Chapter 1 - Sylvia 1

I couldn’t quite remember as to how I had gotten on the floor in the first place. All I knew was that I needed to have my floors carpeted if falling out of bed was going to become a habit. I slowly pushed my self up and sat on the edge of the bed. The sun was shining the through my thin curtains I had hanging from my window.
I stood up and stretched before I walked towards the window, threw back the curtains, and opened the window. The sound, sight and smell of the ocean were the first things that caught my attention. I closed my eyes and filled my lungs with the fresh, beach air. I looked out across the horizon where the sky and the ocean met. Sea gulls swooped in and out of the ocean waves retrieving their breakfast. Loads of people played in the water. Many others sat on the beach taking in the summer sun.
I smiled as I sat on the windowsill and listened to the ocean waves crash down into the water. It was most definitely the most beautiful sound in the entire world. The cool morning breeze felt welcoming against my arms and face. Sylvia! Watch out!” I heard my neighbor, Andrew, shout. In a flash, a quick, red blur came and hit me straight in the forehead. Once again, I was on the floor. “Crap!” Andrew cried; or at least that’s what I thought I heard. Andrew leapt over my fence and climbed through my open window. His dog, Dexter, followed gleefully behind him.
Andrew placed his hand under my shoulders and helped me sit up. I held onto my head as my vision began to normalize. “Sylvia, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you. I was just playing with Dex and I threw too hard. Gee, I’m sorry.” Even though I could barely see him, I knew he had that same deer-in-headlights look on his face. “It’s fine, Andrew.” I moaned. “Here,” Andrew helped me stand and took me to the kitchen. I leaned against the counter as Andrew rummaged throw my freezer.
He pulled out a handful of ice, dropping a few pieces, and wrapped them in my drying cloth. He tied off the ends and gently sat it on my forehead. I winced at the pressure, but it soon eased. “I’m really sorry, Sylvia.” He began apologizing again. “Andrew, it’s okay. Okay? Better me than the window.” I took hold of the rag ice bag. I could see the fuchsia dots on my tiled floor. I looked up at Andrew. I was right; he had that deer-in-headlights look. “Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked me.
I looked at the melting ice cubes on the floor. “You can pick those up and put them in the sink. Get some paper towels to get the water off the floor.” I pointed. Andrew quickly did just that. Dexter ran his big head into my knees and jumped on me. “Hey there, big boy.” I smiled scratching behind his pointed ears. In response he licked at my arm. Andrew shoved his hands into his shorts pockets.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” he asked. “Besides this bruise that’ll send my dad berserk, I think I’ll live.” I nodded. “Okay.” I could see the muscles in his shoulders and arms relax. He let out a long sigh before he started talking again. “How’ve you been? Haven’t seen you since you got back from the states.” Andrew said. “I’ve been better, but I can’t complain.” I shrugged.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. So hey...to make up to you for nearly giving you a concussion, how about I take you out for dinner tonight?” he offered. “I can’t make any promises. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll be working tonight. You know how my dad is about that restaurant. Business is always up and he needs as many workers as he can get.” I replied. “Well, if you can’t, I can totally understand. “ Andrew bit his lip and nodded. “I should get going then.”
He began walking towards my bedroom. All of a sudden I heard him yell and groan. I quickly rushed to the window. Andrew was laying flat on his back in the sand with his face screwed up. “That makes two of us then.” He pulled himself up. “Andrew, you do know that I have a front door, right?” I asked him. “Mother always did tell me to leave the way I came.”
He dusted himself off. I giggled at him and shook my head. “I’ll see you later, Andrew.” I said. Dexter jumped out the window and landed on his feet. “Lucky.” He cried. He jogged back towards the fence. I stepped on the Frisbee that tried to kill me. “Hey Andrew!” I yelled. He turned around. “Catch!” I threw the Frisbee to him. “Thanks!” he smiled.
He jumped over the fence, but his foot got caught and he fell face first in to the sand. Dexter jumped over the fence, grabbed the Frisbee out of his hand and took off for the house. I laughed at him as he got up and blushed. He ran after Dexter and disappeared into his house. Andrew Connelly...my best friend and the clumsiest guy I’ve ever known.
In the bathroom mirror I could see the bruise perfectly. It was a big purplish-blue spot. I tried to see if my long, chestnut locks would cover it. That’s as good as it gets, I thought to myself. I quickly changed out of my silky nightgown and into a tank-top, shorts, and sneakers. I tied my hair back into a ponytail; making sure that some of it was still covering my forehead. I grabbed my iPod from the kitchen table and walked out the house. I locked the door and slid the key into my sneaker.
I stretched a bit to warm up. A middle-aged lady walked out of her house with her Chihuahua in her arms. She put the Chihuahua on the ground and put her hands on her hips. “Good Morning Mrs. Ingram!” I waved at her. “Good Morning baby! You ‘bout to go runnin’?” she asked. “Yeah, gotta keep fit.” I jogged up to her walkway. “Well, you be careful runnin’ up and down them streets, all these tourists and cars ‘round here.” She said. “I will. Have a nice day.” I jogged down the sidewalk. “You too baby!” I heard her respond.
I ran past eighteen houses before I ended up in the city side of Anchor Cove. Anchor Cove was probably one of the most tourist-filled places in all of Canada. Anchor Cove was also probably one of the less populous places in all of Canada. Anchor Cove housed fifty families, but rented houses to over five-hundred families a year. Anchor Cove was a small rural community.
Our major organizations were two schools, the boating dock, the bait shop, the library, and the restaurant that my family owns. There are several other minor organizations around Anchor Cove as well. People primarily came for the fishing, the boating, and all the seafood you could eat. After about a week of that, some would leave, but as soon as they left, more would come back. So it kept Anchor Cove busy and popular. I didn’t mind it though.
Most of the tourists were really nice and came as far as Texas just to taste my dad’s amazing sushi. It was cool seeing all the different kinds of people packed all in one ittty-bitty area. But I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re not all that different. They all came to Anchor Cove for the same things. An hour of running around Anchor Cove had my heart acting like a jack hammer. I stopped at one of the entrances to the beach. I held onto my knees, forcing air to go into my lungs. I looked at the ocean. I slowly walked onto the beach and collapsed on a lump of sand.
My heart was beating normal again. Up in the sky was a jet plane with a banner streaming behind it. Find Your Summer Sweetheart! It read. I scoffed and rolled my eyes. Summer Sweetheart my butt, I thought. I mused over the thought of actually having Summer Sweetheart. Tall, handsome, muscular. Eyes that could see through me. A smile that could make my heart stop. Arms that could hold me tightly at night. A voice so dreamy that I could melt.
I shook off the fantasies. That wasn’t a man I was thinking about...it was cartoon character that just pops up out of nowhere to satisfy my loneliness. But I liked that cartoon character. It gave me hope of finding someone like him. I still had hopes of finding him. It would just take some time. I looked at my watch. I needed to head back. I had work to do.

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