02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (3 page)

“Did you tell Evie?”

“No, she guessed. That lady doesn’t miss a
trick,” she hiccupped, “She was so nice... you’re very lucky to
have her, and she’s so good to Cruz.”

“I know.”

“Marina, I’m sorry to lay all this on
you.”

“Abby, what are you going to do?”

She looked at me, eyes full of anguish, “What
if he leaves me?” she asked quietly, “I don’t think I could take
it.”

I hugged her again, “Everything will be
alright... Dutch loves you.”

“Can we not tell Cruz ’till after I talk to
Dutch?” she asked.

“Sure,” I said, “I’m good at keeping
secrets.”

And I was.

CHAPTER TWO

Secrets

Our flight home went as well as could be
expected. I reclined my seat to try and doze off but kept starting
awake. Abby didn’t sleep at all– so fearful the past was going to
repeat itself, she was literally making herself sick with anxiety.
Every time I looked over at her it made my heart ache. It was
morning when the plane touched down in San Francisco, and I opened
my eyes to see Abby looking out the window, her pale face strained
with anxiety.

I patted her arm in a vain attempt to soothe
her and she turned to smile tremulously at me. “Here we are,” she
said remotely, her mind elsewhere.

Abby went to pick up her car and returned to
help load our luggage in the trunk. She moved quickly but
robotically, her face blank, clearly in a hurry to get home. Evie
climbed into Abby’s Volvo as regally as if it were a limousine and
smiled kindly at her, patting her arm reassuringly. When we pulled
into Evie’s garage entrance a huge bald headed man appeared
instantaneously.

Boris was the ever present guardian of our
San Francisco high rise, a protective and constantly vigilant
gatekeeper, perpetually on the lookout for unwelcome intruders.

“Velcome back,” his deep voice boomed,
opening the car door for Evie.

Evie smiled affectionately at the giant
Russian and turned to Abby, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder,
“I’ll lend Cruz and Marina a car to take home so that you can be on
your way.”

“Thank you,” Abby said, her eyes intense.

I hurried to greet Boris and help him pull a
load of suitcases from the trunk, piling them by the elevator door.
Cruz was so delighted at the prospect of taking out another one of
Evie’s cars he failed to notice his mother’s agitated state.

I leaned in the window to see Abby off,
“It’ll be okay,” I whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek. Cruz
and I hauled Evie’s many bags into the elevator.

“Boris is preparing a car for you to take,”
she announced, as I hauled the last of her suitcases into the foyer
of her apartment. “Will you stay for tea? I’ve called ahead to have
it ready.”

Cruz looked over at me hopefully, “Can we…
pretty please?”

I grimaced, “Just for a little while,
okay?”

“Thank you! Thank you!” he smiled at me
knowingly, “A couple more hours won’t kill you!”

I sighed, “One hour– tops.”

I followed behind Cruz and Evie as they
chatted their way into her luxurious rooms. Tea was already
prepared and waiting, and we sat down to an elaborate assortment of
the best pastries to be found in all of San Francisco. I had to
hand it to Evie, every little detail of her life was attended to
with panache. I sipped my tea and listened to Cruz and Evie dish
about the latest celebrity scandal, my mind on Ethan. When I
finally couldn’t take any more I hustled Cruz to the door.

“Evie, I love you, but I’m dying to get back
to Aptos.”

She smiled knowingly, “I don’t think it’s
Aptos you’re so eager to see. When are you going to bring that boy
up to meet me?”

“Soon,” I said, hugging her goodbye.

She just sighed, “Ah, young love... you be
careful Marina.” I quickly embraced her and dragged a reluctant
Cruz out.

First I saw the blue truck, and when I pulled
into our driveway he was waiting on the porch. I was smiling
broadly as I put the car into park and jumped out to run over to
Ethan. I threw myself onto him, reacquainting myself with how good
it felt in to be in his arms.

“Welcome home,” he said, laughing at my
enthusiasm. Then he kissed me and I could swear the ground under my
feet shifted. I staggered a little and he caught me, making me
laugh with embarrassment at my clumsiness.

He looked up, “Hey Cruz.”

“Hey Ethan,” Cruz replied as he popped open
the trunk.

“Have you seen Abby?” I asked Ethan, worried,
“She left the city before I did.”

“She showed up at our place and told me you
were taking another car back,” he looked over at the shiny black
Mercedes convertible and shook his head with a smirk. I could tell
he was thinking about how spoiled I was again.

“Don’t even say it,” I shot him a warning
glance. He just flashed a lopsided grin at me and went to go help
Cruz with our bags. We brought everything inside, and Ethan waited
for me on the couch while I tossed some things into my room.

I hurried back down the hall and plunked down
next to him, “How did Abby seem to you?” I asked casually,
searching his face. She was such a wreck when she left the city I
wasn’t sure she should even drive. I knew that she had probably
already given Dutch the surprise of his life and I couldn’t help
but wonder what was going on.

“She was in a hurry,” he replied, “like me.”
He pounced on me, knocking me back on the couch, making me giggle
and then kissing me into seriousness.

“Oh, puh-lease!” Cruz said as he walked past
us into the kitchen, “Get a room!”

“Good idea,” Ethan murmured in my ear as he
nuzzled my neck. I protested weakly as we rolled on the couch,
reveling in our closeness after so much time spent apart. I was
floating away on a sweet cloud of love and romance, lost in the
sensation of his lips and the look in his deep blue eyes.

Then I remembered Abby’s predicament, and it
was about the least romantic thing I could have thought of. I
tensed up and Ethan sighed, sitting back up on the couch. He was
never pushy about getting physical, but I knew he was insecure
sometimes, and I didn’t want him to feel rejected. I wondered if I
should tell him about Abby. Things seemed to be getting even more
complicated.

A knock on the door drew Cruz from the
kitchen to answer it. It was Megan, and I jumped up to greet her,
happy to see her and relieved for the distraction.

The sardonic and always candid voice of
reason in our little group of friends, Megan had seen me through
some of my worst times. In many ways, I trusted her advice above
all others. She didn’t let sentimentality cloud her judgment, and
she was a keen observer of human nature.

“How was Oslo in December?” she asked with a
sly smile.

“Guess,” said Cruz with a roll of his warm
brown eyes, “We didn’t spend much time outdoors.”

Megan sat down with us and we all listened as
Cruz told colorful tales of what the past week had been like. Megan
laughed at Cruz’s wide eyed descriptions of the hotel and the
ceremony. I was starting to realize that I’d become jaded,
accustomed to being around Evie, used to the exclusive places she
frequented. Seeing everything fresh through Cruz’s eyes was oddly
touching.

Cruz told Megan about shopping and I
remembered the hat I’d gotten her. I went to my room to retrieve
the shopping bag and returned to put Megan’s beret on her with a
smile.

“Thanks Marina,” she said, reaching up to
feel it.

“Looks good on you,” I said, tilting it at an
angle and fluffing up the bright red curls poking out the
bottom.

“It really does,” said Cruz, with a twist of
his head. “Marina, I think you’re a natural born stylist.”

I nodded with mock seriousness, “Be sure to
book me for your first show.” I sat back down.

“You’ll be wanting her for your makeup artist
too,” said Megan, remembering how she looked when I did her
makeup.

“You’re not gonna believe who we met!” Cruz
told Megan excitedly. He started ticking off the names of the
foreign leaders, celebrities and dignitaries he recognized.

“Impressive,” said Megan, nodding.

“And a king and queen!” he added
breathlessly.

She turned to me, “Meet any Norwegian
mermaids?” she asked.

I knew she was joking but I felt Ethan shift
uncomfortably beside me. Megan was alone in not buying my story of
the night I spent with the mermaids. She was the one who had
guessed correctly about their telepathic powers, and I knew that
she suspected my dealings with them weren’t entirely over and
done.

“Very funny,” I said dryly, “It’s probably
much
too cold for them with all the icebergs.”

“The water here is cold,” she said, “and you
never
did
explain how you survived a whole night in it.”

She was right to wonder about that, for cold
that would kill a human was nothing to a mermaid. I had survived by
becoming one of them, and only Ethan knew that I had the ability to
transform. I glanced over to Ethan to see his face tighten, unhappy
about the line of questioning. He didn’t like talking about them,
and I figured he really didn’t like being reminded about the fact
that I could change into one.

“I had a wetsuit,” I said defensively.

“Not when you got home,” Cruz added,
puzzled.

I scooted closer to Ethan, “I really don’t
want to talk about it.”

Cruz and Megan exchanged a look as Ethan put
a protective arm around me.

Shrugging it off, Cruz took Megan by the arm,
“Come check out what
Evelyn Pond
bought for me…
overseas
!” Cruz still couldn’t get over Evie’s fame, and as
they made their way down the hall I could hear him telling Megan
about how many people in Oslo recognized her.

I turned to face Ethan, reaching in my bag to
pull out a soft blue cashmere scarf. I draped it around his
neck.

“For you,” I said with a smile, “It makes
your eyes look so blue.”

“Thanks,” his eyes smiled back at me, “I
missed yours,” he leaned over to kiss me.

“It’s good to be back.”

He answered me with another kiss, wrapping
his arms around me and leaning back on the sofa. I laid my head on
his shoulder, closing my eyes and sighing with contentment.

“So, are you ready to get back to school?”
Ethan asked, bringing me back down to earth.

Cruz and I had taken a week off and were
going to have to do a little extra work to slip into our old
routine. The school administrators were so thrilled to have a Nobel
prize winner’s daughter and nephew in attendance that they’d bent
over backwards to facilitate our little break, and agreed to let us
make up any work we’d missed.

“I’m ready to get back to surfboarding
school!” I said with enthusiasm.

Ethan shifted away from me ever so slightly,
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

“Why?” I asked, more than a little
disappointed.

“I think you know,” he looked at me
reproachfully.

I frowned, “I don’t think that’s any reason
for me to never surf again... it’s not fair!”

He looked at me warily, “I don’t trust
them.”

“No, you don’t trust
me
,” I said,
hitting the nail on the head.

“It’s not that,” he took my hand, “What if
you change your mind– I mean, what if
they
change your
mind?”

“Not possible,” I said firmly, squeezing his
hand, “They didn’t change my mother’s mind and they won’t change
mine,” I set my jaw determinedly, “I want to go surfing again, and
I want to go with you.”

He heaved a sigh, and I could tell he was
thinking about it, weighing his options. Ethan always planned his
life far out into the future, as though if he didn’t, something
might go terribly wrong. He was different from other high school
kids, and I both loved this about him and found it irritating. He
hated to be out of control, and my situation aggravated him.

The phone in the kitchen rang and I got up to
answer. It was Abby, and the connection was crackling with
static.

“Where are you... what happened?” I asked
her, alarmed.

“I can’t talk right now, but would you please
tell Cruz I’ll be back late tonight? I’ve got to go now.”

“Abby? Abby?” The line went dead and I hung
it up, puzzled. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad news.

“What was that all about?” Ethan asked.

I shrugged, “I could hardly hear her, but she
said she’d be out late.” I went down the hall to Cruz’s room and
ducked my head in the door, “Your mom called, she wanted me to tell
you she’d be back late tonight. Do you guys want to go get
something to eat with me and Ethan?” I asked.

“You two go ahead,” said Megan with an
understanding smile, “It’s your first day back.”

I smiled back at her, “See you later.”

“Come on,” I said, pulling Ethan up from the
couch, “I’m taking you out.”

We climbed into the convertible and I turned
to him, “Have you ever had Thai food?”

“Only Lue’s cooking... if that counts.”

Ethan worked for Lue Khang at the local
farmer’s market, and we had both been treated to his excellent
cooking. Lue spent a lot of time fishing on the pier, and was the
only other person I’d met in Aptos who seemed to know about the
mermaid’s existence.

I nodded, remembering Lue’s Thai inspired
fish soup, “Then I predict you’re going to love it.”

“I love you,” he said, and we kissed again,
the stick-shift keeping our bodies apart.

I drove him to a place in Santa Cruz I’d
heard was good. It was just before the dinner service, but they
seated us anyway, and we had the entire place to ourselves. I could
smell familiar scents coming from the kitchen, and I didn’t even
need to look at the menu. I ordered all the best dishes I could
recall from my time living in Thailand.