The Shore (8 page)

“Hey!” April protested. ‘That’s private!”

Curt closed the notebook and put it back down. “These your songs?” he asked.

“Yes.” She picked up the notebook and hugged it to her chest. Curt noticed she liked to do that with the things she treasured. He wondered what it would take for him to become something she treasured, and to receive the same treatment.

“Can you play one for me?” he asked.

“No.”

“Come on.” Curt smiled and turned the charm on. “I swear I won’t tell anyone.”

“I told you, I don’t play my stuff for other people.”

“Then what’s the point? Besides, I’m not other people. I’m a musician, just like you,” he said, mustering his most intense and alluring gaze.

April gazed back at him uncertainly.

“Swear I won’t tell a soul,” Curt said.

She slowly put the notebook down. Curt had a feeling he’d won her over.

“Oh, okay, just one.” She heaved a sigh, picked up her guitar, strummed a few chords, and then started singing. “Our bodies went down . . . the moon went up. Slipping . . . sliding . . . the mating dance has just begun. It’s the moon and not the sun. Yeah. It’s the moon and not the sun.”

Curt listened as she sang. The song was good. So good that he could almost hear it being sung by someone else.

Polly and Avery were up to their elbows in clams. They were at an outdoor fish market, surrounded by stalls selling fish, clams, crabs and all manner of saltwater crustaceans. As Polly dumped another handful of clams into a plastic bag she took a moment to look at Avery, who looked perplexed as she pawed through the slimy shells.

“First clambake?” Polly asked.

Avery nodded. “Is it that obvious?”

“Kind of. So, what’s your story?” Polly blurted out.

“Excuse me?” Avery asked, looking puzzled.

“Sorry, I was just trying to make conversation,” Polly said. “It’s just if we don’t talk about you, then I’m going to start babbling about me, and that’s never pretty. Unless it’s pretty boring.”

Avery laughed. “Okay, if it will save you from boredom, what do you want to know?”

“What brought you here for the summer?”

“The chance to spend some time alone with Curt.”

Polly felt a little confused. “Alone? In a house full of people?”

“People, yes. Parents, and other members of his band, no,” Avery explained.

“How long have you been together?”

“Three years, ever since my mom died.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

Avery put her hand on Polly’s arm. “No need to be sorry. It’s okay. She was sick for a long time, and it’s been a while now and I’m okay with it.”

“I don’t think I’d ever be okay with it,” Polly said.

Avery shook her head. “You don’t know what you can live through until you do.”

Neither of them said anything else for a few minutes. They finished with the clams, then walked to a vegetable vendor. Polly picked the lettuce and tomatoes while Avery selected several fat, white mushrooms.

“Probably not the kind of ’shrooms Lucas likes, but he’ll have to make do,” Avery joked.

“Do you really think he smokes that bong?” Polly asked.

“Why would he have it?” Avery asked.

“I don’t know,” Polly said. “Somehow, it just doesn’t seem to fit. It’s like the dreadlocks. I’m just not sure they go with the person, you know?”

Avery moved toward the avocados. “I know what you’re
saying. It’s like we only see part of him or something, like he’s some sort of shadow.”

“Exactly!” Polly said, glad to have someone help her put her feelings into words. “Well, I guess we’ve got all summer to figure him out.”

“If he lets us,” Avery said while paying for the vegetables.

They left the market, Polly carrying the bag of clams and Avery carrying the vegetables. There was still about a half hour before they were supposed to meet everyone back at the house. The day had been really hot. Polly wiped the sweat off her brow and looked at her watch. “We should be getting back pretty soon.”

“We have to pick up the drinks first,” Avery said, nodding toward a convenience store. The window was covered with signs advertising Corona, Bud Lite, Heineken, and all sorts of other drinks. “What do you want to get?” Avery asked.

“I like Coke,” Polly said.

“We have to get some alcohol, don’t you think?” Avery asked as she pulled her hair up into a bun on top of her head. “Our housemates are going to get bent out of shape if we don’t. What do you think, beer or wine coolers for a clambake?”

“Uh, uh, the wine coolers, I guess.”

Avery gave her a funny look. “Have you had beer?”

“No,” Polly admitted, and felt her face grow warm.

“You’re not missing out on much,” Avery said, wrinkling her nose. “We’ll go with wine coolers.”

Polly glanced at the store and the large sign that said,
ABSOLUTELY NO ALCOHOL WILL BE SOLD TO ANYONE UNDER 21
. She scowled. “How? We can’t buy alcohol. We’re both underage.”

Avery smiled. “Leave it to me. You get the soda; I’ll get the other stuff. When we’re in that store, act like you don’t know me.”

Polly felt her stomach start to flip-flop. There’s no way we’re going to get away with this, she thought. All her life she’d been terrified of doing anything wrong, anything that might result in getting caught. Right now she wanted to run away as fast as she could.

But Avery went in and, after a minute, Polly followed and headed straight for the refrigerated cases of soda. She managed to get the bag of vegetables into her left arm and clutched two two-liter bottles of Coke to her chest with her right before turning around precariously.

When Polly saw Avery, her heart leaped into her throat. Avery was approaching the counter carrying two packs of wine coolers, walking calmly and slowly as though she bought alcohol all the time. She put the wine coolers on the counter. Just as the guy behind the counter was about to ask for her driver’s license, she said, “Do you carry diapers? I had to leave the kids with my new boyfriend and I don’t want to drive all the way to the grocery store. I don’t trust him alone with them that long.”

“Uh, sure,” the guy said, pointing down an aisle.

“Great, thanks, be right back.” Avery turned and went to the diaper section, looked for a moment, and then selected a package
and brought it back to the man. “It’s not the brand I normally use, but I guess it’ll work.”

The man started ringing up her items. “My wife used those for our kids and they seemed fine, never once had a leak.”

“Really? Thanks, I feel better.” Avery glanced at her watch. “If only my boyfriend were that dependable.”

“Yeah.” The man chuckled as he rang up and bagged the wine coolers and diapers. “That’s twenty-one even.”

Avery paid him and left the store. Polly’s heart was pounding; she put the soda bottles on the counter and paid for them without saying a word to the man. She grabbed the bag and rushed out of the store, nearly colliding with Avery, who was standing on the sidewalk several feet away.

“Come on, let’s get out of here!” Polly gasped, in full-flight mode.

“Take a breath and relax, Polly. We’re fine,” Avery said.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Polly said. “Oh, my gosh, I thought you were going to get caught and then—”

Polly realized Avery wasn’t listening. She was staring across the street at some storefronts and old buildings that were being renovated. She saw a habitat for humanity sign above the building, but nothing else stood out.

“What are you looking at?” Polly asked.

“Oh, uh, nothing,” Avery said, turning back. “Hold on a second.” She walked up to a woman approaching with a child in a stroller.

“Excuse me, ma’am? I bought the wrong type of diapers for my sister and I don’t have time to return them. Could you use them?”

The woman frowned suspiciously as Avery produced the package of diapers. “Well, I guess,” the woman said. “But I don’t have any cash on me.”

“Oh no, no, I just want to give them to someone who can use them. Does your baby wear this size?”

“Actually, yes,” the woman answered.

“Then here you go. Happy early Fourth of July.”

Avery headed back to Polly. Behind her, the woman called, “Thank you.” Avery turned and waved.

“Come on, we better head back,” Avery said to Polly.

They began walking. After a minute, Polly said, “Where’d you learn to do that?”

“One day I had to go to the store for some pads and Curt asked me to try to buy him some beer. I was so nervous that instead of grabbing stuff for me, I grabbed the first thing that came to my hands and it was a package of diapers. By the time I realized it, I was approaching the counter. I figured I would look suspicious if I turned back, so I just put them on the counter with the beer.”

“That’s so funny!” Polly gasped. “So the first time, it was totally by accident!”

“Right,” Avery said. “People never want to think that someone with a baby is in high school. The cashier let me buy the stuff
and never carded me. Curt’s had me buy beer for him ever since. I always try to find someone I can give the diapers to.”

“That’s got to get expensive,” Polly said.

“Yeah. I’m going to need to get a job pretty soon, anyway,” Avery said.

“What do you think you’ll do?” Polly asked.

Avery shrugged. “Don’t know.”

“I’m a waitress at a restaurant on the pier,” Polly said. “Last I heard, they were still trying to fill a few positions. Maybe you could get a job there.”

“You think?” Avery asked.

“Have any experience?” Polly asked.

“McDonald’s?”

“Well, you could try,” Polly said.

“That would be great, thanks.”

“I start there tomorrow,” Polly said. “You want to go with me in the morning?”

“Perfect.”

It was perfect, as far as Polly was concerned. Avery was definitely the nicest girl in the house, although to be fair, Polly still didn’t know much about April. Still, being Avery’s friend could only help. Avery was the kind of girl guys just naturally flocked to. Maybe when they found out she had a boyfriend, a few of them might give Polly a look.

When they reached the house, April was already in the kitchen, pulling a steaming loaf of bread out of the oven. Polly
looked at her in surprise. It never occurred to her that April might like to cook. Avery was quicker to respond.

“Smells great!” she said enthusiastically.

April beamed. “I do one thing well in the kitchen, and one thing only. I bake. So, I figured I could handle the bread.”

Polly was envious of Avery for being so quick on her feet and knowing the right thing to say. And she was glad that April seemed to be getting into the spirit of the party. Avery dumped the clams into the sink.

“Slimy,” April noted.

“You should have tried pawing through them,” Avery said with a laugh.

“I’ll leave that part to you guys,” April said. “I have no idea what to do with clams. I’ve never been to a clambake.”

“Neither has Avery. You two have something in common,” Polly said.

April and Avery looked at each other, and Polly instantly felt like an idiot. It was a dumb thing to say. Like Avery and April were going to bond over the idea of never having been to a clambake before. If Avery always knew the right thing to say, Polly was the exact opposite. She could always count on herself to say the wrong thing.

“Well, well,” someone said, “look at all the cooks in the kitchen.”

It was Sabrina, in a cream skirt and a pink top with a draped neck that, of course, revealed enough to get her arrested in most
Muslim countries. Polly felt the muscles in her shoulders begin to tense. “We’re getting ready for the clambake. Want to help?”

“Oh, uh . . .” Sabrina appeared stymied. “I really don’t cook.”

“You left that to your mom?” Polly guessed.

“Not really. We’ve always had cooks.”

“You’ve got to be kidding,” April said, rolling her eyes.

Even Avery, the model of decorum, looked surprised. They hit an awkward silence. Polly was pretty sure none of them had ever met anyone like Sabrina before. What in the world was she doing sharing a summer house on the Jersey Shore with them? It sounded like she would be more comfortable on the French Riviera.

“You want to learn?” Avery finally asked.

Polly thought for sure that Sabrina was going to make some sort of sarcastic remark. Like cooking was for commoners. Instead, she was surprised when the girl said, “Well, okay, I’ll try anything once.”

The remark about trying anything once reminded Polly of finding Sabrina’s clothes on the stairs the night before. No, no, that’s not nice, she told herself, and tried to clear it from her brain.

“We’ll start you with something easy,” Avery said.

“How about you tear up the lettuce for the salad? Rip pieces up and dump them in the bowl.”

“Don’t you just chop it with a knife?” Sabrina asked.

“You could, but we’re not eating right away, and if you tear it instead of cut it, the lettuce stays fresh longer,” Avery answered.

Polly hadn’t known that, and from the look on her face, neither had April. Then Polly realized why: Avery has probably had to do all the cooking for her family since her mother died.

“So, where are the guys hiding?” Sabrina asked as she tore the lettuce.

“Curt’s rehearsing with his band,” Avery said.

Polly noticed that April seemed rather flushed, as though the heat from the oven was making her overly warm. But that seemed odd now that she’d taken the bread out.

“And the . . . other guys?” Sabrina asked.

Suddenly Polly had a feeling she knew why Sabrina had agreed to help them prepare the meal.

“Lucas and Owen said they were going to the beach to get the fire started,” April offered.

“I guess that must have been some party last night,” Sabrina said, in what sounded like a complete non sequitur.

“You really don’t remember?” Polly asked.

Sabrina shook her head. “I think I must have been really tired from moving here and everything. And I hardly had anything to eat. It’s just a blank. I mean . . . was it that bad?”

Avery and April smiled at each other, but Polly felt bad for Sabrina. She would have felt sorry for anyone in that position. “No, not really,” she said. “And you know what? I think Owen’s a lot nicer than you might think. I know he acted like a jerk last night at the party. But he’s got a sensitive side too.”