It wasn’t hard to see why nearly everyone in the village was a fan of his. He was charming, boyishly handsome, exciting. There was no thrill to be found in Mineral Town on a regular basis, unless Barley’s prized cow calved early, or something. Mostly, townsfolk just got by with their lives, not bothering to seek adventure that they wouldn’t find within the confines of the small peninsula that the town was settled on. But, come Summer…
He wasn’t shy in the least bit, unlike me. The first time I saw him, in fact, I could hardly move, let alone open my mouth and form words. I wasn’t the best communicator in the world—one doesn’t get much human interaction when surrounded by farm animals for the better part of every day. But, by some strange occurrence, I caught his eye. Swiftly, fluidly, the corners of his lips turned up into a smile, and he raised his hand in greeting.
Come on, Claire. Don’t freak out. Be cool.
All the ritualistic flirtations that I had catalogued in my mind from my high school years, spent watching my friends flip their hair, lean over and touch a guy’s arm, or giggle idiotically…they all escaped me with that darned smile. I squirmed uncomfortably in my place, and, without thinking it through, spun 180º and hurried away.
*-*-*
Of course, there aren’t many places to run in a town as small as mine, so it was only a matter of time before I ran into the tanned stranger again. This time, I spotted him across the room while I was in the Inn. I didn’t usually venture out of the comfort of my farmhouse, but Mary and Gray had just gotten married, so there was a sort of celebration that night. So, not wanting to play the part of the loner yet again, I had slipped on the best clothes I owned- a skirt and blouse, quite a contrast to the overalls I wore on a daily basis- and inconspicuously sidled into the party and promptly faded into the background.
I was sipping MooMoo Milk casually, sitting at a back table, when I saw a familiar purple bandana hovering near Gray across the room. I tried to ignore it, but my eyes couldn’t avert themselves from watching the stranger slap Gray’s hand in an expression of camaraderie or congratulations. I was transfixed; it was a wonder my jaw wasn’t scraping the floor.
Ann, who had the moral and professional obligation to come and fill up my glass every so often, appeared at my side. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye, and she followed my gaze to the crowded house. She chuckled and pointed her waitress’s pencil in the general direction that I was looking in.
“That’s Kai,” she said, apparently knowing the bandana-clad stranger on a first-name basis. “He comes here every summer. Stays in the Inn, goes to the beach to run a Snack Shack during the day.” She paused, looked at the expression on my face, and added, “I wouldn’t get your hopes up if I were you.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, turning my attention to the redhead, who happened to be the closest thing I had to a friend in Mineral Town.
“He comes every Summer, which means he has to leave every Fall. Plenty of time for a guy like that to play with an innocent girl’s emotions.” Ann shrugged knowingly, and then glanced at the table next to mine. She started to walk away, going to do her inherited duty of running the Inn, but she stopped in front of my table. “Don’t let yourself get hurt, Claire,” she said warningly, concerned, before disappearing into the crowd.
If only I had heeded her advice.
