That's one of my favorite things about this house: it’s proximity to the ocean. Out in the distance, I see a girl of about eleven walking up the path through the dunes to her house. She’s so far away that I can barely make out her face.
I stretch my hands out and take the world in. The sun is still high in the sky. The day is sticky hot with the kind of humidity that opens up your pores and makes you want to strip off your clothes.
Marguerite and Lincoln won’t be here until tomorrow. I have the place to myself.
I head inside, take my suitcase to the guest room upstairs, and grab my favorite swim trunks. It’s blue with little anchors and a draw string in the front. It’s the only one I travel with, so that I can take advantage of swimming in hotel pools.
I have always loved to swim. There's something relaxing about being in the water, natural or otherwise. In the Hamptons, I have the option of both, and I head straight into the ocean.
I don't bother with a towel and leave my phone and keys inside. It feels unusually freeing to be this unattached, unreachable.
A seagull flies overhead, making a loud crowing sound. Somewhere in the distance I see a fin, possibly a dolphin.
I remember that small sharks have also been spotted in the area. I'm not afraid. I know they won't bother me. They don't see people as prey, despite what Jaws and many other movies would have you believe. The biggest danger with swimming in the ocean will always be drowning.
The waves are small today with just a little bit of white spray at the tops. The water is warm after being heated up by the sun all morning. The top layer is about the same temperature as lukewarm bathwater, but the lower layer by the sand feels like a cold spring.
I take a few steps in, and then dive.
I come up for air, and then dive in again and again. I open my eyes, and they burn as I peer through the blurry depths to look at the sparkle of tiny fish.
I swim a long way out.
There are no lifeguards here, but I’ve always been a strong swimmer. This isn't really a public beach. I swim all the way where I thought I saw the shark fin, come up for air, and look around.
Doing freestyle back to shore, I put one arm over the other and kick as hard as I can. Swimming out here is nothing like swimming in a pool.
It's not a controlled environment. There are waves that move you from side to side. I regret going out all this way without goggles.
When I get back to the shore, I lie down in the sand and let the water caress my feet.
I close my eyes and my mind begins to wander. I want to enjoy the moment, but I have been one that is very good at meditation.
All of the normal worries creep in. Next week one of the companies that we have invested in with my initiative is going to be sold. If that happens, and the sale actually goes through, all the paperwork is signed and approved, then I stand to make about half a million dollars.
That would be enough money to pay off the loan to the trust fund, and that would be enough money to pay off my other debts as well. As I consider that a possibility, I find myself waiting.
We've all done what we could, and now we just have to wait until the decision is made.
For me, the stakes are much higher than they are for everyone else. This isn't just half a million dollars. The money would actually get me out of this jam.
When the sun starts to feel way too hot, I sit up and head back into the water to cool off.
I do a few more laps, going nowhere in particular, and my muscles get weary and tired.
I see someone in the distance headed toward me.
I squint, but the sun is too blinding, and I don't have my sunglasses.
I wave in the general direction, and when the person doesn’t respond, I turn toward the path leading to the house.
"Dante, wait!” she yells.
13
Jacqueline
I arrive in the Hamptons against my will.
Allison is making a strong argument for it, but I’m not excited.
I'm still not set on going to this party at The Redemption. Though a quick beach holiday sounds like something that I really need in my life right now. I haven't been to the ocean in a while. And Allison did rent us a very nice one bedroom Airbnb cottage. It's a guest house on an estate two blocks away from the beach.
And it's already ridiculously expensive and barely affordable, but I decide to go for it. Even if I do say no to the party, it'll be nice to at least hang out and have a change of scenery, maybe have a little bonfire on the beach, go swimming, and just get some sun.
We take the train over and then get an Uber to take us the rest of the way. There's a lot of traffic everywhere, which is pretty expected for a Friday in the Hamptons in the summertime. This seems to be the place where all of New York goes to escape the heat from the asphalt and to let loose.
There are different pockets in different neighborhoods, all separated by interests, vices, and affordability.
There are the huge mansions right on the water that host their white parties with Lamborghinis and Maseratis outside. And then there are the flop houses that college kids pile into, twenty or thirty at a time, and party for six weeks straight.
When we finally pull up to the gate, Allison enters the code and the iron rod gates open before us.
"Are you sure we can just come in here?" I say, staring at the big spacious Tudor-style home.
"Yeah, that's what the directions say. Apparently, the owners aren't home today."
We park up front and carry our bags and supplies to the guest house right next to the pool. It's a small space and Allison and I agree to share the room so that neither of us has to sleep on the couch.
I'm drenched in sweat and completely exhausted by the time I plop down on the bed. Luckily the air conditioning has been on, so the place is cool. I put our food away into the small mini-fridge, eyeing the hot plate, while Allison sits down on the couch and starts to figure out the places to go for dinner and the location of tomorrow’s party.
"I'm going to go to the beach," I announce.
“Now?" she asks, without lifting her eyes.
I nod. "Yeah, but I need to get in the water. It's going to feel nice after all that travel and traffic."
"Well, I'm going to stay here and cool off, it's way too hot."
“Hence, the ocean," I point out, but don't push it.
Actually, I kind of want some alone time. This whole week she hasn't been working late and we've had a little bit too much roommate time.
Despite how much I like Allison, I do need some space to think, to just be by myself, and she is always very chatty. Whenever a thought pops into her head, she has to share it. It gets a little tiresome after a while.
I walk down a couple streets, tree lined, absolutely beautiful. It's summer days like this that I live for. Even if you do have something to worry about, you can forget all of that in this kind of summer afternoon.
I walk for a while and then realize that it’s the wrong way. I look at the map on my phone and find the nearest walkway toward the beach. There are only a few places from where you can access the shore from here and I follow a little path in the swaying grasses, finally stepping onto the bright white beach, surprisingly unpopulated and uncrowded given the time of year.
Water sloshes against my feet, warm and welcoming. It's deep blue in color with just a little bit of white caps coming in. A breeze comes off the ocean, but it's pleasant and it relaxes me like few things can.