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. 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 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 tie them up and start lugging them across the sand. Julie stops at a spot near Tracy and Mike and heaves the heavy bag onto the sand dramatically to get her sister’s attention. Tracy tells Julie to get the garbage away from them. I remind Tracy that the beach is full of garbage. She can’t get away from it.

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

Julie and I glanced 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 says it was 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’m kind of lost about what to do. I suggested we come to the beach so Julie could feel like she was fixing at least one thing that was wrong with her life. For a while, it seemed like we were getting somewhere. I have a feeling she wants to face the problem with her sister head-on, just as we’re doing by cleaning up the beach. But I know I’m not good at confrontation or talking about family problems. Just the idea of seeing Julie do it makes me squirm.