"Hey Kansas!"
Bradin immediately recognized the voice and turned around to see Erika coming towards him. His hopes were quickly dashed when he saw she wasn't alone. Her surfboard was tucked under one arm, and Jay's hand was clasped tightly in her free hand. Bradin cleared his throat and went back to waxing his board, feeling jealousy spark inside him. Jay and Erika glanced over at each other somewhat awkwardly, and released their hands.
"Hey there, Bradin," Jay said with a nod of his head.
"Whatever," Bradin muttered under his breath.
Erika ignored the tension between the two males and tried to overlook it. Instead she replied, putting a competitive edge in her voice, "You ready to get crushed today, Kansas?"
Bradin snorted, then glared up at Jay, and "I doubt there's anymore crushing left to do."
"Bradin-" Jay started, shaking his head.
"I'm ready," he said cutting Jay off.
Bradin picked up his surfboard and walked toward the water. Erika sighed, watching him and finally felt her own frustration building.
"Erika, Erika, don't let him get to you like that. I already tried to explain things to him, but he just won't listen to me. Maybe if you talk to him, you can finally set it straight," Jay said, glancing over at Bradin. "If you don't, I'll fight him to the death."
"Jay!" Erika exclaimed, giggling.
"I'm just kidding," Jay laughed, then added, "I think."
"Yeah, I'll talk to him. I'm not sure what I need to say to convince him."
"Say what's in here," he said, pointing to her heart, "not up here," then pointed to her head.
She smiled, kissed him quickly, then went to catch up with Bradin. Jay took a seat in the sand, and hoped Bradin would come to his senses…after all, he was still a kid.
"Are you ready?" Bradin asked, when Erika was beside him.
"Bradin, we need to talk before we go out there."
"About what? Oh, let me guess, Jay?"
"Yes, about Jay and me. Look, I know you're upset with him and-"
"Yeah, I can see where this is going."
"Bradin, you need to hear this," Erika said, feeling anxious to get all of her words right and precise. "You're a great guy, and we've become good friends. You have a lot going for you, and you're getting to be one hell of a surfer, but this whole thing between the three of us has got to stop."
"Who do you think you are, my mother?" Bradin snapped.
"Of course not, Bradin. How could you say that?"
Neither Bradin nor Erika could break the silence for several moments. It saddened Erika to think of his situation, even though she had a similar one herself.
"I don't want to begin to imagine what you've been through these past few weeks, and I'm so sorry that you had to go through something like that. No one can ever take your mother's place, but I've told you this before and I'm telling you again. You have to understand that I am in love with Jay, and that's not going to change."
"You can't seriously-"
"I do."
"But…why? After everything he put you through the last time, you're going to just pretend like it never happened?"
"Bradin, I'm not saying that there won't be times when I might regret it, but there is such a thing as a second chance, and I'm willing to give that to him. You can do so much better than me. I mean, pretty soon there will be tons of girls lining up at your door, but I'm not going to be one of them. That's something you're going to have to accept. I want us to be friends, you know, the kind that can hang out together and have fun. I want us to be there for each other…as friends. Is that something you'd be willing to do, for me?"
He listened to every word Erika said, not once zoning out like he usually did if the topic was a subject he didn't care to hear. Bradin knew by the look she was giving him that she was completely sincere. He also knew without any more debating, that no matter how much he didn't want to, he had to let her go…for now.
"Yes I'm willing to do that for you. I'm sorry I've been such a jerk, but I understand. And just let it be said that I will kill Jay if he ever hurts you again."
"Bradin-"
"Joking, I'm joking," Bradin smiled. "You ready to hit the waves?"
"Show me what you got, Kansas."
Erika ran at the water, threw her board out in front of her and paddled toward the sea. Bradin watched her with a smile on his face, the same way he had when he had his first surfing lesson, then followed her.
"How's he doing Jay?"
Jay felt Ava take a seat next to him and smiled, "I think Erika finally got through to him."
"You're kidding," Ava said disbelievingly.
"No, I really think she did. You just missed it, they were talking and now they're both in the water."
Ava was impressed on two levels. One was with Erika because she had gotten close enough to Bradin to make a difference. Number two would be watching her nephew take on one of the most powerful forces of Mother Nature. She gasped excitedly as he caught a wave.
"Go, go!" Jay and Ava yelled, jumping to their feet.
Their excitement ended as fast as it had come when Bradin lost his footing and fell off his board into a crashing wave. Ava grimaced, as did Jay.
"Man, if he keeps that up," Jay laughed, "he'll be sore from head to toe in the morning."
"Yes, okay. What time? Thursday, nine o'clock? Yes sir, definitely. We'll be there. Thank you so much."
Susannah hung up the phone and glanced over the piece of paper she had just written on. She let out an overly excited squeal and re-read the notes. Johnny and Derrick came running downstairs a few seconds later.
"Susannah, what's wrong?" Derrick asked with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"
"What is it?" Johnny asked, holding Derrick by the shoulders.
"You're never going to believe this! Ava and I were just invited to Los Angeles for an interview with the executive editor of Elie magazine on Thursday. They said they've seen some of our designs, and are interested in possibly doing some business."
"That's great! Where's Ava, does she know?"
"No, she went down to the beach to find Jay."
"This doesn't mean we'll have to move again does it?" Derrick asked sadly.
Susannah understood where he was coming from, and smiled gently as she kneeled down to face him. "No sweetie. This is just a meeting to see if they like your aunt's designs. If there was any chance of us getting jobs, we would be able to work from here in the house."
"Promise?"
"I certainly do promise. Now hop on," Susannah said, turning around so Derrick could climb on her back.
"Okay," Johnny said, clapping his hands together, "who wants to go play with the Frisbee on the beach?"
"Oh, I do!" Nikki said, coming out of her room and raising her hand.
"Alright, let's go then. Are you guys coming too?" Johnny asked, grabbing the Frisbee off the table.
"What do you say, Derrick?" Susannah asked.
"I say last one to the beach does my chores for the rest of the week!" Derrick exclaimed, jumping off of Susannah's back.
Johnny and Susannah laughed, then looked at Nikki, who smiled back wickedly. All of a sudden the three of them took off running, leaving Derrick staring after them.
"Hey! No fair!" Derrick laughed.