My note…here's the second to the last chapter. It's really a two-part chap, this first one being a little on the angsty side….well not exactly angsty…..you'll see.
A DAY AT THE BEACH
CHAPTER 9: SUMMERTIME BLUES
Ashley woke up in the middle of the night, hot, sticky and slightly surprised to find the other half of the bed, empty. Sensing that something was wrong, she bolted upright and looked around.
"Power's out", Jimmy stated from his place in front of the screen door.
Blearily, Ashley rubbed her eyes and looked from the blacked out face of the alarm clock to the still blades of the ceiling fan above her. "How long?", she asked through her yawn.
"Don't know…", Jimmy shrugged. "…was out when I got up to…ya know...", he motioned toward the bathroom.
Ashley knitted her brow in confusion and started to ask, "How did you…".
Jimmy smirked slightly and pulled the small battery operated lantern from his lap, flipping it on and then off again. "This thing really came in handy", he chuckled wearily.
Smiling, Ashley nodded and picked up the stopwatch Jimmy had laying on the side table and read the time….3:19. "How long have you been up, then?", she inquired curiously as she stood up from the bed.
"Bout an hour", he answered softly. "Just trying to cool off". But Ashley knew it was more than just being hot, by his demeanor….the short, clipped answers he gave, his hunched over position, elbows on knees, the slight mask of pain that covered his face.
Ashley stretched her arms over her head and slowly walked over to stand behind Jimmy, resting her hands on his shoulders. "Your back", she stated more than questioned.
Jimmy nodded affirmatively. "Just waiting for the meds to kick in", he whispered, flinching when she ran her hands down over his sore shoulder blades.
Ashley sighed softly, she momentarily thought of scolding Jimmy for the hours he, Spinner and Marco spent playing basketball the previous afternoon, or the ramifications that go along with playing basketball in the light, steady rain…but he already knew, and now he was paying the ultimate price.
She picked up the pill bottle on the small coffee table, not far from Jimmy and read it. "Why don't you take something a little stronger?", she suggested, knowing the anti-inflammatory medication he took was barely going to touch the back spasms he was having.
Jimmy shook his head and slightly shifted to look over his shoulder at Ashley. "Nah, then I'll over sleep, and I need to get up in a few hours".
"Yeah, but you can't exactly oversleep, when you're not sleeping at all", Ashley pointed out. She knew how awful some of his medications made him feel and how much he hated having to take them, so she didn't push the subject.
"Okay, but if your not gonna take anything stronger, at least come back to bed...maybe a massage will help", she suggested, walking back over to him. "Because sitting like that, can't be helping." Jimmy smiled weakly in concession and moved away from the door, cringing as he pulled his arms back to grasp the rims of his chair.
Ashley waited for Jimmy to transfer, offering a little help when he struggled to clear the bed. She went to use the bathroom, then looked in the linen closet for a towel, some lotion and the heating pad to use for just a few minutes after the massage, to sooth Jimmy's achy back...only remembering, a split second later, that you actually need electricity to use a heating pad.
By the time Ashley came back, armed with the only alternative she could think of for the heating pad...a warm water filled basin and washcloth, Jimmy had discarded sweaty t-shirt and was laying on his stomach.
Ashley climbed on the bed next to Jimmy, careful not to spill the filled basin. "Tell my if this is too hot", she instructed, laying the wet washcloth across his upper back, where his feeling was unaffected. Jimmy let out a relieved sigh and mumbled something into his pillow. Ashley took his reponse as a positive one and continued to move the washcloth over all the affected areas.
Jimmy's breathing began to even out before Ashley could even get to the massage. She did a quick rubdown over his lower back, knowing it wouldn't wake him, then pushed all the supplies away and slid in next to him, covering them both with a thin sheet.
Ashley stared at Jimmy and smiled...he looked peaceful now, his features softened, face lit only by the dim light of the moon and the occasional flash of lightning. With a gentle kiss to his slightly opened lips, Ashley turned onto her other side, her back to his chest. Reflexively, Jimmy moved his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him, Ashley was asleep in seconds.
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"What the hell?", a schrill scream came from the upstairs bathroom. Fumbling, crashing and slamming could be heard next, followed by stomping. "There's no hot water?", Paige yelled, trying to hold her towel tighter as she shivered from her ice cold wake up call.
"Nope", Marco quipped, earning him a glare from dripping Paige.
"No electricity", Jimmy added simply, pouring himself another bowl of cereal so they could finish the milk faster, before it spoiled.
"What does that have to do with water?", she asked impatiently.
"We're staying at a beach house Paige...", Ashley answered, spreading some room temperature cream cheese on her untoasted bagel. "...everything runs on electricity".
"You've got to be kidding me?", Paige gasped and rolled her eyes.
"You could always join Spinner...", Ellie offered teasingly, causing Paige to turn on her heel. "...he went for a swim in the lake".
"In a thunder storm?", Paige asked incredulously.
"He figured the water was warmer out there than it is in here", Ellie explained, her lips turning up into a wicked smirk. "And who knows...a few thousand volts might be exactly what you need", she mumbled, just loud enought for the others to here. "Because that shower did absolutely nothing to cool your attitude", she whispered this time, but Paige was sill in earshot.
If looks could kill, Ellie would be it's next victim. "Ughh", Paige growled and stomped back up the stairs.
"Now, now Eleanor...that wasn't very nice, was it?", Marco scolded playfully.
"What...she deserved it?", Ellie asked in defense. "All she's done for the entire trip...hell, that last eight months...is bitch at me. I'm sick of it", she whined.
Marco reached out to touch her, "El, c'mon?".
"Don't Marco. Don't sit there and preach to me about being a better friend, or letting it all slide, or apologizing first...I'm sick of it", Ellie yelled and pulled away. She paused for a moment and then stood up. "You know what else I'm sick of?", she asked rhetorically. "...how you always defend her. Paige Michalchuck can do no wrong in your eyes...so save your sermon Father Marco. I'm not interested", Ellie snapped and stormed out of the kitchen.
Jimmy, Ashley and Marco were so stunned by Ellie's tirade, that they never heard Spinner return through the french doors.
He rummaged around the kitchen for a few seconds before asking in total innocence, "Anyone seen the spray cheese?".
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Morning slowly dragged into afternoon and Paige finally came down from the bedroom around lunch time. "Ooh, sandwhiches", she stated, surprisingly pleased.
Paige reached out and grabbed the pieces of bread Ashley was offering, purposely walking around to the other side of the table to avoid any interaction with Ellie and took the spot next to Jimmy.
Everyone was busy making their own lunches. "What do we have left?", Paige asked skeptically, looking down at the table strewn with deli wrappings.
"Salami", Spinner stated. "You can have some...".
"Yeah, so I can smell like you", Paige bristled. "Thank you, no".
"I'm making some tuna salad for us", Marco announced, looking between Ellie and Ashley, then back at Paige. "Well, share...".
"I hate tuna salad, Marco", she answered the obvious and sighed heavily. "Forget it. Where's the mayo?".
Marco stopped mixing. "In the tuna salad", he replied innocently.
"All of it?", she asked incredulously.
"We had to use it before it spoiled", Marco defended.
"Marco, you know I can't eat a sandwhich without mayo", Paige complained. "Fine...how about some cheese, then?", she questioned next, growing even more impatient.
"Juss shpray sheeze leff", Spinner answered, through a mouth full of his double decker salami and spray cheese sandwhich.
Paige squeezed her eyes shut and pinched the bridge of her nose. After a few seconds she looked up and asked as calmly as she could, "What happened to all the turkey and colby?".
The table became still. Jimmy slowed his chewing and looked down at his bulging sandwhich. "Does that have mayo on it?", Paige demanded, her voice raising to an almost painful pitch.
Jimmy swallowed hard and nodded cautiously. With an indignant snort, Paige stood and snatched the sandwhich Jimmy had just starting eating. "I'll be in my room in anyone needs me", she sniped and turned on her heel.
"Uh Paige?", Jimmy called out and reached over, in a futile attempt to reclaim his lunch...but Paige was too fast.
Jimmy groaned and slumped back into his chair, then leaned forward onto the table with his elbows. "Well, I guess it's either tuna salad or salami and spray cheese", Ashley proposed with a forced cheerfulness.
Jimmy pondered his choices. After taking another look at Spinner's creation, he wrinkled his nose in disgust, "The tuna".
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The cabin was becoming unbearably stuffy. The thunderstorm raging outside, made it almost impossible to open the widows or doors for any ventilation. And the fact that the air temperature was well over ninety degrees and there was no air conditioning made it even more intolerable.
"It is so freakin' hot in here", Ellie moaned as she walked across the living room, fanning herself with a magazine.
"And we're officially out of ice", Marco called from the kitchen, pouring out the water from the defrosted ice cube trays and into the sink.
Spinner suggested they head for home, or at least another place that had working utilities, but the relentless rain and strong winds, made driving unsafe. They were stuck...for at least one more day.
Ashley crossed over the room and walked up behind Jimmy, wrapping her arms around his neck. "How's it going?", she asked, motioning to the untouched sketchbook on his lap.
"It's not", Jimmy mumbled and slapped the book shut, letting out a frustrated sigh.
"Why don't you go take a little nap", she suggested softly, lightly running her fingers over his shoulders. "It's still early and I can wake you when...".
"I'm fine Ash... I don't need a nap", Jimmy cut in.
"Okay, then at least stretch out on the couch or bed and relax your back...", was her next request. "...you've been sitting way too long and with all this heat, you should probably drink some more...".
"I know how to take care of myself Ashley", Jimmy spat, swiveling his chair to face her. If Jimmy's tone and actions weren't alarming enough, the way in which he used her full first name was proof that he was angry...and now, so was Ashley.
"I wasn't doubting that Jimmy", Ashley paused momentarily, "But it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're uncomfortable...you've probably shifted ten times in the last ten minutes, not to mention heading to the bedroom every four hours on the nose to take another dose of your meds", she retorted, selling herself a bit short on the accuracy of her deduction. The fact that she could read Jimmy so well, was an advantage and it was only on the second trip, that Ashley figured out that the subsequent trips to the bedroom weren't coinciding with Jimmy's regular bathroom schedule.
The others looked over, curiously. Jimmy was hurting, sweaty, tired...not to mention aggrivated and now embarrassed. "I said I was fine. Okay? So just drop it", he ordered and pushed forward for emphasis.
"Okay then, deal with it yourself", she snipped and turned on her heel. "I'm gonna go start dinner". With that, Jimmy spun back around and swerved around Ashley, heading for the back door.
After a few minutes of clanging dishes and utensils, Ellie got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. "So, what's for dinner?", she asked, her cheerfullness grating on Ashley's already sensitive nerves.
"What does it look like we're having?", she clipped sarcastically.
"Fish again?", Ellie groaned loudly, "Ash, are you trying to kill us?".
"Noooo", Paige protested, hurring into the kitchen, with Marco in tow.
"C'mon Ash", Marco pleaded.
Jimmy rushed into the kitchen when he heard the commotion, "Isn't there anything else to eat?".
"No, not really. It was the only thing left in the freezer, that didn't melt...well this and the box of blueberry waffles", she explained as she ungraciously tossed the filets into the marinade. "See, perfectly thawed".
"Yeah but we've had that fish for three days now", Paige complained.
"Sometimes even twice a day", Ellie added miserably.
Oblivious to why the others were complaining, Spinner wandered into the kitchen.
"It's the only thing we have that can be cooked out on the grill", Ashley insisted aggrivatedly. "Now, if I have to go stand out in the pouring rain to cook this...the least you guys can do, is eat it.
Spinner popped his head out from inside the pantry cabinet and stood there, bewildered, "I know we should have more spray cheese"
The quarreling stopped immediately and the gang turned to face him. "Enough about the damn spray cheese, Spinner", they yelled in unison.
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I thought it would be fun to incorporate some real life in this chapter, so I'm sorry if it seems too unlikely or if the characters seem slightly ooc. Something similar happend to us on a family trip and I swear it was crazy...eight people(2 parents, 6 kids) stuck in a little house during a big thunderstorm and no electricity...we even had the spray cheese too (my two youngest sisters' favorite snack).
I wasn't sure how all beach houses are set up, but the one that I've been to, just runs on electricity. Next chapter is the last one, but don't worry...the story will end with clearer skies.
I'd like to thank my great reviewers...lilfiftyfour, havocmangawip and candygirl200413 for their wonderful comments and much appreciated support.
Degrassi is not mine.