at the same time, Brie offered some stability.
He was curled up under a blanket watching a TV special on architectural and engineering feats when his mother walked into the room, a bag of microwaveable popcorn in her hands. She placed the bag on her son’s lap before sitting beside him.
He muted it, awaiting her casual speech. “What’s up?”
His mother was a beautiful woman, with brown hair and brown eyes just like him. Even though some might consider brown to be mundane, he considered the color to be rich and beautiful, and a perfect contrast to the blue of the sea. There was an abundance of blue in Breezewater, but not necessarily an abundance of cocoa.
Juliet Sealet was not what one might expect of Joel’s mother. She was not a sorority sister, nor was she a backstabber, or afraid of commitment. She was in love with her husband of twenty-two years and had dutifully borne two children, her world. Joel was the elder, and he had a younger sister, who was in seventh grade, a little angel half the time. Unfortunately, Juliet did not realize that her daughter was a carbon copy of her son. This was not positive.
“So, Chloe got an invitation to a summer dance at the church. She needs a date, and I thought you would be the perfect guy. Not many girls get to take their big brothers with them, you know?”
Joel sat straight, his back aching as it stretched. “Chlo probably would not want me going with her. She’s old enough to find a guy…”
“Joel, I’m asking because I want you to go with her. You two don’t spend much time together as it is.”
Joel sighed, wondering how impossible a church dance could be. He hadn’t remembered doing anything like that back in the day, but this was a new church that played by other rules. He thought of his younger sister, little Chloe, whom he knew but didn’t know at the same time. Maybe it would be something to break up the monotony of his summer break. It was only the middle of May, and he had two whole months before he had to consider heading back to his apartment in Savannah.
“When is it?”
“July fourth weekend. I think it would be a cool surprise for her, you know?”
He nodded. It would be nice to be a knight in shining armor for the kid.
Juliet Sealet stood, satisfied with the answer, and she returned to the kitchen. “So, what’s on schedule for the rest of the week?”
“Well, today’s Saturday, so it’s the end of the week,” he pointed out.
“You know what I mean, Joel.”
“Work, work, and more work.”
“You should invite Brie over for dinner again sometime. We love having her.”
Joel did not respond, because he felt guilty for his diminishing feelings for Brie. He was not at the point of ignoring her yet, but they were nearing that point in the relationship. She would understand, he hoped, if they broke things off. “Hey, Mom, I think I’m going to go out and get some things from the store. Do you need anything?”
“We do need more milk, honey. Thanks.”
He grabbed his keys and wallet, suddenly interested in leaving the pressures of his household, though there weren’t many. As he pulled out of the driveway, he contemplated driving straight to New York City, far away, just so he could see something new.
But as soon as he swerved onto the prettiest coastal road in Breezewater, he knew he was not brave enough. He didn’t bother flashing his blinker as he switched lanes. He stopped at a light on the edge of Edmonton and Arizona, and watched as an old, rickety convertible bisected his point of view. He noted the old man, whom he recognized as Rob Fielder, a guy who sometimes went to his new church, a womanizer. Sometimes, Rob hit on his mom. But the girl beside Rob seemed utterly familiar, with her brown hair swirling around in the breeze. He did not catch a long glimpse of the girl, and instead he sped straight down the road again, forgetting about this encounter a few minutes later.