Free Things We Fear by Glenn Rolfe

and blasphemous Verizon cell phone store—Aaron hated the outside invasion to his little throwback beach setting. Luckily, the Verizon store, MB3 Comix and the new teenybopper clothing store (he couldn’t recall the name) were the only new shops to pop up among the regulars who’d staked claims here as far back as the mid-seventies.
    They stopped at a long line that led to a hopping little fry shack.
    “Lisa’s Pier Fries?” Emily said.
    “A staple.”
    He watched her turn and look back toward the beach. “But the pier’s back there?”
    “Semantics. We’ll hit up Sully’s after for a couple of good drinks.”
    They waited in the line, behind a greasy guy all oiled up and hairy as an ape. Emily motioned toward his furry shoulders and cringed. They both stifled laughs. The line moved quickly. They got their large order of fries, agreed on the appropriate amount of vinegar to douse them with—a ton—and strolled back toward the pier.
    “Remind me to introduce you to the Hersoms.”
    “Um…okay.”
    “Mary and Gil. Nicest couple you’ll ever meet and great landlords to boot. Mary wants to meet you.”
    Emily swallowed a fry and smiled. “Already talking about me?”
    He wiped the salt from his lips. “She asked about my plans, figured out that they were with a girl, and is probably making plans for a dinner date at her house as we speak.”
    “That’s so sweet.”
    “Yeah, Mary and Gil are like surrogate grandparents. I would never say that to them, but I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual.”
    “Well, I’ll have to meet them.”
    He grinned.
    They fell into a comfortable silence. He gazed out at the sand and the power beyond.
    “So how come?” Emily said. She popped one of the fries in her mouth and reached for another.
    “How come what?”
    “Have you always been afraid of the water? Do you know how to swim?”
    He swallowed his mouthful of fries and considered how much to tell her. He didn’t want to scare her away. Yeah, fell into the part of the river we used to swim in as kids and a man with a pig nose and tentacles tried to pull me under, so now I avoid stepping into open bodies of water.
    “I do know how to swim, suppose I still do, right?”
    “But…”
    “But, maybe I saw Jaws too many times as a kid. Or read too many stories about Cthulhu.”
    “Come on, be serious. You can tell me.”
    Her brown eyes were peering into him. Right through his soul and into his depths.
    “What if I told you something tried to pull me under once? I almost drowned.”
    “ That would make sense.”
    Sully’s was set up like a little tiki bar.
    “I used to watch that show Magnum, P.I. with my dad when I was a kid. This place reminds me of that. And of him.”
    “I never saw it.”
    “Well, they make the best tropical margaritas on the block. I’m buyin’.”
    They took a couple of vinyl-covered seats at the bar. A cheery Hawaiian fellow wiped a tumbler clean and moved over to them. “Duke Sulpico, owner/proprietor, what can I get for you kids? Oh, hey, Aaron. Sorry, I didn’t recognize you without all the hair.”
    “Hey, Duke. Two of your best Aloha Blues, please.”
    “You got it, bud. And who is this lovely lady here?”
    Duke whipped up the brilliant neon-blue drinks and set one before each of them.
    “This is Emily.”
    Duke took her hand and kissed it. “Aloha, pleasure to meet you.”
    “Aloha. Old Orchard Beach by way of Hawaii?”
    “Absolutely.”
    “Duke comes here for the summers,” Aaron chimed in.
    “And the babes,” Duke added. At fifty-two, Duke’s Polynesian genes kept him looking young.
    “I’m sure you have your pick of the litter,” Emily said. She sipped her drink. “Mmmm. This is delicious.”
    “I thank you.” Duke bowed. “Nice to meet you, Emily. You’ll have to excuse me.” He winked at Aaron and moved down the bar to a couple of portly ’80s holdovers dressed in Ratt and KISS T-shirts and stone-washed blue jeans.
    “Before you sidetracked me