02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (14 page)

“For Abby,” she said, “A wedding gift.”

“Oh, Aunt Evie,” I said taking it from her,
“She’ll be so touched.”

“Marina,” she called after me, and I turned
back to meet her mischievous eyes, “Please don’t go out in public
like that... those sweatpants are
atrocious
.”

I just grinned at her and walked out to the
sound of her tinkling laughter.

I drove alongside the ocean to get home,
checking for spots on the coast with big waves. It was a clear
sunny day, but too cold to have the top down. I started thinking
about what kind of car I could carry my surfboard in comfortably.
It had been over a week since I’d gone surfing with Ethan and I was
itching to get back out into the water. Unlike dealing with people,
surfing was simple and straightforward, and I craved the relief
that it brought me.

Ethan watched me as I drove. I think he
noticed my frequent glances out to sea but he kept any comments he
might have made to himself. We talked about some of the more
colorful guests at the party, and his astute observations made me
laugh.

“Evie collects interesting people,” I
said.

“I noticed,” he observed, choosing his words
carefully, “that she always seems to be in control of everyone
around her.”

I nodded my agreement; I had grown up
watching people suck up to Evie.

“What did she say this morning?” he asked, a
little too casually.

“You had to tell her about Fatima, didn’t
you?” I replied sarcastically, giving him a scolding look. Now I
had two worrywarts on my case.

“Sorry, but I thought she should know. She
can help protect you if there’s anything to it... I think that
there’s a lot more to Evie than she lets on,” he said.

I laughed out loud, “That’s sort of what she
said about you. She figured out that you know more than she
does.”

“Did you tell her anything?” he asked with
alarm.

“No, I don’t see the point in worrying her,”
I said lightly.

He looked relieved, “The less people that
know the better. There are a lot of freaks out there.”

I had to laugh again, “That’s exactly what
she said! You two are on the same page.”

He was quiet for a moment, looking out the
window.

“Marina, don’t you see how she uses her money
to manipulate people?”

I glanced over at him cynically, “No kidding!
Ethan, I’ve been watching that go on my whole life! Everyone around
her wants her money and she knows it. She uses it to get her way…
and to help people she likes.”

“Then they owe her,” he added.

I was a little annoyed with his
characterization of her, “What does she gain by helping Cruz? And
Megan? Who is she manipulating there?”

“You,” was all he said.

Now Ethan was being unfair to Evie. This was
beyond aggravating. Two people that I loved were suspicious of each
other and I was beginning to think that they both wanted to control
me. We drove along in silence the rest of the way. I pulled up to
Abby’s place and jumped out before he could say anything else. I
started to unpack and bring my things into the house while he
loaded the bag with his suit into the truck. He met me at the
porch, his eyes searching mine.

“Do you want to come and hang out at the
market with me?” he asked hopefully.

I shook my head, “I have some paintings I
want to work on.”

He drew near and opened his arms, his eyes
apprehensive.

I remembered him in the morning and my heart
softened. I went over to hug him, patting his back. He held me
gently and sighed, bending down to kiss me softly on the lips. I
forgot about being irritated and kissed him back, my pulse racing
in spite of my lingering annoyance. As usual, the world all around
us disappeared as we leaned into each other.

“I better go,” he said with a husky
voice.

“I know,” I said, not wanting to move. Being
close to Ethan was as good as surfing for me.

“I’ll see you later,” he said, reluctantly
pulling away. I stood on the porch and watched him go, full of
conflicting emotions.

Abby was off teaching a yoga class, so I
placed her gift on the kitchen table and put my things away in my
room. I set a blank canvas on my easel and started to paint,
dabbing away with hesitant strokes. Evie and Ethan’s words kept
running through my mind and I began to get more and more agitated.
I closed my eyes and tried to imagine the shape of the surf and the
colors in the waves. It was no use.

I put my brushes down in frustration. I
decided to go try and find Lorelei. I quickly stripped down and put
on a swimsuit. Grabbing the bag with my wetsuit I raced out the
door, picking up my surfboard and bounding down to the beach. Why
not? I thought. I never promised anyone I wouldn’t go surfing with
Lorelei.

The beach was mostly empty as I picked my way
through debris from the recent storms to get to the waterline. I
zipped on my wetsuit as quickly as possible and threw myself into
the water, paddling out a good distance from the shore. A wave of
calm passed over me as I rocked in the swells of the cold salty
sea. All the confusion slipped away as I closed my eyes and focused
on calling Lorelei.

She appeared within minutes, smiling broadly,
“
You’re back!
” She swam excitedly in rapid circles around
me.

“
Yes,
” I said, gratified to be greeted
with such enthusiasm. I was reminded of Pierre and Fifi and I
laughed, making Lorelei join in, “
Do you want to surf with
me?
”

“
Yes!
” she nodded violently, and then
looked around worried, “I
must not let any other wave riders see
me. If I do, I will not be allowed to visit you.
”

“
Who would stop you?
”

“
My sisters. They will make me leave my
waters
.”

So they had territories, I thought. Law and
order in the mermaid world– I couldn’t imagine trying to control
all those unruly, childlike creatures.

“
How would they know?
” I asked.

“
They watch,
” she said, sending a
chill down my spine.

I cast a glance behind me, “
Who cares if
the others see you? No one would believe a bunch of kids
surfing!
”

“
Bad things happen to my sisters who get
too close to the others
.”

“
What bad things?
” I asked
nervously.

“
They hunt us and take us away. One is
missing. Naida says we must not show ourselves
.”

“
Missing?
”

She looked at me with wide frightened eyes,
“
Not like Adria.
”

“
I understand,
” I said, feeling a
sudden chill; I scanned the coastline from side to side, “
Where
are there waves and no people?
”

Her eyes lit up, “
I’ll take you!
” she
said as she took my board in one hand and propelled it through the
water at a breakneck speed. She swam me south, and I watched as we
passed all the familiar beaches to finally arrive at a stretch of
coastline without sand, just sheer cliffs and rocky points jutting
out into the ocean. The picturesque beauty made my breath catch in
my throat, and it was strangely exhilarating to see the surf smash
on the rocks and spray fly high into the air. I took a mental
picture of the scene, determined to paint it when I got home.

“
What if I hit the rocks?
” I said out
loud to no one in particular.

“
You won’t,
” said Lorelei, with such
wide eyed sincerity I had to believe her.

I watched the waves break for a few minutes
and figured out a way to ride them between two jagged boulders to
an area I could paddle away from. I’d have to be careful, but it
could be done. I positioned my board at the optimum spot, closed my
eyes and waited.

I caught the first big wave and rode it into
a tiny cove with no problem. My confidence rose as I surfed. I
started to feel the familiar rush of elation. The sense of power
and the euphoria of moving along with the surging water was
intoxicating. It felt as familiar and comfortable as anything I’d
ever done. Lorelei was always in the water alongside me, flashes
and glints of color inside the wave. She would surface after
particularly big waves, her laughter ringing like crystal
chimes.

I kept having thoughts of my mother, for I
felt strangely close to her in the transcendent moments when the
water was speaking to me; I could hear her voice in the water and
see her face behind Lorelei’s smile. The sea was my mother, and I
felt safe and happy in her arms.

When my shoulders ached and my legs were
wobbly from fatigue I stopped to rest. Lorelei surfaced, laying her
head on her arms at the end of the surfboard.

“
Lorelei,
” I asked her, “
Are there
many other mermaids like my mother– ones who decided to leave and
become human?
”

She looked like she was searching her memory,
and I realized that it went back a long, long way.

“
I have heard tales of it, but it is
forbidden. Adria is the only one I know,
” she looked sad.

“
Are there any others like me? Have you
heard about that?
”

She looked at me like I was kidding her,
“
How can my sisters know what happens on land? We know you
because you found us,
” she looked sad again, “
I thought you
were Adria
.”

“
I’m sorry,
” I said automatically.

“
Why? Now I have another sister
.”

“
But I’ll always live on land,
” I
reminded her.

She smiled knowingly, and with the same wide
eyed assurance as before pronounced, “
You will join us someday.
Naida says so.
”

My blood ran cold at the thought.

“
Does Naida… can she see the future?
”
I asked, fearful of the answer.

“
Future?
” she looked puzzled.

I was cold and tired. My stomach growled and
I realized I was hungry.

“
Can you take me back now?
” I asked
her. I held onto my board and watched the coastline change as she
swam me back up to Aptos. The shore looked fairly empty from the
water but Lorelei was careful to stay well back from the beach. I
bid her farewell and paddled in towards the beach.

I touched the bottom on tired legs and
slogged through the surf towards my bag.

“Where did you come from?” I jumped, and
looked over my shoulder to see a familiar looking surfer coming out
of the water alongside me. I’d seen him at school in the crowd of
surfers; I was pretty sure he was one of Ethan’s friends. I quickly
looked away, unsure of what to say, wondering how much he’d seen. I
kept walking, pretending I hadn’t heard him. They all thought I was
weird anyway– maybe he’d just forget about it.

He closed in on me as I reached my bag.

“You’re Ethan’s girlfriend, right?
Marina?”

I turned to face him. He was just a little
taller than me and solidly built. He had dark brown skin and light
brown eyes that wore a curious but friendly look. His hair was
matted into dreadlocks that burst from his head like a bunch of
snakes.

“Yeah,” I said curtly, kneeling to dig in my
bag.

“I’m Mike
,
” he said, I looked up to
see him extend his hand. I reluctantly reached over to shake it
without getting up. I didn’t want to have this conversation.

“Kimo Wakita told us you can rip better than
any chick he’s ever seen
.
”

“I’m not that good
,
” I said as I
pulled clothes out of my bag, willing him to leave so I could dress
in private.

“Shayla said you surfed the point,” he added.
I looked up at him with pained eyes and he looked surprised. He
looked back to the water and down at me, “Where did you come
from?”

“I just got here,” I lied.

He smiled doubtfully, shaking his head,
“Nope, I scoped your bag here hours ago... plus, you look like
you’ve been in the water awhile.”

Caught, I lied again, “Yeah, well I was over
there a ways,” I gestured vaguely down the coast.

He just laughed, “Whatever. I was just
wondering if you ever wanted to come surf with us. Shayla says
you’re pretty cool. You really shouldn’t go out alone.”

“Uh, thanks. Maybe sometime.” I looked
around, “I have to get going.”

“Catch you later,” he said as he turned to
leave, looking back at me every few steps.

I whipped off my wetsuit and dressed in
record time, marching up the stairs as fast as I could. I guessed
that Ethan would hear about this and blow it out of proportion. Why
should I care? I did nothing wrong. I was feeling irritable and
defiant by the time I got home.

Dutch’s car and the Jag were parked at the
house. I went around back to wash off my wetsuit before going in to
face everyone, hoping to slip in unnoticed. I came in through the
kitchen door to see Abby standing at the sink with Dutch behind
her, arms wrapped around her waist.

Dutch had been over a lot lately, pampering
Abby and coaxing her to try a few bites of foods she wouldn’t
normally eat. I think he was worried that she wasn’t getting enough
protein; Dutch didn’t consider tofu food. He started kissing her
neck while she giggled and tried to wash some lettuce. They looked
up at the sound of the door.

“Marina!” Abby looked positively blissful,
“We were wondering where you were.”

“I was at the beach,” I hurried past them
with a smile, pretty sure they were too wrapped up in each other to
notice my damp hair. “Oh, did you get the present Evie sent back
with me?” I could see it was still on the table.

“Yes, I wanted to ask you about it. What’s it
for?”

“It’s a
wedding
present Abby,” I said
with a smile, “I’m going to go wash up. Why don’t you open it?”