Topsail: A Week at the Beach: Story #3 (part 2)

Surprisingly, Male "friend" agreed to the conditions and arrived as expected on Wednesday. You know you're middle-aged when even someone who is 27 still looks young enough to pass for 16.

Lauren was in good spirits. Danny was calm. Jacqueline was suffering from internal bleeding because she had to continuously bite her tongue. And poor, poor Male "friend" as nice as he was, he was a bundle of nerves. At least I got to play hostess and "get to know you" questions. We learned about his family and what he did with his life as he and Lauren ate some sandwiches. Pleasantries were done and he changed into his suit and Danny firmly reminded Lauren of the parameters of where they needed to stay. And off they went to have fun on the beach.

By this time, I had the peace of God which transcends all understanding. There was such freedom and relief knowing Danny was dealing with all this. In fact, I began to enjoy the humor of Danny's "protector" instincts grow and grow with more aggression as the afternoon continued. Imagine if you will, the "folks" under the tent reading within full view of the youngsters frolicking in the water. Not to miss any action or be unclear about how he felt about the Male "friend", Danny watched them in plain view with his binoculars. Male "friend" had no illusions about privacy.

At one point as they were wading/floating in the waves, they began to slowly drift farther left from our site. I'm not sure it was intentional, but the distance was not within Danny's comfort and he got up and walked closer to the water and waved them in. Can you see it? His arm was clearing communicating, "Get back over HERE! NOW." There was immediate obedience on their part. Ah, yes, I was now simply enjoying the pure entertainment aspect of this situation. You just can't make this stuff up.

As the afternoon progressed, Danny I moved to the deck to read. He continued to occasionally observe with the binoculars (by the way he actually brought 2 sets of them with us to the beach). The youngsters finished with their water play settled themselves at our tent for the next hour and talked. As I observed time slip away, I wondered when Danny was going to have his time with Male "friend."

As I watched my daughter from a distance, my heart ached. It ached because I knew full well her struggle. I knew full well the power of that struggle. I knew full well that if this struggle was not brought under the management of God with clear understanding at a young age, it would lead to poor/sinful decisions that potentially change the coarse of your life in ways you cannot undo. My heart ached for my daughter because I had seen my own mistakes and knew women --- grown women in their 30's and 40's not deal with this struggle and destroy their marriages and go from man to man to man.

My heart ached for my daughter because this was a strong pull in her and it is something she must learn through God and not simply from me. I cannot punish or restrict or prohibit or do anything else to change her heart issues. Only God can do that. My heart ached because all her life I have prayed, "Dear God, please PLEASE don't let me screw up her life!" And now I was begging again, "Dear God, please PLEASE don't let her screw up her life!"

As the afternoon drew to a close, Danny finally went down to the couple. By this time I was inside watching from a window in our bedroom. I had fully removed myself from the situation, and when Lauren came in alone, she knew understood this situation was not in my hands. As she headed to the shower, I saw Danny sitting next to Male "friend" in a beach chair. Oh, to be a little crab in a hole in the sand close by! I could see hand gestures on my husband's part. I could see occasional nodding on Male "friend" 's part. I could also see he was not doing much of the talking. Poor boy, what had he gotten himself into? Was Lauren worth the "friendship"? I wondered if he thought this.

After a good 45 minutes or so, the men returned to the house with pleasant smiles. By this time, Lauren was changed and we exchanged our "Nice to meet you's." Lauren looked at Danny for permission to walk Male "friend" to his car to say good-bye. Danny gave permission and as they left, I turned to Danny, "Well? WELL? What did you say? What happened?!"