“Summer Place”
Listen to this story, “Beach Walk”
When the group had cleared things away, they started on the walk down the beach. It was a breathlessly lovely night. The quarter moon, rising out of the water, made a silvery satin path on the dancing waves. On the distant horizon, ships were small silhouettes. The foaming breakers, the white, white surf splashing on the sand, were the sights and sounds of a night many would long remember.
Now Ella was walking by herself. Ken was out for a new adventure, but not with Gloria. For she, as much of a flirt as he, was having a big ol’ ball with clowning Carlos and tagalong Peter. The roaming Romeo, Steve, was now walking with the young and pretty Janet Morgan.
Julie glanced around, looking for Allen or Victor. And where were Sandra and Sarah? She saw Sarah walking by herself.
“Where’s Sandra?” she asked, walking over to her.
“Oh, she’s gone back to the hotel,” Sarah answered. “She’s got a real terrible headache, and she doesn’t feel good.”
“What a shame,” Julie said. “It’s really too bad. I guess it wasn’t too hard for her to get sick, with LeRoy not being able to come and everything.”
There was a moment of silence, and then Sarah spoke. “Hey, how come Victor likes you better than me? I thought I almost had him. What did Janet tell you, anyway?”
“Well,” Julie hesitated, “not much. I don’t know what Victor really thinks exactly.” And Julie didn’t know what exactly was going on in his mind.
“Do you still like Allen?”
“Sure I do. Both guys are pretty nice, I guess.”
“Well,” Sarah, lowering her voice, “if Victor wants to walk with you tonight, would you talk to Allen—but don’t tell him I told you to—and see if he’ll go with me? Just for tonight? Please?”
Julie smiled sympathetically at the desperately pleading face looking into her own. “Okay,” she sighed.
But when Allen heard the story, he thought it was only an excuse of Julie’s so she could walk with Victor. Allen mumbled some excuse and walked away.
“Oh, Allen, have a heart!” Julie called after him. But he would not listen.
Rounding a bend, the group came upon an enormous flat rock. Beyond were many extensions, gradually decreasing in diameter, stretching out into the Pacific for several hundred feet. It was on these rocks that the kids stopped to rest and sit beneath the California moon. In a few minutes, most loud talking had ceased and everything had become comparatively quiet. From somewhere in the distance came the faint sound of rock ‘n’ roll music. Ah, who else but Steve would bring a transistor radio along?
Julie sat down on the rock—alone—and in only a minute Victor was right beside her. She felt uncomfortable, but she smiled and said, “Hi,” and “How are you?” and “Nice night tonight, isn’t it?” She didn’t want Victor to think she was a stuck-up, sophisticated thing.
Soon the conversation got going; however, Victor was shy. Julie soon realized it, so she got him started talking about himself, and he rattled on for quite a while. Silences do come, however; and at lapses, Julie picked up bits of remarks here and there from the others.
“Isn’t this neat?” “Okay, let’s throw Steve in!” “Don’t drop that radio! It doesn’t belong to me!” “Wish we had a boat.” “Yeah, just big enough for two.” “Hey, let’s go up to the lighthouse!” Lighthouse? Julie looked around. Sure enough, there was a tall round white building on a cliff not far away. As soon as Pastor Macintosh and Dr. Donaldson okayed it, the teenagers started up the narrow winding path that led up to the lighthouse.
The lighthouse keeper was very nice. He let the kids, three at a time, go into the little room on the very top where the great lights stood guiding the ships safely into the harbor. It was a fabulous view that greeted their eyes. High above the world, they could see the great ships, now only tiny black specks on the water, and the illuminated waves as they rushed in to the shore. There was a quaint musty smell about the old lighthouse, and it mingled with the smell of seaweed and salt. All too soon, the spell was broken; and the kids started back.
It was later and chillier on the return trip. Julie knew if she had been walking with Allen, he would have done something about the chilliness on her part. But not so with Victor. Not that Julie expected anything, for she didn’t. But with everything so far that she had observed, there was such a contrast between Victor and Allen. As far as looks went, there wasn’t much difference. Both fellows were pretty good-looking, although neither would have made a Mr. America. But it wasn’t the looks that count.
Julie compared their families. Allen grew up in an affluent home and was used to nice things all his life. He and his two little brothers and mom and dad were very close. Victor came from a close-knit family, too. But his family had only known struggles for money to feed the kids and buy clothes. But neither could change his background. And, anyway, backgrounds didn’t matter too much at the present time.
She compared personalities, Allen’s gay, bold social intellect with Victor’s sweet shyness. To Julie tonight, it was a refreshing change. And Christian experience—Allen had found his Lord but three years ago and had undergone quite a change from his high-society life to simple Christian living. Victor’s family had been church members all their lives. But Victor, Julie had heard from Janet, had been quite a rebellious boy and only recently had begun to “reform.”
When the teenagers got back to the beach directly in front of the hotel, they clamored for a watermelon. As soon as the grownups gave in to the “midnight snack,” Steve and Ken raced back to the truck for the big green berries and a butcher knife.
Julie observed Victor’s courtesy as he brought her a piece of watermelon, then put the rind in the trash can afterward. When the kids were all done and started back to the hotel, Victor walked beside Julie, starry-eyed Julie. He had shown no outward signs of affection toward her, but in his own way he had told her what she dared to acknowledge—what his heart felt toward her.
It was only in the stillness of her room, with Sandra and Sarah and Janet fast asleep, that Julie thought about the past day and evening and night. Slipping on Sandra’s muumuu and Sarah’s beach sandals, Julie went out onto the veranda and looked up at the twinkling stars and listened to the lap-lap-lap of the waves. She listened. Was that sobbing she heard coming from a second-floor room? No, it was only the wind. But she seemed to see a very hurt face buried in a tear-stained pillow. “No!” she cried half out loud. “That’s not you, Allen. You don’t care that much about me. You can’t really be in love with me….” But words faded into bitter silence.
Then she saw Victor’s laughing face. In the blurred background, she saw ten little children and a trailer and a potato field. Enduring the scenes no more, she rushed back into the room, pulled off the muumuu, kicked off the sandals, and dived into her bed. “Why am I such a fool?” she rebuked herself. And soon she fell into a troubled sleep.
When she awoke, the other girls lay awake in their beds talking. And, of all things, they were talking about dreams. Julie had just woken up from a strange one.
“What did you dream about last night?” Sarah soon directed to Julie.
“Oh,” was Julie’s sleepy reply, “about bleeding valentines and swimming in mashed potatoes.” The girls laughed and Julie laughed with them. But somehow her laugh seemed hollow and unreal.
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