Moonglass (8 page)

I thought about the cottages lining the beach near my house, and of the one that sat alone on the sand. How they just sat in dark silence as the waves rushed up each night, probably all with stories to tell of perfect summer evenings. For a moment, when we’d first arrived, my dad had started to tell me about them. But I had been too mad at him about moving to listen, and since then they’d felt almost like a taboo topic. Like a lot of things were with him.

Now I was curious about how it had all started, this little place that felt so separate from the rest of the world. I sat back down and asked no one in particular, “So what’s the deal with all of those empty cottages near the restaurant? The ones on my side of the beach are all fixed up, but those look like people just up and left twenty years ago or something.” Next to me James cleared his throat and sighed. “Ah, the history of the cove. Let me give you the short version. A long time ago—like, back in the thirties or something—the cove was owned by a guy who leased it out to families that started out as campers. From Memorial Day to Labor Day—the whole summer.” He took a swig of beer from his red cup and stifled a burp. “Eventually those people decided it was the best little piece of paradise around, and they got themselves long-term leases with him and started turning their camping spots into beach shacks. It was like a private little village with parties round the clock, and people just doing their thing—diving for dinner in the ocean, sharing everything with each other, being artsy … whatever. The rest of the world left them alone, and they liked it that way.” He paused. “How do you not know all this, Ryan? Your dad’s like a piece of living crystal Cove history.” Before I could answer, he took in a deep breath and went on.

“Anyway, fast-forward to the seventies, when the state bought the land from this landowner guy. The families got eviction notices from the state and fought them for twenty or so years until they finally lost. When they did, it got
real
ugly down here.” Ashley had stopped listening and was complimenting the gum-chewing girl on her marshmallow-roasting ability. Everyone else had settled into two- or three-person conversations around the fire. James stopped for a second and stretched. “Am I losin’ you, Ryan?”

“No, no,” I encouraged. “What do you mean ‘ugly’?”

“I mean, they basically got kicked out of houses that had been in their families for generations. They were bitter, for sure. Some of ‘em refused to leave, even on the last night, and it got so out of hand that even the lifeguards had to help out the cops to get them out. Your dad’s probably got some crazy stories from that night.” He looked at me for confirmation. I hadn’t heard any. Couldn’t even think of
over
hearing any. I’d had no idea about any of it.

I took a long drink of champagne and forced it down with a shiver. “So, then what?” Bubbles fizzed at the back of my throat.

“By the time the state got the cottages, they were historical landmarks, so they started to fix ‘em up. They did all the ones on your side of the beach and up the bluff, and now they get rented out by vacationers from all over. Germans with a love for Speedos especially seem to like ‘em. You notice that?”

“And the ones on the north side of the beach? And that one near my house? They look like they’re about to fall down.”

“They probably are. But the money ran out. They’ll be fixed up one day, but not anytime soon.” A few beats passed between us, and I pictured the beach cottage next to mine, with its turquoise fence and hazy windows. Stuck in time, waiting.

“Had your fill of history now? My cup’s about dry. You want a refill?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I mean, thanks.” James stood and brushed the sand off his legs. “Have you ever been in any of them?”

“Your dad has the keys to all of them,” a familiar voice said from across the fire.

My stomach flip-flopped, and I ceased to care about anything else James could tell me. He immediately understood and excused himself to the keg, taking my cup with him. Tyler walked over casually and sat down next to me in the sand. I looked over and raised my eyebrows.

“Yeah?” I said. “I bet if I somehow got those keys, I wouldn’t be able to find anyone brave enough to use them with me.” He took a drink from his cup. I leaned into him, just slightly, and smiled. The champagne had made me bold. “In fact, isn’t it dangerous for you to be here, sitting next to me?” I lowered my voice to a near-whisper. “I mean, my dad’s your
boss
…” A slow smile crossed his face, and he put his chin down. “There are some things in life you can’t miss, and this bonfire is one of them.” I looked at him, puzzled. It didn’t seem like that big a deal.

“You’ll see. We’re only just getting started.”

James returned with a red cup full of champagne for me, and Ashley fell giggling on the other side of me. “This is the best night! Except, do you know what? Nobody knows how to say the name of this. She held up an empty champagne bottle, its yellow labell obscured by sand. I wiped it away with my thumb, and she pointed. “See, it’s French. You say it ‘vuvclee-ko.’ And you sound very sophisticated that way.” We both laughed, tapped our cups, and drank. I knew champagne wasn’t exactly supposed to be chugged, but I could tolerate the taste of it better than beer, and it did seem “festive,” as Ashley had put it earlier, so I finished off the refill James had gotten me in a few gulps, and told myself that was it for the night.

Tyler had gotten up and was making his way around the bonfire, shaking hands and nodding with some guys, slapping others on the back. Fire crackled, and I leaned back on my hands, face to the sky, where I was surprised at how many stars I could see. It felt good to move out of reach of the heat. My cheeks still burned a bit, but I figured it was from the last few swigs of champagne. I tipped my head back to level and spun a little. Ashley put her head on my shoulder.

“Anna?”

“Yeah?”

“I think I’m drunk.”

“Me too.” She hiccupped, and we both laughed. I watched Tyler across the fire, talking with a blond kid who had to be a rookie. Tyler stood with one hand in his pocket, the other holding his red cup. Everything about him looked easy and relaxed. Confident. Like he knew I was on the other side of the fire watching his every move, and he didn’t care in the least. He glanced over, right at me for a split second, and I looked away, gathering my courage.

James stood up and cleared his throat, over and over, until everyone realized they were supposed to look at him. I looked over at Tyler, who was grinning at this. James was wearing a straw cowboy hat and no shirt now. In the light of the fire he could pass for a twenty-year-old, but I figured he had to be at least thirty. He swept his arms out again, in a gesture meant to get everyone’s attention.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I apologize for interrupting all of the pre-hook-up groundwork that’s being laid right now, but we’ve come to a very important point in the evening, an honored crystal Cove lifeguard tradition.”

Four of the youngest-looking guards groaned and looked at each other.

James nodded. “Yep, it’s the CCAD. For you rooks, that’s the crystal Cove Ab—as in ‘Ab Rock’—Dive.” He pointed to the cliff at the end of the cove, the one I had run to on my first morning.

“Aw, shit,” the youngest rookie muttered to the guy sitting next to him. The other guards, Tyler included, clapped their hands and hooted.

“Yep, guys. It’s swim, dive, and be naked, for tomorrow you are rookies no more.” None of them moved. They just sat there, waiting for further instruction.

“But first,” James said, looking at me for a moment, “I’m going to fill you in on a little history you may not know about, tell you all how this tradition started.” He took a step closer to the fire, and everyone leaned in, smiling and trying to figure out what was gonna come out of his mouth next. He had that effect on people. James put his hands together. “Okay. It all started a long time ago—twenty years or something, I don’t know. There was only one rookie that year, and he was a crazy-ass kid. I mean, this kid kicked everyone’s butt swimming, towed a boat out of the surf line his second day in a tower, and pulled
crazy
tail.” Everyone laughed.

“Sounds like you, James!” a voice from the other side of the fire yelled.

“Nope. I wish I was as cool as this guy was. And
Jesus
, I’m not
that
old.”

“How old are you, anyway?” the same voice yelled.

“Old enough to know when to shut up. I’m trying to tell a story here.” He smiled and squatted down so the fire lit up his face under the hat. “Anyway, the older guards decided this kid needed his ego knocked down a tad, so at the bonfire out here, they gave him all the beers he wanted, then threw down a challenge for him. See Ab Rock down there?” He pointed toward the rock at the end of the cove. “They told him that every year, in order to graduate from being a rookie, you had to swim out to it, climb up to the first point, and jump off naked.” The rookies were quiet now, trying to shrink into the sand, and I was glad I wasn’t one of them. James went on.

“So anyway, the kid agreed, dropped his shorts right there in front of the whole bonfire, and dolphin-dove out into the water. A few of the older guards swam out with him, to make sure he didn’t chicken out. They all climbed the rock, but when they got to the jumping point, the crazy bastard kept climbing, all the way up to the top of the cliff, which is about fifty feet up. At high tide.” He paused and turned—and so did all of us—to the cliff that loomed above the water. In the dark I could just make out the outline of it, but my memory of it from that first morning was that it would have been a scary jump to make. A quiet resignation had settled over the rookies seated at James’s feet, and the other guards, Tyler included, stood over them, smiling.

“Well, the goddamn kid got all the way to the top, stood there a minute in the moonlight, naked and proud, and then backed up, took a running head start, and launched himself off the top of good ol’ Ab Rock.” He let the image sink in for a second before he continued. “Now, everybody was waiting for him to come up, but he decided to have some fun of his own and come in hugging the edge of the cliff in the shadow, where they couldn’t see him. They all got worried and started diving around for the kid. Guards on the beach jumped in. Girls were crying. And you know what he did? He came out of the water, still buck naked, grabbed one of the cottage girls, and laid a big ol’ wet kiss on her.” James looked over at me. “And legend has it that it was love at first kiss, because that girl became his wife later on.

“So, how ‘bout it, boys? Tonight’s the night you become men and carry on the tradition started so many years ago by our very own Boss Ryan. So strip down. Nudity is required for rookies. Evans, you collect their boxers at the waterline. The rest of you have earned the right to your shorts, if you wish. I will be jumping naked, in support of these poor saps.” The veteran guards again cheered and raised their cups, and the rookies stood up, resigned to their fate.

I didn’t move. People elbowed each other around me, laughing. Ashley was saying something, James and Tyler were walking over to us, and I didn’t move. I sat spinning, marveling. I’d known they’d met at the cove, but that was it. Not that my dad had been this reckless and wild kid, not that my mom had been a—”cottage girl.” Had she stayed here?
Lived
here? Ashley’s hand on my shoulder interrupted all of the questions that swirled around. She was still giggling.

“So that crazy kid was your dad? And the girl he grabbed was your mom? That’s the
cutest
story! They must love to tell it!” I nodded, staring down into the fire. “Yeah, it’s an old family favorite.”

James bent down to me and Ashley. “You ladies, of course, are exempt from this requirement of the party. Although you’re more than welcome to join in.” Ashley pulled a blanket over her shoulders. “I think I’ll wait right here.” She looked over at the rookies, who were now down to their underwear. “Are any of them cute enough for a kiss? Maybe one is my future husband.”

“Not likely,” replied James. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go disrobe.” He tipped his straw hat, winked, and walked off down to the waterline, where everyone had gathered. I looked from the inky blackness of the water to the towering silhouette of Ab Rock, and then stood.

“Wait up! I’m in.” I got up and in one swift motion pulled my sundress over my head. I wasn’t going to get naked, but I figured my bra and underwear were pretty much the same thing as a bathing suit. I needed to clear my head.

Ashley turned and looked up at me, giggles gone. “Anna! You’re gonna, like, die out there or something, and then it’ll be this big tragedy, and then I’ll miss you—”

“Come on, Ryan. We’re waiting!” James yelled.

“Relax, Ash. I can handle myself.” My voice came out flat, and I flashed on James’s story. “I’m like a mermaid.” Everyone stood on the beach facing the water, and I was glad, because the only thing James was wearing was his straw cowboy hat and a whistle around his neck. He lifted the whistle to his lips and blew. The four rookies I had seen at the fire, plus two more who had probably been hiding, dropped their boxers, and everyone ran out into the water.

It was a sloppy mess at first, naked white butts and all. I was surprised at how uncoordinated I felt when I first dove in, and I hoped that being in the water would clear the champagne haze in my head. I dove under and opened my eyes to nothing but fuzzy black. I forced myself to concentrate on the coolness, which was enough to sober me up a bit but not to keep me from thinking of here. Here. A cottage girl. When I came up through the glassy surface, I was in the middle of the group of shiny heads. I treaded water for a second, trying to pick out Tyler.

“Hey.” He swam up from the side. “You okay out here?” He was close enough for me to see the water droplets on his face.

“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m my father’s daughter, remember.” I said it with such bite, Tyler seemed puzzled. I couldn’t even begin to describe how I felt about my dad at the moment. Instead I pulled myself forward in the water, and Tyler went with me.