02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (13 page)

She spotted me and excused herself, taking my
arm and leading me to a quiet corner.

“Marina, darling! I finally have you alone!
How are you? Are you having a good time?”

“Yes Evie, it’s a terrific party, but I’m
tired and I came to tell you I’ll be calling it a night. I just
wanted to thank you for having us,” I looked around at Cruz and
Megan and smiled, “I think my friends will be staying awhile.
They’re both having the time of their lives.”

“And you’re not?” she asked with an arched
eyebrow.

“Of course not! I mean
yes
I had fun!
I’m just tired, my feet are killing me, and Ethan–”

A knowing look crossed her face.

“Where is he? I don’t think I’ve seen him
take his eyes off of you all night.”

I blushed, “I told him I wanted to say
goodbye... he’s waiting for me.”

“He seems awfully serious for someone so
young. He’s not really what I had in mind for you.”

“You don’t know him,” I said defensively.

“Marina, I can see that he’s incredibly
handsome, but I hope you know better than to get carried away by
good looks,” she looked at me searchingly, and I blushed even
more.

“Aunt Evie– there’s nothing to worry about…
and there’s a lot more to him than just the way he looks.”

“Honey, he just seems a little...
overprotective. He stares at you like he’s afraid you’re going to
get away or something.”

“You don’t understand,” I protested, “He’s
done so much for me.”

I was tempted to tell her the truth right
there but something stopped me. She knew what everyone else did–
that my mother was a mermaid and that I had been involved with
their rescue of Dutch. I had no idea how she would take the news
that I could transform into one. The less people that knew the
better, and right now it was going to stay just Ethan and me.

“Sweetheart, take my advice… Don’t rush into
anything. You’re much too young to choose wisely. Young love is a
powerful thing, but you need to date lots of boys before you settle
on one. I don’t want you to throw away your youth and beauty on
someone who can’t give you all the things you deserve. Believe me,
you can fall in love with a rich man just as easily as a poor
one.”

I was shocked by her sudden barrage of
unwanted advice and didn’t know what to say. It was totally unfair
of her to judge Ethan without even getting to know him. I only
hoped that she thought she was protecting me.

“Aunt Evie–” I was uncomfortable talking
about him.

“Marina,” she took me by the arms, “Don’t be
foolish.” Her eyes darted over my shoulder and I knew that Ethan
had come into the room. I turned around to see him moving towards
us as she embraced me goodbye.

“Ready?” he asked me. I nodded, and he
stepped towards Evie with his hand extended, “It was nice meeting
you,” he said politely. I watched as they shook hands with eyes
locked. I got the distinct impression that they were sizing each
other up.

“Excuse me,” I said, and went to talk with
Cruz, not wanting to interrupt Megan and her new friend.

“This is the best night of my life!” sighed
Cruz as I took him aside to tell him Ethan and I were leaving.

“I had a feeling you’d be right at home
here,” I smiled up at him. I told him to stay as long as he wanted
and keep an eye out for Megan. I kissed both his cheeks and turned
to go.

I could see Evie and Ethan were still talking
and wondered what they might be saying. She seemed tense, and it
was surprising for me to see Evie not totally in command of the
conversation. I approached them slowly with a knot in my stomach,
and they both looked over at me with concern.

“Ready?” I asked Ethan. He followed behind me
as I left Evie’s and headed across the hall for home. When we got
in the door he took off his coat and loosened his tie, flopping
down on the couch.

“I’m gonna go get changed,” I said, slipping
out of my shoes. I went to my studio and stripped off the dress,
tossing it onto the couch. I took off my jewelry and put on a pair
of sweatpants and a T shirt. I padded down the hall barefoot and
washed my face, brushed my teeth and put my hair in a ponytail.

I went back out to join Ethan and he looked
up at me with a smile, “You look even better now,” he patted the
couch beside him. I sat and he leaned back, pulling me down with
him. I rested my head on his chest and we relaxed, both of us tired
of all the noise and the crowd. I yawned again and Ethan pulled a
couch throw over me, kissing the top of my head.

“I miss staying overnight with you,” he said.
“I mean, not the sleepwalking part, but I liked having you right
there in the morning.”

I sighed, “Everyone keeps warning me to be
careful...”

“I know,” he said, “My dad is afraid we’re
going to end up like him and Abby.” His tone got serious, “I just
want you to know I’d never put you in that position... do anything
stupid. Not that I don’t want to...” he stopped, toying with my
ponytail.

“I know,” I said, “Abby gave me the talk
too.”

“That must have been interesting,” he sounded
amused.

“Don’t remind me,” I said with chagrin. I
could feel his heart beating right through my cheek and I closed my
eyes and relaxed. I was warm for the first time all night and I
snuggled closer to him.

“Ethan?” I asked, drowsy.

“What?”

“Don’t think that I don’t love you... I
just... I’m just not ready for anything else to change.”

“It’s okay,” he said, “There’s no rush. I’m
not going anywhere.”

“Me neither,” I said, drifting off to
sleep.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Control

Her face was familiar, and she smiled sweetly
as she swam alongside me. We moved swiftly through the warm sea,
and I wondered what she had to show me. I felt strong, and
practiced twirling and diving as we sped along. When the water got
deeper and darker our skin began to glow.

I started awake with my heart racing, blood
rushing in my ears. I could see the faint light of dawn through the
window; I raised my head to look around. I was still on the couch
with Ethan, lying on my side with his arm draped over me. I
remembered falling asleep– apparently we hadn’t moved all night.
When I sat up his eyes flew open.

Ethan was still in his clothes from the night
before; I felt guilty for falling asleep and pinning him down. I
rubbed my eyes.

“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I asked.

He propped up on his elbows, blinking, “You
would have sent me to the guest room.”

He looked so cute laying there in his wrinkly
shirt, sleepy blue eyes completely sincere.

“Did Cruz and Megan ever get in?” I
asked.

“Yeah,” he sat up and stretched his
shoulders. “They didn’t want to wake you up either.”

I reached over to hug him, “Good morning,” I
said, kissing him on his scratchy cheek, “You should get changed.
I’ll make some coffee.”

I just finished starting the coffeemaker when
there was a knock at the door and I hurried over, curious to see
who it could be so early. There was a man with a giant basket
wrapped up in cellophane, tied with an elaborate golden bow. I
signed for the delivery and was heaving it onto the kitchen counter
when Ethan rounded the corner, dressed in jeans and a work
shirt.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said, fishing for the
attached card, “But I have an idea...” I read the card and looked
up at Ethan with a smile, “Evie strikes again.”

Addressed to me, the card wished us all a
good morning and asked that I stop by alone on my way out. I
wondered what she had to say. I untied the bow and unwrapped the
basket. It was loaded with fruit, muffins, croissants and all sorts
of fresh juices.

“Hungry?” I asked Ethan. He sat down at the
counter, glancing at the card. I went to go pour us some
coffee.

“Does she always do this?” he asked.

I thought about it, “Yeah, she’s always been
really good to me and dad when we’re in town.”

“Did you ever wonder why?” he looked like he
was trying to solve a puzzle.

“Evie’s practically family, I mean, she
is
family as far as I’m concerned. I guess she feels the
same way.” I handed him a mug, watching him carefully, “Why... does
it bother you?”

“When exactly did you first meet her?” he
kept questioning.

“I don’t know,” I said, taken aback. “I was
just a baby. I think her foundation endowed my dad’s chair at the
university.”

“What does that mean?” he asked.

“Um, that the foundation donated a lot of
money to a fund that pays for my father’s research... and his
salary”

He nodded like he just connected another
piece, “And how did you end up living next door to her?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “She’s just always
been there.”

Cruz stumbled into the kitchen wearing a
bathrobe, his hair in disarray.

“Good morning” he yawned, “Ooh, croissants
and strawberries!” Cruz started digging through the basket of
goodies.

“What an awesome party!” Megan came out to
join us, looking happy and rested.

“You were incredible last night!” I gave her
quick hug, “Coffee?”

“No thanks, I’ll just have some juice,” she
sat down, smiling a little to herself.

“So who’s the drummer?” I asked her as I
pulled some containers out of the basket and set them on the
counter.

She blushed, “Just some guy.”

“Some guy?” I echoed her. She flushed a
darker shade of pink.

“He seems nice,” she mumbled, “He thinks I
should perform more often. He says he knows some people in Santa
Cruz that could help me get started.”

“You’re gonna need more clothes,” Cruz looked
up dreamily, “What would a sophisticated chanteuse wear?”

I took a blueberry muffin and picked at it,
not really hungry. I wondered what Evie had to say.

“When do you have to get back?” I asked
Ethan.

“Long is working the first part of the day
for me. I told him I’d get there as soon as I could,” he said.

“Evie wanted to see me before I leave” I said
as I got up, “I’ll go see what she wants and then we can go.” I
turned to Cruz, “You guys can stay behind and lock up, okay?”

I knocked on Evie’s door and a maid answered,
“She’s expecting you,” she said, and led me past a cleaning crew to
the dining room. Evie sat like an empress at the head of the
lengthy table, resplendent in a silk dressing gown. She was sipping
tea from a silver service and reading the paper.

She looked up at me over her reading glasses,
“Darling! Come sit close,” she pulled a chair next to her and
patted it.

“Thanks for breakfast Aunt Evie,” I said with
a smile, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “That was very thoughtful
of you.”

“Marina,” she reached out and took my hand,
“Ethan told me what Madam Fatima said to him. I’m very
concerned.”

I scoffed, “She wouldn’t even talk to me, I’m
sure there’s nothing to it.”

She looked at me with serious eyes, “Aside
from what we know about your mother, has anything else unusual
happened– anything that might attract the wrong kind of
attention?”

This was no time to get into a discussion
about my bizarre experiences; my instincts told me it would be wise
to keep it to myself. There was simply no point in upsetting
Evie.

“No Aunt Evie,” I adopted a placating tone,
“And what do you mean by the wrong attention?”

“Honey, there are plenty of cranks and
malcontents in the world that would like nothing better than to
expose one of the earth’s great mysteries. There are people who
would stop at nothing, so you must always be on your guard. You
might be surprised what evil things people would do for fame and
fortune. I just wouldn’t want to see you hurt because of your...
parentage.”

“There’s nothing to worry about,
really
, and believe me, I have enough to handle trying to
calm Ethan down.”

“Maybe I was wrong about him being overly
possessive,” she looked at me shrewdly, “Maybe he knows something
that I don’t...”

“He knows that I have to get him back to
Aptos. He works at the farmer’s market on Sundays,” I said,
changing the subject. “I should bring him up for a visit sometime.
You’ll like him if you get to know him better.”

She sighed, and squeezed my hand with a
smile, “I’ll be leaving for Christmas in
Gstaad
soon and I want to know what you’d like.”

“Evie, there’s nothing I want that I don’t
already have. Why don’t we go on a road trip this summer? How about
that spa in Napa? Cruz could come too!”

She smiled indulgently and I knew she would
send me something anyway, “Your birthday is coming up too, and I
won’t be back until afterwards. I simply can’t believe that you’ll
be seventeen! Where did all the time go? What kind of car would you
like?”

“Thanks Evie, but Dad already offered, and I
just haven’t had a chance to get out and shop around.”

She pressed her lips together, looking
thoughtful, “I want you to drive the Mercedes until we find you a
replacement.” She looked down at her hand as though she was
inspecting her manicure, “You can bring it back to me after your
birthday.”

“OK, thank you… and guess what? Ethan’s
birthday is the same day as mine! We’re going to celebrate it
together.”

“Really?” she looked surprised, “Two
Capricorns...” I knew a coincidence like that was tantamount to
catnip for Evie. She’d probably be on the phone to her astrologer
before I left the building.

I smiled as I got up, “Thanks for everything,
the party was amazing as usual. I’ll call you.”

She rose to her feet and embraced me, “Wait
one moment–” she hurried out of the room and returned with a large
beautifully wrapped box tied with a white satin bow.