Rachel Hanna - The Beach House

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S he stood at the breakfast bar and looked out over her large home, now emptier than it had ever been. A part of her life was now behind her; the one where little children were underfoot, softball games were every weekend and first dates had come and gone. Now, she and her husband were empty nesters.

Miss Julie, is there anything else I can do for you today? her housekeeper, Agnes, asked. Agnes had been cleaning her house since her daughters were knee high to a grasshopper, as her grandmother would say.

No, but thank you, Aggie. Head on home and put your feet up!

Agnes smiled gratefully as Julie handed her an envelope with her final paycheck, plus a dash extra.

I wish I could take you to the new beach house with us, but the place just isnt big enough to need a housekeeper. I guess Ill have to learn to do it myself, Julie said with a sad laugh. It truly was the end of an era in so many ways.

I know this place will make another family a great home, Agnes said, looking around. Julie hoped the older woman would finally retire, although she said cleaning was her hobby and she might as well get paid for it.

Julie looked around also. Memories were housed in every nook and cranny, from the corner where they always put the Christmas tree to the gouge in the molding where their old Great Dane had slid across the hardwood floors chasing after a ball and crashed into the wall.

Memories were good and bad. Her eyes started to mist, which was not something she enjoyed, so she quickly changed the subject.

Thank you for getting this place so clean. Our real estate agent already has three families interested, so I dont think well even have to put a sign in the yard! One of them has already made an offer, in fact.

Agnes smiled. Ill miss you. Please tell the girls I love them and to send me a postcard, okay?

Julie pulled her into an embrace. You know they love you like a grandmother, Aggie. Theyll keep in touch. I promise.

Julie was so proud of her daughters. Now both adults, they were taking the world by storm. Her nineteen-year old daughter, Meg, was studying abroad in France for another year, and Colleen, her twenty-year old, was at college across the country in California. She had a prestigious internship at a law firm out there, so she rarely came home for a visit.

That just left Julie and her husband of twenty-one years, Michael. For as long as she could remember, shed had one dream that never died - to buy a little beach cottage along the South Carolina coast and enjoy their empty nest years while they were still young.

At only forty-three years old, Julie didnt consider herself retired. Quite the contrary, in fact. She ran a popular online boutique, and she would continue to do so from her new beach house. In fact, she and Michael had put a contract on a place months ago, and the wonderful sellers had agreed to wait for them to get their house sold and tie up loose ends. The closing was coming up in a couple of weeks, and Michael had just enough time to go on one last business trip before officially retiring from his sales job.

Once they moved, hed be starting his own business too, and her dreams of them being beach bums in their forties would finally come true. Julie could hardly wait.

The beach was her happy place. The constant ebbing and flowing of the water gave her a peace she couldnt explain in words, and the house they were buying sat right at the waters edge. She often imagined what it would be like to sip her morning coffee while watching the dolphins swim by, and soon that would be her reality. She could hardly contain her excitement.

Michael wasnt as big a fan of the beach, but hed always let her dream and gone along with what she wanted. She was the one always reaching for the stars, but Michael had always been more of the worker bee type, never really dreaming much past the present moment. Still, hed succeeded in his job so well that theyd lived a pretty luxurious life, and Julie was thankful for that. Although her boutique brought in money, it was nowhere near enough to support them without Michaels income.

When the girls had both left home, thered been a year of what almost felt like shock for the both of them. The house was quiet. Gone were the days of dozens of kids packing their house on the weekends, with loud sleepovers and dance parties til three AM.

Theyd complained about it at the time, but when it was gone, the silence had been deafening. It took a few months before Michael, especially, had seemed back to normal. They developed new routines, like having breakfast on their patio together before he left for work. And, all the while, Agnes had continued making their house pretty and clean even though there wasnt really anyone there to mess it up anymore.

As Julie stood in the big front window overlooking her driveway, she watched Agnes pull away in her small compact car and through the gates of her wealthy neighborhood. Yes, theyd been so blessed financially over the years, but now they were blessed in a different kind of way. With love. With a strong marriage that had stood the test of time. With a new start in a whole new place, away from the hustle and bustle of suburban Atlanta.

Julie smiled at the thought of it. Her dreams were all about to come true.

It was almost seven oclock, and Michael still wasnt home. His plane had landed at four, and shed even looked online to make sure it landed safely. Shed called his co-worker who was on the trip too, but Marc had made it home over an hour ago, even with the crazy Atlanta traffic.

Where was Michael?

Shed tried texting him, but no response. Calls went straight to voicemail. She was getting more worried by the minute. Should she call the police? Was she overreacting?

Just as she was about to dial 911, she heard the garage door open. Out of the window, she saw the tail end of his black BMW pulling into the side garage. A mixture of relief and outright anger flowed through her veins. Why was he late, and why hadnt he answered her numerous texts and calls?

Thank God youre okay! she said when he finally walked through the door. He wasnt wearing his normal business suit; instead, he was in khaki shorts, a pale pink polo shirt and boat shoes. He never wore that sort of thing on a business trip, even on the plane ride back.

Why wouldnt I be okay? he said, a certain level of irritation in his voice. He didnt look at her as he walked in and rolled his one piece of luggage into the corner.

Your plane landed hours ago, and Ive been texting you. And calling. Why didnt you answer?

Youre overreacting, Julie. I was driving. You know I dont mess with my phone while Im driving. Remember Kit?

He often referred to his old friend, Kit, who was killed in a car accident years ago by a distracted teenage driver. Still, it normally didnt take him over three hours to get home.