~
The next morning before school I called Evie to ask for a favor. I’d left all of my outrageous designer things in the city, figuring that there wouldn’t be much call for fur lined jackets, thigh-high boots and cocktail dresses in a small beach town like Aptos. I wondered if she would be so kind as to ship some things down to me.
“Do I detect a date coming up?” Evie asked, excited.
“No Evie,” I said. “I’m just thinking about dressing up a little more at school.”
She readily agreed, and was only surprised that I hadn’t thought to bring all of my clothes originally. After all, as she often said, you never know where you might end up getting invited.
“How are the driving lessons going?” she asked expectantly. I explained that I hadn’t had a chance to get out and drive yet, and that the family car wasn’t always reliable. I promised to practice as soon as I could.
Evie was perturbed. “This is taking entirely too long,” she fussed impatiently. She proceeded to try and pump me for information about my swim lesson with Ethan. I needed to leave for school so I was able to dodge her.
“Thank you Aunt Evie! I love you,” I hung up.
That morning I styled my hair like a rock star and paid special attention to my makeup. I put on the clothes and jewelry I had laid out and stood back to inspect my image. The fresh young schoolgirl had been replaced with a high fashion diva. That’ll do for now, I thought.
“Wow Marina! You look like some kinda celebrity today,” said Abby as I entered the kitchen.
“Thanks Abby, I’m wearing Cruz’s design,” I said as I twirled around.
“The kid is good,” she smiled, her eyes glowing with pride.
Cruz came into the kitchen and did a double take when he saw me. “Whoa! You look like a bad-ass!”
At school I could feel hostile as well as admiring looks from my fellow classmates. The little group of surfer girls and groupies muttered amongst themselves as I passed but made no moves towards me. I could sense Ethan’s watchful eye on me as I moved about campus that day. I had the feeling I was being followed.
I looked away pointedly when the football players tried to make eye contact. Most of the girls at school swooned as the big thick necked brutes strutted down the halls, but I missed the point of all the idolatry. Large well-fed boys battling it out on the field contrasted starkly with the real hunger and desperation I had witnessed growing up. To me, the game just seemed silly and pointless, the boys, arrogant.
After lunch I went to my locker to fetch my art supplies when I looked up to see one of them coming straight towards me. He was well over six feet tall, muscle-bound and dripping with cocky attitude. He leaned against the locker next to mine, his huge bulk looming over me.
“You’re new here, aren’t you?” he asked.
“Yes I am,” I replied.
“Aren’t you gonna tell me your name?” he ogled me.
I was surprised at his rudeness, wondering if that approach got him very far with the other girls. “Probably not,” I said flatly, casting him an annoyed look.
He leered at me. “You’re feisty–I like that.”
I closed my locker and left, blocking out the sound of his laughter behind me. Oh yeah, Evie, I thought, there were lots of boys here, only most of them were not worth knowing. I looked up to see Ethan walking alongside me, looking down with amusement.
“Nice outfit,” he said. “You look … interesting.”
“Cruz made the top,” I said defensively, uncertain of what he meant. We got to the art room and Ethan followed me over to an empty table. Heather and Jamie pointedly avoided sitting with us. I could feel their hostile eyes on me. I turned to cast them a dirty look.
“Marina–” Ethan murmured a warning.
“What?” I said, feigning innocence.
“Just ignore them.”
“I don’t care what they say about me, I’ll be out of here soon enough. I’d leave right now if it wasn’t for Cruz and Megan.”
Ethan looked pained. “They’re just a bunch of jealous girls.”
That I knew, and I planned to rub their noses in it.
When we got home from school I had lots of math homework so I went straight to my room. Loud footsteps came pounding down the hall, followed by a fist banging on my door.
“Marina! Marina!” Cruz was practically hysterical. “You’re not gonna believe this! Quick–come out front!”
There was a shiny red sports car parked next to Abby’s Volvo in the driveway. It looked fast just sitting there. A huge man was unloading boxes from a white van parked on the street, and I was confused until he straightened up. I smiled at the familiar mirrored sunglasses and shiny head of the Russian giant.
“Boris!”
“Allo Marina!” he waved. “Evelyn sends me.”
I ran up to give him a hug. It was surprising how good it was to see a familiar face after all the weirdness I’d been through lately. He explained that Evie had called him this morning and asked him to deliver one of her cars to me along with several large boxes of clothes. Boris handed me an envelope that contained a note from Evie along with some car related documents, explaining that he had taken it to the shop and had it serviced that morning.
“She’s real classic,” he said, looking at the car with admiration. “You be drivings careful, sveetheart.” He looked around the neighborhood suspiciously, like he expected someone to jump out of a bush or something. Boris deposited the boxes on the porch, ruffled my hair with his gigantic mitt, handed me the keys and was gone.
I took out the note and read that Evie wanted me to use the car to learn how to drive and get my license as soon as possible. It was signed with a big red lipstick kiss.
Cruz and I looked at each other with enormous grins.
“We better go tell Abby,” I said, laughing.
We found her in the garden meditating, and when she stepped out front she didn’t look very tranquil.
“I don’t know about this,” she fretted. “What will your father say?”
“Mom! This is an antique Porsche Targa–it’s like a work of art!” Cruz enthused. “Besides, it’s just on loan, and you know I promised Marina I’d teach her how to drive. You yourself said I was an excellent driver … and it’s insured!”
“Well …” I could see her begin to weaken. She went over to the car and looked in at the pristine black leather interior. “Antique?” She raised her eyebrows. “This was a hot car in my day,” she said with a smile, and we knew we had her.
That night Cruz and I went through the boxes. He was in designer heaven, exclaiming rapturously over each new garment he retrieved. He assigned himself the job of stylist and busied himself laying out my outfits for the week.
“You’re like the Barbie I never had!” he joked.
The next day Cruz drove me to school in the Porsche. Every head in the parking lot turned as we pulled in. Ethan walked over as if he had been waiting for us.
“Nice ride,” he said, walking around the car. “Lemme guess–the rich Aunt?” he smiled, shaking his head.
“Yes, but it’s just on loan,” I was on the defensive. “So I can learn to drive.”
He chuckled, “Only you would learn to drive in a car like this.”
The rest of the week went by quickly, with driving lessons every day after school. Cruz took me out to an empty lot and I practiced shifting gears, parallel parking and backing up straight. I think I scared him a few times, but I was getting the hang of it. I suspected Cruz was using the lessons to keep me away from the pier, because whenever I started to venture out he insisted it was driving time. I was still determined to meet with Lorelei and began to devise a plan.
Saturday morning finally came, and along with it my first surfing lesson. Ethan arrived early to do yard work and I went outside with him, insisting on helping him rake and pick up clippings. Everyone else thought I was a spoiled rich brat, but for some reason I couldn’t bear the thought of Ethan thinking badly
of me.
He inspected the surfboards leaning against the side of the house, impressed with their quality. Ethan explained that the short board was harder to surf on, and I’d be better off starting out with a longer one.
“Take both of them and you can keep the short one,” I said.
“I’ll try it,” he said as we loaded them into his truck, “but it’s your board.”
We drove out to the same beach as before and parked.
He turned to look at me with serious eyes.
“I’ve spent all week worrying about you getting yourself beaten up. Have you always had such a bad temper?” I laughed until I realized he was serious.
“I’ve never been in a fight in my life!” I protested.
“Then why did you get so fired up?” he asked. I thought about it for a moment, but there was no way to explain it that didn’t sound weird. I felt different, more ferocious somehow, especially where my loved ones were concerned.
“Have you heard the things they say–about Cruz, about Megan … and Abby?” I asked intensely. “I know I’m not normal, and people think I’m a stupid freak, but I refuse to just sit and ignore it when they talk to my friends like that.”
“You should just let it slide and walk away,” he chided me.
“I can’t just walk away.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Because I love them,” I said simply.
He was quiet for a moment, then he looked down and away. I remembered what Abby had said about his mom and felt horrible.
I put my hand on his back. “Come on, teach me how to surf,” I said gently.
We hauled the surfboards down to the beach and laid them out on the sand. Ethan started out with a lecture about safety again, stressing that I must never go out alone. He was deadly serious, with none of the lighthearted joking I was used to with him. I agreed to be cautious and tried to be a good student.
I felt a twinge of guilt, because even as I promised to follow all of his safety rules my latest plan was to paddle my board out far enough out so that I could talk to Lorelei in privacy. I felt it would be safe enough on top of a surfboard in a wetsuit. I decided that I could contact her on the ship, change into my suit and swim out to meet with her. I smiled to myself, thinking I’d have some answers soon.
“Are you listening?” Ethan waved a hand in front of my face and I snapped to attention.
“Yes sir!” I said with mock seriousness, satisfied with my plan.
He explained how I needed to find the center of gravity on the board to avoid dipping either the nose or tail down in the water, and showed me how to attach a leash from the board to my ankle to keep it from getting away from me after a fall. He had me practice lying on the board, and showed me how to spring up to my feet in one swift movement.
“Don’t expect to stand up on a wave the first time,” he said, “but don’t get discouraged. If you pick it up like you did swimming, you’ll do just fine.”
We put on our wetsuits and headed out into some small waves. Ethan showed me how to dive through the wave with a board, dipping the nose to keep it from being pushed back into me. He stressed that the most dangerous thing was getting hit by your own board, and that when I fell I must protect my head with my arms, and stay under just a little longer to let it clear away. I was surprised at how much there was to know; Ethan always made it look so easy.
Once we got past the breaking waves we started to paddle out, lying on the boards and doing the crawl stroke. I was a little wobbly at first, but I watched Ethan carefully, and tried hard to mimic him. I got out past the wave break and learned how to sit up steadily on the board, laughing as I kept tipping over at first. I felt comfortable with the sensation of being in the water, and I was happier than I’d been all week. My joy must have been infectious, because Ethan finally loosened up and relaxed.
Once I mastered the art of sitting up, I turned to Ethan with a grin. “Let’s have a demonstration.”
He smiled back, and began to paddle hard for the shore. Tensing catlike on the board, he sprang upright easily, surfing the small wave for a surprising distance before I lost sight of him. He paddled swiftly back to my side, sitting up on the board and explaining how to catch a wave. I nodded, trying to remember everything he said. I was distracted by a flash of color out of the corner of my eye. Was that a glint of coppery hair? I scanned the water but saw nothing.
Gathering my courage, I chose a swell that looked promising and started paddling as fast as I could. I could feel the speed of the water pick up and start to carry the board. I managed to get to my feet and stand in a crouch for a few moments before I wobbled and fell. After a little bit of churning in the white water I surfaced and retrieved my board. Ethan came paddling up to check on me and I waved him off, ready to try again.
“Nice start,” he called over. “Next time try putting your arms out more.” I took his advice and each time I tried I got better and better. Finally I managed to actually stay on my feet, drop down onto a good sized wave and surf across it diagonally, staying just ahead of the breaking crest. I paddled back out, smiling triumphantly. It was as fun as it looked, and I was feeling so good I forgot about mermaids and school and everything but just being happy.
Ethan came over to me. “You’re doing great! You learn fast.”
I sat up on my board next to him in the water with a big smile.
“I think I need a rest,” I said, panting to catch my breath. My legs were getting a little unsteady, and my arms felt like wet noodles. We sat quietly astride our surfboards, enjoying a moment of calm and the rhythmic rise and fall of the incoming swells. It had been another perfect day, just me, Ethan, and the sea.
“We should probably head in,” he said.
I smiled at him affectionately. “Thanks so much. That was fun.”
I looked down at my board and was surprised to see the water surrounding us filled with light reflecting from sleek, shining bodies. The sea churned and splashed. It was a pod of dolphins! They started leaping and diving in a tight circle around us, twisting in the air as if they were trying to make eye contact with me. I looked over at Ethan and saw his blue eyes fill with wonder. The dance continued for several minutes until I started to laugh out loud. All at once the dolphins leapt in unison and disappeared underwater in complete synchronization.
The sea became completely calm again. I thought about Lorelei, and how she had commanded the sea lions. That was her I had seen! I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face as I scanned the sea all around us, looking for her.
“Marina,” Ethan said quietly. “Let’s go in.” He was looking at me strangely, and he seemed a little alarmed.
“OK!” I smiled broadly. I was thrilled. If she could find me here, at a different beach, I knew I could meet with her when I was ready. We definitely had a connection.
We gathered our gear and loaded it into his truck. I climbed in the cab and Ethan opened a small cooler and handed me an orange juice.
“Here, drink this. It’s easy to get dehydrated out there.”
“Thanks,” I smiled gratefully, surprised at how consistently thoughtful he was.
I was silent for a few minutes, thinking about Lorelei. It was warm from the sun and I was pleasantly tired and relaxed, sighing with contentment. I leaned back, stretching out my sore shoulders with my eyes closed. When I opened them back up I saw Ethan watching me.
“What?” I said sleepily.
“Marina, the dolphins … that wasn’t normal. I’ve never seen them act like that.” I looked out the window and smiled to myself.
“Yeah, I suppose so,” I said, thinking I wasn’t very normal either.
He cleared his throat. “Do you remember how I freaked out when I first saw you?” he asked. I nodded, looking down. He continued, “It was your eyes. I’d seen your eyes before … I was starting to think I hallucinated the whole thing.”
My head snapped up. “What?” I said, looking over at him. “When?”
His eye
s locked onto mine and I could see him struggle with what he was about to say. “I was in a surfing contest out at the point. I was way out, sitting up on my board, waiting my turn when I saw a big shark heading straight for me.” He took a breath and went on, “It was a great white, maybe fifteen feet, coming at me fast. There was nothing I could do …” He glanced over at the ocean, remembering.
“What happened?” I asked quietly. I think I knew what he saw.
“A girl came from out of nowhere. Popped up right between me and the shark. She must’ve kicked it away or something, because it just took off.” He shook his handsome head.
“Wow,” I said softly.
“I was shocked … but I know I saw her. She looked me straight in the eyes and disappeared underwater. I looked all around, diving in the water, but I couldn’t find her.” He looked down. “The whole thing only lasted a few seconds. I–I knew no one would believe me so I never told anyone.”
There was a moment of silence. “I believe you,” I said.
He turned to face me again and his eyes burned into mine. “I thought it might have been you when I first saw you.”
I shook my head. “No, It wasn’t me.”
“Then who was it?” his eyes were intense.
I wanted to tell him everything right then, but something stopped me. What if he didn’t think I should look for Lorelei again? What if he was disgusted by my possible origins? Or worst of all, what if he didn’t want anything more to do with me?
“I…” I bit my lip. “I don’t know.”
I had to look away, unable to bear his gaze. There really was so much I didn’t know, and I was more determined than ever to find out. I remembered how I wanted to tell him what I’d seen the day he pulled me out of the sea. It was unbelievably ironic that just moments after I first saw Lorelei I would come in contact with the only other person in town who would have actually believed me.
He drove me home in silence, the unspoken truth hanging between us. He sighed as we pulled up in front of the house.
“You could be a really good surfer if you keep practicing,” he said.
“You sound like Cruz with my driving,” I replied. “Could we go surfing again?” I asked timidly, fearful he might say no. I had a feeling he knew I was being evasive.
“I was hoping that you’d want to,” he smiled at me and I relaxed.
We got out and started unloading my surfboards.
“I want you to have that board,” I said.
He thought about it for a second and shrugged. “I’ll borrow it when we surf together.” He glanced over at the Porsche. I had an idea.
“Do you want to drive it?” I asked.
He smiled, and again I noticed the way his eyes crinkled up at the corners. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Be right back.”
I ran in the house with my bag, surprising Cruz and Megan as they sat on the couch watching television.
“Hi guys,” I said, rushing past their questioning eyes to my room. I grabbed my purse and keys and ran a brush through my hair. I hurried back past them towards the door.
“Ethan and I are going for a driving lesson,” I tossed out casually. Megan and Cruz exchanged smirks.
Abby poked her head in from the kitchen, drying her hands on a dishtowel. “Dinner’s almost ready. Do you want to invite Ethan?” she asked, looking out the window at his truck parked out front.
“They’re going driving,” Cruz said teasingly. I blushed, and flashed him a mock dirty look.
“Don’t wait for me, I can grab something later.” I made my escape, handing Ethan the keys as we climbed in.
“Where to?” he asked.
I looked up at Megan and Cruz in the window and said, “Let’s just get out of here.” He saw them and smiled.
“They’ve been worried about you all week too.”
He took the Porsche out on the freeway and headed down the coast. He gunned the engine, pressing me back into the seat.
“How come your old auntie has a sweet ride like this?” he asked.
I laughed at his characterization of Evie. He had no idea. “Her late husband collected cars. This is just the tip of the iceberg,” I said, telling him about the underground garage full of cars. I described some of her Rolls Royces, Ferraris, and other cars I couldn’t name. He let out a low whistle.
“Tell her the old man had great taste. This thing’s in excellent shape.” We continued our drive along the coast, and he seemed to be enjoying the ride. We sped past rich farmland with artichokes and strawberry fields until he took an an exit and turned onto a country lane.
“Where are we?” I asked, as we wound down the remote road and parked.
“C’mon, I’ll show you.” He led me out to a large field, part of it planted with lettuce. It was windswept, with a few gnarled Cypress trees clinging to the edge of a bluff. The view of the coast was magnificent.
“This land is all part of the Khang family farm,” he said, gesturing from the bluff to the hills. “Lue’s selling me the five acres right here between the freeway and the ocean.”
“Wow. It’s really beautiful out here. What are you going to do with it?”
As we walked along the field he told me how he wanted to start a nursery growing native and drought resistant plants. He told me what a good spot this was for growing, and how he was working for Lue to pay for the plot. He was planning to study landscaping design, horticulture and business at the local university.
When he spoke about his plans, his eyes lit up. He reminded me of my father when he was onto a particularly interesting line of research. I thought about what Lue Khang had said about Ethan’s “earth spirits” and I couldn’t help smiling.
“What?” he asked, suddenly self-conscious.
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “You just remind me of someone. Now I see what you’re working so hard for.”
We continued our stroll until we arrived at a spot with a perfect view of the sun setting over the sea.
“I’d like to build a house right here someday,” he said, and I could suddenly see it in my mind as if it already stood right before us.
“It’s going to be beautiful,” I said, with an intense spasm of pain right behind my eyes. I pressed my palm to my temple and staggered back a step. Not again… not now.
Ethan turned to me, puzzled. “What did you just say?” he asked. He was looking at me the same way that Cruz and Megan had.
“Nothing,” I said, feeling the blood draining from my face. “I’m just a little dizzy.”
“We haven’t eaten all day,” said Ethan. “Do you want to go get some pizza or something?”
I blinked and forced a shaky smile. “OK, that sounds good.”
He took me by the arm to steady me as we walked back to the car. As we drove back up the coast my head was reeling with the knowledge of what I’d done. I had just blurted something out in garbled mermaid language right in front of Ethan. I felt like I was losing control of myself and it scared me. I imagined talking to Lorelei on my surfboard and began to feel a little better.
I could see Ethan’s worried glances over at me in my peripheral vision. I tried to act normally, to beat back the panic and steady my breathing. We drove to a place he knew and he steered me to a quiet booth in the back. He ordered right away, making sure I got something to drink. I knew he was watching me, and I did my best to act like nothing was wrong, like my whole world wasn’t being turned upside down more and more each day.
“Do you feel better?” he asked after we ate some pizza.
I nodded and smiled, trying to reassure him. “Yes, much. Thanks.”
He seemed to relax and I followed suit, leaning back and sipping on my soda.
“So, you really never went to school?” he asked. “I mean, you seem so … smart.”
I laughed, finally feeling like myself. “I’ve had lots of teachers! You don’t need to be in a classroom to learn.”
He chuckled, and I really liked the way
it sounded. “I guess so … I was wondering,” he switched topics, “You’ve looked like a totally different person every day this week at school. How come?”
I looked down, pressing my lips together. “My Aunt Evie sent a bunch of my clothes down to me along with the Porsche. Cruz likes to pick the outfits for me.”
He didn’t look convinced.
I smiled sheepishly and added more truthfully, “Also, those girls at school get–irritated–by all the things that Evie gives me. So, I thought I’d just give them just a little more to be annoyed about.” It sounded petty when I said it out loud and I felt a twinge of guilt.
“You little instigator,” he chuckled again, and I looked up into blue eyes sparkling with amusement. He smiled. “You don’t need to do all that stuff. I like you best the way you are right now.”
“Um, thanks,” I said, my cheeks burning. “But I can’t deny Cruz all of his fun.” Now I changed the subject, asking him more about his plans for the future.
We discovered that we shared the same birthday in January, which struck us both as an unusual coincidence. He would be eighteen the same day I was to turn seventeen, and I couldn’t help but remember all of Evie’s talk about destiny. Whether it meant anything or not, our common birthday made me feel closer to him, like we had a special connection.
The more I got to know Ethan the more impressed I was, for he was totally unlike any of the other boys at school. He was far more serious about mapping out his future than most people our age. It was as if he needed to know precisely what was going to happen in the future, and he worked hard to make sure things turned out like he planned. I wasn’t sure if it was good to work so hard, or bad to be so inflexible. He reminded me of my dad.
He was always polite and serious, but never without a sense of humor. He wasn’t vain at all, which I found unusual for such a good looking guy. He seemed indifferent to all the girls that flocked around him at school, ignoring them as they tried to catch his eye. I was no better than any of them, I thought, embarrassed by how quickly he had crept into my psyche, appearing in my dreams regularly.
He asked me about some of the different places I’d lived and I asked him more questions about surfing. We talked for a long time, and when the restaurant finally closed we reluctantly started for home.
Ethan pulled up and we climbed out of the little car.
“You better get some rest,” he said, walking me to the door. We stood there awkwardly for a moment while I searched in my bag for the house keys.
“Thanks for today,” I said nervously, fiddling with the lock.
“Let’s go again next Saturday,” he said.
I smiled, turning the knob. “Sounds like fun.”
He hesitated, and then turned to leave. “Goodnight, Marina.”
“Goodnight,” I called after him.
When I stepped inside, Cruz was waiting for me on the couch. He peppered me with questions about the day, teasing me about being out so late with Ethan.
“Let’s see, you’ve only lived here a couple of months and already you’ve almost drowned twice, discovered a mermaid, and are dating the cutest guy in school!” He shook his head theatrically. “What are you going to do for your next act?”
I scowled at him. “We’re not dating.”
“He took you out to eat on a Saturday night.”
“So?” I said. He just laughed at me as I headed down the hall to bed. “Good night, Cruz,” I called over my shoulder.
“Good night, Marina.”
~
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
HERO