“I lost my surfboard...”
Ethan let out a long breath, shaking his head, “What I don’t– can’t– understand is why you would go off to meet her again after you nearly died because of her!” he said angrily.
I swallowed hard, my throat sore from the ordeal, “She told me something that day, the first time she dragged me out there... just before I blacked out. Something I haven’t told anyone.” I looked up at him as my eyes filled with involuntary tears, “I had to find out for sure... I had to know.” I dropped my head, biting down on my lip to keep it from trembling.
“Know what?”
I wrung my hands in anguish, looking for a way out, fighting the urge to run for the door.
After everything he’d done for me he had a right to know.
“She told me... she said...”
“What?” he asked again, his voice quietly insistent.
“M-my mother...” my voice was quavery, “My mother was one of them... a mermaid.” I turned away, afraid to see the look on his face. He paused for a moment, as if to let it sink in.
“How do you know she isn’t lying?” he asked gently.
“Her name,” I whispered, “She knew her name.”
I turned to look up at him fearfully, startled by the sudden tenderness in his eyes. He leaned in and wrapped his arms around me.
“No wonder you’re so beautiful,” he said, drawing me into him.
I was shaking as I laid my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He was warm, and he smelled good. I concentrated on the steady rhythm and started to calm down. I could have stayed like that forever, rocking slightly with the rise and fall of his breathing, taking refuge in the circle of his arms.
A knock on the door broke us apart. Ethan patted my knee reassuringly and got up. It was Cruz, and he came in the room, eying us speculatively. I could almost hear him thinking as he looked me over. When he handed me my clothes, I thanked him and excused myself to the bathroom to change.
I emerged to find him sitting on the couch talking with Ethan about their good luck in finding me. Cruz asked me questions about what had happened overnight and I recounted the tale– most of it. Ethan caught my eye as I skipped over the mother part in my recitation. Cruz thought the spray bottle was hilarious, and his eyes flew open in horror when I told him about the other mermaid and the violent screeching fight.
“You mean there’s more than one?” he grimaced theatrically.
“Apparently the ocean is crawling with them,” I snarked back.
“Just your luck,” Cruz joked, “You really bring them out of the woodwork, don’t you?”
“Everything would have been fine if the other one hadn’t have shown up. How was I supposed to anticipate that?” I said defensively.
“You shouldn’t have gone in the first place,” his tone was uncharacteristically serious. I felt a fresh flush of guilt for putting him the whole ordeal.
“I couldn’t resist the temptation,” I said quietly, truthfully.
“That’s what she said,” Cruz flashed me an impish grin, making me laugh in spite of my guilty conscience.
When my stomach growled audibly, Cruz and I exchanged a look and laughed again.
“You must be starving!” Ethan said. I was, but I hadn’t noticed it until now.
Cruz sprang up to go, “I’m supposed to be at work, so uh... you kids have fun surfing!” He sounded just like Abby. He smirked, eyes glittering with amusement, “Seriously, mom doesn’t expect you home until later this evening. See you tonight.” He was out the door before I could even say anything.
“What do you want to eat?” Ethan asked.
“I don’t care,” I said, suddenly overcome with exhaustion, “I really can’t go anywhere right now– could you please just take me home?”
“Are you kidding?” he asked, “We’re surfing, remember?” He left the room and came back with a soft blanket. “You must be tired. Why don’t you just kick back and I’ll make you my famous grilled cheese.”
“Sounds good,” I said, nestling down on the couch, watching him as he tucked the blanket around me. I wondered why he was being so nice to me after all the lies I’d told.
I was on a small boat in a dark stormy sea when the water beneath me began to churn. I twisted around to see something coming up from the depths towards me. As it drew closer it fractured into multiple shapes. A score of mermaid heads broke the surface, surrounding me...
I started awake, breathing hard and looking around in confusion. I was on Ethan’s couch, curled up into a ball. I slowly came back to reality, hugging my knees to my chest. He walked in carrying two plates of grilled cheese sandwiches with mugs of tomato soup, and I sat up selfconsciously, blinking groggily.
“Can I help with anything?” I asked.
“Just eat,” he said, and I did.
I don’t think anything ever tasted so good.
We sat on the couch side by side and talked after we ate. I told him about my mystical encounter with the humpback the night before. He listened, impressed, as I described reaching out to touch it and how its eyes met mine. I tried to explain how the sound of its song was comforting, but words failed me, and I ended up frustrated and silent.
“I still can’t believe you were out there all that time,” he said.
“It was scary,” I said, “So I think she sent the whale to me...” I remembered how much better it made me feel, “to keep me company.”
Ethan told me about some of the times he’d come close to them when he crewed on his dad’s whale-watching trips. He said that the whales seemed curious about the boats, and would circle around, surfacing to thrust their heads out of the water for closer inspection. Sometimes a whale would even swim near the surfers, but one had never come up right alongside them.
I told him how Lorelei talked to the sea lions, and could command them. I described the way she had used them as a diversion to allow me climb out to her unnoticed.
“You know,” he said gravely, “We’re lucky those dolphins showed up when they did. I don’t think we would have found you without them.” He was quiet for a minute, as if imagining me still out there.
“Ethan, thanks for coming out to look for me... I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I smiled ruefully,
“It’s funny really... because you’re the only person who would have believed me.”
“You can trust me,” His blue eyes were so intense I had to look away.
I took a deep breath, “I appreciate you not saying anything to Cruz. I– I’m just really not ready to talk about it,” I looked at him, “I need to talk to my father.” He nodded. I leaned back on the couch and flinched.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I think I scorched my back,” I replied.
“Let’s see,” he said.
I twisted around and lifted up the back of my shirt. I could feel the heat radiating off my sunburned skin.
“Ouch,” he said wincing, “I have something for that.” He left and came back with some Aloe Vera gel. “This oughta help– turn around,” he said.
I turned away on the couch and he peeled up my shirt. Flustered, my face burned as hot as my back. He put some on his hands and rubbed it on gently, carefully. It felt cool and soothing and I sighed with relief.
“There,” he said, his voice strange. I turned around and he looked... intense. “We better go.” We pulled up to Abby’s, and as I started to climb out as he came around the side of the truck, holding my door solicitously and taking my bag for me.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, searching my eyes.
“I’m okay,” I said gratefully, “Thank you so much... for everything,” We walked to the porch side by side.
“Get some rest,” he said, standing closer than necessary.
I looked up at him, “I will.”
The door swung open and we came face to face with Abby.
“Hi guys!” she beamed, “How was surfing? Gosh Marina, you look like you got some
sun!” CHAPTER SIXTEEN
INHEIRITANCE
I spent the next day lounging around with Cruz, watching TV and recuperating from my ordeal. Megan came over and I gave another recitation of my night on the buoy. We made popcorn and watched a couple of old horror movies. Nothing seemed even remotely as scary as the horrible screeching mermaid fight. We spent most of the day laughing and making jokes about my latest misadventure. Megan told me how upset Ethan was when he found out that I had gone missing.
“He really likes you,” she gave me a knowing look.
“Totally,” added Cruz, “He was freaking out when we told him what you’d been up to.”
“We were just lucky he believed us… and had his dad’s boat!” said Megan.
Cruz smiled slyly at me, “Did you notice the masterful way I made myself scarce yesterday?
You can thank me later.”
“Oh stop it,” I said, blushing.
Ethan was the only person who knew the whole truth about me, and I was relieved that he seemed to take it so well. I don’t know what kind of reaction I expected, but he was so kind and sweet about everything that I felt like I could breathe for the first time in weeks. I didn’t realize how crushing the weight of secrets could be; I’d never had anything to hide before.
I apologized profusely to Megan and Cruz, feeling terribly guilty about putting them through so much and forcing them to cover for me. They had become the best possible friends and confidantes; I smiled darkly to myself, thinking about how this was exactly what my father had wanted for me. I made a vow to never again involve anyone else in my quest for answers. This was my problem and I’d have to find a way to deal with it by myself.
The desire to know more about my mother was not going away, and now I had an entirely new set of questions. As much as I knew that I should let it go, I also knew that there was probably no way I could. Lorelei felt like my only link to the past.
Things at school changed dramatically. Shayla and her crew left us all alone, and the atmosphere was no longer hostile. The surfer crowd was even guardedly friendly, and I was treated with respect. They all believed that I had single-handedly rescued Shayla. I could only imagine what they’d think if they knew the truth.
Ethan kept my secret, and I was a little surprised that he didn’t seem put off by it. We always sat together in art class, and I looked forward to it more than I wanted to admit. I was so physically aware of him that every time we brushed up against each other I caught my breath. It seemed to me like he took every little opportunity to touch me, but I doubted he had any idea at all of how much he affected me.
Spending time with Ethan was a welcome distraction, but it still wasn’t enough to keep me from obsessing about my mother. I needed to understand how I came to be. How could she have possibly met my father, much less communicated with him? All the questions I’d ever had about my mother came rushing back to me, dredged up from the murky depths of my mind, trailed by bitter memories of being shut down by my father for even daring to ask.
I had someone else to ask now. As frustrating as talking to Lorelei was, I sensed she had no reason to keep anything from me. Unfortunately, the other mermaid made it even more dangerous for me to try and find her again. Clearly, meeting with me had gotten Lorelei into trouble with the mystifying sisterhood of mermaids.
I fretted about what might have happened to her, remembering the angry mermaid’s words.
“Forbidden”, she had said, and I guessed that maybe Lorelei had broken some kind of mermaid rule about not contacting humans. There had to be a way to meet with her secretly and safely, for now that I’d had a small taste of the truth I needed more.
It started to prey on my mind again, making me edgy and restless.
I worried about Ethan too. What if he came across the other, angry mermaid? He spent a lot of time in the water. Would she do anything to him? She hadn’t harmed me, but then again, she’d been busy attacking Lorelei. I kept going over all the stories of evil murderous mermaids–
the ones that Megan was so focused on. The thought of them hurting Ethan filled me with a strange mix of intense anger and icy cold fear that tightened my throat.
I imagined calling my father and demanding the truth, and it made me sick to my stomach. I knew I needed to talk to him, to hear his voice, to find the nerve to ask him about my mother. I kept putting it off and coming up with excuses to procrastinate. I knew it was crazy, but I was more afraid to confront my father than I was to head out to sea with a mermaid that had nearly done me in. I was a total basket case, I thought, contemplating my next move.
What I couldn’t manage to avoid was the beach. I stayed off the pier, but I found myself spending hours walking barefoot along the sandy shore, haunted by unresolved questions. Maybe it was my way to feel connected to my mother, but walking through the foamy surf was soothing, and I was better able to relax after my walks. I wanted answers, but all I had was a huge collection of beach glass. As I stared out over the horizon I had a strong urge to go surfing again.
One blustery fall day I rambled home after a long walk, surprised to find Abby sitting at the kitchen table with her head in her hands, sobbing. I paused for a moment, shocked at such an incongruous sight. Sweet, gentle Abby, who had a seemingly infinite capacity for happiness and patience... crying?
“Aunt Abby, what happened?” I blurted out, startling her. She wiped her eyes, struggling for composure.
“Oh Marina,” she sniffed, “I’ve made a terrible mistake– and now...” She started crying again, “Cruz hates me.”
I sat down and took her hand, “That’s not possible, Aunt Abby,” I said sincerely. She gestured to a letter sitting on the table. It was addressed to Cruz, from a law firm in Argentina.
The letter stated that Cruz Vanderpool was one of the beneficiaries of the estate of Federico Acosta, who had passed away the prior month. It requested that Cruz contact the office to arrange for the disbursement of the funds.
“What is this?” I asked Abby, “What does it mean?”
Abby looked up at me with red rimmed eyes, “Federico, is... was… Cruz’s father.”
“But I thought he was... I mean, I thought he died before Cruz was born.”
“I lied about that,” she said, gulping down a sob, “And now Cruz is so upset...” I was stunned, and took a moment for it to sink in, “I don’t understand, what happened?” Abby took a shuddering breath and told me her story. She was eighteen, a college student at the university in Santa Cruz. She had fallen in love with Federico, a visiting professor of Latin American literature. He was much older and more sophisticated than her, and before she knew it she was in way over her head. Abby found herself pregnant with Cruz when she discovered that he was married with a family in Argentina.
“He tried to give me money,” she said, “He didn’t want me to keep the baby. When he left I didn’t know what to do. Martin came to the rescue.”
“What did dad do?” I asked.
Abby smiled through her tears, “He bought me this place, and helped me get back on my feet.” She sighed, “When Cruz was old enough to ask... I just thought it was for the best. I never expected to hear from him ever again.”
“How did Cruz take it?” I wondered, worrying about him. She looked at me in anguish.
“Would you go see how he is?” she asked, blinking at me with tortured eyes. I leaned over and gave her a hug.
“It’ll be alright,” I said.
I went down the hall and knocked gently on Cruz’s door.
“Go away!” he yelled.
“Cruz, it’s me, Marina.”
He opened the door a crack and I could tell that he’d been crying. “Did she tell you?” I nodded, and he let me in. The letter had come as a tremendous shock to him. He felt betrayed and confused.
“My father has been alive all this time and he never even wanted to see me...”
“You don’t know that,” I said gently, “Maybe he was afraid to hurt his family, or–” Cruz
looked at me sarcastically, “He knew about me, he could have picked up a phone.”
“He remembered you in his will. He didn’t have to do that.”
“Guilty conscience,” he said dismissively.
“Cruz, your mom feels terrible. She was only a kid. She was our age...” He sighed, “I know, it just came as a total shock– to find out your whole life has been a lie.” I knew exactly how he felt.
“She was only trying to protect you,” I said, thinking about my dad.
“You’re lucky you’re dad never lied to you!” he cried.
I looked at him sadly, “You never know.”
He was starting to look more sad than mad, “I knew they never got married or anything, but she told me he died in a car crash!” Cruz emoted passionately, reminding me of Evie, “It’s just so completely out of the blue.”
“I know what you need! Come with me to visit my Aunt Evie. It’s impossible to feel bad around her, and we need to show her your clothes.” We hatched a plan to go to the city on Saturday, and he seemed to feel a little better. I turned to leave, “Cruz, you should talk to your mom.”
“I will,” he said.
I went back out to find Abby sitting in the garden. She looked up hopefully, “How is he?”
“He’ll be fine. He just needs some time.”
She smiled wanly, fidgeting with a string of beads around her neck.
I sat down and casually asked, “Abby, what was my father like back then? I mean, back before I was born.”
She looked thoughtful, “We lost our parents when we were very young. Martin was so strong– he always looked out for me. I don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for him.”
“Abby, what do you know about my mother?”
She saddened, paused and said, “I only met her once.” She looked at me solemnly, “The day you were born.”
Derrolyn Anderson - [Marinas Tales #1] - Between The Land And The Sea Page 17