Lila Blue

by Annie Katz

  I had forgotten about Mark, but I remembered him when I saw Lila scanning the cove and the cliff above it. She checked her watch and said, "Let's head up a ways."

  Molly and I followed her to the pine tree Lila pointed out to us earlier as the meeting place. We could pretty much see the whole cove from there, but no Mark. We waited there for a while.

  I tried to take a mental picture of everything, so I'd always remember this magical place. The rock sculpture people perfectly complemented the steep spires rising out of the sea.

  "We should have asked those people if they made any of the rock piles," I said. "They could have made a few before we got here. Or maybe they came yesterday?"

  "We need to find Mark," Lila said. "He's ten minutes late. We have to start back in ten minutes."

  Molly and I didn't say anything, but we looked at each other like, uh-oh, Mark is in trouble. We followed Lila as she walked toward the caves at the far end of the cove.

  I kept expecting to see Mark any second, because I didn't think he would want to worry Lila. When he didn't show up, I started worrying. We were close to the caves now, and Lila called Mark's name. We waited. Nothing. She called again, and this time I could hear the fear and anger mixed together in her voice.

  Then she blew the whistle three sharp blasts, and the people down at the surf line looked up and started coming toward us. I went to meet them halfway and told them my older brother was missing, and we wanted to start back. They hadn't seen him.

  The woman looked at her watch and said, "It's almost time to go."

  We all went to join Molly and Lila, and then I saw Mark come out of the mouth of the smallest cave, the one above the others. He waved to us, and I waved back, relieved.

  Lila didn't wave, though. As soon as she saw him, she turned and started marching toward home. Molly and I had to nearly run to keep up with her. Mark caught up with us in time to follow me out. The young couple came right behind him.

  It took all our concentration to get back around the cliff face. It seemed the waves were coming higher, and one splashed up to our knees before we got back around on our sandy beach.

  Molly and Lila waited until we joined them on the sand, and then Lila told Molly and me to go let Curtis know we were okay. I hadn't thought about it, but now I realized Curtis would have been watching the clock for our safe return. It was a real adventure going to Saint Ann's, and I was grateful to Lila for being so brave and confident to take us there.

  Molly and I ran with the wind, flapping our arms like seagulls, our backpacks thumping our backs and our wet shoes squishing while we ran. It felt wonderful to be alive and safe, flying down a wild beach with a friend.

  We slowed down when we got to Jamie's seal safety zone and edged close to the sea wall as far away from the baby as we could. We waved at the pup watch crews, but I didn't recognize them. I think Molly did. She knew everyone in the village.

  Upstairs Curtis and Jamie greeted us at the door and took our packs and hats while we rinsed off our feet outside. Jamie got my slippers out of my room for me and gave Molly a pair of his socks to wear.

  Jamie said, "Where are Mark and Grandma?"

  "We ran home," Molly said.

  Jamie searched my face, and I was pretty sure I couldn't hide anything from him. Still I didn't know how much to say, so I said, "They're fine. They're talking. The cove is fantastic!"

  Molly told them about the rock sculpture people and how we made a bunch more. I described the ocean spires as best I could and the orange and black birds.

  "Puffins," Curtis said. "They're very shy. Only the shyest ones survive. Biologists talk about survival of the fittest, but sometimes that means survival of the most cautious. Especially when humans are around."

  "Why would anyone hurt a puffin?" I asked. "They don't look that good to eat."

  "Same reason they would hurt a baby seal," he said. "Some people are ignorant and mean."

  The pain I'd felt in my stomach when the woman threw down Jamie's seal came back, and I held my stomach, telling myself everything was okay now. The baby was fine. I was fine. We would heal.

  All that adventure, sunshine, and salt air had made us hungry, so Molly and I went in the kitchen to forage for snacks. We decided on leftover cornbread smeared with strawberry jam, washed down with big glasses of cold milk. We offered to fix Curtis and Jamie some too, but they'd already eaten.

  Jamie went down to meet Lila and Mark. He needed to check in with the seal guards, too, I'm sure. Everyone looked to him as the boss. Molly and I watched from the kitchen table where we had our snack. Jamie seemed so small going down the stairs by himself.

  Even though I was twice the size of Molly and Jamie, I felt we were all the same size, because we were equals. It surprised me when I couldn't avoid the disparity in our sizes. I wondered how they experienced it. Was I a friendly giant to them?

  After Molly and I were done eating, we cleaned up and joined Curtis on the couch. He was reading a book on astronomy, one of those big books that have all the outer space pictures. He was showing us the coolest pictures, and we were lost in those when Mark and Lila and Jamie came back.

  They all seemed fine, so I guess it had all been talked out. Lila was good about regaining her happiness after everything had been communicated clearly.

  I wasn't so sure about Mark, though. He went up the stairs to the Crow's Nest without saying a word to the rest of us.

  The next morning I woke up with a bad dream. In it I was on the beach in front of the house and the water receded so far back that the beach was littered with stranded fish and starfish all flopping around. I tried to gather them up and throw them back in the water, but there were too many of them and the ocean kept going back. Then a huge wave came and pushed me all the way over the sea wall, up the cliff, across the street, and all the way to the highway in front of Lila's barbershop. It left me there drenched and covered with sand. I got up and looked for everyone else. I found Jamie and Lila together, but I couldn't find Mark or my mother. Afraid they were lost, I woke up calling their names.

  When I got up, everyone else was eating breakfast in the kitchen. Jamie was concerned because the seal pup hadn't moved during the night. The first shift of seal watchers couldn't find the trail of the mother in the sand, but they couldn't be sure because maybe high tide had washed away evidence of the mother's visit.

  Jamie and Mark and I were scheduled to take the next watch, so I hurried to get myself fed and watered and dressed before I had to go down to the beach. My dream faded, and by the time I was on the beach, I forgot it completely.

  Our watch went smoothly. The only people who came by were local neighbors, and they stopped for a few minutes to chat. Most of them had been on watch the day before, so there wasn't much news. As it was too early for most tourists to be on the beach, our job was easy.

  I couldn't tell if the baby was bigger. If the mother had been feeding her each night, she should be gaining weight and strength. Jamie said he could tell she was bigger. He said he could feel her getting stronger. I knew he believed it, but I also knew it's easy to deceive ourselves when we want something with all our hearts.

  I thought about my mother. We hadn't talked much at all since Mark and Jamie had been with us. She was still working extra hours, still drinking more to deal with the stress of it, and still saying she wanted me to come home. Being in an empty apartment depressed her, so it wasn't me she wanted, just someone, anyone. She sounded sad and tired, and I knew I couldn't fix that. In Oregon, I could see how impossible it was to solve her problems, but at home with her, I always thought there was something I could do or not do that would make things easier for her. I was always wrong.

  I was at the north end of the seal area and Jamie and Mark were stationed at the south end. They were looking out to sea, sitting close together side by side, and I could see Mark lean down to listen to Jamie or occasionally speak to him. They seemed so happy and relaxed together. I felt very alone on my side. Terry and Rich wer
e coming the next day to get my brothers, so today was our last full day together.

  When the next crew took over, we went upstairs to find Lila getting ready for work early. Herbert wasn't feeling well and needed her to take over, so she said a quick goodbye and left about ten o'clock.

  "I'll bring home fish and chips for dinner," she said on her way out the door, "so you don't need to cook. Just be ready to eat when I get back."

  Jamie went with her because he wanted to say goodbye to all the people and animals of Lila’s part of Rainbow Village. I was happy that he felt okay leaving the seal long enough to visit his other animal friends. I wondered if he visited a dozen animal friends daily in Idaho. I realized I didn't even know how many pets they had at home.

  When I asked Mark about it after Lila and Jamie left, he said, "We have Duchess, a black lab who lives outside, and Jamie has fish. He's always wanted cats, but Rich is allergic."

  "Does he visit other people's pets, like here?"

  "Of course. He makes good money walking dogs in our neighborhood. He's got more in savings than I do."

  I laughed. "I notice how good you are to him. It makes me happy to see you together," I said, realizing that I was a little jealous.

  "We're lucky," he said.

  "Yea. You have two parents and you're rich," I said before I could stop myself. It sounded so childish I was ashamed.

  Mark looked at me, but he didn't say anything. What could he say?

  I went to my room and tried to call Shelly. We hadn't talked in several days, and I wanted to know if they still planned to come. She was at the movies with her cousins, so I told her grandma I'd call again soon.

  I thought I'd go later to the village to see how Molly was doing, but I'd wait until after Jamie came back to the house. I wanted a little time with him if it worked out, to tell him how happy I was he was my brother. I didn't know if I'd ever see him again.

  So I curled up on the couch with Chloe and Zoe and read one of Lila's nature magazines, an article about salmon fishing on the nearby rivers. Apparently some Native Americans followed tribal traditions and netted all the fish they could catch, which conflicted with ordinary Americans who had to follow the fish and game laws about legal limits. Plus some fat seals stayed in the mouths of rivers grabbing every fish they could during the salmon run, so some fishermen felt justified in shooting the seals, which incensed people who love seals. What a mess! How could anyone decide what was right and fair?

  The cats and I must have snoozed for a while, because I was startled awake when Mark went out through the front door. I got up and saw him heading downstairs to the beach. He was wearing almost the same thing he had been yesterday for our hike to the cove, only his backpack looked fuller, and I suddenly remembered my dream.

  I ran outside and called to him. He turned and said, "I'll be home for dinner. Don't worry." Then he waved and took off north toward the cove.

  I went to the kitchen and looked on the message board, it read, "Hiking. Home by six."

  The kitchen clock said twelve thirty, and I knew the tides were about half an hour later every cycle, so Mark could be going back to the cove. There would be a much shorter window of time today if he made it back there. He knew more about it than I did. It was none of my business. He was fifteen and I was barely twelve. I'd just realized I couldn't solve my mom's problems, and now I was trying to predict and protect a big brother I'd barely met. That made less sense than trying to make my mother happy.

  I shook my head to get clear, but it didn't work, so I took a hot shower, dressed, and left the house to go visit Molly at the bookstore. On my way I went by the barbershop to wave at Lila, and Curtis and Molly were in there, so I went in. Curtis was in Herbert's barber chair and Molly had the chair in the lowest position with the back reclined, like a dentist chair. She was braiding his hair, and he was holding up a book trying to read it while she worked on him.

  When I came in, Curtis said, "Cassandra, you are the answer to my fervent prayers. Get over here and take my place. Molly has braid fever."

  Lila laughed. She was finishing up a haircut for Paul, the dad at The Bakery Boys. Paul said, "Girls, when you get done braiding, come try our ginger snaps. We found an old cookbook in our attic and we're testing recipes. We need expert tasters."

  We told him okay and then Molly let Curtis get up and leave, even though the skinny braid she was making over his right ear was half done. She showed me her new book on how to braid hair. Since her hair was one inch long, she needed victims.

  "You can practice on me," I said, "but I'm not promising I'll wear it out of here."

  "If I don't like it, I wouldn't let you out of here," she said. "It has to be perfect."

  I laughed and let her lay me back. "Just don't think about cutting one hair," I said. "Understand?"

  "I wouldn't," she said. "Don't you know me?"

  "Just so we both understand," I said.

  She showed me one picture in the book that she wanted to try. It seemed hard and simple at the same time. Four French braids, two starting at the forehead and one at each temple, curving back to the nape of the neck and then free in four simple braids down the back. Lila found some glass beads to use for the ends of the final braids.

  "This will take days," I said, having had a little experience with braids myself. Shelly had made me learn how to braid her hair, so I could do a simple three-strand and a clumsy French braid against the scalp. I did love how French braids looked though.

  "Be quiet," Molly said. "What else do you have to do this afternoon?"

  She had a point. I almost said, I could worry about Mark, but that would have sounded stupid.

  Molly started by parting my hair down the middle. It was still damp from the shower. She combed through it with a wide toothed comb of Lila's, and it was pretty easy to manage after that. Molly kept squirting my head with a spray bottle though, keeping it wet for fun.

  She parted the four sections and worked on the center right one first. After fussing around and getting it started and taking it out three times, she finally got a rhythm going, and I started getting sleepy. The chair was so comfortable. Lila was at the back of the shop working at a desk. We were the only ones there.

  After my nap, I needed to stretch, and Molly's fingers were getting cramped. Lila helped her get all four braids to the nape of my neck, and then it was quick going making the last four simple braids, which only ended up being about eight inches long. Molly went to run her hands under cold water to take the cramps out, and Lila finished up with green and gold glass beads that tinkled against each other when I turned my head.

  When I looked at their finished creation, I was stunned. I looked so different I hardly recognized myself.

  Lila laughed when she saw my reaction.

  "Pretty snazzy," she said, nodding her approval.

  Molly said, "Perfect. You can wear it home that way if you want to. I like it."

  "Thanks, Molly," I said. "I think I will."

  "Let's show my mom," she said, dragging me along to Sunshine Books.

  Marge and Curtis were impressed with Molly's handiwork, and they both said how it made me look older. Bradley was even on one of his rare breaks from Lego work, and he came out to say hi and tell me about his latest project.

  I asked if Jamie had stopped by yet, and Marge said he'd petted GrumpaLump and visited with Bradley earlier. She didn't know where he was now.

  Next Molly wanted to show me off to Les and Kim, so we went across the highway to The Salty Dog. They were all ooohs and aaahs and made Molly explain how she got the idea and how long it took and everything. They seemed so happy to have us there, even though they were pretty busy with customers and Les had the taffy machines working. The shop smelled like peppermint, and Kim gave us a little bag of the freshest ones to take with us when we left.

  By then it was after three o'clock, and I had a strong urge to go home and see if Mark was back yet. I walked Molly back to her store via the bakery, where we tried th
eir ginger snaps, which were very spicy and left your tongue burning with ginger in a nice way. Before I left the village, I stopped to tell Lila I was headed home.

  "Jamie is at the hardware store," she said, "saying goodbye to Buster. Stop and collect him on your way. Call me when you get home."

  I said I would, and the urge to find Mark was stronger than ever.

  Jamie was holding court at the hardware store. He was hand feeding Buster slivers of apple, and Buster was gently taking each one from his fingers, nibbling a tiny piece out of the middle of it, dropping the rest on the floor under his perch, and begging for the next one.

  The clerks who worked there were gathered around saying "Old Buster would take my arm off if I offered him something" and things like that.

  Jamie did a double take at my new hairdo, and then he smiled and said, "Wow! You look as old as Mark."

  "Have you seen him?" I asked.

  Jamie shook his head no. Then he looked at me in a searching way and asked, "Should we find him?"

  I nodded yes, and he hurried up and said goodbye to Buster and to all his human friends in the store. We were home in ten minutes, but there was no sign that Mark had come home yet.

  "Where is he?" Jamie asked me. We could see he wasn't at the seal watch station. The retired couple who lived next door were there, one on each side, each with big hats tied on their heads so the wind wouldn't blow them off.

  "I saw him leave about twelve thirty," I said. "He went toward the cove with a backpack. He said not to worry, he'd be home for dinner."

  "The cove," Jamie said. "He'd be back by now."

  "Should I call Grandma?" I asked.

  He was already picking up the phone. He said a few words and then hung up and said, "She's coming home."

  When Lila got home she said, "Tell me everything."

  I told her about my dream and about waking up at twelve-thirty when Mark left and him telling me not to worry. She read the message board. Jamie told Lila about seeing Mark pack the night before. Mark took rope and two flashlights and a canteen of water along with his jacket. Jamie thought he was preparing for a long beach walk, but he didn't understand why he packed the flashlights. Caves, I thought.