I waited until he drove away to walk into the building. A blast of cool air hit me in the face when I opened the door. I stood for a moment, soaking in the air conditioning I didn't have in my room at home. Not that I would complain. I loved having my own space more than anything.
"Do you need help, dear?" the receptionist asked from her desk that sat right inside the door.
Stepping farther into the small waiting room, I handed over my court advocate paperwork that I held clutched in my hands. "I'm supposed to report here for my community service," I said, feeling slightly flushed. Not knowing how much of the details people would have on me made the experience more humiliating.
The receptionist, who introduced herself as Vanessa, was nice enough. She had me sit for a few minutes while she figured out my assignment for the day.
"Looks like we're going to have you do some beach cleanup today," Vanessa said. "You need to keep this paper with you and have whoever you're assigned with sign off on it every day. At the end of each week you hand it in to me and I will send it off to your court advocate so your time can be recorded," she said, handing me a sheet of paper. "Do you have any questions?"
"I don't think so. I mean, where do I go?" I asked, folding the paper and sticking it in the pocket of my shorts.
"You've been assigned to Larry today. Just wait here. He should be here any minute to pick you up."
I nodded my head, sitting on one of the chairs to wait. My heart stuttered when someone wearing the familiar lifeguard shirt walked into the reception area. It took me less than a second to register it wasn't Josh. I knew when I was given my assignment that it was probably inevitable that I would run into him. Talk about the ultimate kick in the head. It was a sad twist of fate, but the punishment made sense, considering my arrest for destruction of public beach property. One thing was certain: When and if I did run into Josh, I would show him he meant nothing. Cute or not, he was still a narc.
Larry arrived within minutes and turned out to be as nice as Vanessa. "Welcome to the Camden County Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue Agency. Or as I like to call it, the C.C.B.S.O.R.A." He laughed when he saw the confused look on my face. "I'm just kidding. Not about the name though. It is a mouthful. You'll get used to my humor, don't worry. I'm Larry," he said, holding out his hand.
"Rain," I replied, reaching for his hand. Rather than shake in the traditional manner, he clasped my hand upright and placed his other hand over ours like we had made some sort of pact.
"Rain? I can dig it," he said, nodding his head. "Let's go."
Larry looked like a throwback to the surfer era of the Sixties with his long, choppy hairstyle and deep tan lines. He had to be in his early fifties if I had to guess, judging by the gray hair and wrinkles on his face, but you would never know it based on his physique. He had the build of a much younger man. He reminded me a lot of Butch, go figure. He was definitely as talkative as Butch and kept a running commentary throughout the day. I was relieved he didn't treat me like some sort of drill sergeant.
Even though his job was more to babysit me for the day, Larry pitched in when he could and helped me pick up trash and debris off the beach. After only a few hours of work, I was completely disgusted by what we had collected. Seriously, did no one know how to use a trash can? As the morning wore on and the beach became more crowded, Larry had to work to maneuver the four-wheeler we were riding around sunbathers and small kids who would wait until the last possible second to cross in front of us. Larry handled it well by slowing our speed to a near crawl. I was just happy not to be working in the area near my house since I assumed Josh would likely be in that vicinity.
"You did real good today," Larry said when my six-hour shift came to a close. He drove the four-wheeler along the wide sidewalk to take us back to the patrol office.
"Thanks," I said, trying to work the kink out of my back from the constant bending over. "My back may not forgive me. I feel like a fifty-year-old ma
n," I teased.
"Ha, until things start popping and creaking when you stretch you don't get to make that claim. You're a spring chicken."
"I feel like a cooked chicken."
He laughed. "You're out of shape, girl. We need to get you out on a board. A little wave time will get you all loosey-goosey before you know it."
"Hard pass. The ocean made me its bitch already. I'm not looking for a repeat butt kicking."
"That's the first step. It's all about respect. Now that she's made you feel inferior, you can serve her."
I snorted. "You gonna start chanting?"
"I just might," he laughed. "To me, there's no place better than right out there in those waves."
"I better just stick to my community service."
"How many hours you got?" he asked, pulling around to the back of the building.
"Two hundred and ninety-four left to go," I answered, pulling out my sheet of paper from my back pocket so he could sign off.
He let out a low whistle. "Damn, what'd you do, rob an ice cream stand?"
"You got me," I lied. After spending the day picking up trash with Larry, I was mortified to admit what had really happened. "When I want a banana split I will go to whatever lengths necessary."
"You and me both," he said, holding up his hand for us to shake in the same manner we had done when we met. He was in the process of filling out my time sheet when another ATV pulled in beside us. I didn't have to look to know it was Josh. I had a feeling, especially since with my luck lately, that of course I would run into him when I was hot and sticky and covered in sand.
Larry called out a greeting to him, which Josh returned. I waited for him to offer up an apology, like "hey, I'm sorry I ratted out the party and got you in a heap of trouble and blew your new job and basically ruined your summer." Anything like that might have been appropriate, but he didn't even acknowledge my presence. He headed into the building without so much as a glance my way. I glared at him for good measure and would have stuck out my tongue at his retreating backside if it wasn't so immature, especially with Larry watching.