Eileen had just arrived at her fifteenth college reunion when she ran into one of her college roommates. They hadn't seen each other in years.
"Claire, how are you? You look wonderful!"
"Eileen! Oh don't you look great! I love that haircut on you."
"Thanks. I haven't checked in yet, have you?"
"No but I see Charlie over there by the Enter sign. I think that's where we go."
They headed over to the table to sign in, get their badges and the schedule of activities. They enter the large hall where there are tables set up with food and beverages, and a band was playing on stage. They grab a bite to eat and head to an empty table in the back where it was quieter so they could talk and catch up.
"So, Claire, what's new in your life? I see you're wearing a wedding ring!"
"Yes, I finally got to marry my long-time gal pal, up in Vermont, where I'm a CPA for a major law firm. Life is so wonderful now that I keep waiting for the balloon to pop."
"I can see you're happy, it's all over your face. I'm so glad you two were able to tie the knot. How is Joanie doing?"
"She's all settled in and busy as usual. She's the one setting up our new house and working at a library. She's still doing research for her book. Enough about me, what about you? I see you're married too."
"Yes, and so happy."
"You looked for so long for someone. How did you finally meet your husband?"
And she proceeded to tell her of that wonderful day... and night.
Eileen was working as an assistant to a painter and gallery owner and doing her own painting when time permitted. This was in the mid-West and she was 13 months, four days out of college. She had a vacation coming and went to visit her sister Julie up in San Fran for a few days. Julie showed her the sights of SF and of course, the bridge. They decided to leave the beach for Eileen's last day so they could just relax and talk. They rose that morning, had breakfast, and got ready to leave. Julie's cell rang as they were heading out the door. Eileen heard her say,
"Okay. I'm off today, but if there's an emergency, I have my beeper with me. Right, okay."
Julie is a surgeon at a local hospital.
"Eileen, one of the surgeon's is out with the flu so I'll be on call. The beach I wanted to take you to will have to wait for next time, it's too far to go. There's a beach a couple blocks from the hospital. It's usually crowded with RVs and buses, but we might find some space."
"Hey, all I need is sand, sun and surf. I've been in the mid-West so long I've forgotten what a beach is."
They hop into Julie's car and are at the beach in no time. The only parking space was right beside a bus so they pulled in. They grab their gear from the trunk and find space in the sand, right near the car in case Julie gets beeped. They set up chairs and put sunscreen on each other and settle in for a nice afternoon. The day goes by fast, as they chat and munch a couple sandwiches, carrot sticks, and sparkling water. As they settle into their chairs to catch some rays, Julie's beeper goes off.
"Sorry, gotta go."
Eileen walks with her to the car to get her things out of the trunk. Julie says she'll hitch a ride home with one of the nurses and she'll see Eileen there later.
"Good luck" Eileen yells as Julie jogs away down the street toward the hospital.
Eileen turns to close the trunk and spies something on the bus next to them. She notices that it's painted yellow, like the bus used by that TV singing group of years ago. This one has wide black stripes in its middle, going from side to side. Instead of the hippy flowers, the bus has writing on three sides. 'Buzz me up Scotty'; 'I love a good buzz', 'Buzzy as a B'. She went around the back of the bus and saw 'If you hear buzzin', don't come knockin'; 'Life's a buzz', 'All that buzz', 'This buzz's for you'. The other side of the bus had writing as well, some different sayings: 'You can buzz that again', 'All buzzed up and nowhere to go',' Buzzed to tears', and 'Son of a buzz'. She shrugs her shoulders, well, it does look like a bumble bee.
Before going to their spot, Eileen strolls down to the water and wades a bit. The water feels cool on her feet. She walks a little ways down the beach, watching kids toss a beach ball and Frisbee, an older couple walking hand-in-hand. When she approaches their spot, she notices the bus has a sign on the front scroll bar. It says "The Buzzing B." Cute, she says to herself and lies down on a towel. The afternoon rays feel nice, the surf not too loud.
She turns her head toward the other direction and notices a guy lying on his towel in front of the bus. He's looking at her with his brown eyes, his brown hair blowing in the breeze. Eileen sits up.
"Hi."
"Hi yourself. I saw you checking out my bus."
"Yeah, I like the design."
"Thanks, did it myself."
"Oh, handy are you?"
"I know my way around."
They strike up a conversation. He tells her his name is Ben. She moves her chair closer to him and they talk about anything and everything. He's so friendly and easy to talk to, she feels like she's known him forever. This makes her cautious. She's only there for today and leaves tomorrow. The afternoon sun sinks toward the ocean.
"Gee, it's getting late. My sister will wonder where I am."
"Oh no, don't go. I was going to make a fire and cook up some steaks. Please join me."
Well, she hadn't really eaten much and she was starving.
"Sure."
"Great, let me get the fire going."
"I'll grab what's left in our cooler."
"Okay."
When the fire is just right, he puts the steaks on a couple of sticks and rests them on a frame he made out of green wood found floating in the ocean. They discuss San Fran while they wait. With the steaks ready, he puts them on the plates and she adds some carrots.
"That's all I've got, except some water."
"That's okay, though, I have some wine. Must have red to go with steak."
