Heartbreak Vacation

A Day at the Beach

The first thing that struck her about him was his wife. She was beautiful. Someone who always stood out in a crowd. Tall, slim, yet feminine, with long blond hair and that kind of mystic glow that made everybody look at her. She just stood there on the beach, talking to a guy with a surfboard. Even in shorts, shirt and flip-flops she looked very lady-like. She had those legs men adored, long and slender. As she stood, her body showed every curve of her perfect body. A breeze made her hair moved in soft waves around her face like little butterflies. On top of her golden curls sat a cap. As Dana passed her it was blown off by a sudden wind, tumbled over the warm sand, and landed in front of Dana's feet. She put her own surfboard down to pick it up. Barbie approached her.

"Oh, thank you!" She smiled and showed an even row of white teeth.

Dana smiled too, nodded "Never mind" and continued her way towards the water. It was the second day of her vacation and she intended to use every minute to enjoy the ocean. Her parents had paid for the trip. As a treat because she was studying so hard, they had said. Dana was sure the real reason was that family vacations would soon be a thing of the past. Just two more years and she would start real employment. Three holiday schedules would be even harder to coordinate once she had a job. Also, her parents had dropped the other night, they figured Dana would soon rather spend time with a steady boyfriend and her family-of-the-near-future. No pressure there, Dana had thought and frowned a bit. Sure, she saw herself with a husband and kids. Someday. In her plans, picked fences, suburban home and football-mom was way in the future. There weren't even any candidates as steady boyfriends in sight. She was quite content with being by herself, her studies and her friends. Especially Julie, who was her roommate and best friend. Dana felt that she did not have any time for a relationship between college and working part-time at the Billings Gazette. Her father had pulled some strings because he knew that Dana was a good writer and liked working as a journalist. Peter Henrikson was a reporter himself and employed at the Independent Record in Helena, Montana - their hometown.

Dana stopped at the shore and looked out at the waves which were rolling in in nice, steady sets. They were crashing in front of her feet and send a salty spray over her bare legs. She inhaled deeply, loving the smell of salt, sand and sea. Then she headed into the waves.

The beach always remindet her of her Grandparents. They had had a condominium in Carlsbad, California. When she was littel, Dana had stayed most summer months while her parents worked. That's were Dana had learned how to surf - a passion she hardly got to enjoy anymore since she was a student at Montana State University in Billings.

******

After a great on the water and the beach, Dana and her parents went to the restaurant accompanying their hotel. Dana was heading for the salad bar, when she saw Barbie standing there as well. Obviously, Barbie was a guest at the same hotel as Dana and her parents. How can one look that perfect after a day on the beach, Dana wondered. Her own hair looked like straw after being in the water and the burning sun all day. Not to mention her skin, which was reddened, even though she had put on sun screen.

"Hi!" Dana simply said when she reached the salad bar and started to pile salad, tomatoes and cucumber on her plate.

Barbie turned to her.

"Oh, Hi! How are you!" Barbie smiled.

"Exhausted. I've been in the water all day," Dana replied smiling back. She started putting vegetables on her plate.

"Thanks again for catching my cap. It is very dear to me. My husband gave it to me for our second anniversary."

"Oh, I didn't actually catch it. I just picked it up!" Dana scooped some goat-cheese on her lettuce.