“Oh, I have all evening for that,” Sallie assured her, swimming toward her. “I’m with you right now.”
“But that letter is really fat.”
“No need to bother,” Sallie said firmly. “I think you have more pressing matters—like maybe a race. How about I race you to the far end and back?” she suggested, patting her hands against the water’s surface.
“Okay. Ready . . . go!”
Sallie took a breath and dove underwater, cupping her hands with each stroke, moving quickly. All the way down at the opposite end, she kicked off the side, pushing her body forward, enjoying the challenge. But as she turned her head to grab a breath, she noticed Autumn lagging behind. So, thinking it might be nice for Autumn to win, she slowed, and Autumn touched the end of the pool first.
“I won!” Autumn said, wiping her eyes and squeezing out her thick golden ponytail. “Daddy always wins when he and I do laps. And Rhiannon does, too, when I race with her.”
“Well, you’re the mermaid, remember,” Sallie said, laughing merrily. She leaned back into the water and floated on her back.
“Do you think Connor will be a good swimmer, too, someday?”
Sallie was so pleased—Autumn had never asked anything like this about her brother. “With you to help teach him, I don’t see why not.”
“I’ll have someone else to race with someday,” Autumn declared, doing a back float toward her.
Sallie wondered if, just maybe, Autumn might be turning a corner.
Only time will tell.
When she’d returned to the cottage, Sallie sat in the living area and opened Perry’s thick letter to discover four pages of writing, on both sides. Perry had started by thanking her for the get-well note and homemade card.
He went on to say he was writing to her from home, where his mother and sisters were doting on him as he recovered. I dislike being laid up like this, but thankfully, from my window, I can see a piece of the sky, which is perfectly clear as I write this. I’ve had so much free time, I’ve turned to reading quite a lot of books.
“Wunnerbaar,” Sallie whispered, glad to discover that his time of recuperation was birthing a love of book learning. Whether this new pastime would continue once he was back to normal again remained to be seen, but it was promising all the same.
She continued with his letter.
I’m interested to hear about you. What new things are you experiencing there, Sallie?
She smiled. It was the first time an Amish fellow had asked her such a question.
After making breakfast for Autumn the next morning, Sallie accompanied her to the library again. And later, after lunch back at the house, they headed out to the beach to float on boogie boards. When she returned to the cottage, she found a message on the answering machine from Frannie, who said she would be arriving next Friday afternoon for a visit. “I can fill you in on how the move went then,” her sister said.
Sallie looked forward to seeing Frannie, who would no doubt have news about Aaron and Perry, as well.
Little Aaron might like a postcard, she thought. She also toyed with the idea of writing back to Perry. A letter this time, not just a note on a card, to let him know she certainly could be counted on as a friend, and that she was praying faithfully for his recovery.
So, that evening, before her nightly reading ritual, she sat down and penned her thoughts.
29
Len had arrived late last night for the long weekend, and Sallie found Autumn still in her pajamas at Friday breakfast. Monique brought up the idea of taking a picnic supper to Cove Beach. “That way, we’ll have a better chance to scout out a good spot for watching fireworks.”
“While everyone else is eating dinner somewhere,” Autumn piped up, looking smart in red, white, and blue.
Sallie assumed they had done this other years on the Fourth, and she was pleased to be included. Naturally, Autumn was excited, too. She spent the rest of the morning playing and swimming with her parents in their pool, since the beaches would be overcrowded on such a sunny holiday weekend.
Meanwhile, Sallie took care of Connor indoors, overhearing the threesome now and then from the screened-in veranda, their laughter punctuated by Autumn’s splashing and squeals.
For the noon meal, Len cooked hamburgers on the outdoor grill, and they ate on the veranda. Monique was passing some store-bought dill pickles around the table when Sallie asked if she might put up some homemade ones for them next week.
“What a great idea!” Monique enthused, looking as patriotic as Autumn in a bold red-and-white-striped top and blue capris. “You and Autumn could go with Evie to Duckies Farm Market next Monday. They’ll have plenty of cucumbers to purchase.”
“I’ll feel right at home there,” Sallie said, loving the idea. “And if Autumn wants to learn how to make pickles, she can help, too.”
Across the table, Autumn was nodding. “Maybe Rhiannon and her grandparents would like some.”
“Sure,” Monique said, waving her hand. “And the mailman and Mr. Jason, the umbrella man, too.” She winked at Autumn, who caught the joke.
“Sounds like you’ll need a really big batch,” Len said, joining in the fun.
Sallie mentioned that her sister Frannie would be coming to visit next Friday.
“We’ll give her pickles, too,” Autumn said, piling it on.
Sallie assured her that Frannie would have her own hand in making oodles of pickles of all kinds back home. “Canning bees are very common this time of year.”
Monique asked, “How many women typically work together at those?”
“Oh, as few as two, but often six or more,” Sallie said, “depending on how many families are involved.”
Autumn beamed. “We can have a canning bee right here!”
“We’ll have us a wonderful-gut time,” Sallie said, smiling and wishing Mamm could see that she was influencing Englischers, instead of the other way around.
———
After the plates and utensils were cleared away, Sallie began preparing the fried chicken she had offered to make for their evening picnic. “A scrumptious recipe straight from my mother’s kitchen.”
“Sounds yummy.” Monique swayed back and forth with Connor in her arms. “Are you sure you want to?”
“Absolutely. And Autumn can help crush the crackers into crumbs.”
Before her mother even asked, Autumn was washing her hands and asking for “a big apron like Sallie’s.”
Monique gave her a half apron and said it would have to do, then left the kitchen with Connor.
“It’s just us now,” Autumn whispered to Sallie, a mischievous look in her pretty eyes.
Sallie nodded but hadn’t given up hope that Autumn might soon want to spend more time with her brother. “It’s the first Fourth of July for Connor,” she mentioned as she combined the flour and seasonings for the coating in a large bowl on the counter.
“The fireworks might frighten him.” Autumn looked up at her. “Do you think he needs my earplugs?”
Sallie laughed outright. “That’s sweet, thinkin’ of his fragile eardrums.”
“Mommy says she’ll probably go home with him before they start,” she said. “She’ll be missing out.”
“Your mother will be fine. She took gut care of you when you were tiny, so you can be sure she’ll do the same for Connor,” Sallie said, cutting the chicken into manageable pieces. “I’m sure they’ll be able to join you and your father next year.”
Autumn nodded attentively, blinking her eyes as if all of this was beginning to jell.
Just as he had promised, Kevin called on Sunday afternoon. “Did you see the fireworks over the ocean?”
“Oh jah, but tellin’ the truth, the first one really startled me. Back home, I’ve only seen them in the distance.”
“They’re thunderous, all right.”
“And ever so beautiful,” she said, sighing with happiness at the remembrance. “Did ya have a nice visit home?”
“I definitely ate too much,” Kevin admitted, describing the small-town parade and fireworks, as well as the generous spread of food at their cookout. “My parents invited a group of people from our church, and every family brought food. Potluck, you might say. Or dish to pass.”
“I’ve heard it called a faith supper, too.”
“Ah, I like that best.”
They talked about how much he missed the ocean after just two days. “But I’m returning to Cape May this evening. It’s short notice, so I’ll understand if you already have plans, but I wondered if I might see you tonight. I could pick you up around seven o’clock, if you’re free.”
Pleased, Sallie agreed immediately.
“I’m thinking we could go beachcombing. We could look for some of those Cape May diamonds you want to find, and my mom needs a bunch of white and gray seashells.” Kevin paused.
“Why so many?”
“Making shell crafts is her way of filling her time now that all of us kids are out on our own. Even my youngest sister is away right now on an extended mission trip to Haiti. She’ll be home for Thanksgiving.”
“Your family sounds very missions oriented,” Sallie said, pondering that, so different from her own upbringing, since the People did not attempt to win converts.
“We are,” Kevin said. He mentioned they were involved with Christian Aid Ministries and the Mennonite Central Committee.
“We Amish as a whole are leery of missionary work,” Sallie felt the need to explain. “One of our ministers said in a recent sermon that anyone can talk the faith to others, but daily livin’ it out is another thing.”
Kevin seemed to contemplate that. “I’d agree that our actions are the best way to share our faith. If faith isn’t at the core of who we are, then we don’t really have anything to share, do we?”
“Well, I don’t know who I’d be without mine,” Sallie admitted, glad he saw it that way, too. “I look forward to collectin’ seashells with you for your mother.”
Kevin said he would wait for her at the curb in front of the Logans’ home, if that was all right.
“Denki,” she said, thinking she would let Monique know she was going out, in case they noticed Sallie getting into a strange car.
“I’ll see you soon, Sallie.”
Rushing off to the bedroom, she undressed and showered, wanting to look especially nice for the young man who must surely be jeopardizing his busy internship to drop everything and see her.
Snug in her soft pink cotton robe, Sallie switched on the hair dryer she’d found in the cupboard under the bathroom sink, something she’d never had the opportunity to use before this summer, feeling the rush of heat against her neck and scalp.
When her hair was dry enough to brush, she counted the strokes—one hundred on both sides. Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed and ran her bare feet over the lush carpet. To think that, just yesterday, she’d sent Perry a letter in the Saturday mail, and today she’d agreed to meet Kevin again. Not just meet him but accept a ride.
Relax, she told herself. It’s just to hunt for shells. And anyway, you don’t have much time left in Cape May!
30
The minute Sallie was in the car, Kevin asked if she’d prefer to drive to Sunset Beach or down to Cape May Point near the lighthouse. “Either location is great for beachcombing,” he told her.
Sallie had already been to Sunset Beach twice to watch the flag-lowering ceremony and search the shoreline with Autumn for shells and quartz crystals. Even so, she chose to return there, as it was becoming a favorite. And, too, it made sense that the more often she looked for the gems where they were most easily found—Sunset Beach—the better her chances.
With three weeks having passed already, she really wanted to find at least one smooth, round diamond. From the moment Autumn had shown her the bowl of highly polished pebbles, Sallie had made a conscious effort to locate at least one small token of her time there. From Cape May, the beautiful, she thought, glad Kevin was so obliging.
He pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car, coming around and opening the door for her.
“I told my family about meeting you,” he said as she got out, the breeze ruffling the top of his dark brown hair.
“Oh?” She laughed.
“My mom thinks I’m too curious about our heritage.”
Sallie considered this as she fell into step with him.
“I mentioned that you and I clicked almost instantly,” Kevin said as though it was out of the ordinary. “Mom was actually amused. Or, maybe I should say, confused.” He looked at Sallie and smiled endearingly.
“You must’ve scared your family to death.”
Kevin shook his head. “They know they can trust me.”
Taken aback, she wondered what he meant. They trust him not to fall in love with the wrong girl?
“Hey, let’s go barefoot,” he said, removing his sandals.
Lost in the thought, she did the same, enjoying the sand’s warmth. “Jah, this is nice. I’ve missed going barefoot since leaving home.”
“I think it annoyed Mom, all the dirt I tracked in running around without shoes as a boy,” he said as they walked leisurely near the water.
“At least you didn’t live right on the ocean. Just think how hard it would be to keep the house free of sand! A never-ending chore.”
“It would be worth the trade-off,” Kevin said, looking out to sea. He reached then to take her sandals, saying he’d run them back to the car.
For an instant, she watched him, one pair of dangling sandals in each hand. The wind or the sun had reddened his face since she’d last seen him, and he looked younger in his jean shorts. All the same, she shouldn’t stare, even though in that moment, she felt it was somehow important to memorize this evening.
As if I could forget!
And yet their friendship, the connection between them—whatever it was—couldn’t continue indefinitely, anticipation building each time they met. She certainly felt it now, like a commanding undertow.
In short order, Kevin ran back to join her, kicking up the sand behind him. “Let’s search for your Cape May diamond before we lose the sunlight, okay?”
“What ’bout your mother’s seashells?” she asked.
“Oh, they’re everywhere—we can find them at twilight, if we have to.”
With each footstep, the sand shifted beneath her toes, and Sallie noticed the breeze had calmed some as they surveyed the patterns on the beach, examining each section a few inches at a time.
Kevin was a good yard or so away. “Mostly just broken bits of shells tonight.”
Sallie kept her eyes trained for the slightest sparkle, although most of the beautiful quartz crystals in Autumn’s bowl back at the cottage had been cloudy and even dull to start with, prior to polishing. “You have to know what you’re looking for,” Monique had told her when Sallie mentioned going out this evening with one of the instructors at the nature center to search for the diamonds.
The sun lowered, little by little, and herons rhythmically flapped their wings against the radiant sky. Sallie straightened for a moment and stared over at the sinking remnants of the old ship. Autumn had called it creepy that first evening Sallie had come here with her. And now, as Sallie stood silently, pressing her toes into the grainy sand, she understood.
She glanced at Kevin, who seemed thoroughly focused on his search, and wondered if they would keep in touch with each other. Nee, she thought. Not once I return home. Dat and Mamm would disapprove. And by inwardly acknowledging this, she began to reconcile herself to the idea that there would, indeed, come a time when she must accept their vast differences and part ways for good.
Yet she brushed reality aside for the time being, like so much sand. Enjoy these special moments with him, she told herself, even though trying to find the buried gems had become a fruitless chore. Like every other time I’ve looked, she thought, refusing to give in to discouragement.
She straightened once mor
e, rubbing her back. They had been looking for what seemed like hours. “Maybe I’m not supposed to find one,” she said.
“Giving up?” Kevin asked.
“I’m s’posed to say never, jah?”
He shook his head. “Say what you want.”
She smiled as he walked toward her. “I’d like to say, lookee here, see what I just found.” She laughed. “How’s that?”
“You’re cute, Sallie.” He chuckled.
She stifled a giggle, baffled. No one had ever called her that before.
“Let’s just walk,” Kevin said. “Sometimes you find what you’re looking for when you’re not trying.”
They strolled along the water, taking their time—a soft breeze against their faces and the waves sloshing gently against their feet as they gazed toward the horizon.
Lightly, Kevin touched her back, guiding her steps.
A tingle went up her spine, and although Sallie reminded herself that he was just being a gentleman, she couldn’t help but be especially pleased to be right there, right then, with this thoughtful young man.
———
Later, while Kevin walked over to The Grille for root beer floats, Sallie waited at the water’s edge. She noticed a young woman about her age in a midcalf-length white skirt. For a fleeting moment, her imagination took flight. What if I dressed like that? she thought, liking the modest yet graceful style. And it looked so much cooler, too.
Turning her attention back to her search, she took a few steps forward while awaiting Kevin’s return and was about to turn back when she felt a lump beneath her left foot. Something was buried in the wet sand.
Bending low, she could see a small piece of whatever it was shining up at her, and she tugged out a smooth sparkling stone the size of a robin’s egg and completely translucent.
Can it be? She held her breath as she stared at it. “Autumn would know.” Then, realizing Kevin would, as well, she could hardly wait to show him.
The gem tightly clasped in her fist, she spotted the bench where Monique had sat with tiny Connor when Sallie and Autumn had first gone beachcombing there. She resisted the growing excitement. I might be wrong.
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