02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (4 page)

“My dad wants me to thank you for everything
you’ve done,” I told Ethan, taking his hand in mine across the
little table.

“I don’t think I deserve any thanks. I didn’t
keep you away from them,” he said solemnly.

“Are you kidding?” I said, “I don’t know what
I would have done without you.”

“Did you tell your dad you wanted to stay in
Aptos?” he asked, a little anxiety in his eyes.

“I mentioned it,” I said, looking down.

“What did he say?” he looked alarmed, and his
grip on my hand tightened.

“He wasn’t too thrilled about it, but he said
if it was okay with Abby...” I suddenly realized that Abby would
have a baby by next summer. She’d certainly need the room.

He seemed relieved, “Abby told me she doesn’t
want you to go.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Should I tell
him? I decided it wasn’t my secret to expose.

The food started to arrive, distracting us.
It was fragrant and delicious, evoking nostalgic memories of
easier, less complicated times spent with my father. We took our
time eating and talking. I told him about my plans for a spring
break vacation with my dad.

“You’re going all alone?” he asked, brows
knit together.

“He’ll meet me in Athens,” I replied, a
little annoyed at his tone. I’d be seventeen by then, and I was
more than capable of traveling solo.

“Hmm,” he sounded skeptical.

“I’ve flown alone before, you know,” I
protested, “I’ve been bouncing back and forth between Evie and Dad
my whole life.”

“Can we not talk about you leaving? You just
got back,” he looked so earnest I reached across the table to take
his hand again.

“Do you have to work tomorrow?” I asked him,
thinking about surfing.

“Yeah… But why don’t you stop by and hang out
with me at the farmer’s market?”

“OK.”

The dinner hour was in full swing and the
place was buzzing with activity when we got up from our chairs. I
thanked the server, complimenting her with a few phrases of Thai
that came rushing back to me all at once. We turned to leave,
fielding curious glances from the kitchen staff.

Ethan took my hand, leading me out into the
darkening evening air. A sweet scent wafted by on a light breeze
and I looked around, sniffing. There was a small tree by the
restaurant door with huge dangling trumpet shaped flowers. I leaned
over to smell a bloom and it was beautiful; jasmine, honey and
citrus all mixed together into one delicious smell.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Brugmansia,” he answered, “but they call it
Angel’s Trumpet.”

“That makes perfect sense,” I said, as I
reached around to embrace him. We kissed under the blossoms in the
sweet cloud of perfume.

I took his hand and started to walk to the
car when I was stopped in my tracks. A sharp pain right behind my
eyes seared into my brain and I staggered back, blinded by the
images flashing through my mind.

My father was struggling with a strap
around his waist. I was trying to free him but he was yelling at me
to take a little girl I could see sitting to my right. There seemed
to be something moving very fast by a window and water poured
through a crack in the glass. I was getting dizzy
.

The picture darkened and my ears were filled
with a roaring sound.

“Marina!” I could hear Ethan’s voice calling
and I struggled to open my eyes. I was leaning on the hood of
Evie’s car with Ethan holding me up. I sucked in a deep breath and
raised my head to look at him, a stabbing headache making me
wince.

“Are you alright?” I could hear the panic in
his voice. I took another breath and my vision started to
clear.

“Yes,” I said weakly, “I just need a second.”
I exhaled slowly and started to feel better.

“What happened?” he asked with a frightened
face.

“My dad,” I said, “I saw... I think there’s
going to be some kind of accident.” I could tell by the look on his
face that he believed me; I was relieved, it was worse when I had
to keep explaining.

“What did you see?”

“It’s hard to say... it was like the inside
of a car or something. He was stuck, and I wanted to get him loose.
There was a little kid there he told me to help first... and
water,” I stopped, confused.

“You were there?” he asked, alarmed.

“Yeah.”

“Come on, I’ll drive.”

I handed him the keys without arguing.

I regained my equilibrium as we drove along,
Ethan nervously casting glances my way.

“I’m good,” I said trying to reassure him,
“Stop worrying.”

I gritted my teeth. Another vision. Just my
luck, I thought ruefully as I tried to act normally. I hated the
fact that I was always having problems, always weak and needing
help. I wanted to be the girl that was surfing with him, the girl
that was strong and happy and free. I started thinking about how
powerful the mermaids were, how amazing it felt to swim with them.
I closed my eyes and imagined having that strength back, that
feeling of wild, unencumbered freedom. I had an intense urge to go
surfing, swimming... anything in the water.

I startled, and my whole body jerked like I
was having a dream of falling. Ethan’s hand shot out to steady me
and I took it and squeezed it hard. We pulled up into our driveway
and I looked up at him.

“I’m so sick of this,” I said bitterly, “I’m
sorry.”

He got out, coming around to my door in a
flash. I stepped out into his arms and he held me, “It’s not your
fault,” he said, rocking me side to side.

“Ethan?”

“What?”

“I want to go surfing.”

He was quiet for a second.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because it’ll make me feel better.”

“OK,” he said quietly.

“I need to call my dad. It’s morning there
now.”

He walked me into the dark, empty house. Cruz
and Megan must have gone out somewhere. I sat on the couch and
dialed. He picked up right away.

“Dad?” my voice was tense.

“Marina, what is it?” he asked in alarm.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, what’s going on?”

Great, I thought, now I had him worried
too.

“I just– I– well, I had a feeling that
something happened to you,” I was starting to feel foolish.

“I’m fine, are you alright?” I reassured him
that I was and that he should just forget it, that I was being
silly. I was flooded with guilt for calling and worrying him. We
said our goodbyes and I hung up.

Ethan was pacing by the window when I looked
up.

“False alarm,” I said. He came in and sat
down next to me.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes,” I said firmly, “Please, let’s just
forget about it... there’s no reason to–”

“You said you were in this one,” he
interrupted, “has that ever happened before?”

Ever since my first contact with a mermaid
I’d been having premonitions, and so far they’d all come true. I
thought about everything I’d seen.

“The one with you.” I remembered the way he
looked as the mermaids dragged me under the water. “You know,
when…” my voice trailed off when I looked into his tight face. I
was so tired of always worrying him. “Hey... it’s probably nothing.
Nobody was hurt in it or anything, right?”

“If you say so,” he frowned.

We could hear a car pull up outside; it was
Cruz and Megan in Evie’s Jaguar. They tumbled in the door, laughing
and bringing their happy energy into the room.

“What happened?” asked Megan, “You guys look
serious as a heart attack.”

“Nothing,” we said simultaneously, our eyes
meeting.

“Wanna see a movie?” asked Cruz, “It’s zombie
flick night...”

I smiled happily, for they were just what I
needed at the moment, “Sounds good,” I shrugged at Ethan and he
leaned back on the couch,

“Bring it on,” he said, pulling me into his
arms. We all got comfortable and soon were laughing, cringing and
screeching at the crazy movie. Cruz was in hysterics at all the
sarcastic comments Megan was making. Just watching the two of them
banter back and forth was entertaining. It finally felt like a
normal evening and I sighed with relief as the last little bit of
headache disappeared.

Abby’s car pulled into the driveway, flashing
headlights in the window. A minute later Dutch and Abby burst into
the door, hand in hand. It was exactly the vision I had seen of
them weeks ago, come true. We stopped the movie.

Abby looked tired, but unmistakably happy.
Dutch put his arm around her waist and they exchanged a look.

Dutch cleared his throat, “We just got back
from Tahoe,” he said, looking at Abby warmly.

“I know this is kinda sudden,” Abby
added.

“We got married.”

We all sat in stunned silence. I was the only
one who knew why and I couldn’t stifle a happy smile at Abby. Ethan
looked at me suspiciously.

“Congratulations,” Megan said, elbowing
Cruz.

I got up to embrace them each in turn. I was
relieved for Abby; only I knew how much she’d been suffering the
past week.

Ethan and Cruz looked at each other and back
at their parents. Little did they know that they would soon have a
baby brother or sister in common. I studied them, a smile
broadening on my face. We were all connected now, and a whole new
family was taking shape whether they liked it or not.

Coming from a family of two, I took a great
deal of comfort in that fact.

CHAPTER THREE

Surfing

I woke up, disoriented for a moment. I rolled
over to see Charlie staring at me, intense golden eyes focused on a
spot right between mine. He’d been fed by a neighbor for the week
we were gone and had been standoffish; in the middle of the night
he suddenly forgave me, clawing at the door frantically and
bursting in purring like a maniac. I figured he just needed a
little time to get over his temporary abandonment and forget about
being offended. I scratched him behind the ears and he started
kneading the pillow.

I smiled to myself, thinking how shocked
everyone was when Dutch and Abby dropped the bombshell news that
they had eloped– gotten married at a quickie wedding chapel in Lake
Tahoe. We were all blindsided, but Cruz and Ethan were both utterly
stunned, wondering what the big rush was. Dutch had Ethan drive him
home, and no doubt got the rest of the news last night. Megan left
right away, giving the shocked Cruz a reassuring hug and promising
to come by the next day.

I’d slipped away to my room, leaving Abby to
talk with Cruz in privacy. We were all jet-lagged, running hours
ahead of the time and seriously in need of some rest. I quickly
fell into a deep sleep, exhausted by the intensity of the strange
vision of my father. In the quiet of the early morning it seemed
less menacing, and I decided to put it out of my mind. The one
thing I had learned about my visions was that there was no telling
how far out in the future they would take place. It occurred to me
that they could simply be nebulous images of what
might
be,
and not events written in stone.

I remembered the way Abby and Dutch looked
when they burst into the room last night and smiled. I was happy
for Abby; I knew what it meant to her for Dutch to make the
commitment. Aunt Abby always led with her heart, impulsively acting
on feelings and emotion, and it hadn’t always worked out so well
for her. She was the opposite of my father, who in contrast was
invariably logical, scientific and methodical. I think he hid
behind his work sometimes, using it to avoid engaging with the
world of people and events that might disappoint.

Ethan was like my dad, a planner, a worker,
and someone who protected his heart. He was solid and reliable, but
harsh when it came to honesty. He wanted everything to be black and
white, yes or no.

I was somewhere in the middle, starting to
see shades of gray everywhere I looked. I remembered the way Ethan
glanced at me last night, realizing that I knew something more
about what was going on with Dutch and Abby. I sighed heavily,
hoping he wouldn’t be upset about my keeping Abby’s confidence.

I was the first one up, eating my breakfast
in an empty kitchen. The sun was just beginning to light the sky on
a typical cool and foggy Aptos morning, and I bundled up to step
out into the garden. It was still and calm, and I took a long slow
breath, inhaling the fresh ocean air deep into my lungs. I’d
promised to stop by and see Ethan at the farmer’s market but it was
still a bit too early. I paced around, feeling antsy, and finally
set out to take a walk down to the beach.

I decided to go looking for Stella, guardian
of the feral cat colony that lived in the dense stands of pampas
grass that clung to the coastal cliffs. Stella was almost as old as
the cement ship, a tiny and sometimes confused elderly woman who
wandered wraith-like along the bluffs, looking out for her family
of wild cats. I met her on the first day I arrived in Aptos, and
since then I’d been looking out for her, supplying food for her
beloved cats and checking in with her occasionally.

I reached the end of the stairs in the early
morning fog, and looked around. Having no luck spotting her, I
tucked the bags of food in a place I knew she’d look. I wandered
down to the shore, kicking off my shoes to wiggle my toes in the
cool sand. The waves were pretty high; it promised to be a good day
for surfing. The thought made me sad when I remembered Ethan’s
reluctance to take me out. After everything that had happened I
supposed I couldn’t blame him.

Ambling to the waterline across the nearly
deserted beach, I spotted a dozen sea lion heads bobbing in the
surf just past the breaking waves. Lorelei the mermaid’s golden
coppery hair stood out among them, and when our eyes met across the
breakers my spirits lifted instantly. We beamed at one another in
unison. She swam closer to shore as I rolled up the legs of my
jeans to meet her in knee deep water.