Read Online Before the Storm by Diane Chamberlain - Free Book Online
Authors: Diane Chamberlain
Tags: Fiction, Literary, General, Family & Relationships, Psychological fiction, Family Life, People with mental disabilities, Patients, Mothers and Sons, Arson, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Ads: Link
the
whole point of having a lot of money is to give you the freedom
to live like you don’t need it.”
I admired that. My aunt and uncle were exactly the
opposite.
All the Lockwood houses had names burned into signs
hanging above their front doors. The Loggerhead and Osprey
Oasis and Hurricane Haven. We came to the last row of houses
on the Island and I began to perspire inside the leather jacket.
66
diane chamberlain
I knew one of them belonged to his family and that I’d meet
them in a few minutes. Jamie drove slowly past the cottages.
“Daddy actually owns these last five houses,” he said, turning
his head so I could hear him.
“Terrier?” I read the name above one of the doors.
“Right, that’s where we’re headed, but I’m taking us on a
little detour first. The next house is Talos. Terrier and Talos
were the names of the first supersonic missiles tested here.”
Those two houses were mirror images of each other: tall,
narrow two-story cottages sitting high on stilts to protect
them from the sea.
“I love that one!” I pointed to the last house in the row, next
to Talos. The one-story cottage was round. Like all the other
houses, it was built on stilts. The sign above its front door read
The Sea Tender.
“An incredible panoramic view from that one.” Jamie turned
onto a narrow road away from the houses.“I want to show you
my favorite spot,” he said over his shoulder. We followed the
road a short distance until it turned to sand; then we got off
the bike and began walking. I tugged my jacket tighter. The
October air wasn’t cold, but the wind had a definite nip to it
and Jamie put his arm around me.
We walked a short distance onto a spit of white sand nearly
surrounded by water. The ocean was on our right, the New
River Inlet ahead of us and somewhere to our left, although
we couldn’t see it from our vantage point, was the Intracoastal
Waterway. The falling sun had turned the sky pink. I felt as
though we were standing on the edge of an isolated continent.
“My favorite place,” Jamie said.
“I can see why.”
before the storm
67
“It’s always changing.” He pointed toward the ocean. “The
sea eats the sand there, then spits it back over there,” he moved
his arm to the left of us, “and what’s my favorite place today
may be completely different next week.”
“Does that bother you?” I asked.
“Not at all. Whatever nature does here, it stays beautiful.”
Neither of us spoke for a moment. Then Jamie broke the
silence. “Can I tell you something?” For the first time since we
met, he sounded unsure of himself. A little shy.
His arm was still around me and I raised mine until it circled
his waist. “Of course,” I said.
“I’ve never told anyone this and you might think I’m crazy.”
“Tell me.”
“What I’d really like to do one day is create my own church,”
he said.“A place where people can believe whatever they want
but still belong to a community, you know?”
I wasn’t sure I understood exactly what he meant, but one
thing I’d learned about Jamie was that there was a light inside
him most people didn’t have. Sometimes I saw it flash in his
eyes when he spoke.
“Can you picture it?” he asked. “A little chapel right here,
full of windows so you can see the water all around you.
People could come and worship however they chose.” He
looked toward the ocean and let out a sigh. “Pie in the sky,
right?”
I did think he was a little crazy, but I opened my mind to
the idea and imagined a little white church with a tall steeple
standing right where we stood. “Would you be allowed to
build something here?” I asked.
“Daddy owns the land. He owns every grain of sand north
68
diane chamberlain
of those houses. Would nature let me build it? That’s the thing.
Nature’s got her own mind when it comes to this spot. She’s
got her own mind when it comes to the whole island.”
The
whole point of having a lot of money is to give you the freedom
to live like you don’t need it.”
I admired that. My aunt and uncle were exactly the
opposite.
All the Lockwood houses had names burned into signs
hanging above their front doors. The Loggerhead and Osprey
Oasis and Hurricane Haven. We came to the last row of houses
on the Island and I began to perspire inside the leather jacket.
66
diane chamberlain
I knew one of them belonged to his family and that I’d meet
them in a few minutes. Jamie drove slowly past the cottages.
“Daddy actually owns these last five houses,” he said, turning
his head so I could hear him.
“Terrier?” I read the name above one of the doors.
“Right, that’s where we’re headed, but I’m taking us on a
little detour first. The next house is Talos. Terrier and Talos
were the names of the first supersonic missiles tested here.”
Those two houses were mirror images of each other: tall,
narrow two-story cottages sitting high on stilts to protect
them from the sea.
“I love that one!” I pointed to the last house in the row, next
to Talos. The one-story cottage was round. Like all the other
houses, it was built on stilts. The sign above its front door read
The Sea Tender.
“An incredible panoramic view from that one.” Jamie turned
onto a narrow road away from the houses.“I want to show you
my favorite spot,” he said over his shoulder. We followed the
road a short distance until it turned to sand; then we got off
the bike and began walking. I tugged my jacket tighter. The
October air wasn’t cold, but the wind had a definite nip to it
and Jamie put his arm around me.
We walked a short distance onto a spit of white sand nearly
surrounded by water. The ocean was on our right, the New
River Inlet ahead of us and somewhere to our left, although
we couldn’t see it from our vantage point, was the Intracoastal
Waterway. The falling sun had turned the sky pink. I felt as
though we were standing on the edge of an isolated continent.
“My favorite place,” Jamie said.
“I can see why.”
before the storm
67
“It’s always changing.” He pointed toward the ocean. “The
sea eats the sand there, then spits it back over there,” he moved
his arm to the left of us, “and what’s my favorite place today
may be completely different next week.”
“Does that bother you?” I asked.
“Not at all. Whatever nature does here, it stays beautiful.”
Neither of us spoke for a moment. Then Jamie broke the
silence. “Can I tell you something?” For the first time since we
met, he sounded unsure of himself. A little shy.
His arm was still around me and I raised mine until it circled
his waist. “Of course,” I said.
“I’ve never told anyone this and you might think I’m crazy.”
“Tell me.”
“What I’d really like to do one day is create my own church,”
he said.“A place where people can believe whatever they want
but still belong to a community, you know?”
I wasn’t sure I understood exactly what he meant, but one
thing I’d learned about Jamie was that there was a light inside
him most people didn’t have. Sometimes I saw it flash in his
eyes when he spoke.
“Can you picture it?” he asked. “A little chapel right here,
full of windows so you can see the water all around you.
People could come and worship however they chose.” He
looked toward the ocean and let out a sigh. “Pie in the sky,
right?”
I did think he was a little crazy, but I opened my mind to
the idea and imagined a little white church with a tall steeple
standing right where we stood. “Would you be allowed to
build something here?” I asked.
“Daddy owns the land. He owns every grain of sand north
68
diane chamberlain
of those houses. Would nature let me build it? That’s the thing.
Nature’s got her own mind when it comes to this spot. She’s
got her own mind when it comes to the whole island.”
The
Similar Books
