Crystal Beach

"I remember it feeling so good. Warm and welcoming below. And those rock-hard nipples on those perfect breasts. So natural."

Her lips smothered mine as she swung her leg over my hips and mounted me.

"Mister, I plan on using you up this weekend."

*****

The sun came up over the lake and it looked like it was going to be another perfect day. Liam came downstairs first. He was showered and ready for another day. Smiling from ear to ear.

"Liam, we need to talk."

"But Grandpa. I..." embarrassment filled his face.

"I. I. You what? Don't interrupt. I just want to say a few things."

"Sorry, I..."

"Just be careful."

"Sure. Yeah." Liam moved closer and lowered his voice. "Stacey's on the pill. And I gotta tell yah. It feels fantastic."

"Does it?"

"Absolutely."

"What about for her. Does it feel fantastic for Stacey?"

"I think so."

"It's not really my place. I shouldn't have told you the story, nor should I be telling you this, but don't 'think'. Make sure. Treat her special. If she's anything like her grandmother, and you treat her well, you will have your own memories to last you a lifetime. One day you'll be telling your grandson about your summer visit to Crystal Beach."

"Gramps. I don't want to brag...but wow. She's so cool. I think I love her already."

"Love who?" said Jeri as she entered the room. Stacey following closely behind smiling brightly.

"You. Liam was telling me that he loved how good the snacks you made last night were."

"Well, thank-you kind sir. It was my pleasure."

Stacey and Liam stared at one another and moved about restlessly. Their youth and sexual energy were almost creating an electrical charge of static that filled the air.

"What's on the agenda for the pair of you today?" I asked to break the tension.

"Maybe take the kayaks out or the canoe. I mean if you guys don't object."

Looking at Jeri, we both nodded in approval.

*****

Stacey and Liam followed each other around like love struck puppies. Arm in arm and hand in hand. They would disappear from sight and when they reappeared, it was fairly easy to see what they had been up to.

The entire day on Friday, the four of us were together. And by the time we settled in for a bonfire, Liam and Stacey were ready to be alone. But giving credit where credit is due, they remained with us and were a part of the conversation.

It wasn't until Jeri told us that she was going inside to soak in a tub filled with bubbles, that the kids excused themselves also.

I watched the flames die down and went inside.

The hall was filled with soft giggles. Giggles I hoped would never cause me problems.

In my dark room I found Jeri waiting. There was no pretense of what the sleeping arrangements were.

"The water's still in the tub if you want to rinse off."

An invitation, if I'd ever heard one.

*****

Saturday's ceremonies could only bring sadness.

The small ceremony was held in a hall not far from where my aunt used to live. Strangely, I knew about twenty of the sixty people in attendance. Relatives from all through the states and Canada had come to pay their respects. There were also, friends of the family.

As soon as I walked into the hall, I could feel a pair of eyes on me. The person who the eyes belonged to actually smiled and waved.

Waving back, I thought to myself, "my, how times have changed. Looks like he no longer hates me.".

It had been a very long time, but I would have recognized Joe anywhere. Other than his grey hair, and a few less of those, he hadn't changed.

He was still scruffy looking, and he still sported a big moustache. But he was still lean. Just older looking.

"Stranger. It's been so long I can't believe how much you changed," Joe said as he walked up to my side.

"Hopefully for the better. Nice to see you, Joe," I said as I extended my hand to him. He took it and gave it a firm shake.

"She always bragged you up. Told anyone who would listen, about you flying those badass F-16's. 'Protecting the world' as she put it." I nodded shyly. "She missed you," Joe added.

"Yeah. I know. Unfortunately, I only had the chance to see her at a few family functions. And it was over the years. It wasn't nearly enough. Now that she's gone, I feel like I should have tried harder to get back up here. Or maybe even brought her down to us for a visit."

Joe rubbed his face and stroked his moustache. He turned his head toward Joyce's urn and nodded. Then he looked over to where his now adult children, with children of their own, stood with Stacey and Jeri. He expelled a deep breath of air.

"Family seems to always find ways of avoiding one another. Ours is the same. It's inevitable. But I actually meant Jeri. She was never the same after those summers you guys spent together."

"We were kids."

"Kids in love. We all thought you guys breaking up was the right thing to do. But it wasn't. After her first semester of school, she knew she messed up by pushing you away. And when she graduated from school, she settled. Married a guy she didn't love. A guy who didn't love her. Wasted almost twenty years of her life with the asshole. But she never complained. Not once. She hated him because of how he was, but she loved the children they shared."

"I...I didn't know..."

"How could you? Like I said, our entire family knew Jeri pushed you away. Over the years, we heard the story a hundred times. And every time we heard it, it got sadder and sadder. The only time she was happy was when she was talking about you. Bragging about you and the Air Force."

"She...I never heard from her. Not once."

"Did you think you would? In a million years, she wouldn't have. Not after she found out you got married."

We both looked over to his sister. Her head tilted and she made an odd facial expression. Clearly, she knew we were talking about her.

"When Jeri walked into the hall this morning, and she was holding your arm, it was the first time in a long time that I've seen her glowing and smiling. A very long time, indeed. Kinda reminded me of the mornings she snuck out of the tent in the old days."

*****

The ashes of my aunt floated away in the lake. Everyone went to the beach and watched as her two children walked into the still water and tossed bits of ash from her urn. Dropping them into the blue pool below. Joyce had finally become one with the lake she loved.

*****

Sandwiches and cool refreshments were handed out as those in attendance gathered to tell and hear stories of the years Joyce graced us with her presents. She was the last remaining member of her family to live in the area. My cousins had followed their father north. After the divorce, they were old enough to choose. They chose Jack.

The old family home had been sold long ago. Joyce lived with a friend. A widow from the area and together they shared a condo near the water.

The details of the funeral were done long before she passed. Down to the very last table and chair being folded up and put away. And when everyone parted to go their separate ways, it only hurt for a bit.

*****

Saturday evening was going to be just like the past two.

With the day's events behind us, we were back at the cottage. It was once again only the four of us. Liam was prepping the fire and Stacey was inside helping her grandmother.

"Thanks for coming with me this weekend. Especially today. I truly appreciate the company. And contrary to what your parents say, you're a pretty good kid."

"You're thanking me? It's been the best week of my life and the summer. Plus, you've seen Stacey, right? I'm forever indebted to you. This entire trip. The lake. The cottage. Man...it's been..."

"So, I'm guessing you like it here.

"Like it? I'm sorry to say, Gramps. But fuck my other life. The one back home is over for me. I'm staying here. When you get back, tell mom and dad that I'll miss them. But I'm never leaving Crystal Beach."

"No problem, but you'll have to come back for my funeral."

"What? Your funeral. What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your mother. Think about it you little shit. If I drove home without you, sure as hell your mother would kill me."

"She might be mad for a while. But...kill you..."

"Absolutely. Knife. Gun. Bare hands. There's no doubt in my mind. She'd kill me."

Liam looked around the yard and out at the lake. His eyes stared up and down the beach front. He didn't say anything, but when the wooden screen door slammed shut and he saw Stacey, he smiled. She was walking toward us with a sweet little sway in her hips. Like her grandmother, she was now dressed in her bikini. She and Jeri had made a batch of iced teas. Stacey had a tray of ice filled glasses and Jeri was close behind with a jug of tea. Looking back to me, Liam smiled again. His punch caught me softly in the arm.

"I'll really miss you when you're gone, Grandpa."

Chairs pulled so close together they were touching. He and Stacey were no longer shy about showing their affection. Sitting hand in hand they smiled and talked. It was like they had known one another all their lives.

Jeri and I watched them like it was our life's story being replayed.

*****

"Noisy little thing isn't she.," Jeri said from our bed. Her face buried into my neck. The moans and groans of her granddaughter were filling the night air.

"Kinda reminds me of another member of her family."

"I was never..."

"No. You weren't. You were actually a quite a bit louder. Still are."

"I object."

"To what?"

"About how noisy I was or am."

My hands slid down the curve of her back and came to rest on the warmth of her hip. The feel of her soft skin pleased me. It had been a long time since I had enjoyed the feel of a woman next to me in bed, and these past few days had made me a very happy man.

Moving my body closer to hers, I put my lips to hers ear and let them touch her earlobe as I whispered.

"I say we try a little experiment." Letting my lips roam down her neck and shoulder, I only stopped when my mouth reached her nipple. Before I circled it with my tongue, I teased her by saying, "Let's start here."

Jeri's hand grabbed at my head as soon as her nipple slipped into my mouth. She gasped and tried her best to suppress a squeal.

"Oh, you fight dirty..." she cooed as I rubbed my fingers over the lips of pussy. "No fair mister. No fair, at all."

"I'm not trying to be fair. I'm trying to prove a point that being loud while having sex is hereditary."

"Ohhhhhhhhhh," groaned loudly from somewhere deep inside of my lover when I clamped my teeth over her nipple and sank a finger into her moist womanhood. I had proven my point.

*****

Sunday morning while Jeri and Stacey were shopping and Liam was out on a paddleboard, I had a visitor. She was at the cottage for almost two hours. Making calls. Answering calls. Filling out paperwork. And doing all the other things that went along with her job. With a handshake and an agreement to meet at her office on Tuesday afternoon, she pulled out of the driveway. With almost impeccable timing, Stacey pulled her grandmother's car into a parking spot on the grass by the house.

"Was that a real estate broker?" Jeri asked as she handed me a bag filled with groceries.

"Sure was."

"What the heck was she doing here?"

"She was selling a house."

"Awwww. What a shame. This is such a great place. It would have been nice to maybe rent it again next summer," she said with her hand softly rubbing my arm between my elbow and shoulder.

"Don't worry. You can stay here next summer."

"How do you know? Did the broker say that the new owner will continue to list it on VRBO?"

"No. She didn't say that."

"Then how do you know it will be available?"

"Because I bought it."

"Oh my God. Andy. Really? As a summer house?"

"Yes and no. It's my intention to spend my summers here. I might stay here even longer. But it will depend on you."

"Me? How so?"

"I'll move here if you promise to stay here with me. Stay and never leave again."

A look of shock came over Jeri's face. She had never expected me to say what I had.

"What. No. Andy...you can't be serious."

Jeri's hands covered her face in a youthful move. I saw her at 18. Standing in Joe's backyard. Biting her thumbnail. Tears in her eyes. Happy to see me. Like that day, this Jeri was hiding her shock and surprise from no one but herself.

"Completely. It will take a few days before the paperwork is finalized, but when it is, I would like to ask you to move in with me. There's nothing else in the world I want more."

"But...I still work."

"Retire. Sell your place and invest the money. Surely you deserve some time off. Join me. We have so much to catch up on. I want to spend every single day of my life with you."

"Andy. I'm an old woman. And I'm not sure I'm ready to remarry."

"If you're an old woman, that makes me an old man. We don't have to marry right away. In fact, we don't ever have to get married. Let's live with each other. Every single night will be like our first night we spent together in the thunderstorm."

"You...you remember."

"Remember? How could I possibly ever forget."

"But..."

"No buts. We can travel anywhere. Let's see the world. At least we'll be together. Relaxing and enjoying our lives. We have a right to be happy. We deserve it. Let's see where the road takes us."

"This is insane."

"Now that we've reconnected, I need you in my life. If I had any say in the matter, I'd never let you leave me again."

"But...we've..."

"We've what? You were my very first girlfriend. My very first lover. I want nothing more than for you to be my last."

"Andy. Things aren't what they seem. I've changed. We've changed."

"Don't leave me now. Don't leave and not say good-bye again. A third time would kill me.

Jeri moved her body to mine and wrapped my shirt in her hands.

"You are aware that the park and the drive-in are long gone?"

"Fully. But, as a sexy girl once told me, 'It's called an adventure'.

*****

My girlfriend. My lover. My soulmate.

The same sexy and beautiful creature sat outside on the front porch of our cottage. It was late spring. And even though the ice had completely melted off of Lake Erie, there was still a cool breeze blowing across the bay. It was warm enough for us to sit outdoors. But a sweater and our gas fireplace helped keep off the chilly air.

It was my turn the refill the empty coffee mugs. It had become a ritual. Sit outside and have coffees. Live, love and enjoy our newfound lives together.

There was no way to hear my incoming text from where I stood in the kitchen. I wouldn't have even known I had a message unless Jeri called out to me.

"Can you check it for me?" I called back.

A few seconds later, she told me it was from Liam.

"His text says, 'Hey gramps. I have a reading week coming up and I was wondering if I could spend the week studying at your place?'"

"Send back, "What a coincidence. Stacey just texted us the very same message." See what the little shit has to say about that."

When the phone pinged, Jeri read me the message without hesitation. "You don't say."

"I do say," I yelled out with a laugh. After waiting a few minutes, Jeri sent him another. "Let us know when you fly into Buffalo. We'll pick you up."

"Love you guys!" was his last text that day.

Walking out to the porch, I handed Jeri her plate of sliced fruits and took the seat beside her. She showed me the screen of my phone and we both smiled.

"Should we prepare two rooms?" She asked.

It seemed that for as long as I could remember, her infectious smile always brightened my day.

"Why bother. It's a safe bet to guess they'll be sharing the same bed anyway."