Half Responsible

Sour

The day started on a sour note.

It should be illegal for work to call her during the holidays, but regardless, she answered the phone.

"Hey, uh, Jackson!" it was the boss of the restaurant she waited at. "We're down on a few waiters and need you to come back tomorrow."

"But, I'm not back until next week!"

"Tuff luck," her boss grunted. "Someone is down with the flu."

"And if I say no?" Sally needed this vacation. It was the only time she ever took off during the whole year.

"Then you're fired."

That thought burned at the back of her brain when the girls came over to take advantage of the private beach by the cabin again. This time, they brought people along whom she knew but wasn't necessarily on friendship terms.

Her journal stayed blank, the sand covering the pages as the wind cooled the feeling of the sun on her back.

"Soooo," Anne scooted closer to Sally and nodded towards the hoard of boys – well, men, but in her head, they were still the boys from high school. "Do you like any of them?"

Sally didn't pay them any mind. She was still thinking of last night. He'd promised to come by her cabin later to watch whatever human movie she wanted him to watch, just so he was "up-to-date".

What a sucker.

"None are my type," she hummed.

Anne raised an eyebrow. "What is your type?"

Sally shrugged.

"Tall, a little bit sun-kissed –"

"Fictional?"

She smacked Anne's upper arm. "I was actually going to describe someone."

"Is it someone you work with?" she piqued. "Someone I know? Because if that's the case, then I can forget about introducing you to Gabe."

"And when was this supposed to happen?"

"It's more of a meet-up at the bar, really. We decided it before you returned from your run around town," Anne eyed her. "It's our last night, you should come."

Sally shook her head.

"No? Does it have anything to do with last night because who are you meeting by the septic tanks that is this interesting? Why don't you bring him along?"

There was no point in lying about it.

"If he's up for it."
"If he isn't weird about it, he will be up for it," Anne said adamantly. "Even if he is a stranger, what's his name?"

Sally lied, "Kai."

"Kai? Oh I just know he's a surfer dude," she rolled her eyes. "Didn't knew you loved those kinds of people."

"What does that even mean?"

"I mean they're very...fluid in movements."

Sally smacked Anne on the upper shoulder playfully. "None of that happened!"

"But something did happen?"

Sally hid her face in her hands.

"I won't say anything anymore."

"C'mon, tell me about him."

"Well he's a sailor," Sally began. "Very handsome. I met him because he was dealing with a beached whale that I found –"