Beach Day

I looked down at the bottom of the hill as I rolled out the blanket.  The crisp air hit my face as I looked up at the sun starting to peek over the hill.

I grabbed my dad’s hand and sat down on the blanket.  He sat next to me.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the sunrise,” I said, quietly, resting my head on his shoulder.  The cool breeze reminded me of spending time at the beach with my mom.

“It sure has, pumpkin.  You’re mom and I used to walk up to this hill every morning and watch the sunrise.  Until we had you.  By then we were too busy to do things like that,” my dad said.  

I thought about what my parents would have looked like when they were younger.  I remember my mom’s big, blue eyes, and how her face was always glowing pink to match her long, flowing, red hair.

My dad, though.  I couldn’t picture him looking young.  He always had a cold, stressed look on his face.  Ever since my mom had first been diagnosed with cancer.  I had only seen him with worry and stress written all over his face.

I looked over at him now. He suddenly seemed so relaxed. Instead of his usual worried look, he seemed calm and care-free, as if there wasn’t a worry in the world.  I hadn’t seen him look like that in so long. It was refreshing. 

When my mom passed eight months ago, Dad was a wreck.  He still is, but he’s getting better.  It’s really hard without her, and everything reminds me of her.

I watch as two little kids splashed around at the shore of the beach.  One pulled their mom in, she laughed as the bottom of her sundress got soaked. They all looked so happy.

“I remember when I used to do that to Mom,” I said, smiling, and then shivering because of the cold, big breeze.  My dad must have been watching them, too, because I watched him smile and shed a single tear.

I looked up at the sun, that was now over halfway above the horizon.  It made my skin glow, and I know I must have looked just like Mom for a moment, because Dad smiled over at me with tears in his eyes.

“You know what we should do today?” he asked. “We should go have fun at the beach. Take a walk, go wading at the shore, make a sandcastle. We could even get lunch from Bubbly’s Steakout.”

I smiled at the idea.  Bubbly’s Steakout was my mom’s favorite place to get food on the beach.  We hadn’t been down there since she died.

“Sounds like fun!” I said beaming.

So that’s just what we did. I went and changed into a swimsuit and a sundress cover-up.

“What do you want to do first, kiddo?” my dad asked after brushing his teeth. 

By now, the sun was shining brightly in the sky. In a weird way, it reminded me of my mom. Just the way it shined so brightly. Mom was just like that. She made everyone smile. I’ve always thought that the sun was like her trademark. Anytime I look at the sun, I think of her.

“I think we should walk along the shore, right in the sun,” I said, slightly smiling.

As we were walking, all I could do was smile as the warm air hit my skin. I was thinking about my mom, when all of a sudden, my dad shoved me into the shallow of the water!

“Hey!” I yelled, laughing. I pulled him in with me, and we both laughed as he fell on his butt.

“Now I’m completely soaked,” he said, grinning. He splashed me.

“Now it’s war!” I said loudly, beginning to splash him over and over. I hadn’t had a fun moment with my dad in so long, I never wanted it to end. I saw the look of happiness on his face, still replacing his worry.

After we had both been completely soaked, I suggested we get food from Bubbly’s Steakout. While we were walking, it felt chillier than before. My clothes were sticking to me. I shivered a little and then looked over at my dad. He didn't seem bothered by it. The slight breeze made my sundress blow around in the wind. The sun still felt pretty warm.

The sun was straight above us. Still shining brightly. A huge smile took over my face as I admired it, kind of like how I used to admire my mom.

I was staring up at the sky, lost in thought, when I suddenly walked right into someone.

I jumped back, startled. The woman I ran into quickly walked away. I heard my dad start laughing, so I joined in.

“That’s why you don’t daydream while you’re walking,” Dad laughed.

“I wasn’t daydreaming! I was just thinking!” I said.

“Well, you sure were smiling. Were you daydreaming about boys?” my dad said teasingly.

“Dad, stop!” I said, both amused and embarrassed. I looked around to see if anyone heard him. “I was thinking about how the sun reminds me of mom,” I told him.

He looked at me. “How’s that?”

“The way it glows. How it’s always shining, and how beautiful it is. It gives us happiness, like Mom did. It makes you feel warm. Everyone takes it for granted. Like, everyone expects it to be there tomorrow just because it’s here today. Kind of like I did with Mom. Everything would be different without the sun. But there’s no guarantee that it’s always going to be here.” I found myself gazing back up at the sun.

My dad was looking at the sun, too. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “Your mom shined bright and fast, that’s all.” 

After staring at the sun for a few minutes, we finished walking to the Steakout. I ordered a cheeseburger with extra pickles. As we ate, I could feel my dad’s happiness. Today we both learned something about Mom, and about each other. My dad never knew my thoughts about Mom and the sun. I didn’t know Dad could be so relaxed. I didn’t even know how he felt most of the time. Now I do.

We went back down to the beach in the afternoon.

“Sand castle competition?” I asked my dad.

“You’re on. One hour, best castle wins,” he said, grinning.

I worked hard on mine. I used all the skills my mom and dad had taught me. I ran to the gift shop to get toy flags, umbrellas, and other decorations. I even picked some flowers to make it pretty. By the time I was finished, my sandcastle was up to my waist.

I looked over at my dad’s. His was a bit smaller, but it had more detail than mine. We got some people from the beach to vote for whose was better.

“Okay, this is the tie-breaker,” my dad said. “Which sandcastle is better?” he asked a woman.

“I like the one with the flowers!” she said. I did a little happy dance around my dad.

He jokingly kicked his castle over. I laughed.

“Since I won, you have to buy me ice cream,” I said.

“Okay, Your Sandcastle Majesty,” my dad said playfully. I shook my head and laughed. I saw that the sun was starting to set.

“Hey, do you want to watch the sunset while we eat ice cream?” I asked.

“Sure,” my dad said as we walked up to the ice cream stand. I got a chocolate cone.

At the top of the same hill, I rolled out the blanket. I sat down. Ice cream was dripping down my fingers.

My dad was quiet. I think he was thinking about Mom. He stared off into the distance.

The warmth of the sun was disappearing. It was replaced with the same crisp air from this morning. 

I watched the sun as it got closer to the ground.

The sun vanished below the horizon.

“Good-bye, Sun,” I whispered, as I watched the moon coming up and reflecting in the water we’d earlier splashed in under the sun. “I hope you’re back tomorrow.”