HAPPY PLACE

~
Cousins, Massachusetts

It was times like these that made Charlie love living on the beach—coming in from an early morning surf after casually riding the waves underneath a pretty pink/orange glow of a slow-rising sun, the breeze rolling in and cooling him off as he dragged the tailfin of his board through the sand as he trekked back up to the house. It never got old. It was even more exciting when it was the beginning of summer and the Conklin and Fisher families were making their way up to start their vacation. During the school year, Conrad and Charlie would text back and forth nonstop, perfecting their beach town itinerary (even if they never fully stuck to the plan because they somehow always ended up going off book) before he would come up.

Unfortunately, this year, things seemed a little off, to say the least. Any time Charlie would text so they could go over the plan for this summer, he'd be met with a single-word reply, or worse—the like reaction. He's learned only to pry when he needed to, but the situation didn't feel dire enough for him to want to push Conrad into opening up, so he didn't. Instead, he slowly counted down the days until he'd eventually show.

"I hope you dried off before you came in," said Charlie's mother, Marie, "I don't want you tracking water all over the floor or else—"

"Yeah, yeah. The wood's gonna warp and make the house look ugly. I know, ma," Charlie droned on, setting his board aside before entering the kitchen and grabbing a Granny Smith apple from the fridge. 

"Do you know when the Fishers are coming up from Boston? I know how you and Conrad like to get a head start on your guys' bucket list even though I don't know how you manage to find things to do every summer."

Charlie checked his watch, his eyes widening as he saw the time. "Shit, they're actually coming in now. I gotta go."

"Shower!" Marie called after him as Charlie dashed up the stairs to change.

"That's a given!" Charlie called back before shutting the door to the bathroom and letting the water run. Marie couldn't help but shake her head in amusement as she went back to preparing her lunch for later.

     It was obvious to everyone how Charlie and Conrad were practically bound to be attached at the hip the morning they first met. Hell, even Susannah considered it destiny that the two were meant to be the best of friends, the same way she was certain that Belly was destined to end up with either Fisher brother, like she was a fairy godmother of sorts making wishes come true. It was almost as if anything could happen when Charlie ended up within distance of the house with the buttercream exterior.

As Charlie rounded the corner to get up the driveway, the Conklins were stepping out of their car and everyone was meeting everyone else as Susannah descended the front steps of the house. Jeremiah wasn't too far behind as scooped Belly into a hug. Out of Charlie's peripheral, he could see Conrad walking out from the back gate, looking as sullen as ever in a gray zip-up hoodie and cargo shorts, his head low. Charlie put his car in park, cranked back his emergency brake, and got out, his door slamming shut grabbing everyone's attention.

"Well, look what the cat dragged in!" Jeremiah was the first to say something as Charlie walked up the driveway, pulling Jeremiah into a one-armed hug. "Good to see you, bro!"

"Right back atcha, dude," Charlie replied, pulling away to say hi to Laurel and Steven before stopping at Belly, who seemed to have grown another inch the last time they were here. "Tinker Bell, you've gotta stop growing or you're gonna end up taller than me."

"I don't think that's possible, dude. You're, like, six-foot," Belly retorted, yelping at Charlie giving her a surprise noogie.

"Six-foot-one, last time I checked," Conrad finally piped up, meeting up with the rest of them and stopping in front of Charlie. "At least, that's what the doorframe says." He propped up a sheepish smile, hoping that he was passing for at least content.

"Yeah, doctor says I might grow another inch or two before I turn eighteen," Charlie responded, mirroring Conrad's impish grin, "but then again, I've always been taller than you so I'm not too worried."

"Right, right. But that's not what the doorframe says."

Charlie nodded, pausing before hauling Conrad over his shoulders and heading for the pool.

"Jesus Christ! Put me down! Mom!" Conrad griped as he was swept off his feet, beating against Charlie's back. Susannah shrugged, smiling. "Sorry, honey!"

Charlie kicked the back gate open and stood at the edge of the pool. "This is your last chance to admit defeat, care bear." Care bear. It was an unusual nickname without context, but it stuck after Conrad won Charlie a brown teddy bear with a pair of glasses when they were old enough to explore the pier by themselves as part of their bucket list when they were fifteen.  It sat on the dresser in Charlie's room and was brushed every once in a while to keep it from collecting dust. It was silly to think that that stuffed teddy was one of Charlie's pride and joys, but it simply was. The toy had actually been a surprise to Charlie and marked one of the numerous times Conrad thought of him. So it meant a lot to him.

"You're insane. Charlie, I swear to god, put me down or we're both goin' in!" Conrad swatted at him once more in hopes of Charlie finally letting him go. But instead, Conrad was met with the pool as they both went in and under the water. They ended up a tangle of limbs under the water for a minute before they both came up for air. "You're a prick." Conrad spat out the water that got into his mouth, splashing Charlie afterward, whose hair was stuck to his forehead. And that was when Conrad finally noticed it.

Charlie was growing his hair out.

"Yeah, but you're smiling now. That's gotta count for something." Charlie pushed his hair out of the way, his t-shirt now sticking to him. He couldn't help but laugh at the way Conrad resembled a wet cat who has still yet to get out of the pool. Conrad splashed him another time for good measure before finally climbing out, and Charlie quickly followed suit, grabbing a towel before heading inside.

     "Do you guys need help with anything for dinner?"

     "I know you always liked being a helping hand. But I think we have everything under control this go round" Susannah cupped the side of Charlie's face graciously. "Is Marie coming for dinner?"

     Charlie made a tsk sound. "Afraid not, she's working tonight, but she sends her love. I'll be representing the both of us tonight." That got a laugh out of Susannah and Laurel.

    "Well, okay. But go see if Conrad will let you borrow a shirt. I don't want you walking around the house with wet clothes on."

     With that, Charlie saluted Susannah and made his way out of the kitchen to climb the stairs that led to Conrad's room. Everything looked the exact same as he once saw it, and yet the house still managed to look lived in and loved no matter how many times the cleaners deep-cleaned from top to bottom. Picture frames lined the walls as he went up the staircase, the Fisher and Conklin kids growing more as he went. Charlie was in the occasional photos that scattered the living room, considering he was more Conrad's friend than anyone else's. They had their own photos that were tacked to a corkboard in their respective rooms, some torn in half when there was only one copy.

     They were fine with not having their friendship on full display, everyone knew and that was proof enough.

     Charlie rapped his knuckles against Conrad's door and waited for an answer. When an answer didn't come, he knocked again. This time, there was the creak of the mattress as Conrad got up to answer the door. He still had that wet cat look on his face, and it didn't seem to ease up when he was face to face with Charlie.

     "Uh, Susannah said I could borrow a shirt of yours 'cause she doesn't want me walking around the house with wet clothes on," Charlie finally piped up after a minute of awkward staring. Conrad shrugged, indifferent, and widened the door to let Charlie through. "Thanks. Are you okay, by the way?"

     "What makes you say that?" Conrad asked, flopping back first against his bed.

     "Well, for starters, you still have that wet cat look on your face—"

     Conrad lifted his head up at that and Charlie pointed his finger, as if it proved his point. "—There it is. And second of all, I know you better than most people. What's going on?"

     After another minute of staring, Conrad lay his head back down and heaved a sigh. "You know the girl I was going out with? Aubrey?"

     Charlie crossed his arms, nodding. "Yeah. Heard you guys were getting serious."

     "We broke up."

     Charlie dropped his arms at the sound of that. "I'm sorry to hear that. Sounded like you really liked her."

     "Yeah. I did." Conrad sat up then, hunching over as if he couldn't bear the weight of it all. "But it's whatever. I'll get over it sooner or later."

     "I mean, if it hurts, it hurts. It's not healthy keeping all of that inside, you know? You're my best friend. I'd be more than happy to wake up to you blowing my phone up with rants and vents or whatever it is you got on your mind."

     "You mean that?"

     "Of course I do. But I still need to borrow a t-shirt."

     "Way to ruin the moment, bro."

     "Okay, now the moment is ruined since you used 'bro' on me."

AUTHOR'S NOTE / 021824
whoo ! i don't think i have many notes but i hope the flip-flop between s1 and s2 isn't too confusing for y'all !

as always, comments and feedback are always appreciated. and thank you for reading <3