Staple Beach
Elizabeth Almeida© 2018 Edited © 2020
Staple Beach plays host to all walks of life during the summer, families with toothless toddlers and moody teenagers. To old couples burning through their retirement years with really bad tans. Staple Beach has yet to see anyone like the like the Henderson’s, who last summer came to stay in one of its cozy beachside cabins. Staple Beach welcomed them with open arms, but they did not do the same.
Wendy and Joseph Henderson are middle class elites, enough money to prosper but not enough to buy a Lamborghini for fun. Both functioning workaholics, finally taking a weekend to relax and reconnect. However, this vacation seems to be more to fit in with others than anything else. Wendy works as a lawyer for a prominent firm in the big city and Joseph is an executive at an up and coming engineering firm. Friends of the Henderson’s have gushed about vacationing here and there, where as the last vacation the Henderson’s enjoyed was for their honeymoon. It seemed proper for them to go away. But just for three days, because their firms would surely cease to exist if they were away any longer.
Staple Beach was mutually agreed upon, nice location, not too touristy, and not too far from work. It had beautiful beaches with white sand and clear blue water, you could smell the salt through the photograph. Even the name Staple Beach gave the Henderson’s comfort, if they couldn’t connect here, there would surely be no hope for them.
“We’re in cabin 11 you said, I think its just there on the left”, Wendy pointed to a large cabin, with ferns and trees framing its door. Just how it looked online, just how the Henderson’s liked it. They piled in their luggage into the main foyer, where the woodwork from the outside was carried inside throughout the house. Joseph noticing this quipped “we’ll never be low on firewood”, Wendy smirked drily at the remark and moved along with her bag into the main bedroom. As they settled in, a sense of accomplishment washed over them, it has been 8 hours and neither thought about work. That is until Wendy’s phone began to buzz during dinner.
“Damn its Jordie, sorry I should probably take this. I’ll only be a minute.” Joseph nodded and took a long gulp of his wine as he watched her walk off hands on her hips, and ear to her phone. She headed towards the bathroom, because one of kids siting near the Henderson’s started to cry and wail. Joseph took this moment to check over his work emails, 133 unread, since he last checked while he was in the washroom getting ready for tonight. Joseph always thought that Wendy and he were well matched, she was the only girl that didn’t make him cringe, and the only one who didn’t mind if they spent the night catching up on work. Intimately they were mostly too tired or just not in the mood, whenever it did get there it seemed only to be out of pure bodily need and not because of love. This didn’t bother Joseph, but slightly worried Wendy, who at the age of ten declared to her mother “If I don’t do it out of love, I shall never dare to do it all”. This of course is why Wendy has stayed on birth control since college.
When walking back to their cabin, Wendy made the suggestion of strolling along the beach, it was near sunset and the wind was still warm. Joseph unconvinced of the idea replied, “Wendy, babe, its nearly nine, I really wanted to catch a bit of the news maybe go over some e-mails…we’ll have tomorrow to do all that.”
“Yeah sure, I guess I wouldn’t mind watching some news.” Wendy leaned in and kissed him, a swirl of worry began to build in her stomach, she figured it was just the food.
Relaxing into their night, the Henderson’s were doing just as they planned or just as Joseph planned; the news and work. In all fairness this is a very typical night for the two, Wendy however wanted a little change tonight, that was the point of a vacation, right? To get away from the normal. Wendy very skillfully placed her hand on Joseph’s knee and said, “Honey, do you think maybe we could talk and spend some quality time?”
“What do you mean? We are spending quality time, that’s what this vacation is for.” Disappointed in his answer Wendy persisted;
“That’s not what I meant…I mean that”
“Well why don’t you get to your point, I need to finish up this email to Mike before 12” Joseph interrupted. That mix of worry from earlier started to turn into a tornado ready to make land fall.
“Put that God Damn phone away and let me talk to you!” Wendy said with a slam on the nightstand to show her seriousness. Joseph in his ten years of knowing Wendy has never seen her act in such a frightening way. Confused and taken aback Joseph could only mumble “God Wendy, what’s gotten into you?” Wendy took her time with the question, what had changed? If they were home they would probably be doing the same thing, both propped up with their phones making sure they didn’t miss anything from work. Just today she left dinner to take a work call, it didn’t bother her then. Maybe it was this place, Staple Beach, with happy honeymooning couples, or families, or even the elderly couples that have seen it all together. They steeped and crept inside her making her see her own miserable life, with a man equal in his own misery.
“Wendy!” Joseph shouted and snapped his fingers in front of her face, she turned back to her husband and looked at him desperately “Are you happy with us? Happy that our marriage has revolved around work and passively enjoying vacations, nights out, hell nights in, how can you be happy?” Joseph was dumbstruck, she actually said it out loud, but all he could give her was a sad look. He couldn’t find the words she wanted, so he just went back to his phone. “Ok” said Wendy as she headed out the door, Joseph didn’t even look up. She followed the short path to the beach and didn’t stop till her toes were covered in sand. The moon had reached its zenith and there was a couple walking along the shore taking in its romance. Wendy dropped to her knees and cried, nothing was more beautiful than Staple Beach at midnight.
