So here I was getting ready for a trip to the Jersey shore with a man who owned an entire Island. It was somewhat surreal.
“Are you ready?” he asked me around ten.
“I’m ready,” I told him, still trying to contain my excitement. I hadn’t been on any kind of vacation since my father died over ten years ago. The thought of a simple trip to Jersey was thrilling to me.
The driver took us to a place called Avalon. I had never been there of course, but I had also never heard of it. Aiden told me that King James I granted it as a Province in 1584 and that it was fishing and hunting area for those first two hundred and fifty years. In the 1800’s a developer had a vision to turn it into a resort destination. Since then it has become a tourist hotspot, but more of an upscale one than others that surround it.
We were at a place called Seven Mile Beach. As soon as I stepped out of the car I could feel the cool ocean breeze against my face and taste the salty air on my tongue. The wind was blowing slightly and the waves were crashing in beautiful, serene arcs. We were surrounded by tall dunes and miles of pure, clean white sand. There was no commercial boardwalk and although the city of Avalon boasted a number of small boutique stores and several upscale restaurants, the beach was quiet and looked almost untouched. I could actually see whole seashells just lying out on the beach. I would have loved this place as a kid. I remember coming out with my father when I was little. We went to the boardwalk though and the seashells that hadn’t been crushed or picked over were few and far between.
Aiden took my hand like we were lovers, or at least friends. I guess we were, in a way. We began to walk along the beach, stopping occasionally to look into a tide pool or to inspect an indigenous plant. I couldn’t remember when I’d ever felt so relaxed, and I knew that since I’d met Aiden I had never seen him so happy.