"So, do you wanna go shopping Saturday?" Tina asked Danni, as they walked through the park, licking their ice creams. It was a warm day for October, and they were taking advantage of the shining sun, and humid air. "I have to get a costume for Halloween."
"I can't," Danni told her apologetically. "I promised my mom I'd spend the day with her. I think we're going to the Glamorama."
"That's awesome," Tina said unenthusiastically.
"What's wrong?"
"It's nothing really," Tina told her. "It's just- my mom and I used to spend all our time together. And now she won't even return my calls because she's too busy searching for her past."
"But wouldn't you want to know if you had family out there?" Danni asked incredulously.
"Not really," Tina answered honestly. "To tell you the truth, I kind of hate them. If they loved her so much, they could have found her. If they knew about me, they could have looked for me. But they gave up on us. So I gave up on them."
"But they're your family."
"My mom's the only family I need," Tina declared. "I just wish I was enough for her.
They walked in silence for a bit, Danni not knowing what to say to that. Finally, after Tina couldn't take the awkward silence anymore, she told Danni she had to go. She walked back towards her car, and started driving. She didn't really know where she was going. She didn't want to think about her mom anymore. And so she went to the closest place to her favorite place she could think of- the beach.
She walked along the sand, in the wet part, and let her feet press down into the soft earth. She walked for hours it seemed, up and down the small strip of beach in Pine Valley Pennsylvania. It wasn't like home, but it was good enough. She saw a figure in the distance, ambling towards her. That was odd. She didn't think anyone would go to the beach in late October.
"Tina?" the figure asked as it drew close.
"Hey Ben," she replied. She hadn't talked to him much since that time she blew up at him. And now she felt like such an idiot.
"What're you doing?"
"Walking," she replied curtly. She started to walk by him, and he turned, and fell into step beside her.
"What're you really doing?" he asked.
"What're you doing?" she retorted back at him.
"Trying to talk to my friend," he replied.
"Is that what we are?" she asked. He was silent.
"You know," he said, "I came here because I was homesick. We moved around a lot when I was little. It was just me and my dad and my brother. And we never stayed in one place, but we always, always stayed near the ocean. Dad always said it was the best place on earth, that it could make all your troubles feel small."
"Mom always took me to the beach too," Tina told him. "It was farther away from the city, so you could see the stars clearer. Mom liked wishing on stars- she said that maybe somewhere someone was wishin on that same star and they were wishing for us."
"I wouldn't be surprised," Ben said wryly. "You're definitely something to wish for Tina Palmer."
"Don't do that," she whispered to him.
"Do what?"
"You know what!" Tina yelled, shuddering. He stared at her, studying her.
"You're freezing," he observed, taking off his jacket. He went to place it around her. She stepped away.
"And don't do that!" she exclaimed, backing away further.
"I'm just trying to-"
"I don't care," she told him, shivering.
"Christ Tina," he lamented, "Just take the jacket." He moved closer to her and put it around her shoulders, his hands keeping it in place. Tina looked up at him, his face inches from her. They stared at each other for a long time. Her breath grew faster, and he leaned in towards her. She closed her eyes. She waited.
"I uh, I have to go," Ben whispered quickly, pulling away. "Keep the jacket." He hurried down the beach, back towards the parking lot. Tina pulled his jacket closer around her. What the hell had just happened?