EMIT (THE EMIT SAGA) (5 page)

After about an hour, I
got bored and left. My cell rang and it was Grace. “Hey, let’s meet at the café at eight o’clock. If I’m running late, I’ll call you.”

When Dad got home from work, he
said his office did need me, but only on a part-time basis. I jumped up from the couch and screamed, “YAY!” Mom rushed out of the kitchen.

“I’m worki
ng at Dad’s office!” I shrieked at her.

“That's great, but p
lease quiet down,” Mom said, shaking her head.

Surprised
by my outburst, Dad patted my shoulder and said that Maria, the office manager, would call to tell me when to come in.

How could they be this blasé? I had something to do and it actually paid!

After dinner, I went to meet Grace at Café Lalo. I took a table by the window, ordered a cappuccino and stared at all the people passing by. Grace was almost twenty minutes late and just when I was going to call her, she rushed in.

“I’m so sorry. My mom wouldn’t let me leave. I tried calling you. Did you forget your cell?” Grace asked breathlessly. 

“No, it’s right here. It neve
r rang.” I checked my phone, but there were no calls.

The door opened and in walked Carla and Vanessa. They spotted us and began laughing.

“Oh, no,” I said and covered my face with my hands. “This will be torture.”

Carla was sporting a pixie hair cut and it actually looked really nice on her
, which I wasn’t happy to admit.

Grace
said, “Don’t let them get to you. They’re idiots.”

They sat two tables down from us and kept whispering and staring. Grace began imitating them and they looked really annoyed. When Grace waved to them, Carla gave her the finger.

“Wait till the next time, she comes to Stars,” Grace said threateningly. “I’m so rude to them already, but Daphne and I are very careful that her mom doesn’t get mad at us.”

“I’m surprised they
still shop there.”

“They like those T-shirts from London
that only our store carries.”

“Why don’t they order them online?”

“The shipping cost from the UK is really expensive.”

Suddenly, Carla said loudly, “I hate shirts with zippers. Only sluts wear them to make it easy for the guys.”

She was talking about me, so I looked at Grace and pulled my zipper up and down exposing my pink polka-dotted bra. Grace and I started laughing so hard that we had tears in our eyes.

Carla yelled out, “Can you quiet down over there?”

“Mind your own business,” Grace shot back, which caused us to laugh even more.

We left before them and as we passed their table, Grace said, “No wonder Reed broke
up with her. She’s such a bitch and what a stupid haircut.”

She looked so mad that
I almost expected her to leap across the table and attack Grace.




Thursday
morning, we headed for Grammy’s house on the North Fork of Long Island.

Mom had taken Thursday and Friday o
ff so we were getting an early start to the long weekend. Dad would take the Jitney out on Friday night.

Headphones on, pillow on the window and book in lap, I was ready for the ride.
While Mom listened to the radio, I listened to my IPod.

Suddenly,
Mom slammed on the brakes and I woke up.

“What happened?”

“Sorry. That black car cut me off and I almost hit him.”

I was
unsettled by the jarring way I was awakened and thought about the strange dream that was interrupted. I was walking in Central Park on a sunny day and suddenly everything went dark and cold. As I tried to leave the park, the path home kept disappearing. I asked people for help, but no one understood what I was saying and a feeling of despair enveloped me. Suddenly, a horse carriage materialized and the boy with the blue eyes motioned to me to get in. When I approached, he reached for my hand and pulled me up. 

I stared out the window feeling
very sad from the memory of it.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”
Einstein

There’s a road sign in Cutchogue saying it’s the sunniest place in New York State.

Grapevines are planted for miles and miles an there are over forty vineyards. Farms and nurseries are everywhere. Life is simple and that’s why I loved it. It was also the special plac
e where my family always came together.

We called it the “Unhamptons” because it’s very different from the South Fork. We enjoyed the Hamptons and visited C
ooper’s Beach for the ocean. When we returned, we always appreciated the peacefulness of the North Fork all the more.

On the way,
we stopped at Briermere Farm to pick up a blueberry cream pie.

As we pulled into the gravel driveway, the front door of the cedar-shingled house opened and Grammy rushed out to greet us.

“I’m so happy to see you,” Grammy said as she approached.

As I carried
in the groceries, the aroma of baking hit me as I entered the foyer. The house always smelled of pies and cakes. I went up to my room and threw on my bathing suit. I pounded down the stairs two at a time, charged out to the pool and dove into the crystal clear water.

Floating on my back, I glanced at the house and saw Grammy watching me from the kitchen window. Ever since Lily and I were little, Grammy felt very uncomfortable unless there was a grown-up outside while we swam. One of Grammy’s friends died in a tragic pool accident and Grammy had been scared ever since. Even as we got older, she still lurked nearby pretending to garden whenever Lily and I were in the pool. I smiled and waved. When she disappeared from the window, I presumed that Mom had coaxed her away. A few moments later, Grammy came outside with a towel, magazines and a bottle of water.

“I brought you some things.”

“Thanks so much, Grammy.”
She put everything on the table and went back inside. For a second, I’d thought she was going to stay and lifeguard.

Tired, I got out and sat on the chaise daydreaming.

Mom walked out of the house. “We’re going to Southold to visit one of Grammy’s friend.”

“Okay, have fun.”

“I’m not sure about that. You remember Eileen?” I nodded. “She hit a deer yesterday.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s fine, just pretty banged up. Her car is totaled, though.”

“Wow.”

“We should be back in an hour.”

As I zoned out, I looked around the property and wondered why I’d never drawn or painted it. On the ground floor were Grammy’s bedroom, a guestroom, two bathrooms, kitchen, living room, den and dining room. Upstairs, there were three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Lily and I shared a bedroom upstairs and our parents had the other two rooms.

Grammy’s Christmas present from Mom and Aunt Cecile, an interior decorator, was a makeover of the ground floor and the three of them had fun decorating together. The walls in the living room were painted sandy beige. There were pale blue couches with white and yellow pillows. Hurricane vases were scattered around the room filled with sand, shells and candles in case of a power outage during a storm.

The kitchen was painted a pale yellow with sea green cabinets. All the fabrics used on the ground floor were yellow, blue, green and/or white. On a yard sale run, Mom found
big green and amber glass bottles and had them converted into lamps. The bedrooms upstairs were all painted linen white and the splashes of color came from the bedding and the curtains.

My favorite place was the outside stone patio, which was covered by a long sand-colored retractable awning. There was a large square aluminum table and chairs that seated twelve. On the side there was a long wicker couch and large wicker chairs for relaxing. Even in the rain, we were able to enjoy the outdoors.

Around the pool, there were ten lounge chairs and six huge tan market umbrellas. In one corner, there was a large round teak table.

Lavender bordered all the gardens and sitting on the pat
io, the scent was unbelievable.

Lilacs,
roses, Montauk daisies, blue hydrangeas, lilies, peonies were just some of the flowers that grew in her garden. The neighbors were amazed because their plants didn’t grow half as well.

Grammy’s house was on Horseshoe Cove Beach facing Little Peconic Bay. The area was called Nassau Point and Albert Einstein had rented a cottage here in the summers of 1938 and 1939. He said that it was "the most beautiful sailing ground I ever experienced.”

I loved being at Grammy’s, but it wasn’t perfect unless Lily was there too. We were more like sisters than cousins and like sisters; we’ve had some crazy fights over the years. One dispute over a yellow crayon will live on in infamy. Now, we reminisce about all the silliness and realize every memory good or bad made up our history together.

I glanced up at my bedroom window and
saw a dark shape swoosh behind the curtains. It really looked like someone was up there. Amber was inside and if a stranger was there, she would’ve been barking like crazy. Looking through the patio glass doors, I saw Amber enter the kitchen from the front foyer and flop on her dog pillow with not a care in the world. I glanced through the side gate and Mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway. The apparition must have been the light or my imagination.

I jumped back in
the pool to do some laps.

As
I turned to head the other way, I saw Mom and Grammy standing by the edge.

Grammy
looked angry. "You know that you’re not allowed to swim if you’re home alone.”

“I’m so sorry. I
forgot." Grammy was visibly upset and without saying anything, she turned and walked away. Years ago, a friend of Grammy's had a horrible pool accident in her home and since then Grammy has been vigilante that no one swims alone.

Mom
shook her head and said, “Come on. You’re not two. You know that’s her one rule."

“I’m
really sorry,” I repeated. No longer in the mood to swim, I got out and watched as Mom caught up to Grammy.

Frustrated,
I grabbed Amber's leash and walked down the beach to get away from them.

Amber had webbed paws and she loved the water. As
I walked, she swam alongside. Eventually tiring, she’d walk on the sand in front of me. After each brief respite, she’d jump back in. All of a sudden, she charged out of the water. I looked down the beach and spotted a yellow lab approaching. For a good ten minutes, they chased each other around making sand storms. They were panting loudly so I took my water bottle and filled my cupped hand. They slobbered all over me and just as I began to wonder where the owner was; a man whistled and the dog took off. Amber tried to follow. I grabbed her collar, put her leash on and headed home. I toweled her off, changed my clothes and went for a jog.

Later, w
e watched a movie and when it was done, Mom asked me to take Amber out. The beach was desolate and up ahead, I saw a person near the trees and I nervously turned around.




The next morning, we
had breakfast at the Cutchogue Diner. When we got back, Mom and Grammy started looking through cookbooks for menus and recipes for the weekend barbeques. I was so happy to be here. If I went to London, my parents would’ve been here without me.

“Sweetie, we’re going food shopping. Call th
e farm and see about riding. If you can ride today, schedule it for later.”

“Okay,” I said and called Meadow Hill
Farms. I was able to get a hack for today, which was riding without an instructor and was only allowed for experienced riders.

My obsession with horses started
when I was six years old on the drive to Grammy’s house. As we passed several horse farms, I saw kids riding and saw a sign that said ‘Pony Camp.’ I pestered my parents until they signed me up and I’ve been riding ever since.

After
that summer camp, I took lessons in the city at the Claremont Riding Academy. When the facility closed, I was heartbroken. Luckily, my horse trainer moved to Westchester and I continued riding there.

I texted Mom the time of my ride and then found my riding clothes in a laundry basket in the closet. As I sat on the window seat, I glanced out and saw the boats from the New Suffolk sailing club heading towards Robins Island. I grabbed my camera and took some photos. When I was done, I put the camera in the case and threw it on my bed. As I put on my sports bra, I noticed a guy jogging barefoot on the beach heading towards our house. In a few moments, he was right in front of the house and it looked like the guy in the park. How was that possible? I ran to my bed, grabbed the camera and tried to zoom him into view, but only his back was visible.