Winter's Tide

by Lisa Williams Kline

  And I went to see Dr. Shrink.

  Me: So Stephanie was the one who started the rumors about me.

  Dr. Shrink: And how does that make you feel?

  Me: She didn’t do it on purpose. I know that. But she could have died, because I threw her boots in the water. And I did do that on purpose.

  Dr. Shrink: So you blame yourself for that.

  Me: Yes, but she told Mom and Norm that her boots fell in. She didn’t tell them I threw them.

  Dr. Shrink: How do you feel about all of that?

  Me: Well, we forgave each other. It’s kind of a miracle that she and Jeremy ended up being okay. In fact, it’s kind of a miracle that everyone ended up being okay. Matt, Stephanie’s stepbrother, got drunk and crashed his car. He could have died, but he didn’t. Grammy got pancreatitis, and she could have died, but she didn’t. But then Nick, that young pilot whale, ate a plastic bag he thought was a squid. And he did die.

  Dr. Shrink: You’ve had a lot of brushes with death recently.

  Me: I’m trying to make sense of it. When I think about throwing Stephanie’s boots in the water, I cringe. If anything had happened to her, I would never be able to forgive myself. I have these dreams where I’m reliving that couple of seconds where I was so mad again and again. But Stephanie is okay. It’s like a miracle. I want to do something.

  Dr. Shrink: What do you mean?

  Me: Well, I just … I just want to make a difference, in a good way. I went with Stephanie to visit Matt because she was scared, and I think I helped her. That made me feel good. And … I don’t want Nick to have died for nothing. Jeremy was telling me that he planned to study marine biology. I thought it was cool the way he was so fired up about it. And I was thinking maybe I’d like to be a vet. A vet once told me the animals of the world could use my help. So I think I’m going to make that my goal.

  Dr. Shrink: What does having a goal like that mean?

  Me: Well, a lot of things. Study harder. Get along better with people.

  Dr. Shrink: You’re making great progress, Diana.

  While I was suspended, I went to the barn twice. Both days Josie picked me up first thing in the morning, so I got there early enough to break the ice on the outdoor water troughs. Commanche had missed me. The first day I got back, he nuzzled my arm and made soft nickering sounds, then butted me with his head. It was comforting just to be near him.

  While I was standing outside Commanche’s stall, Dad called me on my new cell phone.

  “Hey, dudette,” he said cheerfully, as though we had never had that big fight about me coming to visit. “There’s something I feel I need to tell you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I just … well, I understand how it feels to be suspended. In fact, I got suspended once myself. For fighting.”

  “You did?” I caught my breath in a gasp of surprise.

  “Yeah. Some guy called me something, and I turned around and punched him. I can’t even remember what he called me now. I think I got mad at you, because what you did reminded me of myself. And I wasn’t proud of what I did that day. And I guess I wanted to warn you about it.”

  As Dad was talking, I felt goose bumps prickle my neck between my shoulder blades. “Oh.”

  “It took me a long time to learn from my mistakes. Don’t let it take so long with you. I don’t mean to be impatient with you. Go back to school and turn over a new leaf. And let’s plan a visit over spring break where you can do some riding, okay, dudette?”

  Commanche stuck his head over the half-door and nuzzled the tip of my ear, slobbering on my phone. “Okay,” I said.

  That afternoon, Mom had to work late, and Norm came to pick me up. As I climbed into the car, I saw he was on the phone.

  “That’s great that you’re making such a good recovery, Mom.” He listened. “So Jelly doesn’t leave your side, huh? He’s happy to have you home, and we are too. Okay, talk to you soon.”

  I thought about how I’d acted when we were on our way to see Grammy, and I felt ashamed. Grammy didn’t have to love me, but she did anyway.

  But I didn’t know how to tell Norm I was sorry.

  “That’s good that Grammy is doing well,” I said. I played with the window opener, opening it and letting the cold air come in, then closing it.

  Norm raised his eyebrows, as if he understood me. “Yeah, she’s really lucky. And I think it meant a lot to her for us to be there with her.”

  He met my eyes, then patted my knee, smiling. And I knew he had forgiven me, that I didn’t have to say I was sorry, that he understood.

  Just like she promised, Stephanie brought me my assignments. In English, we were supposed to start our extra reading for second semester, and she brought me my book.

  “We had to pick from a few different ones,” she said, sitting on the end of my bed. “For me, I picked Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. For you, I picked The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. It’s about a boy who raises a fawn as a pet. I thought you’d like that one,” she said.

  I took the book, examining the picture on the front, which showed a country boy sitting in the firelight, a spotted fawn curled in his lap. I would like this one. It was the perfect book to pick for me.

  “Thanks, Steph.”

  And I started thinking, maybe this is the way it should be. That Mom and Norm should meet each other and get married. That Stephanie and I could be there for each other. While we’d been at Emerald Isle, we’d watched the winter tides bring Nick ashore to die, and they’d also floated our boat away. Life, like the tides, goes on. More things in life, both good and bad, would happen to Stephanie and me. There would be times we would understand each other and there would be times we wouldn’t. And it was up to us to make it mean something. And to help each other.

  And I thought about the tides, the way they came in and went out, according to their own schedule, regardless of anything people did or didn’t do. I realized that I had made a decision about nature and God. It was ironic, because seeing Nick die like that had made me think that there might be a God. And it had to do with the love people show each other. God is like the tides. His power is always there.

  The day I went back to school, I was standing by my locker, getting ready to go to English class. I was holding the Yearling book Stephanie had picked for me, and Carla walked by. My heart thudded, and I felt a jolt of anger. Then I took a deep breath and began to count. The bruise on her cheek from the book I’d thrown was gone. She’d gotten her hair cut, so she had made some changes too. She glanced at me, opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. I remembered our scuffle in the hallway, the way we’d screamed at each other, the way we’d yanked at each other’s clothes and clawed at each other’s faces.

  Then I took another deep breath, shut my locker, and turned to face her.

  “Hi,” I said. I gave her a smile, then I walked away.

  I saw Noah in Spanish class. I started to ignore him, the way I used to. Then I changed my mind. “Stephanie told me your grandfather was sick,” I said. “How’s he doing?”

  Noah gave me a surprised look, then nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Thanks for asking.”

  That night I dreamed about Nick and about the power of the tides. I dreamed that the tide had come in and gently picked him up from where he lay on the sand and floated him, light as a feather, out to sea where the other whales were waiting and calling to him with their piercing, yearning voices. And once they had Nick in their midst again, they dove deep and, together, swam for home.

  Discussion Questions for Winter’s Tide

  1. What do you think about both Diana and Carla getting suspended for their fight? Can you think of any situations in your own school that are similar to what happened?

  2. Do you agree with Norm and Lynn’s decision not to make Diana go to church? Why or why not?

  3. Do you think Stephanie should tell her parents about the things Matt says to her? Do you know anyone who has had a similar experience with a stepbr
other or sister?

  4. Do you agree with Stephanie’s mom buying her gift for Matt for her? Why or why not?

  5. Why do you think Diana thinks that she hates her dad? Does she really hate him? Why or why not?

  6. Are Norm and Lynn right to make Diana visit Grammy in the hospital? Do you know anyone who has had a similar experience with a family member in the hospital?

  7. When Stephanie gets mad at Diana for her attitude about Grammy’s illness, it’s the first time she really expresses her anger to Diana. Do you agree with Stephanie? Do you think she should express her anger?

  8. What did Diana and Stephanie learn about whales stranding themselves on the beach?

  9. How do you think Stephanie and Diana might disagree about whether God answered Stephanie’s prayer to save Grammy?

  10. What are the ways in which both Diana and Stephanie change by the end of the book?

  11. Do you think Jeremy’s parents should have grounded him for such a long time for what he did?

  12. What do you think Stephanie and Diana learn in this book about forgiveness?

  Acknowledgments for Winter’s Tide

  For sharing their expertise on whale strandings, I would like to thank Dr. William McLellan and Dr. Ann Pabst of UNC-Wilmington’s Department of Marine Biology. They so generously took time to answer my questions about what can cause whale strandings, and how the Marine Mammal Stranding Network operates when called out to a site. I would also like to thank Dr. Ari Friedlaender of the Duke University Marine Lab for answering my questions about whale behavior.

  And once again, I’d like to thank …

  … my writing buddy and dear friend Chris Woodworth for her keen insights and ideas. By now she knows the characters as well as I do!

  … my dear friend Ann Campanella and her astute and delightful daughter Sydney. Their gentle suggestions helped make me aware of times when a young reader might look for an exploration of faith.

  … my exuberant friend Deb Waldron who got updated on Stephanie and Diana each day on our walks whether she wanted to or not.

  … Liz Hatley, for her kind and thoughtful comments.

  … Caryn Wiseman, my agent, whose support has been so key.

  … Kim Childress, my editor, for her wise suggestions and her faith in my work, which means so very much to me. Many people at Zondervan have worked to support this series, and I deeply appreciate all that they have done.

  … and most of all, my husband, children, parents, and brother—for their steadfast love.

  About the Author

  LISA WILLIAMS Kline is the author of Floods, The Princesses of Atlantis, Write Before Your Eyes, and Eleanor Hill, winner of the North Carolina Juvenile Literature Award. Her stories for children have appeared in Cricket, Cicada, Spider, and Odyssey. She earned her MFA from Queens University. Lisa lives in Mooresville, North Carolina with her veterinarian husband, where their grown daughters visit frequently. In addition to writing, Lisa has also been a tongue-tied disc jockey, a radio copywriter, a zoned-out waitress, and a disorganized but trustworthy veterinary hospital office manager. Recently she learned to drive a forklift. Now she is an editor, writer, and English teacher. Lisa enjoys reading, running, watching movies, kayaking, and playing golf.

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  Winter’s Tide

  Copyright © 2012 by Lisa Williams Kline

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