Journey's Child

17

I spent the next two days hanging around the cottage and beach. I didn't even go into town because I didn't want to see Thad after my outburst. I felt ashamed. I was sure he wouldn't like me anymore, if he ever did.

Being in exile didn't offer much in the way of entertainment. I studied tide pools, watched the cold misty mornings and nights from the picture window in the living room and hung out in my bedroom listening to music or reading.

My new behavior of staying close to the cottage seemed to have gotten on my mother's nerves. She asked me more than once if I didn't want to go find my friends, as she insisted on calling the beach bullies.

I thought about asking her if we could go to the Sea Lion Caves, but she wasn't in any condition to drive. I noticed when she would take her 'walks' to the liquor store, she would be gone for hours. I was pretty sure she was spending time at the bar next to it.

By the third day of my self-made exile, I was going stir crazy. I had finished the book I bought at the emporium and would have loved to go and get another one.

It was late afternoon when I decided to check out what the ocean had left behind in the tide pools. Low tide had started around three hours earlier, so I was hoping to find some nice bounty sent to me by my one constant companion, the sea. My mother had gone out for a 'walk', so I went down to the beach to comb for treasure.

I was there for about twenty minutes when I heard Debbie call out my name. I turned to see all three of the beach bullies coming towards me.

"Gilly, what are you doing? We haven't seen you around for a while. Are you avoiding us?" she asked.

I was stooped over a tide pool when they came up to me. Standing up, I looked her straight on and said, "Oh, why would I want to avoid you guys?"

She ignored my sarcasm and continued poking at me with her cold tone. "So, what have you been doing that's so interesting? Or, do you just like it here so much you can't tear yourself away?"

"That's it," I replied, "I love, love, love it here! I can't imagine being anywhere else!" Somewhere in my head, Linda was cheering.

They were all quiet for a moment. For once Debbie didn't have something to say.

"Did you find anything interesting in the tide pools?" Ben asked.

I shook my head. "There's some urchins and starfish. Over here there's a big one." I said, starting to sound friendlier. I kind of liked Ben. He always tried to be nice to me.

"Let's see," he said, as they all followed me over to where I pointed.

"Wow," Ben said, "he's been around for a long time."

"I named him Sam," I told him. My brother loved starfish.

"Jesus!" Debbie exclaimed, "It's just a stupid starfish. Let's get out of here."

Ben ignored her and turned toward me. "Can I hold him?"

"Sure," I said. I picked Sam up carefully and handed him to Ben. Rory peeked over his shoulder with interest.

"Can I hold him Ben?" he asked.

Ben handed him to Rory.

"He feels spongy," Rory said.

That was the first time I had seen him smile.

"Let me see it," Debbie interrupted. She took Sam and looked him over with a face that said she found him disgusting. "We see starfish all the time. There's nothing special about this one."

With that, she dropped him back in the tide pool and whined, "Can we go now?"

I watched as Sam moved over to the side and wrapped himself around some rocks.

"Be careful, Debbie!" Rory yelled.

They turned and walked away in the direction they had come. The almost pleasant moment I had had with the bullies, made me feel lonely. Well back to nothing, I thought.

Then I heard my name being called again. I looked up to see my mother waving at me from the end of the row of cottages. She had walked down to the end of them, closer to where I was. She still had to shout to get my attention. I could tell she wanted to talk to me, so I began to make my way up to where she stood.

"What's up?" I asked when I got closer.

"What were you and your friends doing?" she asked as we turned to walk back towards our cottage.

"They're not my friends. They're just some kids who live around here."

She looked over at me with a concerned expression, "Do they bother you, Gilly?"

"No, they're okay. We're just acquaintances, that's all."

"Well," my mother began, "I met another acquaintance of yours today."

"Who?" I asked feeling completely confused.

"Mr. Squire," she announced. "He told me you'd been to visit him."

I suddenly felt betrayed. That was my secret life, it had nothing to do with her. I wondered if he was complaining about me bothering him. I couldn't think of anything to say, so I shrugged.

"He seems like a nice man. Jerry, the wine shop owner, told me he's an accomplished artist. His paintings sell for quite a bit of money."

I shrugged again.

"It's too bad about his daughter. Jerry told me that he's never been the same. I guess he pretty much keeps to himself now."

She had my interest. "What happened to his daughter?" I asked.

We had just walked into the cottage and the stuffy air hit us like a punch in the face.

"Well, I guess she drowned. Jerry said she was about your age. His wife left the area shortly after it all happened. He's lived alone up there ever since. Jerry said it's been almost ten years, now.

"How'd it happen?" I asked.

"He didn't say. We don't just sit around and gossip, Gilly." She stood up and got a cigarette from the kitchen counter and lit it. "Mr. Squire said that you were a nice kid. I told him to let me know if you bother him."

I rolled my eyes and gave her an exasperated look.

She smiled, then continued, "He said you were no bother and that he didn't mind you coming to visit if I didn't."

I must have been looking at her seriously, because she took a puff on her cigarette and gave me a cross-eyed look that made me laugh.

"Gilly," she said in a serious tone," is everything okay? I know it's been a hard time for both of us, but you're all right aren't you?"

I felt sorry for her. She was the one who seemed lost.

"Yeah, I'm okay mom."

"Good," she said, sitting down and starting to sift through the papers stacked up on the kitchen table.

"I'm going to go to the emporium. I want to buy a new book to read," I told her.

*

Walking up the side street towards town, I felt lighter than I had for some time. I would get a book to start reading and in the morning I would go visit my friend, Thaddeus Squire.