The beach was starting to come alive with tourists. Striped umbrellas. Plastic buckets filling with sand to build castles. I leaned over the railing, studying the people on vacation.
I sipped my coffee. My body starting to cool under the shade of the balcony, and the breeze whipping off the ocean.
I heard a knock on the door and left my mug on the balcony. I opened the door. Grey stood in front of me.
“What’s going on, man?” I made way for him to enter the condo.
“Saw you run up from the beach.”
“Yeah, good run. Have to do it before it’s too hot.”
“I hear you. I’ve been running the past few nights. It’s the only way I can get it in.”
He walked inside.
“Want some coffee?” I offered.
“That’s all right. I’m good.”
He followed me onto the balcony, where I picked up the mug again. “How’s Eden?”
“She’s working in the office.”
A family set up for a day on the beach in front of us. Grey looked on the horizon.
“A bunch of us are getting together tonight for a bonfire. Think you want to stop by?” Grey asked.
“I haven’t been to one of those in a while. Is the usual group going to be there?”
He nodded. “Yep. Pick, Marin, Connor, Eden, and me. I’m not sure who else is in town this weekend.”
“All right. I’ll stop by.”
“And don’t let Eden give you a hard time about that girl. She’s just trying to help.”
“I know. She wants everyone to be happy.”
Grey smiled. “Yeah, she is on a mission. Sorry things didn’t work out for you.”
“Who said they didn’t work out?”
He shrugged. “True. I guess we all have different goals.”
“I had a good time. I’m not looking for anything serious. I’ve been pretty open about that.”
“You don’t have to explain it to me. If I hadn’t met Eden, I’d be doing the same thing. I wasn’t interested in anything else.”
I thought about it. I wasn’t sure we were the same kind of men when it came to women. Grey was certainly more domesticated than I was. Before Eden he had lived with a girlfriend. That had never happened to me. I made sure of it.
“Hey, man I’m not trying to rush you, but I’ve got to head out soon. I have a big day lined up. I’ve got to run over to the site.”
Grey stepped back inside, and I closed the sliding door. “See you tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ll be there. I’ll bring a case or two.”
“Sounds good.”
He left and I realized how normal that exchange had been. It was possible we were actually becoming friends. I jumped in the shower.
I adjusted my collar and the sleeves on my jacket. A crowd had already gathered near the picnic tables. I stayed close to the road, out of sight. The sun beat down on the crowd. I noticed Commissioner Rodriguez moving to the front of the group.
Next to her were two men and two women. Their T-shirts were decorated with pictures of sea dunes. I assumed they were from the activist group. This should be interesting. I folded my arms and waited for the press conference to start.
The microphone squeaked and the onlookers pressed their hands to their ears. It was already a rocky start.
Janet smiled. “I’d like to welcome everyone today. I have a few people I should introduce. If you’re not familiar with the Custodians of the Dunes, a few of their representatives have joined us today. Cecilia, Bailey, Hamp, and Doug.”
“You all know this piece of land we’re standing on has been purchased. And some of you are probably thinking this is a good thing for our island. You’re thinking about the jobs it will bring in. But what I want you to think about is what the development of Beach Combers Cove will do to the beach. Do you know how many species of animals live in the dunes that border this tract?”
This is the part of the speech that always irritated me. Janet started throwing out statistics about animal endangerment, beach erosion, and tossed in the number of accidents that occurred on construction sites. That one was unnecessary, but I knew what she was doing. She needed to build citizen unity. The message was clear. The development was dangerous and unsafe for everyone.
I hung my head and started back for the car. I didn’t need to hear the words from the Custodians of the Dunes to know what the pushback was going to be. They were going to fight the development.
It wasn’t the first battle I would face against environmentalists.
I heard the ding on my phone and pulled it from my pocket to check the email. From the corner of my eye I saw her. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was late to the press conference. She didn’t see me. She rushed to the group, her bag slung over her shoulder, her reporter’s pad clutched in one hand.