Calming of the Waves

From the moment the plane landed in Columbia, Baja’s stomach was queasy. As she walked through the airport, it didn’t go away. It remained, even as she hugged her mom. She didn’t see Johnny, the bastard, and she was thankful.

Everything began to seem familiar as they drove towards the house Baja had once called home.

“You look well taken care of,” her mother said, breaking the silence for the first time since they said their hellos.

She tried to control the small South African accent she’d picked up. “I’m great. I eat very healthy for a surfer.”

“That’s wonderful,” her mother said, smiling. She obviously didn’t pick up on her daughter’s sarcasm. “How is the whole being a famous surfer going, by the way?”

“It’s great,” Baja said, smiling. “I got back from Australia a couple of weeks ago. It was very befok.”

“I’m sorry, it was what?” her mother asked, confused at the slang.

“Awesome,” Baja said, grinning at her mom.

Her mother just nodded and Baja settled back into her seat. It wasn’t as if she and her mother had a horrible relationship; in fact, they had a great one. When she was younger, she could talk to her mother about any and everything. When her father passed, her mother became her best friend. The only problem they’d ever had was Johnny.

She happened to glance up at the wrong time and looked at the street that held too many memories for her. Blinking rapidly, she looked away, desperately trying to suppress those memories.

The silence gnawed at her until they reached the driveway. There was a black truck sitting there, looming at her, and her stomach started churning again.

“Be nice,” her mother said as she cut the engine.

“I will if he will,” Baja grumbled.

“Bailee,” her mother scolded. She cringed at the use of her real name. “I am marrying this man in a week. I’m not asking you to call him dad; I’m just asking for you to be civil.”

“Fine,” Baja replied, knowing she would do no such thing.

She opened the door and stepped out into the warm South Carolina air.

The next morning, Baja woke up exhausted. She’d been so nervous about sleeping under the same roof as Johnny, but once she’d fallen asleep, she woke up every hour on the hour. Being back in the States was having a horrible effect on her and she hadn’t been there twenty-four hours yet.

She trotted downstairs to find everyone gone already. A note on the kitchen counter signaled that Johnny had taken her mother to work and she’d left the keys to her Mustang for Baja to use. Sighing, she dropped the note in the trash can and made her way to the fridge. Inside sat a few items and some beer. There wasn’t even milk for cereal. Cringing, she closed the door and grabbed the keys from the counter before heading upstairs. She would just go out to get something to eat.

Less than an hour later, she slung her bag over her shoulder as she headed out the front door. She turned the radio on as she started the car and backed out of the driveway. Everything started to come back to her as she navigated through the familiar streets toward the coffee shop she used to spend almost every day.

Almost everything had changed, including the interior of the shop. She picked out a banana nut muffin and ordered her coffee. Placing her change in the tip jar, she walked out the doors into the mall,, deciding to waste some time. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do except waste time until the wedding. She had a dress fitting the next day with her mother, but that was it.

She passed by a music store and decided to go in after she threw away the wrapper for her muffin. She’d been gone for so long and she was curious as to what was big and what wasn’t. Sure, she had the internet at the house, but being a surfer for Team Roxy meant she didn’t have a lot of time for frivolous activities. She browsed through a few of the new releases, but seeing nothing interesting, she walked out of the store.

When she was younger, before her dad passed, they lived in Myrtle Beach, an hour away from Columbia. She’d taken her first surfing lesson at eight and she spent every day during the summer at the beach. She’d bet her best friend at the time, Carlee that way. Her father died when she was fifteen and her mother uprooted them to Columbia where she met Johnny. As soon as she’d gotten her driver’s license, Baja was in Myrtle Beach every weekend, especially after her mother had met Johnny. She spent her days in the ocean and her nights at the Pavilion Amusement Park, terrorizing the adults.

When she turned seventeen, she met Ed. As quickly as she met him, they were dating. One of the only people she’d ever gotten close to in Columbia, Samantha, had introduced them when she took Baja to a local club to see a band called “The Nothing.” Ed was the lead singer, along with Mitch James, Samantha’s boyfriend. From the first moment Baja had seen him, she’d fallen for Ed. He had a smooth face and his hair stuck up in every direction as if he’d just woken up. His grey/blue eyes all but sparkled with boyish intent as he stared at her from the stage.

Once they had started dating, he became her everything and vice versa. When they weren’t in school, they’d spend hours at his garage with his friends as they wrote songs. His voice washing over her was the finishing touch on his adorable smile making her melt. He quickly became her weakness and it seemed like she was his. If they weren’t at school or at the garage, Ed was driving her down to Myrtle Beach himself. Sometimes he would sit on the beach playing guitar while she surfed, and other times he joined her in the water. They were the couple that made everyone jealous. They were perfect.

At least, they were for a while. When he and Mitch became more serious about music, they quit “The Nothing” and started “Crossfade”, and it seemed as if Baja and their relationship went on the backburner. She found herself spending more and more time on the beach alone.

She shook her head out of her thoughts as she walked past different stores. Coming up on a PacSun, she smiled and walked inside. A high-pitched voice welcomed her from deep in the store. She moved around to the women’s section and picked out a few things, looking at others.

“Finding everything okay?” A girl asked, coming up to her right.

She didn’t even spare the girl a glance as she fingered the cream-colored lace tank top in front of her. She did smile, though.

“Yes, thank you,” she said.

“She felt the girl remain beside her, but she didn’t look over.

“Oh, my God,” she heard the voice say.

Curious, she turned and was utterly shocked to see Samantha standing in front of her.

“Bailee?!”

“Holy shit, Sam!” Baja exclaimed, completely at a loss for words.

The two girls hugged and began talking rapidly at the same time.

“I legit thought you were gone to Africa!” Sam said.

“I am, choty goty,” she said with a smile. “I’m back for my mom’s wedding.”

“Oh yeah! My mom got an invite. Wait, what did you call me?”

Baja laughed. “I called you beautiful girl.”

“Well damn, I guess we’ll have to call you ‘Africa’ now.”

“Uh, no, you won’t. Believe it or not, I did see ‘Mean Girls’ and that won’t be happening.

Sam laughed and welcomed another customer.

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked Baja.

“Sitting at home and pretending to like being in Johnny’s company,” Baja said, shrugging.

Sam’s eyes widened. “No, you’re not. I’ll pick you up at seven when I get off. You’re coming to my place.”

Baja smiled, but then she hesitated. “Are…Do you have your own place?”

Sam unfortunately caught on. “Mitch and I are still together, but he’s not in town. None of them are. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay, Baja said and walked to the register with Sam. “I’ll be ready at seven.”

Sam just smiled.