HAPPY PLACE ╱ CONRAD FISHER

ONE

HAPPY PLACE
~
Fisher Beach House

A house just off the coast, with several coats of soft buttercream-colored paint all over the outer walls and a myriad of blue and purple hydrangeas planted in the bed in front of the steps. Sandalwood floors laid all throughout the interior, with the inside just as bright and airy as the outside. Conrad wasn't sure if he believed in magic, but being here, in this house, in the merry little beach town of Cousins, he came pretty close.

He knew he could always rely on the house and the people in it to relieve whatever stress that was bearing down on his shoulders and leave his shit at the door every summer he came up here with his family, along with the Conklin crew that consisted of Belly, Steven, and Laurel. Every year, it was just the six of them doing what they always did for the months of June through August.

There was one other person who fit right into Conrad's little corner of the world, someone who he met and got along with without a hitch. And that person was Charlie Efron.

Aside from looking forward to being away from the city for vacation, Conrad also looked forward to seeing his best friend of several years, with his olive skin, deep brown eyes, and a buzzcut that offset everything else. Conrad remembered the summer when they were 14 where he saw that Charlie had grown his hair out just the teeniest bit before he buzzed it off again, claiming it was "too much work" for him.

"Well, for what it's worth," Conrad started, standing up a little straighter and pushing up his wirerim glasses, "I think it looks nice."

Charlie ducked his head, feeling his face flush at the compliment.