"Get your ice cream—" said Levi, but Sasha sneered and corrected him.
"Gelato…"
"Get your gelato and move fast to seat at the sundeck, close to the water feature," Levi continued, pressing his palm to the small of Sasha's back, giving her a gentle push forward, "Make up your mind, Sasha, we don't have the whole day."
They were waiting in line at the L'arte de Gelato pink cart in the initial section of the High Line, an old aerial urban railroad transformed into a unique modern park and playground running along the Hudson River.
"But I can't decide… just yet… too many flavors…" Sasha let out a desperate moan. "Can I have two cups?"
"Yes, you can have two cups, and we will trade anyway, to give everybody a taste later… but choose finally, or let Connie and Jean go first."
Sasha's grunted and leaned over the cart while Connie picked stracciatella and Jean mint-and-chocolate-chips ice cream for their cups.
"Gee, Sasha, it's just an ice cream, for fuck's sake," said Eren, pushing Sasha.
"Eren, language," said Historia, putting her palms on both to their shoulders, "Sasha, let me know what are the flavors you want, and I'll take some, we will share."
"Mmm… I think I want pistachio, and panna cotta… and vanilla… or…" Sasha whimpered with desperation. "Or no, maybe a lemon sorbet…. or a peach sorbet."
"I'll take lemon sorbet and Historia the peach one," Levi ordered. "Sasha, take vanilla and panna cotta. Armin, is pistachio fine with you? We will stand here for the entire day…"
"Yeah, I love pistachio, but I'll just give a little taste to Sasha, not the whole cup…" Armin said, rubbing his cheek with his palm.
"Yes, just a taste. Now come on, faster, guys, let's move…"
"Eren, wanna share?" Armin ran towards Eren's side on their way to the sundeck and asked in a breathless whisper. The impact of his speed pressed their arms together, but none of them moved away.
Armin's blond hair fell over his face when he looked into Eren's ice cream cup.
"Is it salted caramel or peanut butter? I can't tell. They look the same to me."
"Peanut butter," Eren said, pausing for a breath, as they walked shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand until they reached a wide, flat wooden lounge bench. Jean, Connie, Mikasa, and Isabel sprawled all over it. "And help yourself. Hey, guys, move a little." He yelled, and then he sat close to Jean, leaving just enough space for Armin, who squeezed in, their thighs and arms touching.
Slowly, everybody got their ice cream, and they plopped on wooden lounge chairs and benches at 15th Street sundeck, a small oasis of wetland green and running water feature overlooking the Hudson River.
Historia nestled on a hard bench, slid her sandals off, and let the cold stream running along the pavement cool her feet.
"Hey, let me try the peach sorbet if you still have something left after Sasha's tasting round," Levi sat down next to her, wrapping his arm around her, and reached with his plastic spoon into her cup. "That's good," he said when the ice cream disappeared into his mouth.
She took a deep breath of the fresh air as her eyes skimmed over the cattails, rose mallow, and swamp milkweed growing in steel planters, obscuring the surface of the river, glistening coyly behind them, trying to block out the noise of the surrounding foot traffic and the kids' banter.
"Ey," she smacked Levi's palm, as his plastic spoon dug into her ice-cream cup again, "At least share some of yours… too". She giggled against his warm shoulder.
"Here, take all of it, not much left." He put his almost empty cup into her palm.
"Oh, come on… it's nothing in there…" she scolded him with a hiss, and with one smooth movement of her foot, she sent a splash of water in his direction.
"Now you've done it…" Levi rose to his feet, but Historia was faster and scooted away from him, hiding behind the bench occupied by the kids.
"That's what you get for dumping your trash on me." She laughed loudly, sneaking behind Eren and Jean, burying her head into Eren's nape.
"Sh… hold that for me." She passed on the empty ice-cream cups to Jean, getting ready to run away.
"You know, when I catch you, I will have to punish you," said Levi with a low growl, closing the distance, his face strict. Historia scurried to the other side of the High Line, diving into the tall wetland grass. He took off after her, and they chased each other, like small children, around the narrow pathway of the old railroad, lush greenery, and the water stream, splashing it all around them.
Levi finally caught her, dragging her out from her hideout, and both of them laughed. He wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her still. His body was warm, and he smelt different from his usual self, no sun-screen, ocean and neoprene, faint bergamot scent of his cologne, or maybe he simply smelt like his favorite tea. Her breath quickened as his palm rested on her behind, and he whispered into her ear.
"Tsk, tsk. You know you were very naughty…"
She let out a light chuckle, but her stomach did a little excited twist when a quick, soft spank landed on her ass, followed by another, even gentler butt-pat.
Then he let her go, although his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulder almost immediately, pulled her in tighter and he fake-bit the back of her neck once. It tickled, and she broke into a careless giggle. They walked back to the kids, who watched them with curiosity and something else that Historia couldn't quite name, painted all over their faces.
"Wow, they aren't serious, are they?" Mikasa's eyes widened, and she shot Eren a questioning look.
"They kind of are and aren't," Eren said, shaking his head.
"You haven't seen them goofing around much, Mikasa?" asked Jean, scooted closer to her, and offered her a blooming twig of a groundsel bush. Its sweet fragrance wafted into the air between them. Mikasa's cheeks grew faintly pink, and Eren gave Jean a crabby scowl.
"No, to be honest, I haven't. Are they… like, together?"
Sasha, Connie, and Armin sniggered simultaneously. Eren grunted.
"We wish…" said Isabel with a sigh.
"They certainly behave like that sometimes," said Jean, studying Mikasa's face. Their eyes met for a moment, then she lowered her gaze, fixing it on her ice-cream cup.
"It's kinda cool, though," said Armin, "I like them careless like that."
"Come on, if you're ready with your gelato," Levi said, as they caught up to the benches, stressing the word gelato looking at Sasha, "let's take a walk and look at some art installations."
Levi's bare feet curled on the heated asphalt of the Crossbay Parkway, a vast parking lot between Beach 94th and 95th Streets at Rockaway. They'd managed to park as close to the boardwalk as possible, and that was a good sign. When Rockaway got overflown with 'down for day' beachgoers, it was almost impossible to find a slot, and getting the spot this good meant the peak wouldn't be crowded. He squinted his eyes, blinded by the afternoon sun reflected in the glistening waters ahead of them. The light, warm breeze brought the typical fresh, briny smell from the ocean, but it mixed with something else—a more industrial whiff of the great city sitting just behind their backs.
It felt familiar, like home it almost had become for a while, but also like the memories Levi preferred to keep buried deep down. He inhaled slowly, and skimmed over a few long white wisps of clouds, suspended above the ocean, rows of Dutch Colonial Revival-style houses on both of their sides, and the massive, densely populated high-rises in the background on their left. The low rumbling of the plane overhead forced all of their faces up.
"It's landing on JFK; it's less than 5 miles from here," said Armin, narrowing his eyes.
"You can easily tell the airline from here," said Eren, craning his head up, following the trail left by the plane.
"Wah, so close, it's insane… what if it crashes?!" Connie shook his head in disbelief.
"Alright, listen," Levi said, tugging at the wetsuit low-riding his hips, and pointed out his arm towards the boardwalk, separating the traffic lane from the actual beach. "It's a sand break, the whole Rockaway is. On our left, up by Ninetieth Street, there is a skate park. Even more on the left, there is a jetty. That's where the main break is. But we will start on a smaller one, a bit more to the right, and see who is out there. Then we will move to the left." He paused, his eyes glazed over the kids still changing into their swimming gear and wetsuits. Jean's eyes were glued to Mikasa's bikini top at the level of her chest, his cheeks flushed and his mouth gaping opened. Levi smirked before smacking him gently in the back of his head.
"Hey, what?!" Jean protested.
"You know what." Levi snorted. "Behave."
Jean scowled in response, but Levi shrugged.
"Stay together as a group. It's the same drill as everywhere. Respect the locals and the pecking order. It's pretty much the same as at home, at Ditch… the difference is, it isn't 'your' home. Respect the order and the others."
"But it was your home, once, right?" said Eren, looking around.
"No, not mine… I just hung out here… It was Furlan's home," Levi said, the corner of his eyes catching up to Isabel, unusually silent for her, serious gaze stuck on the line of the boardwalk. "And Isabel's."
"Right…" Eren said, and everybody suddenly went silent.
"Come on, Connie, get on top of the van, start unloading the boards. Eren, Jean, help him. Let's get moving."
Levi got closer to Isabel and put his arm around her thin shoulders.
"You alright?"
Isabel's nose wrinkled, and she breathed in hastily. Her voice trembled slightly.
"Yeah. It just… even if it seems so long ago, here it suddenly feels like yesterday," Isabel whispered.
"I know, to be honest," Levi cleared his throat, "I haven't expected it to hit me so much. This place feels like it never changed."
Isabel sniffled.
"So much time has passed, but I still miss him, sometimes."
"I know. I miss him, too." Levi nodded. "But now the only thing we can do is to pay him a tribute, right? Come on, kid." He ruffled her eternally unruly, frizzy red hair. "The surf should be fun."
"Right, bro." She let out a sigh, but her face lighted with a faint smile.
The weather was nice, warm, and sunny, and the constant swell coming in formed clean sets of waist-to-shoulder-high lines. Seagulls cruised overhead. The light wind came from the shore, blowing gently across the fronts of the waves, as they were cresting, the fizz of the tiny droplets of saltwater shimmering in the sun.
Levi watched as the kids sat in the line-up, spread out on both of his sides, quietly waiting for their turn to go on a wave, and he wondered if this had anything to do with them not being used to be 'the guests' on the peak, or it was because of the memory of Furlan and pensive mood that was still hanging in the air. Either way, the afternoon was calm and nostalgic, and he let the tension go with a long breath.
The main break turned out to be relatively empty, with a couple of mellow, friendly local surfers who knew Levi from the past and let 'his' kids on the waves. He watched them enjoying the surf, some getting smooth rides, some more aggressive or jarring ones, but everybody relished the session.
Armin paddled out as the wave rose behind him, and as it broke clean, he took off, sliding down its face. Then he managed a couple of turns, ending the ride with a steep bottom turn that took him over the crest. The line-up hooted up for him.
The next set of waves rolled in, and Jean and Eren both turned, almost in sync, and paddled hard, trying to beat each other for the same wave.
"Dude, that's my wave."
"The fuck it is, I was closer."
"Just back off…"
Before Levi realized what was happening, they took off on the same wave, dropping down at the same time, too close to each other for it to go well. Their boards crashed together, throwing them off balance and straight into the water mass of breaking wave, dumping them underwater.
"Oh, for fuck… idiots," Levi hissed, paddled hard, and caught the next wave, going after them. Sliding down, he watched as they emerged in the knee-deep water, washed ashore, trying to untie the entangled leashes and get their floating boards.
"You bastard," Jean yelled, "I was closer to the peak."
"But I claimed her first," Eren barked in response.
Both of their boards hit the sand with a loud thump, and for just a second, they stood on the tide-line, eying each other, catching a breath, knocked out by the impact of the whitewash. Then, in a blink of an eye, they rushed towards each other and grabbed each other, grappling, trying to punch each other or knock one another off their feet.
Levi got to them as fast as he could. With no warning, he pushed his shoulder in between their wrestling bodies, then elbowed Eren in his solar plexus, causing him to stumble back several feet. He pressed his palm into Jean's chest, pushing him away in the opposite direction.
"Have you both lost your mind?" he growled at them, the glower put on his face, trying hard to contain his own anger. "What was that for a show, on a beach you don't know? Fighting about the wave? It's like an open invitation for the locals to show you your place, for fuck's sake. And I told you precisely to follow the etiquette."
"I said I was going for this wave first," Eren whined, "it's his fault."
"I was closer to the peak. It was technically my wave, dickhead," Jean snapped again.
"Just shut the hell up, Jean, I…"
"Whatever, that's a really shitty thing to do. A normal person would back off seeing another person going for the same wave, but no, you both had to go for it, anyway? You've crashed on purpose, haven't you?" Levi let out another huff. "Take your boards. Let's walk the hormones off."
The three of them scampered along the shore, their boards under their arms, Eren first, then Levi, separating both boys, and Jean closing the line.
"Thanks for showing your best side to the Rockaway, anyway," Levi grunted again. "Nice job, really. And the two of you seem to have forgotten already why we came to that beach. What we came here to do?! Thank you both for making it special."
Silence fell between them, only water splashed against their feet, the roar of waves rolling in a distance, and a heavier breath ripped out once in a while from someone's throat as they continued their trot along the beach.
"Sorry, Levi." Jean was the first to talk, his voice low, breathy, apologetic. "I didn't mean to. And I wanted to learn about your friend, really, Levi… I don't know why I didn't let Eren have this wave. Hey dickhead, sorry, too."
"I'm sorry too, asshole," Eren murmured under his nose. "And Levi, I'm… I'm sorry, too. You know I didn't mean to screw it for you, right?"
"Good, now I hope you're serious about it. Apologizing to each other is good, but… I still think we should do the fighting club. I don't really know what the issues you have with each other are, but let's work it out through pain and sweat."
"Yes… Okay," said Jean.
"Cool with me," said Eren, then he cleared his throat before speaking again. "Would it still be all right if I asked you about your friend? And maybe we could stop jogging… unless you mean for us to get home hiking." He sniggered under his nose.
"Right," Levi snorted, "let's sit here and talk."
They found a nice, warm sand patch closer to the boardwalk and settled comfortably, watching the glistening ocean in front of them.
"So, what do you want to know?" asked Levi, closing his eyes, letting the rays of the sun warm up his face.
"I don't know, like… everything?" said Eren, and Jean muttered, "Like who he was? And about Isabel, she hasn't really talked much…"
"Right." Levi opened his eyes, then skimmed over two teenage faces glued to him. He assumed a cross-legged position, and before he spoke, he grabbed a handful of sand and watched it passing through his fingers. "Furlan and Isabel were half-blood-siblings and came from a shitty family. I don't know the details, to be honest, maybe try to ask her sometime, but gently. I mean it, no prying." He cast them both a serious look. "He ran from home as a teenager and finally settled here, living in a kind of surfing commune, and she later joined him. I was already around when she did. He planned to get the custody rights, or like he used to say, to adopt her." A smile creased his lips for a second but disappeared as he spoke again. Eren and Jean listened to him with attention, almost holding their breaths. "But then, his body was found at the beach. He drowned in a surfing accident, but as I already told you, he was high—as a kite—like you would say. And frankly," he paused, watching the wind chase the clouds over the sky and a cormorant diving for a fish. "I still don't know what to make out of this. He wanted to take care of Isabel, but… he was struggling with some stuff, too. You know, surfing communities haven't been exactly supportive of gay surfers. I think if he paddled out that stoned, that he did it on purpose, not by accident… but I guess I'll never know the truth. That's that. That's the story." He breathed in the salty air and swallowed around the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. Eren watched him with his mouth gaping open, and Jean's eyes were suspiciously moist and reddened.
"Oh, dear… I'm sorry," Eren's whispered, "I didn't know."
Jean sniffled.
"Doesn't matter. It's in the past. I followed on the custody case, and Historia was on board, too. We got to foster Isabel. And then it snowballed from there, and I get to deal with you," he let out a throaty laugh. "Are you good, guys? I think it's time we came back and got these famous tacos before we drive home."
The kids spilled all over a little outdoor patio, plopping on brightly painted tables and benches. Reggae soundtrack reverberated in the air, and Armin dived into the rack with second-hand surfing books and magazines.
"Look, they have their own vegetables and plants, how cool," said Mikasa to Jean, pointing out towards pots, hanging baskets with herbs and planters with tomatoes, decorating the patio. They both leaned into a wicker basket overgrown with a plant with small, feathery leaves. "That's cilantro."
"Or coriander," he said.
In her sundress and strappy sandals, Historia studied the menu, handwritten with rainbow-colored chalk on the blackboard.
"Sasha, take everybody's order, so we don't crowd at the counter," she said, "but I guess we all go for fish tacos Levi and Isabel have been praising so much, aren't we?"
"Tofu and chorizo are great, too. I prefer the fish ones, but you can't go wrong with literally anything here," said Levi, "Sasha, I want three fish tacos and two Rockaway Brewery IPA's."
"Two?" Historia giggled.
"What?! I'm drinking every once in a blue moon; I can have two beers." He snorted.
"Ackerman!" Warm, breathy timbre resounded from the back, and a tall man with overgrown russet brown hair, streaked with bleached strands, wearing a baseball cup backward, walked out from behind the counter, limping slightly.
"Jan!" Levi pulled the man into a hug. "I see things are going well."
"They are, yes, cool to see you here." Jan's big, brown eyes skimmed over the crowded patio. "Are these all your kids?"
"Yeah," Levi murmured under his nose, cracked open a can of IPA that Connie had passed him, and took a long sip. The slightly herbal, crispy, and hoppy liquid went down his throat smoothly, leaving a gentle, bitter aftertaste. His gaze proudly slid over the kids, digging into their servings of tacos.
"Wow, that's a cool bunch. And your lady—just gorgeous," said Jan and winked at Levi. "Anyway, we will discount the tacos, and your beer is on me. Ahh, and I will send some nachos and guacamole on the house, too. Great to see you're well."
"Thanks, Jan, and the same," Levi said and patted him on the back before relishing in the taste of the fish covered in spiced mayo of his taco.
The sky was already dark, well into the night, lit with the muted glow of the moon, when Historia pulled into the parking lot at the backdoor of Kenny's restaurant to drop off Mikasa. The interior of the van was hushed, most of the kids napping. Eren's head rested on Armin's shoulder, Connie was snoring lightly, and Sasha dozing off, with the side of her face pressed against the seat's headrest in front of her.
"Alright, Mikasa, we're back. Let's get your board. Jean, come on, give me a hand," Levi whispered, trying to open his door without making an unnecessary sound.
They stepped into the cool of the night, and he climbed on top of the van's roof, untying Mikasa's board and passing it down to Jean.
"Here you go," said Jean, handing the board to her, and their fingers grazed.
"Thanks."
"Levi! What a delightful surprise!" The backroom door opened, a streak of blinding light cut in through the murk of the parking lot, and the hoarse, cynic voice resounded as Kenny walked into a stoop. "Long time no see. But here you finally came to talk to me. Mikasa, get inside."
"Jean, get into the van," Levi hissed. "I have nothing to talk to you about, Kenny."
"Ah no? I think my proposal will interest you. Why don't we have a chat now, as you're already here…"
Levi climbed down from the van's roof and stood before Kenny, his palms balled into fists.
"Not in front of my kids, Kenny, have a little decency," he growled, letting the air out through his clenched teeth. His heart was racing, anger and helplessness flooded his mind. "Go back inside."
"I will, if you come to talk to me tomorrow, first thing in the morning. I can give you that much of a courtesy."
Levi's jaw hurt, tightened by rage, and his mind clouded with uneasiness.
"Fine."
He got back into the van, and they drove the remaining way home in heavy silence, Levi's hands still curled into tight fists, his breath shallow, rapid. They stopped in front of their house, the kids started moving in the back, and Levi shifted in his seat.
"Will you be okay with unloading the van? Eren and Jean can handle the boards. I… I think I need some fresh air," he said, leaning in Historia's direction.
"Are you all right?" Her eyes skimmed over his face; a worried frown drew her eyebrows together.
"I will be. I just need to take a walk." He slid out into the night and sashayed down the pathway leading to the beach. Once the night ocean breeze hit his face and his footstep stumbled over the sand, he fished his mobile out.
"You still up for that drink?"
He hit the send button hastily and stared at the screen. The answer came back even faster than he'd expected.
"Always. Come by."
