Saltwater Secrets

by Cindy Callaghan

  When I hung up, Josie asked me, “Did you hear from Dario?”

  “No.” I texted him right then before I forgot.

  The air on the pier smelled of French fries and funnel cake. People bustled about with tickets for rides and answered the calls to “step right up” at the midway games, eager to win a JERSEY STRONG bumper sticker or Hello Kitty plush toy by tossing rings around the neck of a bottle.

  Off work at 7. C U then, Dario replied. Then he added, #NiftyGifty. And followed it up with a pukey emoji.

  “We should wait for him to ride the Minotaur,” Josie said.

  “Definitely.” Dario needed us to sit on either side of him. He hated the ride and screamed the whole time. He’s never gone on it without us.

  We got popcorn while we waited; because we couldn’t escape steamed broccoli two nights in a row, we were hungry. That’s when we bumped into Angie Imani. Angie is Dario’s older sister who usually blew us off, too cool to hang out with us. But we were almost in high school now, so I hoped things would change.

  “Hey, Angie,” I said. “What’s up?”

  She said, “Hi, Jo-Stell.” That’s what she called us since she could never remember which one of us was which. “What’re you guys up to?”

  Josie pointed to the Minotaur. “First of many nights on that coaster.”

  “And later we’ll probably catch up with the guards,” I said.

  “We will?” Josie asked me.

  I definitely wanted to go to the bonfire. I’d waited for years to be old enough. I didn’t answer Josie but asked Angie, “What’re you doing tonight?” I thought maybe she’d want to hang out with us.

  She dangled a set of car keys. “I have the Water Sport Adventure van, so I’m heading to Shelter Harbor.”

  “Oh, right,” I said. “You got your license.”

  “It changes everything. It’s like ultimate freedom.” She looked past us. “Look who it is,” she said at the sight of Dario. “Definitely my cue to leave.” She made an L with her thumb and finger on her forehead and walked away.

  You needed to be invited or have an “in” to go to a lifeguard bonfire. The Three Ts could be that, but since they were still in training, it was iffy. I thought Angie could be our “in.” She was popular and always went to the bonfires. At least she used to.

  “How was work?” Josie asked Dario.

  He said, “Who really needs another snow globe, right?”

  “So right,” Josie said, and the two chatted about snow globes and key chains.

  Dario asked her, “What’s the deal with refrigerator magnets? Can’t you think of anything more interesting to collect?”

  I didn’t hear the details of magnets, because my focus was drawn to Rodney in the distance. Among vacationers shooting water pistols into plastic clowns’ mouths, and kids crying because of dropped ice cream cones or stray balloons, he was writing on a clipboard and pushing buttons on a calculator.

  “Why so quiet, Stell?” Dario asked.

  “Look at him.” I directed their attention.

  “What’s he doing?” Dario asked.

  I said, “Let’s find out.” We walked over to the railing where Rodney diligently worked. “What’s up, Mr. Rodney?”

  “Structural assessments.” He didn’t look at us as he continued pushing buttons on the calculator. “I can’t talk now. I’m counting.”

  “Counting what?” Dario asked anyway.

  He sighed. “People. Estimating weights of people, crowds of them. Then I’ll ultrasonically assess the thickness of the submerged wooden pylon support beams and compare it to the measurements from earlier today to see how the beams are affected by weight. Basic structural-inspection stuff. I do swim-by inspections in the daylight.” He wrote something down. “Look, kids, I can’t talk right now. Seriously.” He turned his back on us and mumbled a bit.

  “Oooookay. Rather than unravel those tentacles,” Dario said about the mouthful of confusing lingo Rodney had just dropped on us, “let’s talk about something more normal, like the line for the Minotaur, which just went down. I’m in the middle seat.”

  We only had to wait a minute before getting loaded into a coaster car. There was room for four in a car, and somehow Apple ended up in with us despite not having been in line.

  She really was an amazing magician.

  After the loud snap of the brace locking to hold us in, we were off.

  “I hope it doesn’t get stuck at the top again,” I said. “Remember when that happened last time?”

  “Oh yeah,” Josie said. “Hottest day of the year.”

  Dario said, “The top of my legs got so sunburned, they peeled for a week.”

  “I love when that happens,” Apple said. “Sometimes I save the skin in a bag.”

  “That’s kinda gross,” I said.

  “Kinda,” she said. “But not too much.”

  As we climbed to the coaster’s highest point, I pointed something out to Josie. It was Dad, walking away from a food kiosk in the middle of the midway. He was handing a candy apple to a nice-looking woman, although it was kinda hard from this far away to tell anything else about her.

  “Date number one?” I yelled to Josie.

  “Looks that waaa—”

  The rest of her words were lost in the wind as the coaster dropped us at full speed. From there it jerked and whipped us all around the pier and out over the ocean. The wind blowing through my hair was mixed with a combo of Dario’s and Josie’s screams.

  When we were done, we ran down the exit ramp and stopped to catch our breath. I looked over either shoulder, but no sign of Apple.

  “That was fantab!” Josie said.

  We all laughed at ourselves, the state of our hair, and the amount we’d just yelled. I glanced down at my cell phone and saw that a text had arrived. It was from TJ.

  Then suddenly we all stopped laughing when something happened that wasn’t funny at all.

  Eleven Stella

  Police Station

  June 25 (Continued)

  Santoro tips the chip bag into his mouth and lets the broken chips and crumbs fall in. After a crunch, he crinkles the bag in his fist and pitches it into the trash can. “What happened when you got off the Minotaur?”

  “It was a windy, chilly night.”

  “I got that part. That happens at the shore.”

  I pause because I know this is going to sound ridiculous. “It moved.”

  He does his stare thing when he leaves an uncomfortable silence. This time I’m really stubborn, and I don’t fill it. It isn’t easy, but I hold my tongue by sipping on warm Coke.

  He asks, “What moved? The roller coaster?”

  “No.” I pause. “The pier.”

  “Moved how?”

  “It felt like… Imagine the pier was made of rubber. And the waves were strong…”

  “Because it was windy,” he adds, to show me he’s following along with my line of thinking.

  “Exactly. Big waves, gusts of wind… Like, it bent. Or it felt like it was bending.”

  “And then what?”

  “And then it stopped,” I say.

  He looks at me to say more, and this time I oblige. “I’ve spent a lot of time on that pier over the years, and I’ve never felt it move like that before.”

  “So what did you do?”

  “Before I tell you that, aren’t you a little curious about my dad and the lady you set him up with?”

  “No.” He cracks his neck. “Stella, I’m not.”

  But that straight, serious, unchanged, flat look on his face told me he was at least a little curious.

  Twelve Stella

  Murphy’s Pier

  June 19 (Continued)

  “Did you feel that?” I asked Dario and Josie.

  “Totally,” Josie said.

  “What’s the deal with that?” Dario asked. “That never happened before.”

  “Maybe ’cause it’s extra windy tonight?” Josie asked.

  “Or maybe
our equilibrium is off. From the ride. That can really mess with your mind,” I said, then studied the crowd. No one seemed alarmed. Had we imagined it?

  I felt my phone vibrate. Since I knew no one from home was texting, so no risk of breaking the pact, I checked it.

  It was TJ. Turn around.

  I did and saw the Three Ts headed our way. I ran my fingers through my hair, which was surely a wreck following the ride.

  I asked them, “Did you guys feel that?” They were now in red GUARD hoodies.

  “It was like a tremor,” TJ said.

  “Or a shake,” Tucker added.

  “Think an earthquake?” Timmy asked.

  “In New Jersey?” I asked. “Does that happen?”

  “It’s possible,” Dario said. He pulled out his phone. “Let’s see what the news is reporting.”

  The Three Ts disregarded Dario’s quest for the truth, clearly not worried if New Jersey had had a Richter scale–worthy event.

  TJ said, “It’s bonfire time.”

  “Or what I like to call ‘marshmallow time,’ ” Tucker added.

  “You guys coming?” Timmy asked.

  Luckily, the tremor wasn’t significant enough to break off a chunk of the Jersey coastline or impede our first bonfire. I said, “Of course.”

  “What’s the deal with marshmallows?” Dario asked all of us.

  When no one jumped to answer, TJ said, “See you there.” He walked away and brushed his arm against mine. It gave me goose bumps.

  Dario was looking down at his phone, but the arm brush had been in his peripheral vision. I’m pretty sure he saw, but he didn’t say anything.

  Once the Three Ts left, there was an awkward beat between the three of us that I broke. “Dario, what does it say about the earthquake?”

  “Murielle duPluie isn’t talking about it. She’s on top of the news, as you know. If there had been a real tremor, she’d be reporting it.” He added, “So, just a fluke.”

  Officer Booth walked past us and bumped into Josie. “Scuse me, kids.” He was aimed right at Rodney, who was standing on the pier’s wooden railing. Rodney looked like he was shouting at people, but with the music, midway, wind, waves, and coaster noise, we couldn’t hear him.

  Nosey, we followed Officer Booth over to Rodney.

  “Get down from there before you fall in,” Booth yelled at Rodney. “Let’s not have any trouble tonight, Hot Rod.”

  “I’m not breaking any laws. I have the right to assemble,” Rodney said. “And, mark my words, these people have a right to know that the structure of this pier is compromised. Compromised! That’s right, the more we allow businesses to mess with the marine ecosystem for profit, the more danger we are in!”

  “Danger?” Dario asked.

  “What businesses?” I asked.

  “The marine ecosystem?” Josie yelled.

  “See what you’ve done?” Booth asked. “You’re going to cause a panic. Now get down.”

  “Maybe there needs to be a panic!” Rodney said. “And this is a peaceful demonstration. Heard of the First Amendment? I’m not hurting anyone.”

  “I’ll tell you this, Rod: If you don’t get down, someone’s gonna get hurt, and it’s not gonna be me.”

  Rodney looked at the cop from the railing. “Come on, Booth. You know you don’t mean that. You and I go way back. And you know I’m right about this.” Regardless of his verbal reluctance to get down, Rodney shifted to a squat on the railing. “Just like I was right about that terrestrial beach landing in ’02.”

  “Sure. Remember, you agreed not to talk about that.”

  “Confidentiality agreements, blah, blah, blah,” Rodney said.

  Booth grabbed him around his calf. “Lemme help you, ’cause if you fall in, guess who’s gonna have to jump in and save you. Me. And that water is cold.”

  Rodney got his butt to the railing and looked Booth right in the face. “Seriously, Booth, who’d save who from drowning?”

  Booth rolled his eyes. “Rod, I’m not in the mood.”

  Rodney hopped onto the boards. “I can do my work from the beach.” He shook his hair out of his face and stomped away.

  “Right. Go look for UFOs down there.” Then Booth said to us, “Show’s over, kids.” And he headed toward the snack bar.

  “Think there’s any truth to his claims about the ecosystem?” Josie asked.

  I said, “Probably not. It sounds like typical Rodney ramblings.”

  “Sounds like he was right about something in 2002, unless Booth was kidding. Maybe everything he says isn’t gibberish,” Dario noted. “I’m gonna look into what that was.”

  “And I’m going to snorkel tomorrow and check out the sea life under this pier,” Josie said.

  Then we heard, “Stella! Josie!” It was Dad, getting onto the Minotaur. He waved and pointed to the lady next to him, smiled, and gave us a thumbs-up. She waved to us too.

  “Looks like date number one is going well,” Dario said.

  Date number one was an attractive woman who looked about Mom’s age, wearing a sundress and denim jacket.

  “How do you know about that?” I asked.

  “He was in Nifty earlier today. You know, guy talk.”

  “Eww,” I said. “I’m a little grossed out that you and my dad are talking about his dating life.”

  Josie agreed. “Me too.”

  The snap of the Minotaur safety bars was audible through the wind; then click, click, click, the coaster climbed to the highest point to start the ride. And then swoosh, the cart dropped and jerked into the big turn on which the rails actually hang over the side of the pier.

  Josie said, “Suddenly the Minotaur seems extra scary when you think that the coaster is supported by a base that could be… ‘compromised.’ ”

  Dario stared at the wild, jerking ride. “Yup.”

  Thirteen Stella

  Police Station

  June 25 (Continued)

  “It sounds like Dario and Josie were more concerned than you about Rodney’s claim. Was that the case?”

  I think. “Maybe I was a little more realistic that the pier wasn’t on the cusp of sinking and that the world as we knew it would be okay if we went to a bonfire.” I add, “And I figured we could try to talk to Booth when he was in a better mood. You know Booth?”

  “Not well, but I would agree that he’s moody.”

  I smile at that comment, but Santoro doesn’t. It seems he only has one mood—serious, flat, frowny, achy.

  I say, “Then we made a plan for the next day. Me and Josie were going to snorkel under the pier and check out the ecosystem. Josie has lots of snorkeling experience, which is good, or she might’ve missed those clues. She’s in a group at her school, the marine conservation society, so she knows all about sea life. She’s running for president of the group in the fall. It’s major. She has to keep her record real clean to be eligible.”

  Santoro writes something down and quickly turns the page before I can see what it is.

  “Okay. So you went to the bonfire next?” he asks.

  “We didn’t go straight there.”

  “Where did you stop on the way?”

  “On the beach. Something happened that rattled Dario, so it took a few minutes to calm him down.”

  Fourteen Stella

  Beach

  June 19 (Continued)

  I kicked off my flip-flops and walked toward the music and sparks from the bonfire. The sand was cold between my toes, which added to my little chill of excitement to finally be going to a bonfire, and to see TJ again. I hadn’t even thought about liking a boy besides Pete… maybe ever.

  “Tell me again why we’re going here?” Josie asked. She was borderline whiny, and I wasn’t a fan of that.

  “It’s what people do at the beach, Josie. They listen to music, and dance on the beach, and make s’mores at bonfires. It’ll be fun.” Then I added, “Timmy will be there.”

  She didn’t seem to pick up on that little hint I dro
pped about Tim.

  “I have to admit, I’ve always wanted to go to—” Dario screamed and fell onto the sand.

  “What’s wrong?” I yelled, and bent down to see him.

  Josie shouted, “What happened? Should I call nine-one-one?”

  Dario grabbed his foot. “I think Mr. Rodney was right. There’s extraterrestrial life down here. I think I just stepped on a slimy alien, or its exoskeleton, or intestines.”

  Josie looked at the sand near Dario. “It’s a dead jelly. It happens all the time. Did it sting you?”

  “Sting? No, I don’t think so. But it’s wet and jellied and yuck.” He rolled in the sand like he’d been punched in the belly.

  “Come on, mate—don’t be a baby,” Josie teased. “They can’t help that they’re slimy. You should see them underwater; they’re beauties.” She bent down and studied the goop. “This is a medusa jelly. They have a particularly sensitive digestive system. Poor guy probably ate something he shouldn’t have. Probably litter or pollution.”

  I reached down and helped Dario up, and we continued toward the big event.

  “Let’s not mention this to anyone,” he said after he’d composed himself enough to realize he’d overreacted.

  “My lips are sealed,” I said.

  TJ was the first person I saw. He smiled and spread his arms wide.

  “Welcome to the bonfire.”

  Fifteen Stella

  Bonfire

  June 19 (Continued)

  “I knew you’d make it,” TJ said, mostly to me. Then he asked Dario and Josie, “Hey, guys, you want a marshmallow? There’s a big bag of them over there. And sticks. Help yourself.”

  “I never say no to a marshmallow.” Dario headed for the bag. “Browned on the outside and gooey on the inside. That’s how I like ’em.”

  Josie followed him, saying, “You drink those smoothies to stay healthy, but then you eat toasted blobs?”

  “They cancel each other out,” Dario replied.

  Suddenly out of nowhere, Apple was next to them. “I like ’em burned on the inside and burned on the outside.” They were too far away for me to hear the rest.