CLIO
Lila had not been exaggerating when she described the paradise that was her father’s beach house in Malibu.
While I understood that where we lived in Northern California was beautiful in its own right, we spent most of our time there in classrooms and at work. Here, the white, sandy beaches stretched for miles, the vast, blue water sparkled before us, and best of all, we didn’t know a soul there. It was heaven.
On the drive down to Malibu, I’d spilled my guts about the whole incident that led to me agreeing to come with Lila.
She shook her head in disgust after my story was over. “I know you cared about him, but Michael really is a rat bastard. Honestly, I think you should start looking at this as a bullet dodged instead of a heartbreak.”
“I know.” I sighed. “I just want to start over and get away from the old Clio.”
“Hey, I happen to love the ‘old Clio’ as you call her. But I’ll support you in whatever way you wish to reinvent yourself. You want to start wearing dark eyeliner and black nail polish and rail against the establishment?
I’ll cheer you on. You decide to go full boho and start your own organic candle making business? I’m your girl. You want to-”
I laughed at her rambles. “I think I get it, and that’s why I love you.” I looked out towards the ocean that was zipping past us as we grew closer to Malibu. Lila was driving with the top down, and the wind was blowing in our hair.
I felt a renewed sense of excitement as we drove along the curvy road. “I don’t think I’m looking to change quite like that. I just want to be more assertive and to get out of my own head.”
Lila clucked her tongue, though it was barely audible over the wind “I know that’s a hard one for you, girl, but maybe you’ll have an easier time of it out here. Just sun and sand. How can you not want to just be in the moment?”
“Exactly! Just be in the moment, that’s my new mantra,” I agreed excitedly.
“Yes, okay, so let’s review Ms. Clio Parker,” Lila said in a mock serious voice. “This is your mission if you shall choose to accept it.” I giggled as she dropped her voice, “Number one: be more assertive. You are now officially Take No Shit Clio.”
I grinned at her, thanking whatever force that had led us to meeting one another “Alright, alright, what else, boss?” I asked her playfully.
“Number two: live in the moment. No more dwelling in the past with crusty ex-boyfriends and their ho bag girlfriends,” she decreed.
I snorted. I didn’t think that would be a problem while I was lounging on the beach all summer. “Check and check. Anything else, oh, wise one?”
Her playful expression turned a little more serious, making sure to look me in my eyes for a few seconds. “Last, but certainly not least: I want you to do something that scares you. My grandma always likes to tell me that if I’m going to get all I want out of life, then I need to be willing to do things that scare me. I think that’s good advice for you, too, Clio.”
I watched the ocean as it raced by. “Yeah,” I said quietly, “I think I would like your grandmother.
“You would love her…” She started and told me story after wild story about Grandma Miles until we finally made it to the beach house. With her dad not coming down for a few more days, we had the run of the place.
I’d worried at first about whether her dad was really okay with me being there, but Lila assured me that he was fine with it. “I told him you were going through a bad breakup, a little something he knows about unfortunately, and he said just what I thought he would say-that some sun and sand would be the perfect medicine for a dickhead ex-boyfriend.”
I raised a skeptical eyebrow at that. She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Okay, well, he said all of that except for the dickhead ex-boyfriend part. But if he knew all the details, then he would totally say that.”
I wasn’t so sure how I felt about this man I didn’t know, knowing these details about me. But Lila assured me that if anyone would understand my heartbreak, it was her dad.
We spent the next couple of days hanging out and loved exploring the house and surrounding area. There were several other houses nearby, but they were all generously spaced apart, so it felt like we had quite a bit of privacy.
The back porch led directly into the sand, and Lila showed me a private spot on the beach, teasing that it was perfect for skinny dipping if I wanted to let my freak flag fly. We spent our days exploring and watching movies.
The kitchen looked like a cooking show set, and there was a white baby grand piano in the living room, a gift from one of Lila’s dad’s clients. I itched to play but waited until I was alone. Lila liked pop songs, but I believed the piano should dictate what it played. Lila and Sydney were the only ones who didn’t laugh at me for that.
The piano seemed to long for mournful notes, and I couldn’t wait to play.
I sat alone on the beach, water lapping at my feet. Lila stuck to her routine, going for runs every morning. I tried to keep up, but my muscles burned. I preferred the beach, working up the courage to swim. I’d always avoided it due to body insecurities, but here, with Lila and privacy, I didn’t mind my bikini.
Today, I decided to face my fear.
The water was calm as I waded in, feeling the warmth around my ankles and wet sand between my toes. As I moved deeper, a wave rose and knocked me back. Another came, pulling me under. I flailed, unable to find anything to grab onto as my lungs burned.
Please, please, don’t let me go out this way.
I started to feel woozy, but just as suddenly as I was swept under, I felt a strong band wrap around my waist and what felt like a solid wall at my back that pulled me free from the current.
My head popped from the surface of the water, and I gasped, sucking in mouthfuls of air. Vaguely, I was aware of being pulled to the shore, the water slipping away from me and being replaced by the warm sun on my body.
I was laid out on the sand, and I struggled to make out the form standing above me with the sun in my eyes. I coughed and squinted against the harsh sun. The form squatted down beside me and helped me to a sitting position where I coughed up some water.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” a voice murmured in my ear. “Breathe.”