Natala Belden stood at the edge of the ocean, letting it rush up and over her feet. She had seen the Pacific Ocean coastline, but she had never really had a chance to see the water, or play in it. And she didn’t know how to swim. The thought of going out into the water where she couldn’t see the bottom terrified her to her core.

Her cousins had assured not to worry; they wouldn’t go out that far. Aralyn and Tiffany had grown up swimming in the lake at Manor House, and Natala had watched with envy as they easily flipped themselves off the diving rock, or boat dock, and it wasn’t unusual to see two of the cousins race down the dock and dive in, seeing who could reach the middle or other side first. Even the youngest cousins were adept swimmers.

It was early morning now, and her cousins were asleep. Tiffany had suggested a trip to the beach to cheer Aralyn up. Cam's break up with Aralyn had left thier vibrant cousin depressed and angry, so a girls weekend was in order. The last few weeks of the semester had been difficult, Aralyn ran into Cam on campus repeatedly. But he was off to Metroplois for his internship now, and Aralyn had no chance of running into him for the summer.

Last night they had had a bonfire on the beach, cooked their chicken and corn over it and made smores. Natala had discovered that she shared her cousin’s enthusiasm for the ooey-gooey treats, and knew they’d be making a return trip to the store for more supplies. The first round had all been eaten.

Nat liked the early mornings and strolled along the beach, the surf rolling up around her ankles. She felt self-conscious in her red and black striped bikini, so she wore the light weight cover-up.

The only people out now were a couple of joggers, who nodded to her as they passed by. It was calm and quiet, except for the waves of the ocean, and that was why Nat liked early mornings.

It had been an interesting year and a half, she thought. Finding her family had been such an amazing experience. They were so good, so wonderful. She was still working out the anger issues she had with her mother, but her father made up for it. And if she needed mothering, all she had do was walk show up at her aunts' houses. Honey and Daisy made it clear she was welcome at their houses as well. And there was always Moms, who still dropped by once a week to deliver home baked goodies and smother 'her girls' with attention and wonderful food.

Things she had never dreamed of, were now hers. If she was lonely, she could simply knock on the door next to hers. if she called up one of the cousins, she was promptly invited to join them. There were salon trips with Tiffany and Aralyn, babysitting for Val and Regan, and then there was Dean.

Her darling Dean. Everything she had always wanted in a man and never found. Sure, they had their squabbles but just being around him was a mood lifter, and he had been extremely patient with her. And it didn’t hurt that he adored all of her cousins, making it a point to tell Val how pretty she was to boost her low self-confidence, every time he saw the shy girl. They double dated with Cam and Aralyn often, or had.

She had known they were headed for a breakup, but kept her mouth her shut. It wasn't her place to interfere; she knew better than to try and disrupt what was meant to be. The family was worried that Aralyn might take off again in her depression. Aralyn was a free spirit, but that hadn’t stopped Natala from sitting her cousin down and giving her ‘dutch rub’ as Moms called it, for worrying everyone, telling her that she needed to keep her blonde butt right there in White Plains. Aralyn assured her she wasn’t looking for another road trip, but she felt smothered again, and restless.

But Cam's breakup had devastated her cousin, and Aralyn was getting ready to throw herself into her summer classes and work at the police station.

With a heavy sigh, Natala realized she could barely see their rented beach house, and turned back, walking a little further out into the water.

*

Aralyn was looking out the window as the coffee maker hissed and poured. She spotted Natala walking back towards the house, and relaxed.

Aralyn had a minor itch to hit the road again. But she wouldn’t. She had promised Dad she wouldn’t do that again, and she knew if she did, it would cause irreparable damage to her relationships with her family. But she was missing a piece of her heart since cam broke up with her.

But she was restless, and she did need something new to do. She had kept up with her martial arts, and occasionally called Duncan to chat. Maybe she’d go visit him. Sometimes she called Jax, to hear the sexy voice that still gave her chills. He was married now, to his high school sweetheart and they had two boys, one from his first wife. She was glad he was happy, but worried about his gang activities. She checked local San Juaquin Valley news sistes, wincing when she saw SAMCRO was in some sort of legal trouble again. she'd never forget their one night though. Every time she thought about it, she ended up grinning.

The coffeemaker gave its final hiss, and Aralyn reached for the coffeepot eagerly.

“Little early for you, isn’t it?” Tiffany asked, wandering into the kitchen. She was already in her black swimsuit.

“I never sleep late here,” Aralyn replied, pouring her coffee. Tiffany followed suit, and added a dash of cream to hers, wincing as Aralyn added copious amounts of sugar and cream to hers.

“Where’s Nat?”

“Out there. She went for a walk.”

Aralyn poured a cup of coffee for their cousin, leaving it black with a shudder, and she and Tiffany stepped outside, walking to meet Nat.

“Morning,” Nat called out, her black hair flowing in the breeze.

“Morning, sunshine,” Aralyn handed her the cup of black coffee.

Aralyn sat at the edge of the beach, where it met the reedy grass. Her cousins flanked her, and they sat in silence, sipping their coffee.

“So, what shall we do today?” Tiffany asked. “Hit the boardwalk? Soak up the rays?”

Natala caught the wave of despair from Aralyn first, and turned to her cousin. A tear slid down Aralyn’s cheek.

“Ari?” Tiffany asked.

"I miss him,” Aralyn murmured. “It feels wrong to leave things the way we did, but...”

“He just needs some space," Tiffany said gently.

Aralyn shook her head. “It doesn't feel right.”

“The timing’s all wrong, isn’t it,” Natala asked.

Aralyn nodded.

Nat took her cousin’s hand and concentrated, searching the ether, recalling her last tarot card spread. “There’s someone coming.”

Tiffany knew Nat didn’t mean literally, and didn’t turn around. “Really?”

Natala nodded. “Two someones…closeby…one has his eyes on you, Tiff.”

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. She hadn't bothered dating since the break up with Emme.

“These feel like good guys,” Nat finally said. Probably not their destined partners, but she wouldn’t say that out loud. Some things were best left unsaid. People tended to screw things up when they knew too much about the future.

“Are you trying to make me feel better?” Aralyn asked, wiping her eyes.

Natala put one arm around her cousin, so that her hand overlapped Tiffany’s arm, and rested her head against Aralyn. Aralyn put her arms around her cousins, her best friends, her rocks.

“No. If I was, I’d tell you that there’s a fresh bottle of Hershey’s syrup in the cabinet and we should have ice cream for breakfast. Which we should anyway, because I'm in the mood for ice cream.”

The cousins’ laughter echoed down the beach.

***
Author Notes
- A huge thank you to Ronda, my lovely editor!
- This was written for photo #41 of the CWE 3: A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words Challenge. Thank you to the CWE team for coming up with this fun challenge!
- Obviously this is after Aralyn has returned from her trip out of town. Who's Duncan? A possible contender for the mysterious husband in Happily Ever After part 1? And who is Natala foreseeing entering their lives?
- Word Count, 1,200

This website is © 2005-2025 Mal. All rights reserved. All other graphics created by Mal and may not be used without permission. CWE picture provided by CWE team and belongs to its rightful owner.