A Brighter Tomorrow: My Journey with Julie

We climb down to get started, and then we notice a teenage boy and girl sunbathing on the far side of the cove. Julie says it might be Tracy. It looks like the girl is wearing Tracy’s swimsuit. She suggests we get a little bit closer.

We work our way along the water line to the other edge of the cove. When we get near, the girl-who-might-be-Tracy sits up on her blanket and looks right at my new friend. She calls out to Julie.

I follow Julie over. Next to their blanket lies two tennis rackets and a cooler, along with a portable radio blasting a vaguely familiar disco song. Julie eyes the boy sunbathing next to Tracy and politely introduces me to her sister and the boy, Mike. She asks Tracy why she’s here. Her mom said she was going to the library after tennis practice.

Tracy rolls her eyes. She says no one spends a beautiful day like today inside an old library. Julie puts her hands on her hips and looks at her sister for an explanation. Tracy’s expression softens and she asks Julie not to tell their mom.

I can see Julie’s struggle. She’s obviously bothered that Tracy wants her to cover for her lie. Finally, Julie reaches into her pocket, pulls out a plastic bag, and hands it to Tracy. Then at the very least, Tracy can help with the beach clean up.

Tracy peers at Julie over her sunglasses and says she’s working on her tan. There are plenty of people helping. They don’t need her and Mike’s help.

Mike takes the last sip from a bottle of Orange Crush and tosses it into Julie’s garbage bag. He just helped. Julie mumbles and says never mind. Julie and I continue picking up litter strewn through the cove. Every once in a while, Julie glances over at her sister, but whatever is bothering her seems to drive her to work harder.

Soon, our bags are full of trash, and Julie and I lug them across the sand. Julie drops one near Tracy and Mike to get her sister’s attention. Tracy tells her to get the garbage away from them. I remind Tracy that the beach is full of garbage, and she can’t get away from it.

Tracy gets up and says we’re just going to keep bothering them, and that she and Mike should go. They shake out their blankets, kicking sand into our faces. Julie tells them to keep their sand away from us. Mike gives Tracy a knowing nudge and smirks, and Tracy covers a giggle with her hand and suggests she and Mike take the trash bags for us.

Julie and I glance sideways at each other, surprised and confused. Julie hesitates, but says that would be great. She tells them to take them over to the green trucks at the parking lot. But what’s so funny? Tracy just shrugs it off as a private joke. And she reminds her that they were at the library all day.

Before Julie can respond, Tracy and Mike sling their belongings over their shoulders and head off to the parking lot, dragging our garbage bags behind them through the sand. Julie says they’re up to something. But after a moment, she shakes out two more garbage bags and we continue along the cove to finish cleaning the litter. I can tell Julie’s interaction with Tracy is still bothering her.

I feel a little lost. I suggested the beach cleanup so Julie could feel like she was fixing something wrong in her life. For a while, it seemed to work. But now I can tell her sister is still bothering her, and confrontation isn’t exactly my strong suit either.