The Beach Party
By Shirley Ann Grau, first published in Redbook
Attempting to have fun for once, a teenage girl witnesses death at an oceanside beach party.
Author
Published in
Year
Words
Collections
Plot Summary
While taking a walk on the beach, Frieda runs into her brother Everett, who is setting up for a beach party and swimming with his friends. Frieda refuses to join them but sees three men wearing black diving suits entering the ocean. Everett’s party begins at sunset, and Frieda spends time talking with John, who Everett has set her up with on a date. However, they soon notice everyone running toward a portion of the beach, except for a young boy, who explains that one diver didn’t come back. John and others at the party wade into the ocean to help look for the missing diver, and Frieda stays behind in an attempt to comfort the boy. Eventually, the partygoers return with the body of the diver, and one asks if anyone else heard the man’s head hit the rock. They reveal that the diver was already dead by the time they got to his body, and Frieda exclaims for them to shut up because the young boy is still there, listening. John and the others try to revive the diver with mouth-to-mouth breathing, but to no avail. State troopers arrive to take the body away. Frieda studies the stars, and by the time she looks around again, she realizes everyone has left her behind.