Friday Night. It was a nice night. Clear skies. The sun just setting, the moon just rising out and little stars so far away started twinkling in their own innocent right.
We were driving home along the 101 freeway. No traffic. Few cars. Just him and me with the wind whipping in our hair because of the open windows as we sped along the freeway. We just came from an event in LA. We were so tired that we even declined an invite to go to a concert with VIP passes over at Anaheim. We thought it was too far and we will be home late if we go so we just said, we’re tired and we’ll just go next time.
So we were driving. And as we were nearing the exit towards my house, I told him, “Hun, we’re a mile and a quarter away from Tampa. Go right." He nodded once and I thought he heard me. But then, when it was just a quarter mile away, he still didn’t go right and actually passed our supposed exit. I turned to look at him incredulously when he looked right back and just smiled sheepishly. I asked where we were going but he just shrugged and said that he had a shortcut to my house so I didn’t need to worry. I shrugged then and turned up the volume of the CD we were listening to. I rested my head back, closed my eyes and suddenly, I was dozing off.
I didn’t know how long it was till I felt him shaking me slightly awake. I heard him say, "Hunny, wake up. We’re here." I surely thought that "here” was my house but when I opened my eyes, I saw and heard differently. I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped me when I realized where we were.
We were parked by the beach. The sun was already setting but it was still light as the moon was rising up. He took me to Malibu Beach, just one of the beaches I love in California. I grinned up at him and he smiled back lovingly. He was simply full of surprises. He knew I love the beach so much. Whichever beach actually, but he knew that I love Malibu the best.
I heard the waves crashing along the shore, the birds twittering above us and the laughter of some other people that were still soaking up the last rays of the sun and enjoying the little waves the beach provided. He looked at me then extended his hand for me to take. I held his hand and he smiled once more. “Let’s go,” he said.
Once alongside the beach, I kicked off my flip flops and ran barefooted across the sand towards the small waves, the cold water tickling my feet when it slowly approached. I walked and skipped along the water, letting the waves roll over my feet. He was laughing at my childishness, I knew. I just had to grin at him for doing this for me.
Slowly, he approached me as I was looking out at the horizon and embraced me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulders, my hands automatically going around his arms that were on my waist. We both breathed deeply and inhaled the sea air, smiling serenely at the romantic scenery we were experiencing.
After a while of comfortable silence, he released me from his embrace and gently took my hand. We walked alongside the beach occasionally looking at each other and giving each other loving smiles. We didn’t need words to communicate what we were feeling. Everything was said through those smiles that we exchanged.
When we both grew tired of walking along the beach and had our fill of the sea breeze and the waves crashing on our feet, we decided to finally, this time, really go home. I squeezed his hand on our way back to the car. He looked at me and arched his eyebrow, questioning me. I just whispered, “Thank you" and all was said in those two little words that I uttered. He squeezed my hand back, pulled me gently towards him and kissed me on my forehead.
And then we drove off into the clear night sky. Never forgetting what that night entailed.
Ruth Medina-Ilasco 