02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (19 page)

“OK, Shoes!” I waved them in her face, “Try
some on.” Megan sat on the bed and slipped on a few pairs, turning
her ankles from side to side to get a better look.

“Would you go with me to the audition next
week?” Megan asked hopefully, “I think I’m gonna need one of your
pep talks.”

“Sure,” I said, elbowing her with a sly
smile, “Have you heard from the drummer?”

“As a matter of fact,” she said, trying to
sound nonchalant, “he was the one that recommended me for the
audition. He called last week.”

I raised my eyebrows, “And...?” She spilled
out all the details in a flood of words. She had kept it to herself
for a few days and clearly was dying to tell someone. His name was
Brian, and he was incredibly knowledgeable about music. She really
liked him. He was going to be in Santa Cruz visiting friends in
January and wanted to get together with her.

“What are you gonna do?” I asked her.

“I’m not sure, he said he’d call when he got
to
town.”

“That’s good, I mean... if you like him,” I
said. We burst out laughing when our eyes met.

“You
have
to help me get ready,” she
said in desperation.

“Sure, what are you going to wear?” I
asked.

“I don’t know!” she wailed.

“Don’t stress out! We can go shopping after
you know what you’ll be doing.” I started laughing again at the
look on her face, struggling to compose myself.

“Thanks!” she said, “I’m so nervous.”

“Don’t be, he obviously likes you.” I turned
my attention back to the shoes, “Let me send you off with a few
pairs and you can decide when you get dressed.” I put them in a
tote and handed it to her. We speculated about her date as we made
our way back out to the kitchen.

Ethan looked up when he saw me come in. I was
struck by the expression in his blue eyes as he patted the chair
next to him and pulled it closer. I sat down and snuggled up to
him, perfectly contented. He was so warm and welcoming I had to
fight the urge to crawl onto his lap.

“There they go again,” said Cruz, rolling his
eyes at Megan. “Come on,” he said, getting up, “I want to show you
what I’ve been working on.” Megan winked at me and followed him
out.

I yawned, suddenly too tired to hold my head
up. My back and shoulders were stiff from my long day of surfing,
and the heat radiating from Ethan’s body was like a
tranquilizer.

“You need to get some rest,” he said, pulling
me up from the chair.

“I don’t want to go,” I murmured, leaning on
him.

“I’ll be here tomorrow,” he said, walking me
out of the kitchen. Dutch and Abby wished me a good night, I gave
Ethan one more hug and stumbled down the hall towards my room. I
ducked my head into Cruz’s room, wishing Megan a good night and
making plans to go with her for the audition. I was numb with
exhaustion as I slipped on an oversized T-shirt to sleep in and
flopped into bed, asleep before my head even hit the pillow.

I was surfing a massive wall of water in a
pitch black night. Dark rocks rushed at me, and I turned to smile
at Lorelei as she took my arm– only instead of her I saw a pair of
evil eyes that frightened me to the core. I felt my body being
dragged through the white foam as I thrashed in terror. Hot breath
scorched my neck as I screamed for Lorelei...

I bolted up in bed, panting in fear. As I
came fully awake I tried to make sense of the frightening dream. It
was the first nightmare I’d had in a long time. It was four in the
morning, my throat was dry and my heart was racing. I stumbled out
of bed and padded barefoot into the kitchen for a glass of
water.

On my way back to my room I noticed a figure
on the couch, and crept over to find Ethan sleeping. Dutch must
have decided to stay over. I hesitated for a split second but
couldn’t resist lifting the blanket and sliding onto the couch
alongside him.

“Marina?” he mumbled, coming awake.

“Ssh...” I said, “go back to sleep.”

He chuckled and turned sideways, making more
room for me, “What are you doing up?” he asked.

“I went to get a drink of water,” I
whispered. “So your dad decided to stay over?”

“Yeah, they put me on the couch. Dad made me
promise I’d stay put.”

I turned my back towards him and pulled his
arm around me, “I didn’t promise anybody anything.”

We settled in and lay together quietly while
the sky slowly brightened.

He brushed the hair back from my face and
leaned over to kiss my cheek, “It’s Christmas morning,” he
said.

I sighed blissfully, running my fingers
across his palm, “I’m glad you’re here.” I turned to face his
smiling blue eyes in the early morning light and he leaned in to
kiss me, brushing his lips gently across mine. I shivered a little,
and he drew me closer.

“Are you cold?” he asked.

My cheeks were burning and I was anything but
cold, “No,” I said sitting up, suddenly self-conscious about being
there with him in only a T shirt. “I better go get dressed.”

I stood up, pulled my shirt down, and hurried
back to my room. I dressed and brushed my tangled hair, coming back
out to find Ethan missing from the couch, replaced by a neatly
folded blanket. I went to the kitchen to make coffee and discovered
that Dutch had beaten me to it.

“Good morning Marina,” he said cheerfully,
“You’re up early.”

Ethan was sitting at the table with him,
“Merry Christmas,” he winked at me, “Good timing... Dad just made
coffee.”

I poured myself a cup and sat down with
them.

“How’s your father’s work going?” Dutch asked
me.

“So far so good, I guess. He’s organizing
lots of trial plots with local farmers, testing some different
varieties of winter wheat and barley. I’m meeting him in Greece
this spring and I’ll hear more about it then.”

“Greece?” asked Dutch, curious.

“Yeah, we always wanted to visit the islands
and see some ancient ruins. We’ll spend a couple of weeks touring
and then he’ll go back for the spring planting.”

“You must miss him,” said Dutch.

“Yeah,” I nodded, “but we talked yesterday...
and he seems okay.”

Abby stumbled into the kitchen, yawning and
stretching, “Merry Christmas everyone! I’m usually the first one
up,” she said with a sleepy smile.

“Fisherman’s time,” said Ethan, nodding at
Dutch.

Abby and Dutch decided to make pancakes, and
Ethan and I cleared out of the kitchen as they worked. We settled
back down on the couch holding hands.

“What do you want to do today?” he asked.

I smiled happily and squeezed his hand, “What
do you think?”

He shook his head, “Don’t you ever get
enough?” he asked.

“Not with you,” I said.

Ethan agreed to surf with me after we had
breakfast. He took me to the place up the coast we had gone before.
The waves were good, but nothing like the places Lorelei took me. I
had fun, and connecting with Ethan between sets kept me from
getting swept away and losing myself in the power of it. I found
myself laughing more than I had in a long time; I sincerely wanted
it to be enough. I banished all thoughts of the exciting but
dangerous waves from my mind.

We snuggled together in his truck after
changing out of our wetsuits, pleasantly tired and warm.

“Thank you,” I said, planting a big kiss on
his cheek, “I had a great day.”

He reached over me and pulled a small gift
box from the glove compartment.

“For you,” he said, handing it to me.

I looked at him reproachfully, “I thought we
agreed on Abby’s no present policy.”

“It’s not for Abby,” he said, giving me a
quick kiss, “Open it.”

I opened the box to reveal a teardrop shaped
Aquamarine pendant on a silver chain. The watery blue-green stone
sparkled in the sunlight.

“It’s beautiful,” I said, looking into his
eyes.

“It’s the same color as your eyes in the
morning.”

“You didn’t have to...” I said, looking down
at it.

“I want you to wear something from me. Here…
let me put it on you.”

I turned around and lifted my hair, holding
my breath as he attached the clasp.

“I love it,” I looked down with a smile.

“I love you,” he said and kissed my neck.
Turning to him at that moment I felt certain I could stop my
reckless surfing. It would be easy to avoid Lorelei if I had
Ethan’s eyes to look at, his arms around me and his lips to
distract me.

“I love you too,” I said, and I meant it with
all my heart.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Performance

After the holiday break we settled back into
the routine of school. I worked hard to discipline myself, avoiding
the beach as much as possible. I slipped out a few times to find
Stella and bring her some bags of food for her beloved cats,
staying off the pier despite the tension building up in me.
Sometimes I wondered if Lorelei could hear me, but I willed myself
not to look at the water. As hard as I tried, I chafed under the
restrictions I imposed on myself.

I began to paint more and more, vividly
colored canvases with giant wild waves that I recalled from my
surfing sessions. Cresting white or curling into a beckoning tube,
each piece was unique, as completely different as every wave I’d
ever stood up on. Working feverishly, I could almost recreate the
sensation of surfing in my mind, and I felt much calmer after a
painting session. The canvases piled up even more in my tiny room,
crowding me and my overflowing wardrobe into an increasingly
smaller area.

Ethan went surfing with me as much as he
could, weather permitting. I begged him to take me to the biggest
surf he knew, but I sensed that he was holding back. I knew he was
only trying to protect me, but I couldn’t help feeling a little
irritated. Despite the lingering annoyance, I loved being out on
the ocean with him, and as long as I got to surf at least once a
week I felt I could maintain control.

When we surfed I could feel Lorelei nearby,
and my skin prickled with the sensation of being watched. Whenever
I felt her presence it was tinged with sadness, and I wondered if
she knew I was thinking of her. I’d catch a glimpse of golden-red
hair out of the corner of my eye and turn to find it gone,
wondering if I had imagined it. I knew that she dared not show
herself to Ethan for fear of punishment, and it worked to my
advantage. If I saw her I knew I’d crack, unable to resist the lure
of wild and dangerous surf.

Shayla was disappointed in me, and her
feelings were hurt. She couldn’t understand why I would possibly
feign incompetence around the surfers from school, and she avoided
me. She knew both Ethan and I well enough to not buy into Mike’s
theory that Ethan was making me do it. The other surfers teased her
about believing I was any good and she was unable to stand up to
them; I was afraid I had one less person I could surf with.

Megan called me Friday about her audition and
we made plans to have her over to get ready. She was nervous and
excited, and I tried to sound soothing.

“Just bring your outfit and we’ll turn you
into diva Megan. Relax, you’ll be great!”

“Hey Marina, would you be interested in
hanging some of your art at the coffee shop?”

I looked around at the canvases crowded in my
room, “Uh, maybe... I guess so.”

“That’s good, because I told the guy my
artist friend would be coming with me to the audition– with some
sample work.”

“Ugh,” I groaned, “I don’t know if I’m
ready.”

“Just imagine that you’re art diva Marina,”
she said patronizingly. I had to laugh, for the tables had turned.
Now we’d both be nervous about being judged.

“See you tomorrow,” I said.

“Tomorrow,” she agreed.

We pulled up and parked in front of the
coffee shop. It was in a nice shopping district, surrounded by
boutiques and restaurants. I spotted a surf shop a few doors down
and just seeing the boards in the window made me yearn to be out on
the ocean.

“I hear they get a pretty good crowd here on
weekends,” said Megan.

“Looks like a nice place,” I said, eyeing the
storefront.

I inspected Megan, satisfied she looked like
a club singer. She wore a pretty blouse with ruffles around the low
neckline, a chic black skirt with black tights and stiletto pumps.
Her hair was tied back in a loose chignon and the makeup I’d done
made her look much more sophisticated than a typical high school
senior.

“You look perfect,” I said, “Let’s go.” Megan
took her guitar and I lugged in a couple of canvases tucked into a
large portfolio. We entered a spacious room with high ceilings and
mostly bare brick walls. There were lots of small round tables with
sleek metal chairs clustered around them. A tall, thin man with a
gray ponytail was working behind a long marble bar, polishing a
huge gleaming brass espresso machine.

“You must be Megan,” he said, looking up at
her, “I’m Bill.” He held his hand out and they shook. “Brian tells
me you can really sing.”

Megan blushed a little, “Uhm, I hope so. This
is my friend Marina,” she said, gesturing towards me.

“The artist?” he asked, reaching to shake my
hand.

“Nice to meet you,” I said.

“Great,” he said, “Let’s see your work.” He
directed Megan to go ahead and set up on the small stage in the
corner and came around the bar to look at my paintings. I pulled
them out of the case and leaned them up against the wall.

“
Right
on
,” he said with a
smile, “They make me feel like I’m surfing!”

“That was the inspiration... do you surf?” I
asked.

“Not as much as I used to back in the day,”
he said with a nostalgic look in his eye. “These really take me
right into the water though... do you have any more like
these?”