dress up to attend show openings and museum fund raisers, and I had to smile, remembering how artists and curators flocked around her, desperately trying to curry her favor. Being around Evie in public was a lesson in human nature.
The wind rose up again, blowing the fog away to reveal a bright moon and stars. I scanned the heavens, trying to remember the constellations. I found the great square of Pegasus, Ursa major and Ursa minor. Above Pegasus was Draco, the giant dragon snaking across the night sky.
I thought about all the mythology that went along with the stars. Myths, I thought. If mermaids could exist, then why not dragons or flying horses?
The silence was shattered when a whale surfaced next to the buoy, blowing a spray of air and mist ten feet high into the moonlit night. I scarcely dared to breathe lest I frighten it away. I should have been scared, but I felt a strong kinship to the leviathan, a fellow mammal all alone in the vast watery expanse. It was enormous, at least fifty feet, and it came so close to the bobbing buoy that I reached out and touched it, feeling its rough skin slide past my fingertips. It sucked in a breath of air through two blowholes that looked like nostrils.
Odd, I thought, I never knew that. I was so alone the whale felt like a friend, come to check on me. It rolled in the water, and I could see barnacles growing on its huge fins; it was a humpback. The whale slowly circled around the buoy, giving me the impression that it was curious about me. Our eyes met in the moonlight and I could hear its eerie song. I had the sense that everything was going to be alright, that some miracle might occur to bring me home. As the docile giant swam away, all my feelings of well-being vanished along with it.
The horizon grew discernibly brighter as the sun rose in the east. The sky was rosy with dawn, a beautiful sight that I was the only living soul for miles around to witness. I knew which direction was home now, but I was feeling weak, and I realized the strong currents would take me off course if I tried to swim for it. As the sun rose, I started to warm up, and my tongue felt dry and sticky. The muscles in my legs began to cramp, and when I tried to stand I grew lightheaded.
The wetsuit now became my enemy as I started to overheat. I took off the cap and booties to try and cool down. Unzipping the suit, I peeled it down to my waist, exposing my bare back to the scorching sun. The sun blazed bright red through my eyelids, and I sank back down to lean on the buoy. I felt like a starfish drying out on the beach.
I must have dozed off when I heard the cheerful sounds of dolphins splashing and chirping all around me. It’s my imagination, I thought, remembering the day the dolphins danced in a circle around me and Ethan. I wondered what it would feel like to be a dolphin, fantasizing about having the ability to swim so fast, to be so free... like a mermaid.
The noises continued, and when they intensified into a loud buzzing roar, I opened my eyes, surprised to focus on Cruz’s worried face.
I smiled blearily at the apparition, thinking it was a nice dream. I asked it, “Do you have any water?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CONFESSION
We motored into the harbor, Ethan steering the small inflatable into its berth. I’d been peeled off the buoy and made to sip water slowly, as Cruz filled me in on his own awful night.
Ethan was preoccupied with piloting us back to land, and I was afraid to make eye contact, ashamed of my stupid move. I sat in mute exhaustion, resting my dizzy head on Cruz’s shoulder as he spoke. He put a reassuring arm around me.
“I’m so sorry Cruz, I should have listened to you.” My voice sounded hoarse and raspy.
I felt horrible about implicating Cruz. He described to me how he’d been frantic, pacing on the sand for hours. He finally went to Megan’s, where they tried to figure out what to do. Cruz had lied to Abby, telling her I was spending the night at Megan’s. I felt bad about involving them, but I was grateful that Abby didn’t know, for she would certainly tell my father