There is nothing more relaxing than spending an evening at the beach. I go here often, seeking release of any stress I might be feeling. Hoping it all goes away from me as easily as the tide pulls away from the shore. The beach normally empties out by 5pm, and occasionally one or two people remain, but they too, seek some sort of solitude. The beach or its jetties, soon serve as a fishing place for one or two local fisherman, also looking for ways to unwind and relax. For some of us, the beach and ocean seem to pull us in their direction. An unexplainable relationship.
The air is balmy, and the occasional spray of surf reaches my skin. The spray is salty so it soon adheres to my skin easily. I feel so relaxed. The sun is setting behind me, and dusk soon moves in, as day blends into night. I can now see the outline of fisherman as they step close to their lit lanterns on the jetty. I walk to the surf, and let the cool water run over me. The heat of the day will soon leave me. I can’t resist a swim, and head into the water. The feel of the water rushing over me is exhilarating.
After swimming a bit, I move back to shore, and as I leave the water, I see in front of me one of the fishermen. He calls out to me. “Nice swim?”
I tell him it’s wonderful, and he ought to go for it. I can see his smile, as he holds up his lantern. He’s tall, and good looking. Dressed as most of the fishermen, he is wearing rubber waders, and no shirt. His arms are muscular, and I’m certain, well tanned. His hair tussled from the windy breeze that surrounds us.
Moving towards him, we begin to chat. He surprises me by telling me he has seen me here often. I tell him this is my place to seek solitude and relaxation, especially after long tiring days at work. I watch him as he baits his line and casts it out in the water. We share basic information, and I learn he is a flight instructor. He too, comes here seeking solitude on ground level. But his ultimate goal is to catch a fish or two and if not, at least the eye of a pretty girl. He then smiles at me. I return the smile, and remember his comment about seeing me here before.
Hours pass and I notice the lanterns that graced the jetty earlier with their small flickering lights, are now gone. We are alone on the beach. I can hear the surf pick up in its intensity, and feel the cooler spray on my skin. He continues to fish, and I now find myself unable to leave. The conversation dies down for a bit, but there still seems to be some kind of connection between us. I feel drawn to him. Unexplainable, but there.
I see him suddenly move quickly to a pole standing tall out of pole holder buried deep in the sand. He picks it up and begins to walk to the shore. He has something on his line and I watch at how he struggles to land it on the beach. I walk over to him and tell him “good job.” He grins like a little boy catching his first fish. He tells me there will be more. He baits his hook and returns the line to the water. It’s not long, and again he repeats the task of landing another fish. I am now standing close to him, watching his every move. When the next fish is hooked, he hands me the pole and wants me to try. I take the pole, but realize quickly it’s going to take a lot of strength to land this one. He offers to help me. He moves behind me, and puts his hands on mine. With his help I am able to reel it in, and feel like I have caught the biggest fish on record. “That was cool,” I tell him. He lets me do it again, and after several catches I can no longer concentrate on landing the fish.
His rubber waders keep sticking to my back and legs, as I press into him, and we laugh about that. His arms encircle me, and I feel his moist skin on mine. I can feel his warm breath on my cheek as he speaks to me about what to do next. My senses are heightened. As time passes, I feel as if I want to stay in his arms for the night. We continue to land one fish after another, and finally, after many successful catches, he breaks away. “That’s it for me,” he announces. An overwhelming sadness comes over me. He packs up his things, and tells me he hopes to see me again. He wants to know if I am leaving soon? I normally would have been gone way before this, but now I feel the need to relish the past couple of hours, so I tell him I plan on staying a bit longer. How do I explain this overwhelming attraction to this stranger?
I watch him turn and leave and follow his movements till he is off the beach and boardwalk. I return my sights out to sea, and watch the distant lights of boats move slowly up and down the coast. I felt something with him, a connection. Fate? Destiny? I couldn’t let go of him.
Time passed again, and I suddenly hear someone behind me. It’s him, and I feel my pulse race immediately. He’s now in shorts and a tee shirt, and has obviously gone and showered. “I couldn’t let you sit here alone.” Along with his chair and blanket, he had a bag with him, and told me there were three things he always brought to the beach with him, when he wasn’t fishing. An old blanket, a chair, and ‘something to warm me inside.’ I couldn’t decide what I wanted tonight to keep me warm inside. “How about picking one,” he said, now holding up a bottle of wine and two containers of coffee. I chose the wine, and out of the bag came two paper cups. I smiled and acknowledged his choice of glassware.
“I like to keep things simple.” He said