When We Love

" Yeah, I do," I smile.

" I know sometimes I have been an awful person, and I hate to admit it, but sometimes I feel insanely jealous of you. You have a thing about you which attracts boys, and you are so ignorant you do not even notice the effect you have on them. I am sorry if I am mean at times, and I really hope we can be friends."

I get into the golf cart, sitting next to her in the passenger seat, and as she starts the cart, I say, "Sometimes you are a bit over-bearing." I laugh, so I do not seem harsh. "But I already think of you as my friend."

Anne laughs heartily, "You see, look how honest you are with me. How can we not be friends?"

I suddenly like her more than I ever have, and to be honest she has been my friend from day one. We are not a Siamese pair, but still we are friends in the unconventional way.

The Charleston National Country Club consists of 740 acres of property overlooking the marshland of Hamlin Sound, the Intra-Coastal Waterway and the Isle of Palms. Most of the estate homes are located on the water in this gated section, so after what feels like an eternity, and many mansions, we turn into the driveway of an impressive looking house.

Shaun's house overlooks the ocean. It is imposing and beautiful. I notice a boat launching area at the back.

" Here we go," Anne says and stops the golf cart next to the others parked in a row in front of the house.

We walk on the pathway to the front door and Anne promptly opens the door and walks through. I follow her self-consciously. I have never been here before, so it feels awkward not being invited in.

We walk through to the back of the house. The house is huge, the ceilings are high and the rooms we walk past are sparsely furnished. It is most certainly not a cosy home, in my humble opinion.

Everybody is in an entertainment area at the back of the house, which is as big as the entire downstairs of my home. There is a television almost as big as one entire wall on the one side of the room, a pool table in the middle, a large bar the size of my kitchen, a jukebox and leading onto the patio through the French doors a brightly lit pool, and in the far corner beside the pool, a huge trampoline. I take all of this in, in a brief second. I did not want it to look as if I am not used to seeing houses like this every day.