Coastal [h.s]

twenty

SENIOR YEAR//MAY

~MAGGIE~

"Kiddo!!" I watched my dad's mouth form the word I've heard him say probably more than any other word in the dictionary throughout my life through the slightly dirty window of Lola.

I rushed to open the door and ran right up to him, the same way I would when he'd come back from a work trip when I was little. When I reached him I felt his arms wrap around me, the slight scratchiness of the flannel that he definitely didn't need in the California heat rubbed against my back and I heard him groan affectionately into my hair.

He moved his arms to grab my shoulders and pull away from me, "look at you, I swear yesterday you could fit right here and now you're graduating college". He pointed from his fingertips to the crease of elbow as he spoke.

"Hello to you too dad" I said with a giggle. "Come on get your bag, we've got things to do and people to see!"

We hurried back to the car before one of the mean airport workers could yell at me and set out on our drive.

Places to go.

"Gosh I haven't been here in so long but this place hasn't changed a bit," my dad piped up as we drove up route 5 from San Diego into La Jolla.

"Wait... you've been here before?" I questioned him.

"Mom and I, we did a little research at Scripps right out of college, they paid for us to come out here it was pretty snazzy"

I looked over at him, with my jaw unhinged slightly and my eyebrows raised. "DAD ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" I yelled a little too loud, "I cannot believe you! I've been here for four freaking years and you've never mentioned this. You seriously must be joking right now"

"Not kidding kiddo, I asked your mom out for the first time right about," he paused as the car jetted forward, "there". He pointed over my left shoulder and I turned to look quickly out the window.

I was met with the familiar sight of Avenida de la Playa. With everyone's family in for graduation the street filled with restaurants and shops was bustling with people all the way down to the ocean which you could see faintly from the main road.

"Wait where?" I pushed him.

"Well you know we knew each other back at URI but your old man was a fool and never did anything about the pure raw sexual tension that was clearly always present"

"Ew dad!" I cut him off.

"Sorry, sorry," he chuckled, "but anyways when we both got called in for the same research project out here I figured the universe was... I don't know, sending me a sign or something. So one night after a long day of tests out on the pier we came down here and I bought her an ice cream and we walked down to the beach and watched the sunset. Right as the sun was going under the horizon she looked me dead in the eye and said, 'I can't believe you didn't even have the balls to call this a date'."