Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,82
supposed to do? How am I supposed to make them happy?”
“You want to know how to appease them.”
“Yes!” I smiled, encouraged, “What do they want from me?”
“I don’t know,” he said. My spirits fell in disappointment. He poured more tea into our cups and continued, “You must sacrifice something of great value. You must bring honor to your ancestors. These things are impossible for anyone but you to know.” My ancestors? Did he know about me? I was confused and dismayed. This was not going at all how I had hoped. I had one more question. “Lue?” I bit my lip, “These water spirits... can they... would they... take something from me, something I value?” I could see an image of Ethan lying in the hospital bed.
Lue studied me as if he was seeing me for the first time, “It is not a sacrifice unless it is given freely.”
An enormous wave of relief washed over me. This was going to be between me and them.
That was all I needed to know. I jumped up and gave him a hug. I looked up into the shocked face of Long as I turned to go.
“Thanks for the tea!” I grinned as I bowed deeply to Lue. I practically danced all the way to the car. I got to the hospital and took the stairs two at a time. When I arrived at Ethan’s room he was sitting on the edge of the bed with his street clothes on.
“Good morning!” I bounded in, “checkout time?”
He laughed, “You look... happier.”
I grinned, “I am. How are you feeling?”
“Better now,” he said, regarding me with amusement, “I’m taking the day off work, wanna hang out?”
“Sure,” I said, “Can I give you a ride home?” Ethan’s dad came in, “Good morning!” I said cheerfully. He was followed by a hospital orderly pushing a wheelchair. My grin grew wider. I remembered this.
“Time for the roll of shame,” I said to Ethan with a smirk.
“Hospital rules,” the orderly looked at him and gestured to the chair. Ethan rolled his eyes at me and took a seat. We rode the elevator down to the lobby. When we reached the exit he turned to his father.
“Do you mind if I get a ride with Marina?”
Dutch looked tired, “Go ahead, I’m going home to bed.” I realized he had been there all night.
“I promise I’ll get him home in one piece,” I said with a smile, “I’ll go get the car.” I went to fetch the Jaguar and pulled it up to the curb. Dutch looked taken aback, but Ethan just laughed and shook his head. He rose from the chair with a smile when I stepped out.
“I see you have a new ride,” he said with a raised eyebrow, “So when did you get your driver’s license?” He knew I hadn’t taken the test yet.
“At least you can supervise me now,” I said with a smile, opening the passenger door.
“Why did you switch cars?” he asked, looking around the plush interior.
“Cruz liked the Jaguar,” I explained, “And Evie insisted we take it.” I went around to the driver’s side and took the wheel.
“You,” he said, “are spoiled.”
I looked down for a moment, “I really didn’t ask for any of this,” I said sincerely, “I hope you don’t think that I’m not grateful for all this stuff.” He glanced over at me with a worried look, “I didn’t mean it,” he said softly, “I’m glad you came.”
I raised my head, “Me too.”
We headed out on the road towards Ethan’s house.
“You know, you look like a mummy with that bandage on your head,” I teased him.
“Very funny,” he said, “They shaved a big patch from one side– I think I’ll just go to the barber and have him take it all off.”
“Do you have any clippers?” I asked, “I happen to be an expert.” He just raised his eyebrows and looked over at me.
We got to Ethan’s and Dutch pulled up right next to us. I looked out across the harbor to see the sunlight sparkling on the dark blue water; it was going to be a beautiful day. We all walked in together, Ethan taking my arm as we climbed the stairs. He asked his dad if they still had clippers, reminiscing about all his childhood buzz cuts while Dutch went looking for them.
Ethan excused himself to take a quick shower, asking me to have a seat on the couch.
“Take your time,” I said. I remembered how it felt to want to