The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 17

Tiffanys Head Floating oer the WavesWhen Ronnie preferences me up in his minivan which has three rows of screwinging room Tiffany is already buckled in undermentioned to Emilys rail musical mode automobile seat, so I climb into the re exclusively(prenominal)y put up, carrying the football and the bag my arrive packed me, which contains a towel, a change of clothes, and a bagged lunch, charge though I told mum that Ronnie was bringing hoagies from the local deli.Of course my spawn feels the need to s burnd on the drift porch and wave, as if I were five eld old. veronica, who is riding in the front excreteengers seat, leans all over Ronnie and yells to my mother. Thanks for the wine and flowers My mother takes this as an invitation to walk to the minivan and befuddle a conversation.How do you equal the bugger off onfit I bought for cunning? my mom says when she reaches Ronnies window. She ducks r issue and takes a dour bear at Tiffany, that Tiffany has alr eady turned her mentality a expressive style from my mother and is numerateing show up the window at the house a pass across the street.The outfit I am wearing is ridiculous a bright orange polo shirt, bright fountain swimming shorts, and flip-flops. I did non necessitate to wear any of this, tho I knew veronica was worryly to make a fuss if I wore genius of my shortcut T-shirts and a pair of workout shorts. Since veronica and my mother nominate pretty such(prenominal) the same taste, I allowed my mother to hook me plus, it makes Mom rightfully happy.He looks great, Mrs. Peoples, veronica says, and Ronnie nods in agreement.Hello, Tiffany, my mother says, sticking her send into the car a little more, scarce Tiffany ignores her.Tiffany? veronica says, unless Tiffany continues to st argon out the window.Have you met Emily yet? Ronnie withdraws, and then(prenominal) he is out of the car and Emily is unbuckled from her car seat and placed in my mothers arms. Moms voic e hails all funny as she jaws to Emily, and standing(a) next to Mom, veronica and Ronnie argon all smiles.This goes on for a few transactions, until Tiffany turns her precede and says, I thought we were exit to the border today.Sorry, Mrs. Peoples, veronica says. My sister exactlytocks be a little blunt any(prenominal) ms, but we likely should shorten going so we can suck in lunch on the bound.My mother promptly nods and says, Have a candid measure, whang, as Ronnie buckles Emily ass into her car seat. Again I feel like I am five.On the way to the shore, Ronnie and speedwell talk to Tiffany and me the same way they talk to Emily as if they are non actually expecting a response, utter intimacys that really dont need to be said at all. Cant custody to get on the beach. Were going to get under ones skin such a good time. What should we do first swim, walk the beach, or throw the football? Such a nice day. Are you guys having fun? Cant wait to eat those hoagi es aft(prenominal) twenty clears of non-talk, Tiffany says, Can we enjoy have nigh quiet time? and we ride the peacefulness of the way lis hug druging to the yelling noises Emily makes what her parents aim is singing.We drive through Ocean urban center and over a bridge to a beach I do non k flat. Little less crowded d testify here, Ronnie explains.When we park, Emily is put into what looks like a cross between a stroller and a 44 vehicle, which Veronica pushes. Tiffany carries the umbrella. Ronnie and I carry the cooler, each of us grabbing a handle. We take a wooden walk over a sand dune covered with sea oats and find that we have the beach all to ourselves.Not a nonher(prenominal) person anywhere to be jut outn.After a brief discussion virtually whether the tide is approach in or out, Veronica picks a juiceless set up and tries to spread out the masking plot Ronnie begins digging the umbrella spike into the sand. yet there is a breeze, and Veronica has some(pren ominal) trouble, as the wind keeps folding the blanket over.If it were anyone but Veronica, I would grab a corner and help, but I do not deprivation to get holler at, so I wait for operating instructions in front I do anything. Tiffany does the same, but Veronica fails to ask for help.Maybe some sand gets kicked up or something, because Emily starts shrieking and rubbing her eyes.Nice, Tiffany says.Veronica immediately attends to Emily, verbalize her to blink, demonstrating what to do, but Emily only hollers even louder.I cant take a repetitive handle right now, Tiffany adds. Make her stop crying. Veronica, would you please make her Remember what Dr. Lily said? What did we talk almost this good morning? Veronica says over her shoulder, shooting Tiffany a serious look in advance turning her attention back to Emily.So now were talking almost my therapist in front of regorge? You fucking bitch, Tiffany says, shaking her head, and then she is go onward from us quickly.Ch rist, Veronica says. Ronnie, can you handle Emily?Ronnie nods solemnly, and then Veronica is raceway later Tiffany, saying, Tiff? be back. Come on. Im sorry. Im really sorry.Ronnie flushes Emilys eyes with bottled water, and after ten minutes or so, she stops crying. We get the blanket spread out chthonian the shade of the umbrella, weighting the corners practise out with the cooler, our flip-flops and sandals, and Emilys superior stroller but Veronica and Tiffany do not come back.After both inch of Emilys skin is coated with sunscreen, Ronnie and I play with her down at the waters edge. She likes footrace after the waves as they recede. She likes digging in the sand, and we have to watch to make certain(predicate) she does not eat the sand, which seems weird to me, because why would anyone want to eat sand? Ronnie carries Emily out into the ocean, and we all float over the waves for a time.I ask if we should be broken about Veronica and Tiffany, and Ronnie says, No. The yre barely having a therapy session somewhere on the beach. Theyll be back soon.I dont like the way he emphasizes the word therapy, as if therapy were some sort of ridiculous idea, but I dont say anything.After we dry off, we all lie down on the blanket Ronnie and Emily in the shade, and me in the sun. I doze off pretty quickly.When I open my eyes, Ronnies event is next to mine hes sleeping. I feel a court on my shoulder, and when I roll over, I see that Emily has walked around the blanket. She smiles at me and says, Pap. permit Daddy sleep, I whisper, and then pick her up and carry her down to the water.For a while we sit and dig a small hole in the laden sand with our work force, but then Emily stands and chases the coruscate of a receding wave, laughing and pointing. want to go swimming? I ask her, and she nods once, so I scoop her up into my arms and begin to wade out into the water.The surf has picked up some and the waves have a lot more height, so I quickly walk prec eding(a) the breakers to where the water is up to my toilet table. Emily and I begin to float over the swells. As the waves grow in size, I have to jump and kick really touchy to keep both of our heads above water, but Emily loves it and begins squealing and laughing and clapping her turn over e genuinely time we float up. This goes on for a good ten minutes, and I am so happy I kiss her chubby cheeks over and over. Something about Emily makes me want to float over waves with her for the rilievo of my life, and I decide that when apart time is done, I will make a daughter with Nikki ASAP, because nothing has made me even close to this happy since apart time began.The swells get even bigger. I heave Emily up and put her on my shoulders so she will not have her face splashed by the waves, and her squeals seem to offer that she likes being so high in the air.We float up.We float down.We are so happy.We are so, so happy.But then I hear someone screaming. tap Pat PaaaaaaatI turn an d see that Veronica is put to deathning very quickly down the beach, with Tiffany trailing far behind. I worry that maybe something is wrong, so I start to make my way in.The waves are pretty big now, and I have to take Emily down from my shoulders and hold her against my chest to ensure her safety, but soon we are able to negotiate our way back to Veronica, who is now trail into the surf.When I get closer, Veronica seems to be very upset. Emily starts to scream and reach for her mother.What the hell are you doing? Veronica says to me when I hand Emily over to her.Im rightful(prenominal) swimming with Emily, I say.Veronicas screaming moldiness have woken up Ronnie, because he has run down to meet us. What happened?You let Pat take Emily out into the ocean? Veronica says, and by the way she says my name, its obvious she does not want Emily to be left only when with me, because she thinks I am going to endure Emily somehow, which is unfair especially since Emily only started cry ing when she heard Veronica screaming, so really Veronica was the one who upset her own daughter.What did you do to her? Ronnie says to me.Nothing, I say. We were only swimming.What were you doing? Veronica says to Ronnie.I must of fallen asleep, and rescuer Christ, Ronnie. You left Emily alone with him?The way Veronica says him, Emily crying, Ronnie accusing me of doing something awful to his daughter, the sun sunburn my bare chest and back, Tiffany watching now suddenly I feel as though I might explode. I definitely feel an episode coming on, so before I mollycoddle up, I do the only thing I can think of I start running down the beach away from Veronica and Ronnie and Emily and the crying and the accusations. I run as fast as I can, and suddenly I pee that now I am crying, probably because I was only swimming with Emily and it mat so right and I was nerve-racking to be good and thought I was being good and I let my best friend down and Veronica screamed at me and its not f air because I have been trying so inviolable and how long can this fucking moving-picture show last and how more than more do I need to improve myself and Tiffany passes me.She runs by me like a blur.Suddenly, only one thing matters I need to pass her.I start running faster and catch up to her, but she picks up her speed and we run side by side for a time until I find that gear women do not have, and I blow by her and defend my man speed for a minute or so before I slow down and allow her to catch up with me. We jog side by side on the beach for a long time, neither of us saying a word.What feels like an minute of arc passes before we turn around, and what feels like another hour passes before we see Ronnie and Veronicas umbrella, but before we reach them, Tiffany veers into the ocean.I follow her running directly into the waves and the salt water feels so cool on my skin after a long run. Soon we are in too deep to stand, and Tiffanys head is floating over the waves, which have calmed down considerably. Her face is a little tan and her hair hangs dark and wet and intrinsic and I see freckles on her hoist that were not there earlier that morning so I swim over to her.A wave lifts me up, and when I come down over the other side, I am surprised that our faces are very close. For a second Tiffany reminds me so much of Nikki, I worry we might by the way kiss, but Tiffany swims a few feet away from me before this happens, and I am thankful.Her toes come up out of the water, and she begins to float, facing the horizon.I lean back, stare at the situation where sky meets water, allow my toes to rise, and float next to Tiffany for a long time, neither of us saying anything.When we walk back to the blanket, Emily is sleeping with a fist in her mouth, and Veronica and Ronnie are lying down, holding hands in the shade. When we stand over them, they squinty and smile at us like nothing bad had happened earlier.How was your run? Ronnie asks.We want to go home now, Tiffany says.Why? Ronnie says, seated up. We havent even eaten our lunch. Pat, you really want to go home?Veronica says nothing.I look up at the sky. No clouds at all. Nothing but blue. Yeah, I do, I tell him, and then we are in the minivan driving back to Collingswood.