Free The Guest Book by Marybeth Whalen

the distant surf, the seagulls’ cries, cars driving slowly past, and the laughter of tourists peddling by on bicycles. She opened her eyes and took in the rosy sky as the sun let go of its hold on the day, slipping lower and lower on the horizon. As the name implied, Sunset Beach was known for its sunsets, but Macy had forgotten just how beautiful they were. She took a sip of cranberry spritzer, a drink her mother had made in honor of their first night back at Sunset Beach. Cold and refreshing, Macy hoped Brenda would make it again before the trip ended.
    “I say we make this a … What do you call it when you do something the same way every year, Mommy?” Emma asked.
    “A tradition,” Macy answered.
    “Yeah, that’s it. I say we make this a tradition!” Emma clung to traditions like barnacles to pier pilings. It was as if thechild knew her family was fractured and sought ways to hold them together.
    “I know another tradition I’d like to make,” Max said, ruffling his niece’s hair. He caught Macy’s eye and made a motion of raising a drink to his lips, reminding Macy that Max still had a ways to go. She thought of the recent bar fight he’d been in and hoped he’d exercise better judgment on this trip. But she knew he would probably slip away as soon as he could, seeking the comfort he always seemed to find in libations. She ventured dangerously close to judging him before she checked herself, remembering that she had her own habit to kick and his name was Chase.
    “Want to go with me?” he asked. “Mom’ll stay with the munchkin here. She should be back soon.”
    Brenda had volunteered to go the grocery store alone. She’d insisted it was so Macy could show Emma the beach, but Macy suspected Brenda was already craving some time alone by herself.
    She shook her head. “It’s been a long day. I’m tired. Aren’t you?”
    “Wimp.”
    “I don’t want Mommy to leave,” Emma whined, her voice giving away her exhaustion.
    Macy put her arms around Emma. “I’m not leaving. Don’t you worry, baby.”
    She eyed Max, and he shook his head, knowing his cause was lost. She wished it were enough to keep him home butknew it wouldn’t be. He would leave when it was dark, return when it was nearly light, and rise when the sun was high in the sky later tomorrow. If pressed, he would argue that he was on vacation and Macy had no right to question him. She closed her eyes again so she didn’t have to see him. She wanted to help her brother stop drinking, help her mom find happiness, help her daughter be okay with Chase’s uncertain presence, and help herself break free from Chase. A tall order for one beach trip.
    She thought about what her dad had always said: “Why don’t we pray about it, Mace?”
    She could see his form kneeling down beside her bed, the place where she’d always confessed her deepest fears and hurts to him. In her memory, his face was not as detailed as she could once recall, but she could still feel the assurance that came from him being by her side as vividly as she did at five years old. How she longed to feel as safe in her current situation as she had when her daddy was physically by her side. Memories didn’t stand up to reality very well.
    At the thought of past memories, her heart picked up its pace. She thought of the exchange that had thrilled and excited her ever since she was just a little girl. She looked around. She was at the house she had been hoping to return to since she left it for the last time when she was sixteen years old. She was
this
close to that long-ago promise and had been for hours. And yet she hadn’t gone to see if he had fulfilled her last request, in spite of what she had done. Now she was here, and in the rush of unpacking and the demands of her family, she had forgotten to look.
    She stretched and looked over at Max and Emma, who were searching the ocean’s edge for glimpses of the submarines Max claimed were out there.
    “See?” he was saying.