Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,73
Now I missed the mother I had never known even more, and understanding my father, felt closer to him.
I was a half-mermaid hybrid, but he was only human after all.
That Friday, Ethan walked me to the parking lot, asking me what I was doing on Saturday. I told him that Cruz and I had planned a trip to the city, wondering if he was thinking about going surfing again. I wanted to surf so badly I could taste it, but I’d already called Evie, and I knew she was busy planning our day together.
“Do you miss it?” he asked, “Living in the city?”
“There’s a lot to do there,” I said, thinking about the museums and theaters. “But I miss Evie, and that’s who we’re going to see.”
He looked thoughtful, “When are you moving back?” he asked.
“My dad gets home this summer,” I said, “But you never know with him, we usually go where his latest project takes him.”
“What about college?” he asked.
“I don’t know... Cruz is going to design school in San Francisco, and I want him to move in with us. Maybe I’ll stay in the city and go to school with him.” We walked slowly to the parking lot.
“Have you talked to your dad yet?” he asked, stopping me in my tracks. After my talk with Abby I was even more fearful of upsetting him. I was afraid he might send me away from Aptos to keep from having to deal with the truth– taking away any chance I had of finding out more.
The one thing I knew for sure was that he didn’t behave rationally when the subject of my mother came up.
“No,” I said looking down, forced to face my fears, “We write e-mails back and forth, but I–
I’ve been putting off calling. I think I should see him face to face to really... talk.”
“You must miss him,” Ethan said.
“Do you know what I miss?” I said, wanting to forget about my father, “Surfing!” He smiled at me.
“No seriously, I was at the beach yesterday and it was all I could do to keep from jumping in! I can’t wait to try it again!” I said with enthusiasm. I must have said something wrong because he looked a little worried.
“It’s okay, I know it’s not a good idea to go out alone,” I said, thinking about all his safety rules. “But I mean, I do miss surfing. And swimming. I can’t stop thinking about it. I have the most amazing dreams about being in the water every single night.” His handsome face looked increasingly concerned.
“Don’t worry! I won’t do anything stupid again. I just... I had so much fun, I felt so happy that day. I really want to go again. I can’t wait a whole week... Can we please go after school on Monday?”
He looked uncomfortable, and I was confused.
“What?” I asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Marina, we need to talk,” he said. When we got to the parking lot Cruz was waiting at the car.
I turned to Ethan, “Why don’t you drive me home?”
“Yeah, good idea,” he said. He waited for me by his truck when I went over to tell Cruz he could go along without me.
“Is everything alright?” Cruz asked, reading my apprehensive face.
“I don’t know,” I replied, starting to worry, “But I’ll find out.” I gave him the keys and a quick hug, “See you at home.”
Ethan held the door for me and I climbed into his truck, watching as he came around to slip in next to me. He looked even more serious than usual.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, a little fearful. There were still people milling about the parking lot, and I could see some of Ethan’s friends watching us.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
We drove away from the school lot and headed up the coast a bit. He pulled off onto a small lane that came to a dead end. We were up on a hill that looked out over the harbor, and I could see Ethan’s apartment building covered with fuchsia blossoms below. He parked the truck and turned towards me, a strange look in his cobalt eyes.
He exhaled, “I’ve been thinking about this all week.”
I looked over at him nervously, “What?” I asked quietly.
“This is going to sound a little weird, but it’s been bugging me.”
“What is it?” A feeling of dread washed over me, and I imagined that he was going to tell me he didn’t want to go surfing with me anymore.