here i am bald at the beach
my dad and i wanted to drive by the beach house i spent my childhood summers in, belonging to my grandmother, Doc, sold (this decision caused a lot of controversy) in 2017. we knew that a few years ago the new owners had torn down the maritime forest that grew between the house and the ocean. it astonished me that these people could not appreciate the arguably more special view of the dense self consuming tangled trees, but would rather see the ocean, like any other property. When we arrived it was gone, the entire house.
the structure of the house was just as twisted and disordered as the forest that once existed beyond it. it was built up from the ground, specifically designed to accommodate the cycle of isolation and loneliness for my narcissistic grandmother and her then husband. the house was clearly designed to host my mothers large family, 4 bedrooms on the first floor, one of which had bunk beads and even a crib, each with their own bathrooms. the living room was long and had stone floors, lined with floor to ceiling windows and sliding doors out to a wooden porch that wrapped all the way around the house. the living room started with a tv and two couches and a coffee table, then moved on to a few comfortable sitting chairs with a small round table, and finally a 14 seat dining set and shell themed chandelier. the kitchen veered off to the right, luxurious kitchen appliances, like a double oven and 8 burner stove, but with the design and technology of the late 70s.
behind the few comfy chairs in the living room, was a staggered floating stair case with no railing. up the stairs on the right was a small nook that on one end a box tv, a nintendo 64, a few video tapes, and two floor chairs. on the other end was a day bench built into the wall and a large window that over looked the flat tops of the gnarled trees. my cousin sadie and i often climbed out of the window and up the slanted roof to the very top of the house and we would crawl along the point of the roof, daring to stand up for seconds at a time and then falling back to our knees, hearts pounding.
To the left was first a normal bedroom, a little nicer than the ones downstairs, with a small office and a porch and a full tub in the bathroom. further up the hallway was Docs Room, the Cove of Isolation, the Narcissists Quarters. this was a bedroom, a small area of exercise equipment, a kitchenette with a full fridge, a microwave, and a table, a walk in closet, an office space that was the only part of the house that the ocean was visible from, and a porch. This is where Doc would sometimes get lots of writing done, but often times "be consumed by her loneliness with helpless sobs" as described by herself. This is not surprising to me i guess, because of how she is, but disappointing to hear. I have many truly fond memories of Sadie and I sitting with her for at least a couple hours everyday, eating pbjs and playing board games with doc, playing with her dogs. I remember my mother and her siblings desperately inviting Doc down for dinner.
This construction was so incredibly deliberate and seems like a direct reflection of my grandmothers mind. the downstairs of the house was clearly meant to accommodate lots of family and children. To a more functional introvert, the idea of being able to choose whether to go down to a shared social kitchen or stay in your own room is productive. but my grandmother is not a functional introvert. she created a space that she knew her family could engage with, but then created a space within that where she could entirely isolate, refuse to socialize, and then sob over how lonely she felt in that isolation. blame her children for her isolation.
The Villa Lucia was a beautiful house. Purple siding and two large trees shooting through the hole cut out of the porch to accommodate them. Down a winding gravel drive way obstructed by the forest. the beach was directly accessible, but only after walking bare foot on prickly leaves and ant hills for 20 feet. The Villa Lucia's insides mimicked the natural disorder around it.