Wind Chimes on the Boardwalk

The smell of cotton candy and hot dogs was most welcome on this warm summer day strolling along the boardwalk; it evoked past days of summer as a child running along the warm, wooden slats, barefooted and under the watchful eye of parents.

“Take a chance…win a grand prize…step right up!”

The hawkers of the games of chance that lined the boardwalk competed for her attention with the hawkers of attractions and rides, each trying to out volume the other.

Ginny ignored them all as she walked along, enjoying the freedom of the day, the clear blue skies above and the air tinted with the salted sea.

Her heart was light, her thoughts fluff and fantasy watching waves rolling and crashing on the shore but somehow, the jingle of bracelets wove through the myriad of beach sounds and she looked for its source.

The source was a woman in a flowing caftan and paisley print kerchief standing by a tented room of intrigue and seeing she’d caught Ginny’s eye, she waved her thin hand motioning her over, and setting off those tinkling bracelets again.

Ginny shook her head but the woman kept her gaze and smiled giving the impression she had knowledge she might be willing to impart.

Ginny noted all the symbols of the trade; the necklace she wore, beaded with superstitious, protective charms, and the shaded interior of the tent held the table with a clear glass ball upon it.

Ginny was not a believer and scoffed at the idea anyone could profess to know her path, her destiny. If destiny was a thing to know, surely the owner of said destiny would have this insight, and the only one who would know of it.

The woman lifted her gaze skyward and the wind chimes of a sun, moon and stars, hanging near the entrance of the tent, began to move wildly, sending their twinkling sounds to Ginny’s ears.

The movement of the chimes was unexpected as the winds were blowing in a different direction but Ginny knew all kinds of simple tricks could be employed to bring the customer in, and a motorized wind chime was possibly one of them. 

Ginny laughed, but not unkind, and shook her head again declining the spiritualist’s offer then turned and continued to walk down the boardwalk.

The wind chimes grew louder and the bracelets continued to jingle over the sounds of the ocean. It was impossible to still hear them and Ginny chalked it up to her own imagination replaying the sounds.

 

The light from the billboard over the hot dog stand with its welcoming open air counter made her sigh with anticipation and she picked up her pace. She saw her sister Katie was already there saving her the stool next to her.

“You must have taken the long way here; I’ve been waiting for over half an hour breathing in this refined, grilled food, saturated air, and I’m dying for a hot dog.”

“Sorry, I got a little nostalgic remembering the last time we were here for the Labor Day weekend but I’m here now, so let’s order.”

Two consumed hot dogs and a shared plate of fries later, they were waiting for the next ride on the roller coaster.

Ginny and her younger sister Katie had loved being at the beach and their parents would take them every chance they could during their summer vacations from school. 

It had been too many years since either of them had been back to this beach; after college Ginny had moved to the city and her job didn’t allow her much down time or beach time and Katie had moved as well after college, but to an entirely different state.

Katie fell in love in her first year at college and married that wonderful guy when they graduated, hence the move; they both had received job offers in that other state, offers they couldn’t refuse.

Katie and her husband Will were visiting her parents this week and this one day, only this one day, she and Katie had set aside for themselves, for a side trip to the best memories of their childhood.

Labor Day weekends of their youth  were always spent here on the beach and had been some of the best days of their lives. Tomorrow, they’d be at their parents for a big day of celebration but today was simply a trip into nostalgia.

They'd ridden the roller coater twice and the scrambler once and were walking over to the next ride, the wild mouse.

“Remember when mom and dad let you have that beach party here for your sixteenth birthday, it was a week before school started so every one of your friends and mine were able to come; it was so much fun.”

 “Oh no it wasn’t, have you forgotten what happened?”

“No, but it was fun until we decided to go on the rollercoaster after we’d eaten hot dogs and birthday cake, and I threw up on that boy you had a crush on…what was his name?”

“Cole…and I was mortified that night.”

“Yeah, he wasn’t too happy about it either.”

They laughed at the shared memory of Cole’s disgusted face and how he’d kept gagging trying not to barf as well.

“But I have to say…it was fascinating when he ripped off that shirt and dove into the ocean,” Ginny recalled the moment with a dreamy look in her eyes.

Katie agreed. “Yeah, he was easy on the eyes and a good swimmer. And I’m sure if it had ended with the kiss you were just now dreaming of, it might have saved the night.”

Ginny blushed at the truth of Katie’s words and sighed.

“I wish it had. You know, he did smile at me from the water as he accepted my heartfelt and humiliated apology for your weak stomach. And I like to think his eyes said he was going to kiss me when he got out of the ocean, but then he stepped on that jelly fish near the shore.”

“Oh that’s right, and they had to take him to the nurse’s station. I remember his foot had swelled to twice its size.”

“It did, he had some kind of reaction to the bite.”

“It looked painful.”

“Yes it did, but what was even more painful; he wasn’t able to play football for the first half of the season; I’d heard he was worried about losing his sports scholarship to college.”

“Didn’t you talk to him after that day?”

“No, for the remainder of our high school years; I avoided running into him and if I saw him, I quickly turned and walked the other way. I made sure I knew his class times so I was never where he was, ever again.”

“Huh, so your paths never crossed again. Do you ever wonder about him?”

“No, of course not...never…maybe, once…but not really.” Ginny brushed it off but turned to hide the blush that raced to the surface whenever she thought of him.

“Okay, forget I mentioned him,” Katie said with a shrug then pointed to the Roundabout, “Let’s go on that next; I love the centrifugal force.”

“Sure,” Ginny agreed easily, but her heart wasn’t as happy to comply with her sister’s wishes, not as happy as it was before she’d brought up Cole. She’d truly liked Cole, quite a lot, and she’d wondered, more than a little,and more than a few times, if that day had gone differently, what their story might be today?

 

The sun was setting and the fireworks display would begin in an hour. Ginny and Katie had ridden all the rides they loved twice and now decided to get to a good spot to watch the fireworks.

They walked down the boardwalk and suddenly the air filled with the sound of jingling bracelets.

Ginny saw Katie turn towards the sound.

“It’s just one of those beach psychics; she even has a motorized wind chime to draw your attention to her.”

“I see that, but you know what; I’m going to see what she has to tell me.”

“Katie, you know it’s not real.”

“Who knows if it’s real…but it might be fun.”

“I doubt it,” Ginny mumbled, following her sister over to the con artist dressed in mystic garb.

“Welcome,” the woman said in a friendly tone, “Would you like to know what the future holds for you?”

Ginny scoffed.

“No thanks, my future is yet to be written, I’ll wait and be surprised.”

The woman’s eyes searched hers and she smiled and nodded.

“As you wish…and you?”

The woman turned her light green-eyed gaze to Katie.

“Yes please, tell me all about my future,” she giggled handing the woman a twenty; the rate for a reading, as noted by the sign near her tent.

The woman led them inside and Katie sat down at the table.

Ginny stayed near the exit.

“You may sit as well.” The woman said directing a knowing look at Ginny.

“Thanks but I’m fine right here.”

“As you wish,” she conceded with a nod.

“So what do I do?” Katie asked the woman,” Do I shuffle cards or look into the crystal ball?”

“You need do nothing; it is all right here in your aura.”

The woman’s eyes skimmed over her.

“Okay, that’s news,” Katie said with a lot of doubt.

The woman smiled at her skepticism and took her hand. She looked down at her palm but not to see symbols in the lines; the touch was to feel the pulse of life.

“You have a youthful will, warm, searching and maternal. Your children will be protected and guided by your seeking spirit, it is good.”

“I have no children.”

The woman slid her hand up from Katie’s palm to her wrist and felt the heartbeats.

“You are expecting your first child and this child will be born in mid-May.”

“No, I’m not expecting and May is only eight months away.”

The woman continued to look at her as she added.

“It will be a boy.”

“What? No, that can’t be, I’d know if I were expecting.”

The woman gave a nod.

“You will soon suspect you are and then you will seek a doctor’s opinion, but until then, you can be assured you are.”

Katie’s eyes lit with hope and she smiled turning a wondrous smile on her sister.

“I’m having a baby.”

“That’s ridiculous," Ginny said to her from her position by the door, ready to leave.

“Is it?” the woman asked her cynic by the door.

“It is.” Ginny stood by her opinion.

“Is it also ridicules that you will run into the one you’ve avoided since high school?”

“What? Who…How would you even…do you have listening devices set up on the beach?”

The woman gave her a sympathetic smile.

“I need no such devices.”

“Sure you don’t…so when am I supposed to run into this lost person?”

“He is not lost, he’s had you in his sight for some time; you're the one who has been lost, avoiding your old neighborhood, and him.”

“Really, I’ve been avoiding him?”

“Yes.”

The woman’s response was simple and convicting.

Ginny squirmed a little under the insightful green eyed gaze.

“Oh Ginny, imagine if that’s true?” Katie asked her excitedly.

“It’s not, now are you done?”

The mystic woman wasn’t deterred and she told Ginny the last of what she saw for her.

“You will cross paths before the last firework explodes tonight.”

Ginny laughed out right.

 “Well then I’ll be sure to tell this lost person you found them for me,” Ginny said giving the woman a look of disbelief as she exited the tent.

Katie stood up and kindly thanked the woman for her prediction, and whispered she hoped it was true.

“It is true, your family has started and you will have two more over the next five years.”

“Wow, that would be wonderful,” Katie said with a big grin and was still grinning when she followed her sister out of the tent.

“Why did you have to be so mean spirited to the woman, even if it isn’t true, it was fun to hear what she'd had to say.”

“Sure, fun like the puke on Cole’s shirt, it was just barrels of fun for me.”

“Oh stop, of course Cole won’t just show up here, I know that, but wasn’t it odd that she knew you had been avoiding someone?”

“As I said, they’ll go to any length to get information to sway you into believing them.”

Maybe,” Katie said with a frown just as the first firework exploded in the sky, “Oh look it’s started; let’s go to the spot we always watched them from, the spot near the ice cream stand.”

They hurried over to their usual bench on the boardwalk where they’d always watched the summer fireworks displays with their parents, and they even bought two soft serve cones to enjoy while the night sky lit up with color.

 

“I love this Ginny, I’m so glad we managed to spent today together. I want to do this every year if we can. I know Will wasn’t able to join us today, but maybe next year he can, and mom and dad too.”

“I’d like that, all of us together; we can schedule it. I’ll put in for vacation this same time next year.”

“Great, so wi-”

Katie stopped in mid sentence and stared over Ginny's shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Ginny asked her wide eyed sister.

“You are not going to believe who is walking over to us.”

“Who?”

“Cole.”

“Stop it. You almost made me turn around,” Ginny said with a laugh but in the next instant her laughter ended.

“Ginny? Ginny is that you?”

Ginny turned just as the firework’s finale exploded in the sky and looked into the well remembered dark brown eyes of Cole Matheson.

“Cole? What a surprise,” she squeaked out, wondering how in the world that odd woman had known he would show up here, and right at this moment?

“Is it a surprise?” 

Katie whispered the taunt and Ginny poked her with her elbow to be quiet as she stood up to greet the man she’d never gotten over.

Katie placed her hand on her slim tummy and wondered what else just might come true.

 

The wind chimes tingled, stirred by the unseen winds flowing over the tent. The woman stood listening to the night, feeling the portents of events, as she and the tent faded into the sands of time.