Derrolyn Anderson - [Marinas Tales #1] - Between The Land And The Sea (11 page)

Flipping through the hangers I chose the stunning turquoise sundress Evie had given me the day I came to Aptos. I slipped on a pair of glorious new golden sandals with delicate woven straps that circled my ankles. I studied my reflection in the mirror and saw that Evie had chosen well again. I put on some liner to enhance my eyes, fluffed up my hair and stood up straight. I looked like an older and more confident version of me. I decided to call Evie tonight to catch up.

We got to the market and spent some time strolling around outdoors in the bright sunshine.

My spirits lifted, and I began to feel better about everything. Abby said she had some business with Ethan and she’d find me later. I was happy to skip that stand, feeling even more embarrassed than ever after our exchange in the hospital. I realized that he was just trying to be nice, but knowing he thought I was suicidal aggravated me.

I wandered around, smelling the flowers, pinching the herbs and picking out the most delicious late summer fruit. I came to the stand with all the Asian vegetables and stopped to inspect the unusual variety. I recognized baby bok choy, long asparagus beans and some funny little white eggplants. I sniffed at some unfamiliar herbs, thinking Abby might enjoy trying some new ingredients. A figure came from around the back of the stand and I glanced up into a familiar wizened old face.

“Hello Lue Khang,” I said with a friendly smile, “Did you grow all of this?” He nodded, pointing up to a sign that read “Khang Farms” dangling from the awning.

“Well, I haven’t seen some of this stuff in a long time,” I smiled.

“Ah,” he said, “You like this? Come, come.” He beckoned for me to follow him behind the stand and I trailed after him, curious. There was a small umbrella table with some chairs where couple of market workers were seated, taking a lunch break. A panel truck stacked with crates and boxes of produce had a hot plate sitting on the tailgate that held a pot of something that smelled heavenly. I realized that I had skipped breakfast that morning and was hungry.

“Try my fish soup,” said Lue with a gracious smile, “My special family recipe.” I smiled back at him gratefully, “Sure,” I said, “Thank you.” He ladled each of us a bowl, and taking them in his gnarled hands, gestured for me to follow him out to the table. I decided to ask him what he knew about Lorelei.

As we rounded the corner I recognized the men at the table. It was Ethan, along with a tall good looking boy I had seen surfing along with him. Great, I thought, fighting to keep my composure even as my heart started racing.

“Sit down,” Lue commanded, as he pulled out a chair. There was nothing to do but comply.

“This is my grandson, Long,” said Lue, “and my best worker, Ethan.” Their eyes bugged out of their heads as I carefully slid into the chair. I would imagine that I was the last person Ethan expected to see as he sat down to lunch and I almost felt sorry for startling him.

“This is my good friend Marina,” Lue said, “She’s a lucky water girl.” Ethan’s jaw dropped and I felt my cheeks flush with blood. I noticed how he pulled back and sat up straight in his chair, regarding me intently.

“How do you know my Grand-pop?” asked Long, bewildered.

Lue injected, “She brings luck to the fishermen,” gesturing to the soup. He turned and winked at me as I squirmed in my chair.

“She’s a water girl alright, but I don’t know how lucky she is!” said Long, looking at Ethan and laughing. Ethan didn’t look amused.

Lue snapped something at him in a language I didn’t understand and Long excused himself, looking down as he skulked away.

Lue turned to Ethan, “She has strong water spirits in her. They call to her.” Ethan stared at me curiously, making me even more uncomfortable. Lue turned to me and ordered, “Eat!” I tasted the soup and it was wonderful, fragrant with lemon grass and herbs.

“It’s delicious,” I said, turning my attention to Lue, “It reminds me of a dish I had at a market very much like this... only it was on a river,” I said with a little smile, thinking about the time my dad and I visited the floating market.

Lue looked surprised, “Where?” he asked.

“A place called Pattaya,” I replied.

“I know it,” he said, a little surprised, “You been to Thailand?”

“Yes,” I said between spoonfuls, “I lived in Mukdahan province with my father for a season, but we took a few little trips around the country sometimes...” I trailed off, thinking about happier times traveling with my father.

“What does your father do in Thailand?” asked Lue.

“He’s an agronomist. We were there testing new strains of rice he developed for hardiness and disease resistance... he nearly doubled their yields,” I stopped myself, not wanting to blather on with all the agricultural jargon I was used to hearing. They both seemed interested, and when I thought about it, I realized that Lue would probably have a lot in common with my dad. I noticed Ethan was still openly staring.

“Are you Thai?” I asked Lue, trying to avoid Ethan’s eyes.

“Lue is Hmong,” Ethan jumped in to explain, forcing me to look over at him, “He was in a refugee camp in Thailand for a while before he could bring his family here.” He nodded towards Lue with admiration, “He worked with the C.I.A. in Vietnam.”

“And you work for him?” I asked.

He nodded, “I work for their family at their farm, and also at their stands here,” said Ethan.

He really was a hard worker, I realized, impressed.

“Ethan has strong earth spirits,” Lue said, matter of factly.

My phone rang and I fished it out of my bag. It was Abby looking for me.

“I’d better go,” I said, and stood up to leave. I turned to Lue and said, “kob kun kup”, thanking him in Thai. I stood up and bowed. He chuckled, pleased.

“Oh, um, Ethan,” I added, “Abby was looking for you earlier.”

“She found me before I took my break,” he said, adding, “She hired me to teach you to swim.”

Now it was my turn to look surprised. Ethan just smiled.

“Ah, very good match,” said Lue, shrewdly looking between me and Ethan, “Earth and water.” I turned and hurried away quickly.

I met up with Abby and grumbled, “I ran into Ethan– you could have told me!” She smiled placidly, “You would have just tried to talk me out of it.”

“I know I agreed to lessons, but why did you have to go to him?” I asked, “It’s so embarrassing after what happened.”

“Who better?” said Abby, “He knows his way around the ocean, and at least I already know he won’t let you drown!”

When we got home I went to my room and called Evie, catching up on all her latest adventures. I told her a little about Aptos and how much I liked staying with my aunt and cousin.

I avoided all the bad things that had happened; Evie tended to blow every little thing completely out of proportion. The last think I wanted to do was give her something real to over-dramatize.

She kept asking me about boys and I kept changing the subject.

I told her how Cruz was a talented designer, and about Megan and her wonderful voice. She said she would love to meet them someday. I thanked her for all the great summer clothes and went into detail about how well they fit and how much I liked each one.

“Marina,” she said suspiciously, “I feel like you’re keeping something from me...”

“Evie! I haven’t even started school yet!”

“I know,” she said, “but you’re hiding something. I can tell.”

“OK,” I sighed, throwing her a bone, “There might be a boy.” Triumphant, she cried, “
I knew it!
Spill the beans. Is he cute?”

“
Very
,” I said.

I ended up telling her about Ethan, and how I was going to take swimming lessons from him. I mentioned that he was a surfer, and that it might be fun to learn how to surf when I improved my swimming skills.

“Ooh, what swimsuit will you wear?” she asked enthusiastically.

“None, Evie, I have to get a wetsuit. The water in Aptos is around fifty degrees.” Goosebumps rose on my arms as I thought about my bitterly cold trip out to the buoy.

“Well, be sure to wear a pretty one!” she said.

I laughed, “Abby’s taking me to look for an old one at the flea market– at least until I know if I can swim.”

“Don’t say ‘flea’, dear,” Evie said with disgust. I laughed at her prissiness. We said our goodbyes and I promised to call her back and tell her how my lessons went.

I had a hard time getting to sleep that night, and spent a long time tossing and turning. I couldn’t stop fidgeting, anxious about school the next morning. Charlie didn’t appreciate my restlessness and left the room, disgruntled. It was a rare fogless night, and I could see the glowing full moon clearly through my bedroom window.

I lost all track of time, lying there sleepless, studying the moon. I looked at the dark areas that early astronomers mistook for bodies of water. Mare, they called them, after the Latin word for sea. That was the root of my name, I thought. Could that have anything to do with my mother? I had to find a way to talk with Lorelei again. I finally fell into a fitful sleep.

I dreamed I was crouching on a surfboard, gliding along with the surge of the sea. I felt at
one with the ocean; I was where I belonged. The powerful force of the water moved through me
as I clung to the side of a tremendous wave. I skimmed my fingers along a solid wall of water
and laughed.

I was too nervous to eat breakfast on Monday morning, but Abby had gone to the effort to cook so I picked at the tofu scramble to please her.

“You’ll probably love high school,” she chirped, her tone overly cheerful.

“Did you?” I asked, trying not to sound too cynical.

“We-ell, not so much,” she admitted with a grin. “But I did make some really good friends there,” she added. Abby always managed to put a positive spin on everything.

Cruz made his way into the kitchen, grumbling. He had taken pains with his hair, lined his eyes, and painted his fingernails black. I thought he looked really beautiful in a dark, androgynous way. My guess was that he had adopted a rebellious stance to cover up his deep-seated feelings of alienation. At least that’s what Evie would say, psychoanalysis being one of her many hobbies.

Abby believed in allowing him to express himself freely, but she confided in me that she thought his style made the teasing at school worse. It pained her to see him unhappy, and she wished he would try and fit in a little bit more. Still, she was proud of his obvious talent as a designer, and often pointed out that once you made it through high school, life became easier.

I had taken a different approach, and did my level best to blend in. Evie always dressed me much more extravagantly than most kids my age, but today I
really
didn’t want to stand out. I went through my wardrobe and tried to pick out the standard teen costume from all the high fashion pieces. I settled on jeans, the simplest, least embellished tee-shirt I could find, and ballet flats. I didn’t have a backpack, but I picked out a roomy tote for my books and school supplies. I thought I did alright, given what I had to work with.

When we got to school Cruz walked me over to the office to meet with a counselor for orientation. I was new, and I had already missed a full week. Off to a great start, I thought bitterly. Aptos High wasn’t a very big school, and rumors of my supposed flying leap off the end of the pier had trickled throughout the entire student body. I could feel curious eyes on me from all sides. I held my head high, channeling my inner Evie, and pretended not to notice.

“See you in class,” said Cruz as he dropped me off.

“You must be Marina Vanderpool,” said a woman behind the desk. “Mrs. Owens is expecting you, second door on the right.”

When I entered her office Mrs. Owens peered up at me from behind thick, round glasses.

“Well, well,” she said, studying me critically, “have a seat.” She reminded me of a goldfish in a bowl, the kind with the popped-out eyes. “You certainly don’t look
at all
like your cousin.” I didn’t like her tone.

“Pleased to meet you,” I said, extending my hand with excessive formality.

She shook it perfunctorily and went on, “Reviewing your transcripts, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble getting up to speed. On the contrary,” she said, raking me over with a gimlet eye, “Your studies seem to be quite advanced.”

“I was hoping to have the same schedule as Cruz,” I said, “I have no experience attending a daily school and I wanted the transition to be–”

“Cruz,” she said unpleasantly, “is not someone you want to emulate.”

“Really? In what way?” I asked, challenging her.

She smiled condescendingly, “Why, his poor grades, of course. But I don’t think that will be a problem here, given the high caliber of your prior schooling.” I had expected this, for the private tutors I’d studied with had put me beyond American high school level in most areas. Traveling with my father was an education in itself, and I’d read so many of the classics that there wasn’t one book on the text syllabus that I didn’t already know.

But I really wasn’t here to be educated, at least not academically– my father had made that clear.

We both knew I’d be phoning it in curriculum-wise, but ultimately I was supposed to have a so-called “normal” high school social experience. I’d always blindly obeyed my father, trusting that he had my best interests at heart. But now I’d come to the realization that there were things about him I didn’t know, he could be terribly wrong, and I suspected that he was seriously misguided in sending me here.

I wished I had a license and a car so I could just get in and drive away. High school wasn’t looking too appealing so far.

I smiled sweetly at the beady-eyed old bat.

“I’d really feel most comfortable in the same classes with my cousin. Perhaps you’d like to speak to my father...”

That did it. She knew my father held an endowed chair on the faculty of one of most prestigious universities in the nation. Among the educator class that was pulling rank.

“Have it your way,” she said with an ugly twist to her mouth. I was handed a stack of books, assigned a locker and given a schedule. “You’re late for your first class,” she waved dismissively.