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It was summer vacation. It was finally vacation time and he was planning on spending it with Jan, His Jan, The Best Girl in The World.
"Mom. Can we bring Jan with us to the beach this year?." He nervously approached his mother, she was washing plates in the kitchen.
"Jan, to the beach, with us?." He could tell she was worried, Ray didn't know what exactly she thought they could do in two afternoons on the beach, with her present at all times.
"Yes, Please Mom. We won't do anything, I just really want to spend time with her. Please." He held up both hands as a prayer to her, this wasn't his first time asking, but he wasn't going to give up anytime soon.
"Hmmm." She rubbed the plates harder, Ray thought this was her way of focusing.
"Are you sure you are going to behave yourself Raymond?." Ray didn't like being called by his full name, but he had to swallow it here.
"Yes, Mom I will."
"Then..." She nodded her head up and down. "Okay. We can bring Jan with us."
"Really!?." He light up immediately. "Thank you! Mom!."
She smiled softly at him but then got serious again. "Of course, Jan's parents have to agree first."
"Yes, Mom." He nodded solemnly to her.
"Jan!." He ran to her house, Jan lived only a few blocks from his house.
She was sitting on the stairs of her house, eating a popsicle, it was so hot right now, somehow, Ray ran through that.
"Ray!." She caught sight of him and immediately stood up.
"Jan!." He ran up the stairs.
"Ray!." She maneuvered the popsicle into her mouth, to free her hands, and hugged him.
"Ray! What is it!?." She excitedly looked up at him, her words muffled through the popsicle, she had a small chocolate stain on her lips, Ray didn't know how he held back from kissing it out of her.
"You can come to the beach with us." Ray was breathless now, he had told her about this earlier, and now he could finally go through with it.
"For real!?."
"For real Jan."
"Yay!." She hugged him tighter. "When?."
"Friday to Sunday."
"But won't your mom be uncomfortable with me going? I don't want to seem disrespectful." To Ray, she always seemed to care so much about everything
"I already asked, and she said yes, I'm sure it be fine."
She laughed. "Great! no wait." Her smile fell in a second.
"What Jan?." He could see his own expression mirrored on hers now.
"I have to convince my parents first." She took the popsicle out of her mouth, she looked at it for a second, biting the inside of her lips.
"But don't worry." She lowered her voice, looking at him in the eyes, a reassuring smile in her face. "I will." She raised her fist to the sky, as if she was informing God of her plans.
"Ray!." He heard Jan's voice through the door, he ran outside, he heard his Mom hide a giggle on the back.
"Jan!." He ran down to her.
"I convinced them!." She stood with both hands on her hips, she looked so proud of herself.
"Okay kids. Less talking, more helping." Ray's Mom said, struggling to get a baggage out of the truck, his mom had the habit of packing like they were moving out of the country.
"Going!." He was standing next to Jan talking about whatever, they hadn't stopped talking on their way here, they laughed about whatever, as long as the other was the one saying it.
He grabbed the case from his Mom's arms, and got it down in one go.
"Oh, My little gentleman." His mom ruffled his hair.
"Mom..." He flushed, as he gave a sideways look at Jan, hoping his mother could catch the hint.
Jan walked up behind him with a grin, she put her hands on his back. "Little gentleman." She whispered.
"J~a~n!."
She giggled harder. "I think I should go get changed." Jan took her hands off his back, as she reached for her own bag.
"You too Ray." His Mom said.
"Won't you need more help?."
"Don't worry. This was the heaviest one, I take this up to the room and you two go have fun at the beach. Here's your bag." She gave him his bag.
She watched the kids go off, she wondered if she would be seen as an irresponsible person, as a bad mother, for allowing her teenage son to be doing something like this with his girlfriend.
But she was relieved, seeing his son with a girl like this relieved her, and nobody else could know why.
Jan and he had gone to one of the public bathrooms on the beach to get changed.
"I'm ready" Jan announced coming out of the bathroom, Ray had been out for a while now, waiting for her.
"You look..." He didn't find the proper words for it, beautiful, gorgeous, majestic, or some other fancy word from the books they liked to read, or simply Jan.
"Close your mouth." She was teasing him but she looked so small all of a sudden "I'm not even that pretty." She looked down.
"You are." Ray insisted, the same way a man would clarify the sky was blue.
"You are just saying that." She said running her fingers through that long ponytail of hers.
"Am not!." Her eyes widened, she was so red, she looked like she belonged in the beach scenery, she was made of sun salt and whatever made the sunset look red.
"No-No Time to be like this!" She reached down for his hand. "We gotta have fun and swim at the beach!."
"I race you!" He grabbed her hand tighter and they ran to the water.
Jan was breathless, as she splashed one last wave at him.
"Do you wanna take a break?." He asked her, the sun was starting to set.
"I... Can... Keep going." She flaked a little.
"No, you can't."
"No, I can't."
"C'mon let's go back." He offered Jan his hand, and they walked out of the water, she seemed to be having a really hard time adapting to walking on regular level again.
"Where are we going Ray?." She suddenly sounded far sleepier.
"Wait and see." He lead her down the beach, their shadows were getting longer.
"Uh?" Jan said as they came to a stop, a bunch of hammocks in front of them.
"Let's rest here."
"Can we do that?."
"Yeah have to pay first though." The owner was already coming down, Ray paid the excessive price without making much of a fuss.
Jan lied down, he lied by her side.
He was falling asleep, he could hear her heartbeat, the hammock moved back and forth, little grains of salt and sand raised around them.
She laid on his chest, he heard her breathing in and out, she was so warm and alive, life was good with her by his side.
Garraty thought life was good.
And that only made the living despair around him all the more inexplicable.