Once Around the Carousel

Chapter Nine

Mr. Jenkins, in addition to leading the volunteer fire department, operated the town's lone snowplow. He'd cleared the snow from most of the streets by the time Linda and Sharon set out for the beach. Still, their bikes slipped and slid the whole way. And as they came to the beach, all the shops, arcades, and penny candy stores along Sound View Boulevard were boarded up. The only familiar sound came from waves crashing in the distance. The desolation made them feel they might get in trouble just for being there.

Leaning their bikes against the boardwalk, they went up to investigate. Boards, thickly glazed with sandy ice, protected the carousel, Fry Shack, and other shops facing the ocean. And the stairs leading down to the beach were so heavily iced Sharon and Linda used them like a slide. Then on the beach itself, they found a frozen protective crust covering what all summer was fluffy, warm sand. They tried walking across the iced coating but could only make it a few steps before their feet fell into to the soft, familiar sand below. But it was more than just the sand that had changed. Their beach was tiny now. Its gentle slope now fell off severely, and the waves came up much closer to the boardwalk. 

"It happens like this every year," Linda said. "The storms change it."

"But where did all the sand go? Where's our beach?"

"I don't know. Out there," she said, waving to the ocean. "It starts coming back in the spring. And by the time people want to come to the beach again, it'll magically be back to the way it always is."

"Good, cuz if it keeps going like this, we won't have any beach for the summer." Sharon was anxious for the upcoming summer. They were going into high school the following year. And that fact, regardless of age, would officially change their status from kids to teenagers.

"Don't worry; it always comes back. My dad says it does this every year. Come on, down past the jetties; it gets really weird. In some places, the water comes all the way up to the dunes." Linda's idea provided all the motivation they needed, and off they went, walking toward Titus's house.

Patches of snow lay scattered along the beach, with a biting cold breeze, cloudy skies, and pounding surf. Expecting it to be cold, the girls dressed accordingly. Sharon had on a baby blue down ski jacket with matching hat and mittens she'd gotten for Christmas, and Linda, who caught chills easily, wore three layers topped with an old heavy coat of her brother's. Army green with a thick liner, its zipper broke long ago, forcing Linda to pull it over her head like a dress. The coat hung down to her knees, and she'd tied the hood, so only her face poked through. She didn't look as stylish as Sharon but suspected she was warmer.

Walking down the beach, Sharon told Linda about her trip to Florida. It had been fun, although she spent a lot of her time alone. Her brothers paired off, playing sports and activities at the resort, while Bob and Perrin took the trip as an opportunity for romantic dinners. Several nights, Bob told his kids to order room service and enjoy themselves. This meant the lms went off somewhere together, leaving Sharon alone in the room watching TV.

"So are there palm trees everywhere?" Linda asked, only having seen them in pictures and thinking Florida sounded very exotic."

"Yeah, like instead of sand dunes and grass like we have, they've got palm trees at the back of their beach. The sand's really soft and white, and the water's super clear. You can see the bottom even when it's like ten feet over your head." Sharon kept her raving to a minimum, knowing Linda dreamed of seeing other beaches and swimming in the oceans around the world.

"I don't think I'll ever get to see anywhere but here."

"Don't worry; we'll go someday."

"I guess. The only place I've ever been is Pennsylvania, and I don't remember that. My dad says we don't go on vacation because we live here, and this is where everyone wants to come in the summer."