Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,93

hosted a lighted boat parade to kick off the holiday season and Abby said she’d always wanted to see it. Ethan caught my eye and smiled. After dinner, Abby and Dutch settled down on the couch with a glass of wine while the rest of us cleaned up.

The three of us sat at the table, and Cruz told us how he had contacted the attorney for his father’s estate. He’d been left a considerable sum, almost enough to cover his entire design school tuition. He discovered that he had two older sisters in Argentina, and they were interested in meeting him.

“They want me to come for a visit,” he said, “I better study harder in Spanish class!”

“That’s great Cruz!” I patted his hand, “I knew everything would work out alright.”

“Things have been looking up ever since you moved here,” he replied, getting up and squeezing my shoulders, “I need to go work on that dress.” Cruz went back to his sewing, leaving me and Ethan sitting awkwardly in the kitchen, not wanting to intrude on the happy couple in the other room.

“Do you want to take a walk down to the beach?” I asked.

“OK, but no swimming,” he said teasingly.

We walked down the stairs slowly, and he reached over to take hold of my hand. He asked me if I wanted to come to see the lighted boat parade too, promising to avoid his dad and Abby.

“We can watch it from the docks,” he said. I agreed, and we planned to meet at his house at sunset.

I asked if he’d been out surfing since the accident, and he admitted that he’d snuck a few sessions in before he had the doctor’s permission. He was eager to get back into practice, and remembering how much fun it was made me miss it too. He told me about an upcoming competition he was planning to enter. Big waves came along with the winter storms, and he was hoping to collect some prize money to put towards the land he was buying from Lue.

It was a cool outside, with pink and gold clouds reflecting the sun as it sank towards the horizon. There were a few people here and there strolling on the beach, no doubt walking off their turkey dinner. Twilight was darkening the sky overhead to a deep iris blue as we picked our way across the sand towards the pier. I spotted a familiar silhouette fishing off the side.

“There’s Lue Khang,” I said.

We walked up the stairs and down the pier to the spot where Lue was fishing. He looked up at us, amused.

“Hi Lue,” I returned his smile.

I leaned against the railing as Ethan and Lue started discussing some business with the farm.

Staring off into the distance, I could see the last long rays of the sun glittering off of the sea. I glanced over to catch Lue’s gaze. He nodded his head towards the fish bucket and looked away.

It was full, and I knew what that meant.

I excused myself and hurried down the pier towards the cement boat. If she was here I couldn’t miss the opportunity to speak to her. I had questions about what was happening to me that simply couldn’t wait. I looked up to see Ethan walking along beside me. He reached over and slipped his arm around my waist.

“I’m not about to let you out of my sight around here,” he said, looking down at me with a smile.

I stopped, “I think she’s here now,” I said intensely, looking out towards the shipwreck,

“And I have to talk with her… It’s a matter of life or death.” The smile faded from his face.

“Fine,” he said gravely, taking my hand, “but you’re not getting near the water.”

“Believe me, I’m not planning on it.”

We got to the end of the ship and I could see the sea lions bobbing in the surf. I looked around to make sure we were alone before calling out for Lorelei. Ethan stood by my side, holding my hand tightly as though he thought I might fly away. Her head popped up almost immediately, and I saw her looking at Ethan nervously, deciding whether to leave or not.

“Wait! Lorelei! Don’t go,” I cried.

She swam back and forth hesitantly. When her eyes met mine she smiled brilliantly. With one powerful thrust of her tail she launched herself out of the water onto one of the flat slabs of cement. Her scales glistened golden in the waning rays of the sun; her skin