Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,17
attention to detail. Because of Evie, I knew a lot about well-made clothes and these were superbly crafted.
Cruz watched nervously for my reaction. “Oh my God!” I exclaimed, “These are exquisite!”
“Told you so!” Megan said to Cruz, “He didn’t think you’d like them.”
“I love them! You’re incredibly talented! Why didn’t you show me before now?” I held up a beautifully structured black lace blouse.
“I thought you’d think it was weird,” he said, “You know, a guy sewing girl’s stuff.”
“Weird?” I snorted, “You should meet Evie!”
“Would you try it on?” he asked, “I’ve only ever seen it on the dress form.”
“Sure,” I replied, and hurried off to my room. I slipped out of my dress and wriggled into some jeans. The blouse was sheer, so I threw on a black camisole and slipped it on over top. It had lots of tiny little black buttons all the way up the high neck. The waist was fitted, and there was a peplum that flared out longer in the back. The long sleeves puffed out a little at the shoulder and were tight at the wrist with another row of tiny buttons. I stood back and checked my reflection. I looked pale and fierce, like a Gothic rock and roll vampire. I kinda liked it.
“Ta Da!” I said as I burst into Cruz’s room. His eyes flew open wide and he gasped.
“I think you have a new muse,” said Megan.
CHAPTER FOUR
SLEEPER
Megan, Cruz I ended up hanging out a lot in the final days before school schedules would start to regiment our lives, and I got to know both of them much better. We walked into town for coffee or just lounged around listening to music. They introduced me to the area, taking me around Aptos and into nearby Santa Cruz. One beautiful late summer day we drove to The Boardwalk, pulling up to a seaside amusement park dominated by a giant wooden track poking high into the sky.
“You’ve never been on a roller coaster?” asked Cruz incredulously.
“There’s not a lot of call for thrill rides where I used to live,” I said, looking up suspiciously,
“It looks dangerous.”
“The Giant Dipper’s a classic!” enthused Megan, “It’s been here nearly a hundred years.”
“That’s comforting,” I said as I inspected the structure. From my vantage point it looked like it was made from toothpicks.
We waited in a short line, winding through a rattling wooden tunnel that vibrated each time the cars ran on the track. Listening to the muffled screams was unnerving, but every time I glanced over at Cruz he just grinned. Our turn came much too soon, and the three of us loaded onto a small car that jerked forward, immediately plunging us into a black tunnel. It made me claustrophobic, and so happily relieved to emerge into the light that I didn’t even fret about the nearly vertical ascent that followed.
We crested the top of the tracks and were treated to a beautiful view of the sandy beach bordering an endless expanse of teal-blue ocean. The old wood creaked and swayed in protest, and then the bottom dropped out, taking my stomach along with it. The little car accelerated down the track at tremendous speeds, twisting and turning, tossing me from side to side like a pinball.
Megan and Cruz’s screams still echoed in my ears when the wheels lurched to a sudden halt.
We piled out onto a wooden ramp, bodies vibrating from the wild ride.
Megan took my arm, “You look as white as a sheet... Are you okay?” I caught my breath, “Let’s do it again,” I said.
Aptos was growing on me. Long summer days started with foggy mornings that miraculously transformed themselves into warm breezy afternoons. Cruz spent as much time feverishly sewing as I did painting and was constantly calling me in to try something on or give an opinion. Megan came over for regular visits, and we spent hours lazing on the couch, watching style and design show marathons on television. We both thought Cruz was more talented than any of the designers we saw featured.
Abby was clearly pleased to see us getting along. She bustled around the kitchen, humming to herself and occasionally bringing us some interesting vegetarian concoctions to snack on. Her cooking never got much better, but she offered it up with smiles of such sweetness and genuine sincerity that none of us had the heart to refuse or criticize.
My thoughts kept straying back to Ethan. I tried to dismiss him from my mind, but knowing I’d be