AT THE BEACH.

CHAPTER 2: AT THE BEACH.

The sounds of the crashing waves seemed like music to his ears. Those were sounds he was familiar with. More often than not, Trevor would go to the beach whenever he was distressed.

It had been a habit he picked up, growing up in the foster care system. He was always isolated and secluded, the other kids picked on him. He felt unwanted, until he met Paul, with whom the bond of brotherhood blossomed. Paul was a brother not by blood, but by time proven loyalty. And with his experience at the funeral earlier on today, he was painfully reminded of his childhood, when he was not accepted.

His wife, who should be shoulders to cry on, and closest confidant, is the one inflicting the pain and hurt he feels right now. But strangely enough, he still loves her despite all she's been doing for the past two years of their marriage. This was the girl he was head over hills for ten years ago, and they've been married for 7 years. But these past two years felt like an eternity of torture for him.

With his shoes held by his index and middle finger in his right had, and his black formal pants folded up to his knees, Trevor walked by the shoreline of the beach at Robert Moses State Park, New York, playfully kicking the water as he walked by. It was 6 pm, an hour before the park is closed.

A lifeguard who had been observing everyone still at the beach from his life guard tower, decided to pay closer attention to an individual he saw with the aid of his binoculars.

It was Trevor.

Through the years working as a life guard, he had seen folks who exhibited certain signs or behaviors, before attempting to commit suicide. Seeing Trevor, he thought this may be one of such cases.

At some point, Trevor halted his motion facing the body of water and just gazed at it, lost in thought. He stood at a depth of just 4 inches above his ankle. But to the lifeguard, that was enough distance from the deeper side of the water body that could drown someone seeking to end his life. He stepped off his tower and headed to where Trevor stood motionless, just in case.

"Excuse me sir. Is everything okay?" The lifeguard enquired expecting the answer he's been used to.

Trevor hesitantly turned, answering the lifeguard, "Does true happiness exist?"

"Well, I believe it does." He replied Trevor, most assuredly that he was about to take his life.

"Sir, I need you to step out of the water, and we can talk. Alright?" The lifeguard engaged his negotiation skills.

"Trust me, am not planning on ending my life soon. It may suck, but why the hell would I want to end my life?" Trevor said, appeasing the mind of the lifeguard, who sighed a sigh of relief.

Trevor smiled as he chuckled, walking out of the water with his pair of leather shoes in his hands.

"So, what's the matter?" The life guard asked as they walked towards the lifeguard tower.

"I don't even know where to start." Trevor sighed, replying the life guard.

"Am a good listener." The lifeguard said, assuring him his attention.

Trevor went ahead to pour out his heart to the lifeguard. He rambled on and on. The lifeguard felt sorry that he had been going through all that. "Wow. That's really tragic." The lifeguard answered, not knowing what to say yet.

"Just one moment". The lifeguard went in, leaving Trevor seated at the balcony of the lifeguard tower. He returned with a margarita for Trevor and himself. Trevor gratefully accepted it. After they both took a sip, the lifeguard began, "Your choice to not give up on life just because of one individual or a couple of them, shows me your latter will be greater than your past.

"In what universe will things ever get better for me?" Trevor humphed his doubt. "I've been on the pursuit for happiness all my life. Abandoned as a child by both parents, rejected by my peers, and now my wife holds me in contempt. I don't think happiness is meant for folks like me." Trevor sipped his cocktail as tears ran down his left cheek.

The lifeguard saw the depth of Trevor's despair, and was amazed at how he wasn't resolute to take his life. All he could say to Trevor was, "You'll be just fine." That was all Trevor needed to hear.

"Thank you for offering me a listening ear, and letting me ramble on and on about how my life sucks." Trevor appreciated, sighing in relief, having let out his pain and frustration, then he gulped the margarita emptying the glass.

"That's what we're here for, saving folks drowning in water and in sorrow,as the case may be." The lifeguard also gulped his margarita emptying it.

"I better be headed home now." Trevor stood up, stretching himself as he yawned, letting out some stress. The emotional ordeal took a toll on his physical body. More than an hour had passed since they were seated at the lifeguard tower, and it was way past the closing hours of the park already.

"We weren't formally introduced. I'm Trevor." Trevor introduced himself.

"I'm Billy." The lifeguard responded, exchanging handshakes. "See you around Trevor." The lifeguard said as Trevor left the tower, properly wearing his leather shoes and unfolded his pants.

Trevor nodded in acknowledgement, cracking up a brief smile as walked away from the beach, with hardly anyone still there.

The soothing sound of the crashing waves diminished the farther he walked away from the beach, seeking a means of transportation to his residence. His house was just a 15 minutes drive from the beach.

In the taxi, Trevor felt relieved as the taxi driver drove. His time at the beach was worth it. Arriving his house, he got out of the taxi and stood in front of his house. He wasn't sure if Elizabeth was home. A dread ran through his spine, but he shook it off. He wasn't going to lose the peace he had found.

He headed for the front door and turned the door knob, checking to see if the door was unlocked, which would also confirm that Elizabeth was home. His fear was actualized. The door opened. But yet again, he shook off the fear, sighing deeply, and proceeded to go in. He unconsciously found himself tip-toeing his way into his house.

There was no one in the living room, and everything still looked kept and in their rightful position.

'Obviously, it wasn't long she returned.' Trevor thought to himself.

He walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge and just stared into the almost empty fridge. Closing it, he sat down on the stool set beside the granite island in the middle of the kitchen.

All day he hadn't eaten anything meal substantial enough. All he ate was what was the buffet made available by the caterers. And now, he was hungry. He chose not to leave the house that night to get something to eat.

"I'm not going die if I don't eat." He mumbled inaudibly.

Then he walked up the stairs but halted when he got to the door of the bedroom. He stretched out his hand to grip the door knob and turn it open to enter in, but froze.

He heard the shower running. Obviously, Elizabeth was freshening up. She always tried to keep her body clean, especially after having such a long day. Trevor needed to take a shower too, but he didn't want to see his wife. He couldn't tell if his wife would go another spree of dehumanizing insults.

To save himself such trouble, he refrained from entering his bedroom, going downstairs to the living room. He smelled awful, but he'd rather smell so than go through such an experience. This was such a sorry situation.

He turned on the TV, tuning to a sports channel, just to preoccupy his mind. Minutes later, he was startled when he heard, "Go take a shower! Gosh, you look awful." Elizabeth scoffed, not because she really cared for his wellbeing, but because she felt irritated. He was irritating enough to her, just being him.

"Yeah... I'll, I'll do that." Trevor muttered incoherently.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, looking away as she headed to the kitchen, opening a cabinet to get a snack, Pringles, to snack on before bed.

Trevor dashed to the bedroom, pulling his clothes he realized how indeed he smelled awful. Then he got into the shower and had a warm bath, just standing as the water ran down his face to his feet.

Returning to the living room, with the snack in one hand, Elizabeth sat on a different couch from the 3 seater couch Trevor was on.

"Pathetic." She scoffed in disdain, changing the channel to something else which she fancied.

Finishing up from the shower, Trevor got into something more comfortable, his pyjamas, and rolled into bed. Although hungry, the warmth from the duvet and comfort from the bed abated that feeling, drifting him to sleep. Moments later, not totally unconscious, he felt something creeping on his body.