Whispering Waves

by Jamie Berris

  Once at the buoy, Sadie swam parallel to the shore from one buoy to the next. The water was calm with barely a ripple, and Sadie quickly fell into a rhythm, alternating between the breast stroke and freestyle. Even though she had never joined the swim team, her mother insisted on swim lessons every winter so they were strong swimmers at home in their own pool. It paid off; she was quick yet graceful.

  When Sadie felt like she had reached near exhaustion, she swam to the shore. The mass of beach towels was deserted when she got back. She scanned the beach and caught sight of Travis, Paige, Cody, and Liz all playing volleyball against Jayna and her new friends, and she felt like she didn’t have a place anymore.

  Up until yesterday, she had Travis and Cody all to herself, and she liked the bond they shared, but today she felt like she didn’t fit in. Sure, she could go join in on the game, but she truly didn’t feel like it, so she lay down on her stomach and closed her eyes. Soaking up the warm sun on her back helped her relax and drift off.

  Chapter 27

  Kurt

  When Kurt came out of the bathroom from his shower, he noticed Marissa had changed into a white sundress. She looked beautiful with her hair swept up, showing off her bare, delicate shoulders.

  She handed him a glass of lemonade mixed with beer and vodka. One sip and Kurt had remembered Lydia and Marissa making their “summer beer” drink almost every night they were in Pentwater.

  Kurt remembered himself and Marcus teasing their wives about their froufrou drinks until they decided to try them one night. After a few too many, they both ended up puking next to the fire. Thank goodness the kids were young then and actually went to bed before their parents.

  “You’re remembering that Lydia and I used to drink this stuff while we were here, aren’t you?”

  Kurt nodded. “I can’t believe how crazy we got sometimes as young parents.”

  “Why don’t you take the pitcher next door and give some to Andrea and Benton so I don’t make a fool of myself tonight. Let her know I’m five minutes from putting the kabobs on the grill.”

  Kurt stood staring at Marissa for a few seconds, and she looked up from her chopping. He tilted her chin up with his finger and gave her a soft kiss on the lips before walking out the door with the pitcher in hand.

  ~*~

  Marissa

  Sadie came into the cottage, after watching Kurt leave with a pitcher in his hand. Even though Marissa’s back was to her, she could tell by Sadie’s footsteps that she stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Marissa alone in the kitchen. Marissa quickly turned and offered Sadie a glass of regular lemonade, but she declined with a polite, “No, thank you,” taking Marissa by surprise.

  Sadie was halfway to her bedroom when Marissa decided to take the opportunity to talk to her alone. “Sadie, I know you aren’t exactly excited that your dad and I are dating, but I wish you would give me a chance. I really care about you. I have since the day you were born—actually since the day your mom told me she was pregnant with you.”

  Marissa followed Sadie to her room and leaned up against the door frame.

  Sadie ignored Marissa and dug through her clothes, lifting up different outfits, inspecting them like it was the first time she had ever seen the clothes.

  “Sadie, I was like your second mom for the first ten years of your life. Can you cut me some slack?”

  Sadie dropped the mini skirt in her hands to the floor and glared at Marissa. “I don’t need anyone, especially you, barging into our family and replacing my mom. We’re doing just fine without your help. I’m quite sure you are the last person on this earth that my mom would want dating my dad. So if you’re looking for a warm welcome, you’re certainly not going to get it from me, ever!”

  Marissa’s jaw dropped, but then she stood up straight and continued. She had no idea of the level of hatred Sadie had towards her.

  “Lydia and I had a really rough time for several years, you know that. But, Sadie, we worked through all of it before she died. We weren’t enemies, if that’s what you think. And me and your dad—it just happened. It wasn’t planned or premeditated. Believe me. Not in a million years did I ever expect anything like this to come about.”

  “Whatever happened between you and Mom, or whatever you did, you made her suffer for years. I could even hear her and Dad fight about it sometimes. Then she got cancer and died and here you are. Why can’t you just make it easier on all of us and go away?”

  Marissa inhaled deeply and tilted her head. “What happened between me and your mom is in the past. You’ve got to let it go, just as we did. I assure you your mom and I had completely worked through our problems. All was forgiven—we were once again as close as sisters.

  “I know you’re only trying to protect your mom, and I respect that, but, Sadie, you’re not being fair to me or your dad.”

  “Fair? You want to talk about fair? It’s not fair that my mom is dead and you’re here. That’s not fair!”

  With that, Sadie crumpled on the bottom bunk and turned her back to Marissa and sobbed. Marissa felt like she had been punched in the gut. The last thing she wanted was to leave Sadie crying like this. She knew she ached for her mother, and Marissa felt for her and wanted so badly to wrap her arms around Sadie and comfort her, but she also knew that would be a mistake at this point.

  Instead, she closed Sadie’s door and went back into the kitchen where she found Kurt standing, looking out the slider, watching Nicholas play trucks on the porch steps. She could see his muscled back through the ice blue fitted T-shirt he was wearing. He turned, and when their eyes met, she knew he had heard everything.

  “I’m sorry. I should have kept my mouth shut. I just wanted a chance to make it right.”

  Kurt took Marissa in his arms. “You said all the right things, much better than anything I could have said.”

  “Maybe I should go. This has been enough for her today.”

  “No, I want you to stay. We need to show her that we’re adults and she isn’t in control.”

  Marissa backed away from Kurt. “She’s hurting, Kurt, and I don’t want to ruin everyone’s night and your vacation. We can try again when you get back home.”

  “You’re not going anywhere, and leaving isn’t going to make the situation any better in the long run. I really want you to stay.” Kurt looked at the beach and saw Paige hanging out with the other kids, Travis in particular. “And Paige is having a great time. Maybe there’s still hope Paige could help smooth things over.”

  ~*~

  Jayna

  Jayna pushed open the bedroom door to find Sadie lying on the bottom bunk, facing the wall. The room was quiet except for the light sound of the fan swiveling in the corner and then a sniff from Sadie.

  She dropped her wet sandy towel on the floor and peered over her sister’s shoulder. “Are you crying?” Jayna saw the redness of Sadie’s face and eyes and felt guilty. “If you’re that upset about me stealing some stupid ring, I’ll take it back! Jeez!”

  Sadie rolled on her back and looked up at Jayna, whose long, thick sandy blond hair was piled on top of her head and all strays secured away from her face with a bright yellow stretchy headband that matched her suit. Her large almond eyes popped against her tan, and not only did she resemble their mother to a T, she actually looked concerned.

  Wiping her eyes, Sadie laughed out loud. “You always think everything is all about you.”

  Jayna sat on the edge of the bed, and Sadie scooted over for her. “Yeah, well, what’s your deal, then?”

  “The bitch in the kitchen, ya know, the one trying to replace our mother.”

  “What? You think they’re into each other like that?”

  “Jayna, open your eyes. We’ve even talked about it a few times. They’re dating and who knows what else.”

  Jayna felt a mixture of emotions. She wasn’t sure how she felt about her dad dating. The fact that it was Marissa, someone she knew, was probably better than a total stranger, right? Paige was nice
enough, actually a lot more fun to be around than Sadie most of the time. But she had to agree that she kind of liked the way things were, just them and her dad. “So tell dad he can’t date her,” Jayna said very matter-of-factly.

  Sadie rolled her eyes. “It’s things like that, Jayna, that show how immature you are. They’ve been seeing each other for months. Dad isn’t going to break it off just because we tell him to.”

  “Okay then, we’ll be so mean to her that she’ll leave him.”

  Sadie hadn’t thought of that exactly, but wasn’t that possibly her underlying motive? If they made it difficult enough, maybe her dad and Marissa would both see that it wasn’t worth it.

  Jayna’s eyes widened. “Liz and I can put laxatives in her drink at dinner, or better yet poison. Can’t you cut the lines to the brakes in her car?”

  Sadie shook her head and let out a sigh and a laugh. “Get real, Jayna.”

  “Hey, you’re the one with the big issue. I was only trying to help.”

  “Maybe we can figure out what Mom and Marissa had the big blowout fight about in the first place. The thing is, Jayna . . . whatever Marissa did to Mom . . . it took Mom until her death bed to forgive her.”

  Jayna seemed slightly confused. “Dad won’t talk?”

  “No, and neither will Andrea. She is the only other person who knows.”

  Jayna thought for a minute. “What about mom’s diaries? I see Dad reading them sometimes at night. He sits outside and reads them next to a lantern. I’ve gone down to the kitchen for a drink and seen him out there. I think I’ve even seen him crying.”

  Sadie’s face lit up. “Sometimes you can be brilliant, Jayna.”

  “So does this mean you’re not mad at me anymore for stealing?”

  “Seriously, Jayna, how can you be so smart and so stupid at the same time?”

  Jayna shrugged and grabbed a swimsuit cover-up before heading back outside.

  ~*~

  Sadie

  Sadie kept to herself during dinner. Thank God the two picnic tables between the cottages were pushed together and long enough so that Sadie could stay clear of Marissa. Being around her was unbearable.

  Andrea seemed to sense the tension in the air, and she was being extra sweet to Sadie. She didn’t expect Andrea to give Marissa the silent treatment; however, they seemed to be catching up like old pals. What was up with that? For a split second, Sadie questioned whether she was acting immaturely, but then she quickly reminded herself that she was simply being true and loyal to her mother.

  Travis and Paige were definitely flirting, and to say that it was getting under Sadie’s skin was an understatement. Seriously, why couldn’t these two women just go away? Sadie knew Paige was clueless, but it still didn’t make it easier.

  She wished Dylan were there, even though she was still pissed at him for threatening Travis. He was working for his dad, helping with the maintenance of the landscaping at the golf course his father ran. When Dylan texted earlier, he asked if she was hanging out with “Travy boy,” which irritated Sadie, but she replied back that he and Paige suddenly seemed to be in a sizzling summer fling.

  Sadie pushed around the contents of her chicken kabob on her plate and dipped a piece of summer squash and zucchini in barbeque sauce, something her mom used to do to get her to eat vegetables. If it was covered in sauce it usually made it past Sadie’s lips.

  Dumping her paper plate in the fire pit, Sadie announced to no one in particular that she was going for a bike ride. Andrea heard and offered to go with her, but Sadie politely turned her down and agreed to meeting up for a walk in the morning.

  She wasn’t more than two minutes down the road when she heard Jayna yelling for her to wait. Jayna rode up next to Sadie, huffing and puffing.

  “Don’t you want to hang out with Liz and your friends?” Sadie asked.

  “Nah, Liz, Cody, Travis, and Paige were going to get ice cream and watch the sunset from the pier. I didn’t really feel like being a fifth wheel. It sounded kind of boring.”

  Sadie just nodded at her sister, and they rode through the streets of Pentwater in mostly silence, going up and down the roads they knew so well from their many bike rides with their mom as kids. Sadie noticed which bed and breakfast inns had been repainted, and which ones that time and the weather had taken their toll on over the years. Some had new additions and beautiful flowers and a quaint feel, and others were sparse and tired, desperately in need of TLC.

  They rode past Pentwater Lake, Snug Harbor Marina, Cenzos, House of Flavors, and Cosmic Candy. “I’m thinking a peanut butter cup flurry sounds good. Do you want something?”

  “I don’t have any money on me,” said Jayna.

  “No, really?”

  “Sadie, shut up . . . like I knew.”

  Sadie did shut up. She was only teasing, but she knew when she genuinely hurt her sister’s feelings, and now was one of those times. “I’m kidding. C’mon, I’ll buy you whatever you want.”

  They ate their flurries on a bench overlooking the channel that led from Lake Michigan to Pentwater Lake. Halfway through, Jayna asked if Sadie would be willing to switch her peanut butter cup flurry with Jayna’s Oreo cookie flurry.

  Jayna was notorious for doing this, and not only when they got ice cream, but when they went out for dinner too. She expected her family to trade meals with her halfway through and couldn’t understand why everyone thought it was rude. Sadie just handed her sister her ice cream and accepted the Oreo cookie flurry without a word.

  The sun was about to set when Jayna spoke up. “So, if we stay away long enough, maybe Marissa will be gone by the time we get back.”

  “She better take her daughter with her,” mumbled Sadie.

  “What’s wrong with Paige? I thought you two were friends?”

  “We are, but I don’t want her up here.”

  Sadie felt Jayna’s eyes studying her. “Yeah, she kind of left you in the dust. I mean she saw Travis and just kind of ditched you for him.”

  Sadie shrugged. “Somethin’ like that.”

  Sadie and Jayna hung out most of the evening, riding their bikes to the beach and sitting in the dark, gazing at the stars on the end of the pier, climbing Old Baldy, and running down in the dark, and making lap after lap through the rows of the state campground, listening to the campfire stories and songs.

  ~*~

  Sadie came out to watch the thunderstorm with her dad and pretended she hadn’t seen him reading her mother’s diary. It was dark out, almost midnight, but she would recognize the diaries anywhere. Even though she was still pissed at her dad for inviting Marissa and Paige out, she couldn’t help but soften a little at the sight. Maybe he would realize he was making a mistake.

  Another thing that occurred to her was that he had brought the diary to Pentwater with him. That meant he still thought of her—enough to pack it ahead of time and bring it here. Sadie was curious what was in this diary that was so special to him. She longed to read it too, but felt like it would betray her mother’s privacy and trust.

  A huge crack of thunder broke, and Sadie jumped as lightning highlighted the building waves. She wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them close.

  “This is going to be a good one,” Kurt said, staring out to the water.

  “Uh huh—they always are over the lake,” Sadie muttered. A cool breeze blew through, and Sadie shivered for what seemed like the first time this steamy summer. Lightning was flickering every few seconds, moving closer and closer. It was beautiful.

  “How about some hot chocolate?” asked Kurt.

  “I didn’t pack any. I figured it was way too hot.”

  “I did. There’s always at least one good storm in Pentwater every time we’re here.”

  Sadie shrugged. “Sure.”

  While her dad went to make hot chocolate, Sadie retrieved Dylan’s hooded sweatshirt from her bedroom. Jayna was out like a rock. They were so different. Jayna would sleep through every storm and never know it even rai
ned, whereas Sadie was up faster than lightning at the first clap of thunder.

  She peeked in on Nicholas, turned his fan from low to medium to drown out the storm, and, once back out on the porch, slipped the sweatshirt over her head. The sweatshirt smelled like Dylan. He had given her this sweatshirt to bring to Pentwater. It was orange with black lettering, their school colors, and had Dylan’s last name, McCabe, written across the back, along with his football number.

  They had done this throughout their entire relationship. Every couple of weeks Sadie would trade Dylan for a new sweatshirt, which he would spray with his cologne. She would wear these sweatshirts around the house or to bed to keep him close.

  Sadie put the sleeve up to her nose and smelled Dylan as she looked next door at Travis’s cottage. It was dark, but she wondered if he was listening to the storm, or if he slept right through it like Jayna. She thought about him and Paige and wondered if they were a real thing already. She wished she didn’t care.

  Maybe she just needed to get away from Travis or at least get her mind focused back on Dylan. She was still very in love with him, so how could any of these crazy feelings for Travis even mean anything? Kurt came back out with a mug of hot chocolate topped with a swirl of Reddi-Wip. They sat in silence for the next hour, watching the storm until it died down to just a heavy rain.

  Chapter 28

  Sadie

  Even though the rain had stopped, the sky hung low with a thick haze. The air was just as thick with humidity, and the sand on the beach was wet and sticky as Sadie made her way over to get Andrea for their morning walk.

  As the words came out of Sadie’s mouth, she regretted them. “Looks like Travis and Paige really hit it off yesterday.”