Tidal Wave
Reflection
Kylie sat on the front patio of Legal Sea Food, overlooking Boston's Inner Harbor. Her sunglasses were perched on her nose, shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun coming off the water. She absent-minded stirred her drink with her straw, patiently waiting for her brother to arrive. The sun was suddenly blocked by a figure standing across from her. She glanced up and a smiled crossed her lips, "About time you got here."
Kyle laughed and pulled out the chair next to her, "Sorry. So, Chris is going to be joining us.."
Kylie started pointedly at her brother, blinking a few times in rapid succession, "Oh, that's fine."
Kyle nodded as he opened his napkin onto his lap, and picked up the menu, "I hope so. Anyways, he had to go get something, so, you know…" The two sat there quietly for a few moments, when Kyle spoke, "Hey, are you alright?"
Kylie looked up from her menu, eyebrows raised, "Yeah.. why do you ask?"
He momentarily narrowed his eyes before shrugging it off, "I don't know, you seem off. It's bothering me."
She waved him off, "Don't worry about it, it's not important."
As she finished her sentence, she noticed Chris, hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses and a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, making his way down the sidewalk towards them. She gently nudged Kyle, who looked up and waved at him. He greeted them and sat down across from Kylie.
The waiter arrived to take their order and Kylie was sure he'd be exposed, but after all he was a well known actor, Chris laid the native Boston accent on thick as he ordered. Suddenly, Kyle adjusted his accent to match and they both started to laugh.
"So, Kylie," Chris stopped laughing and turned towards her, giving her his full attention, "Tell me about yourself. I went to school with your brother.. so, I already know too much about him.."
Kylie smiled, "Oh, I am sure you do. I'm a personal assistant for the president of a major corporation here in Boston." Chris nodded, an impressed look on his face, "And you're related to this guy!?," He cranked a thumb over his shoulder towards Kyle. Kylie laughed, while Kyle leaned over and punched Chris in the arm. Chris grabbed onto Kyle's forearm and smiled over at her, "So, you do a lot of answering phone calls and arranging meetings and travel stuff?"
Kylie nodded, taking a sip from her drink, "It may not seem like much, but I've been there for a while and my boss appreciates my hard work and he's pretty generous."
"That's awesome."
In the distance, the seals at the aquarium barked, causing Kylie to smile and her gaze to fall to the aquarium across the street. Chris, who hadn't taken his eyes off her, guessed that behind her shades, her eyes were sparkling with wonderment.
The three finished their meals just as the sun began to sink behind the skyscrapers, the reflection hit the waves below, and threw light dancing across the Harbor. They all argued over the bill and Chris won, resulting in a walk along the water. They walked three wide down the boardwalk, taking in the shops and the view. Kylie took a deep breath of salty ocean air and couldn’t help but smile. Her boss may have been generous with things she requested, but she never founds herself down in the touristy section of Boston on her days off. Kyle shook his head, noticing Chris staring at his little sister, and muttered under his breath. Kylie shot him a look.
"Take it you don't get out much."
She looked up at Chris, and her cheeks burned, "Not really. I may have a great boss, but I'm on call 24/7 and have very little time to myself." Chris stuffed his hands into his pockets and smiled knowingly at her, "I understand completely. I'm either always on a set filming or doing press junkets or attending premieres."
Kylie pointed at him, "See, that's gotta be tough. Being away from your family or that long has to been even tougher." She stopped walking and leaned against the railing, staring across the harbor towards the open ocean. Chris leaned on the railing next to her and crossed his arms, secretly watching her from the corner of his eye.
Feeling his eyes on her, she glanced over at him, a smile playing on her lips. They stood that way for a few minutes until Kyle broke their concentration, "Hey guys, I gotta head back to the shop. My seven o'clock showed up and if I don't get back soon, we'll there past midnight."
Chris and Kylie nodded and followed behind Kyle as they turned back towards the city. They stopped at the lot where Kylie had parked and said their goodbyes. Kyle pulled her in for a hug and covertly slipped something into her pocket, before dragging Chris off towards their car.
Chris waved goodbye, as he slipped his sunglasses off his face as he followed Kyle down the sidewalk. It wasn't until they had rounded the corner, did Kylie remove what felt like a piece of paper from inside her jacket pocket.
The message was written in his Kyle's familiar scrawl:
"He's only in town for a few nights, maybe you should give him a call.
(617) 782-5357"
Kylie rested her head on the back of the seat, and took a deep breath. She quickly re-read the note and pulled her phone out of her pocket, and dialed.
"Hey, I had a feeling Kyle was up to something; but I was hoping to hear from you."
Kyle laughed and pulled out the chair next to her, "Sorry. So, Chris is going to be joining us.."
Kylie started pointedly at her brother, blinking a few times in rapid succession, "Oh, that's fine."
Kyle nodded as he opened his napkin onto his lap, and picked up the menu, "I hope so. Anyways, he had to go get something, so, you know…" The two sat there quietly for a few moments, when Kyle spoke, "Hey, are you alright?"
Kylie looked up from her menu, eyebrows raised, "Yeah.. why do you ask?"
He momentarily narrowed his eyes before shrugging it off, "I don't know, you seem off. It's bothering me."
She waved him off, "Don't worry about it, it's not important."
As she finished her sentence, she noticed Chris, hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses and a Boston Red Sox baseball cap, making his way down the sidewalk towards them. She gently nudged Kyle, who looked up and waved at him. He greeted them and sat down across from Kylie.
The waiter arrived to take their order and Kylie was sure he'd be exposed, but after all he was a well known actor, Chris laid the native Boston accent on thick as he ordered. Suddenly, Kyle adjusted his accent to match and they both started to laugh.
"So, Kylie," Chris stopped laughing and turned towards her, giving her his full attention, "Tell me about yourself. I went to school with your brother.. so, I already know too much about him.."
Kylie smiled, "Oh, I am sure you do. I'm a personal assistant for the president of a major corporation here in Boston." Chris nodded, an impressed look on his face, "And you're related to this guy!?," He cranked a thumb over his shoulder towards Kyle. Kylie laughed, while Kyle leaned over and punched Chris in the arm. Chris grabbed onto Kyle's forearm and smiled over at her, "So, you do a lot of answering phone calls and arranging meetings and travel stuff?"
Kylie nodded, taking a sip from her drink, "It may not seem like much, but I've been there for a while and my boss appreciates my hard work and he's pretty generous."
"That's awesome."
In the distance, the seals at the aquarium barked, causing Kylie to smile and her gaze to fall to the aquarium across the street. Chris, who hadn't taken his eyes off her, guessed that behind her shades, her eyes were sparkling with wonderment.
x x x x
The three finished their meals just as the sun began to sink behind the skyscrapers, the reflection hit the waves below, and threw light dancing across the Harbor. They all argued over the bill and Chris won, resulting in a walk along the water. They walked three wide down the boardwalk, taking in the shops and the view. Kylie took a deep breath of salty ocean air and couldn’t help but smile. Her boss may have been generous with things she requested, but she never founds herself down in the touristy section of Boston on her days off. Kyle shook his head, noticing Chris staring at his little sister, and muttered under his breath. Kylie shot him a look.
"Take it you don't get out much."
She looked up at Chris, and her cheeks burned, "Not really. I may have a great boss, but I'm on call 24/7 and have very little time to myself." Chris stuffed his hands into his pockets and smiled knowingly at her, "I understand completely. I'm either always on a set filming or doing press junkets or attending premieres."
Kylie pointed at him, "See, that's gotta be tough. Being away from your family or that long has to been even tougher." She stopped walking and leaned against the railing, staring across the harbor towards the open ocean. Chris leaned on the railing next to her and crossed his arms, secretly watching her from the corner of his eye.
Feeling his eyes on her, she glanced over at him, a smile playing on her lips. They stood that way for a few minutes until Kyle broke their concentration, "Hey guys, I gotta head back to the shop. My seven o'clock showed up and if I don't get back soon, we'll there past midnight."
Chris and Kylie nodded and followed behind Kyle as they turned back towards the city. They stopped at the lot where Kylie had parked and said their goodbyes. Kyle pulled her in for a hug and covertly slipped something into her pocket, before dragging Chris off towards their car.
Chris waved goodbye, as he slipped his sunglasses off his face as he followed Kyle down the sidewalk. It wasn't until they had rounded the corner, did Kylie remove what felt like a piece of paper from inside her jacket pocket.
The message was written in his Kyle's familiar scrawl:
"He's only in town for a few nights, maybe you should give him a call.
(617) 782-5357"
Kylie rested her head on the back of the seat, and took a deep breath. She quickly re-read the note and pulled her phone out of her pocket, and dialed.
"Hey, I had a feeling Kyle was up to something; but I was hoping to hear from you."