Sierra dished out her words slowly between gasping breaths. “That … was … the … worst … thing … you … could … have … ever … done!”
Katie had surfaced right behind Sierra. She wasn’t wasting her time with words but went right to work, splashing Larry and Antonio and heaving handfuls of seaweed at them.
“Consider it your initiation to our little circle of friends,” Doug said.
“You’re a rat!” Sierra said.
“Don’t tell Tracy that, will you?” Doug said. “She’s crazy about me. I would hate to burst her bubble.”
“I think I know now why she stayed on shore.”
“You got it. She, Christy, and the others have all gone through their initiation in one form or another, usually involving seaweed, saltwater, and boogie boards. They’re our standard operating equipment. Katie, however, keeps falling for it. We’ve initiated her half a dozen times already.”
Sierra noticed Todd’s orange surfboard floating out to sea. “Somebody had better grab that board.”
The other two guys swam over and climbed back on top of their boards while Doug swam with sure, swift strokes to retrieve Todd’s board, which he delivered to a breathless Katie.
“You just wait,” Katie panted, glaring at Doug. “One of these days I’m going to get you back so good. You’ll see.”
“I’m still waiting,” Doug teased. “I’m going to be an old married man before you get around to it.”
“Oh?” Sierra said. “Is this an official announcement?”
Doug seemed to turn shy, embarrassed by his own words. “Come on. It’s time for you to catch a wave.”
Overhead, a small, low-flying airplane came into view. They all looked up as the plane motored overhead, towing a banner that read “Malibu Gold Sunscreen Products.”
“What’s that?” Sierra asked.
“Advertisement,” Katie said. “Haven’t you ever seen those before?”
Sierra shook her head.
“It got your attention, didn’t it?” Katie said. “Easter vacation, the beach is packed—it’s a great way to advertise.”
“Check it out,” Antonio said. “The swells are really kicking it up.”
“Don’t you mean, ‘picking up’?” Katie asked.
“Whatever they’re doing, I’m taking the next one.” Antonio lay on his stomach and paddled toward shore. They watched as he caught the crest of the wave with perfect timing and made a wobbly but successful attempt to stand up. He balanced himself on the board for a full minute and a half before toppling over the side.
“The guy’s a natural,” Larry said. “Time to show him up. Come on, Katie. Are you with me?”
“As long as you don’t have any more shark attacks up your sleeve.”
They paddled together quickly to catch the next wave. Larry caught the edge of it but couldn’t get up. Katie missed it, too. Then, as Sierra watched, Katie quickly repositioned herself for the next wave, which she caught and rode to shore on her knees. Maybe she didn’t want to push her luck by attempting to stand, so she had stayed low.
Tracy, who was standing ankle-deep in the foaming water, applauded Katie as she came to shore. Sierra liked being part of this group, practical jokes and all. She loved trying new things and determined that once she had mastered the boogie board, she was going to trade it in for a ride on that magical orange surfboard.
The boogie board turned out to be a breeze for her. Doug only had to run through the basics with her once, and she caught wave after wave, with Doug bodysurfing beside her, looking like a maniac otter. She loved the sensation, loved the pull and push of the mighty ocean giving her free rides. Sierra thought it would be great to live by the ocean and play like this all the time.
Quite a while later, she decided it was time to take a break. Doug said he’d had enough for a while, too, so they headed toward the shore. They passed Katie paddling out with Antonio as they took their last ride in.
“What are the chances of that relationship working out?” Sierra asked Doug as they wrung the water from their hair at the shoreline and walked back to the group on the sand.
“I stopped trying to figure out relationships a long time ago. Tracy says I’m clueless. She’s probably right. The only couple I’d put any guarantees on would be Todd and Christy.”
“And you and Tracy,” Sierra added, spotting Tracy a few yards ahead, waving at them from her beach chair.
“Yeah, me and Tracy.” His voice turned deep.
Sierra glanced over to see a tender look spread across his face. He looked even more mature at that moment than she had ever seen him, even with the drops of water clinging to his eyelashes and the goofy way his soaked hair stuck out on the left side. Sierra took note. This is the look of a man in love.
“She’s the most awesome person in the world,” he said, watching Tracy stand up and come toward him with a dry towel in her hand.
Sierra made another note. And there’s a woman in love. I can’t believe it. I’m surrounded!
“Hey,” she said, breaking up the sweet moment between Doug and Tracy, “what happened to everyone else?”
“Todd was starting to feel the pain in his arm, although he wouldn’t admit it. Christy coaxed him into going back to the house with her. She said she wanted to call the hospital and check on Bob. I’m sure she was also going to convince Todd to take it easy, like the doctor told him to.”
“What about my sister?”
“She persuaded Jeremy to take her shopping,” Tracy said.
Doug wrapped the towel around his shoulders and reached into their small cooler for something to drink. “Jeremy went shopping?”
“I know,” Tracy said. “Would you like something to drink, Sierra?”
“Sure. Anything.”
Doug handed her a can of Squirt and said, “Man, Jeremy must have it bad! He went to the Ice Capades once when he had a crush on a girl last year, but shopping? This is pretty serious.”
“And what’s wrong with the Ice Capades?” Sierra challenged, stretching out on her stomach and letting her back “solar” dry.
“It’s a chick thing,” Doug said.
“Please,” Tracy interjected, “don’t get him started.”
Before Doug could make another comment, an airplane engine roared over them, and Tracy asked, “What does that say?”
Sierra rolled over and sat up. Shielding her eyes from the lowering sun, she read the banner strung behind the advertising plane. “Good Planet-something,” she said.
“Good Planet Restaurants,” Doug said. “Sounds good to me. I’m starved.”
“Do you want to go back to the house?” Tracy asked Doug. “Christy might appreciate it if you could help her convince Todd he needs to take his medicine and rest.”
“Sure. I’m ready. Are you ready, Sierra?”
Sierra decided to wait for Katie and the guys. Doug and Tracy left their ice chest full of drinks for the others and walked away, hand in hand.
Let’s see… Sierra began reviewing for herself. Doug and Tracy are in love, Todd and Christy are in love, Tawni and Jeremy are something. They’re together, at any rate. Katie is interested in Antonio, and Larry said his girlfriend is coming up tonight. Am I the leftover pork chop here or what?
She lay with her face to the sun, trying to decide if she should feel sorry for herself. She logically reminded herself that she was younger than anyone else in the gang. She also consoled herself with the reminder that Randy was taking her out next Friday. At least she was being asked out. It wasn’t as if she had no attention from guys.
It was Tawni, really, who prompted all the jealous feelings. Todd and Christy belonged together. She had watched Doug and Tracy get together in England. And she couldn’t wish for a better guy for Katie than Antonio. But why did Tawni deserve an instant boyfriend? What if Tawni hadn’t come? Would Jeremy have been interested in Sierra instead? He was great-looking, intelligent, and slightly serious, and he seemed to be a strong Christian. Would
she have been attracted to him? Would Jeremy have thought that Sierra was too young to take seriously, the way Paul had brushed her off on the way home from England once he found out how young she was?
Sierra loved the way the sun dried and warmed her all over. Even though she was lying still, it felt as if she were riding another wave. The sensation was similar to the way she felt after getting off a roller coaster. It was a sensation she liked, and it made her smile.
The late afternoon breeze began to pick up, bringing a sudden chill with it. Slipping into her beach cover-up, one of Dad’s old white long-sleeved shirts, Sierra rolled up the sleeves and turned up the collar on her sunburned neck.
Katie and the guys were making their way through the sand with boards under their arms. Katie’s face was shining as she carefully laid Todd’s board on her towel. “Did you see that last one?”
“No, sorry. I missed it.”
“I finally stood up all the way! This is a breakthrough for me, Sierra. And you missed it!”
“We saw it,” Antonio said teasingly. “It wasn’t anything to call home about.”
“Antonio, we say, ‘write home about,’ ” Katie corrected him.
“You can write if you want,” he said. “I think calling is faster.”
Sierra let out a giggle. Katie was the only one who didn’t see that Antonio liked getting a reaction out of her. Sierra imagined his mind was working overtime trying to find ways to mix up expressions just to keep Katie attentive.
“Gisele wants to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner tonight. You guys want to join us?” Larry was looking at Antonio and Katie.
Katie cast an almost shy glance at Antonio. At least it looked as shy as Sierra had ever seen Katie appear to be.
“Sure, we would love to,” he answered for both of them.
Katie smiled at Antonio. Antonio smiled back. Larry flipped the lid on the ice chest and asked, “Are these up for grabs?”
“Yes.” Sierra swallowed the strong feelings that rose from her stomach to her throat. They hadn’t asked her to go with them, had they? It sounded to her like a double date. If she went, she would be the oddball—again.
For the first time, she missed Amy, Randy, and her other friends in Portland. She thought of the wacky Saturday morning at the water fountain, and she realized she felt like Peanut, trying to keep up with Brutus. Maybe someone should stick her in a backpack and pull her out when the week was over.
“I’m going to head back to the house,” Sierra said.
“Okay. We’ll see you later,” Larry said. “Nice meeting you, Sarah.”
Sierra was about to correct him but then decided it wasn’t worth it.
twelve
BOB AND MARTI’S house was full of activity when Sierra entered through the sliding glass door off the patio. Tawni, Jeremy, and Aunt Marti were in the living room, and Tawni was pulling her new clothes from a shopping bag.
“Sierra,” Tawni said, her face full of excitement, “you won’t believe the selection of stores they have here! I found everything in record time.”
“I bet you were glad for that,” Sierra said to Jeremy, giving him a sympathetic look.
“We had a great time,” Jeremy said.
For one instant, Sierra wondered if this guy was actually a well-constructed robot. Did she detect a hint of metallic resonance in his “We had a great time”? He looked human enough. As a matter of fact. Sierra looked at him more closely. Something was strangely familiar about Jeremy. She couldn’t place it, but across his eyes around his mouth, he looked like someone she knew.
“How’s Bob doing?” Sierra asked, forcing herself to look away from Jeremy and at Marti.
“Better, I think. They’re still trying to make a decision about the skin graft. I wish they would decide. He’s been sleeping all day, poor thing.”
Marti seemed like a different woman from the one who had fainted only twenty-four hours ago—more calm and relaxed. Sierra still wasn’t sure she liked her.
“What’s everyone else doing?”
“I made Todd go home and rest,” Marti said, her hand drawing up to her hip. “He’s acting as if nothing happened to him when in reality he should still be in the hospital. At least he would take his medication and get some sleep.”
“Did Doug and Tracy go home, too?”
“I think so. Christy’s in the kitchen. She can give you a full report. I returned only a few minutes ago myself.” Then, turning to Tawni, she said, “As I was saying, I wish you would have let me know you were going shopping. I have a personal shopper, you see. I could have given her a call, and she could have done all the legwork for you.”
Sierra slid out of the living room and went to the kitchen, where she found Christy and her mom sitting at the round kitchen table. They seemed to be in a close conversation, so Sierra waved her hand and said, “I’m going upstairs to take a shower.”
“Okay,” Christy said. “I’ll be up in a bit.”
Sierra headed upstairs and pulled some clean clothes from her corner of the crowded guest room. The shower felt good, and it amazed her to see so much sand swirling around the drain. Even after she was out of the shower and dressed, she found more sand in her left ear.
It was quiet in the guest room. She stood by the window and looked out at the beach. The crowds from that afternoon had thinned. In the endless sky, the clouds topped the ever-churning, gray-green ocean like a gigantic dollop of whipping cream. “It’s beautiful,” Sierra whispered.
Just then the bedroom door opened, and in tumbled Katie and Tawni, laughing like old chums.
“Guess what?” Katie said to Sierra. “Tawni says she’s going to glamorize me for our big date tonight. She thinks she can draw in new eyebrows!”
“I’m sure she can,” Sierra said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tawni snapped.
“It means, if anyone can draw in new eyebrows for Katie, I’m sure you’ll be the best person for the job,” Sierra said, sounding innocent as she defended herself. Why was it that Tawni could read even the slightest pinch of sarcasm in Sierra’s comments?
Tawni looked as if she were about to say something and then changed her mind. “I’ll be only a minute in the shower,” Tawni said to Katie.
Sierra wanted to say, “Since when?” but she held her tongue.
“I’ll take my shower downstairs,” Katie suggested, reaching into her disheveled bag for some clothes. “What are you going to wear tonight, Sierra?”
“This.” She looked down at her jeans and T-shirt.
“I don’t know what to wear. Did you see Tawni’s new outfit?”
Sierra forced out a “Yes, it’s great” just as Tawni slipped into the bedroom and closed the door.
“The Old Spaghetti Factory isn’t a very fancy place. Have you ever been there?”
“No.” Sierra’s discomfort with the arrangements for the evening grew. She wasn’t sure she was actually invited to this dinner. The last thing she wanted to do was be the only one there without a date.
Fortunately, Christy walked in and said, “Are you talking about the Spaghetti Factory?”
“Yes. You and Todd are going, aren’t you?” Katie asked. “What are you going to wear?”
“We’re not going. Todd needs to take it easy, and I thought I’d keep my mom and aunt company tonight. We’ll probably go back to the hospital. You guys go ahead. It’s a fun place.” Christy came over to Katie’s bag and pulled out a shirt. “Wear this,” she suggested. “I always liked this one on you.”
“ ‘Liked’ is the key word here,” Katie said. “Do you realize how long I’ve had this relic? I need to go shopping.”
“That’s a new one,” Christy said. “You hate shopping.”
“I hate looking like a slob more.”
Sierra couldn’t help but wonder what other bits of advice her sister had used on Katie to plant the word “slob” in her brain. It was definitely a “Tawni” word, and one she often used on Sierra.
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“You can borrow anything of mine you want,” Christy suggested.
“What I’d really like to wear is one of Sierra’s skirts,” Katie said.
The admission surprised and flattered Sierra.
“You’re welcome to whatever you can find in there,” Sierra said.
“Did you bring that one you wore in Belfast? The one with the silver thread woven through it?”
“It’s in there,” Sierra said. “Help yourself. There’s also a blouse with silver trim, if you want to borrow that, too.”
“Cool, cool, cool,” Katie said, pawing through Sierra’s clothes. “You have the coolest clothes of anyone I’ve ever met. And I love your jewelry.”
“Borrow whatever you like.”
“Thanks, Sierra. What a pal!”
Sierra wouldn’t admit it, but inwardly she couldn’t wait to see Tawni’s expression when Katie showed up, ready for her makeup, wearing one of Sierra’s outfits.
“Are you going with them?” Christy asked.
“No. I …” She didn’t know how to say it without sounding like she felt sorry for herself. “I’d rather stick around here tonight.”
“You won’t mind being here alone if we go to the hospital, will you?”
“Whatever works out is fine with me.” Those were polite words, not words from her heart. What Sierra wanted was to be invited to be part of somebody’s group, even if it was the group of women going to the hospital.
“You’re welcome to come with us,” Christy said, as if reading Sierra’s thoughts. “I can’t promise that it’ll be very exciting.”
“I don’t need exciting,” Sierra said. “Just an invitation, and I’ll take yours.”
Christy studied Sierra’s face. “Are you okay?”
“Sure! Fine. Great, actually. It’s really beautiful here. I loved being on the beach today. And the water was fantastic. I had a really good time.” Even though Sierra felt certain she could trust Christy with her true feelings, she didn’t want to pour out all her insecurities and put any more stress on Christy than she already felt.
“It looks like you got a little sunburned,” Christy said, touching her finger to her own nose. “I wasn’t out long enough to get pink. You should have seen me the first time I came here, though. It was in the summer, and I fried my first day out. Like a lobster! It doesn’t feel that hot when you’re lying out because of the breeze.”