The Turning Tides (Marina's Tales) (41 page)

She paused, looking like she was groping for words. “Your father is an extraordinary man,” she finally said.

“I know.”

“I’m afraid–” she stopped herself. “I hope you don’t think any less of me,” she said, her dark eyes anxious.

“Why would I?” I asked, confused.

“Getting involved with a patient… it’s so…so…
unprofessional
.” She said the word with a shudder, like she was admitting to having leprosy or something.

“I think very highly of you,” I said sincerely. “Evie said you were the best, and she was right.”

I had to smile, thinking about the way Evie worked her magic. My father’s wounded soul had been closed off and guarded my
whole
life, coloring my
entire
view of the world. His heart was finally on the mend, and I had Amrita to thank for it.

I added, “I think you make my father very happy.”

She smiled
timidly
, “I’d better go check the oven.”

After we ate
,
Dad mentioned that he’d invited Evie to join us, but she’d declined. “Marina, she asked me to have you stop by and visit her for a few minutes.”

“Do you mind?” I asked Ethan.

He squeezed my hand, “Go ahead, I’m sure she wants to see you.”

I excused myself, hurrying across the hall. Evie was at the door in a flash, embracing me warmly and kissing both my cheeks.

“I’ve been feeling simply wretched about everything,” she emoted, “When I think of what you’ve been through…” her voice caught in her throat.

I hugged her back. I’d forgotten how good it felt to be surrounded by Evie, bathed in her comforting presence. “Don’t worry, I’m fine,” I told her, realizing it was actually true. “In fact, I’m better than ever.”

She sat me down on the couch, ringing the bell for tea.

“I can’t stay long,” I said. “I left Ethan over at Dad’s.”

She raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing me, “I assume you’ve mended fences with him?”

“Yes,” I nodded with a smile
.
“For good this time.”

She
exhaled
, “Well, I’m eternally grateful to him for sounding the alarm.”

Thanks to Yuri, Evie knew everything that had happened at the lab after he arrived, but I filled her in on the rest of it, doing my best to keep from upsetting her too much. Thankfully, she refrained from suggesting any more contact with the hybrid council
.
It
was a good thing, since I was not about to be swayed. I reassured her that I was fine, and that all I wanted was to get back to school, and my life in Aptos with Ethan.

I did have one question, and it was something that had been troubling me.

“Evie… If you could be immortal, would you do it?”

I’d spent my whole life watching Evie fight signs of aging. If anyone would be interested in staying young forever, it seemed like it would be her.

“No,” she said firmly.

“Why not?”

She sighed, studying me. Then she spoke quietly, “When I lost Harold, part of me went with him. For a while, I wasn’t really sure that life was worth living.” She looked so sad that it brought tears to my eyes. “Then you came along, and kept me busy. Time has shown me that my life has a purpose… and meaning. I’ve been blessed to be able to help a great deal of people realize their dreams.”

“So why not
do it forever
then?” I asked
, “Aren’t you afraid of dying?”

She shook her head like I was the silliest girl in the world, “Marina, I’m going to have to cross over to see Harold again… And when my time comes, I’ll be in his arms once more. Now why would I be afraid of that?”

I choked back a sob, and Evie reached over to embrace me, patting me like
I was
a baby. I took a deep breath and stood up.

“I should get back to Ethan,” I said, my voice thick.

Evie
rose
to walk me to the door, taking me by the hands, “I know I’ve been slow to accept your relationship… All I ever wanted was for you to be protected. I– I always assumed that it was Harold’s money that kept me safe… But maybe it was his love after all.”

I smiled through my tears, “You were the one who said that love is the most powerful thing in the world.”

She nodded, “I want you to send my regards to Ethan, and tell him that I can’t thank him enough. I’d like to have
the
two
of you
up for a quiet dinner as soon as possible.”

“Sure,” I smiled, “I’ll tell him.”

She embraced me goodbye, taking my face in her hands. “He certainly must be taking good care of you… You
look
better than ever… Oh!” her eyes flew open wide, “I completely forgot… I have news!”

She hurried out of the room, rushing back in with an envelope. “Jacques called, he’s been frantic, trying to reach you. He messengered this over.”

I opened the envelope to find a check, and when I saw the amount I gasped, “What for?”

Evie looked
surprised
, “Why silly, the photo shoot of course! Revlon wants you to be the face of their new cosmetics line. They love your look, and want to sign you on an exclusive basis.” She looked at me reproachfully, “Surely you understood that Jacques was looking to represent you when you agreed to do the test?”

I looked up from the check, “I was humoring Cruz… I never thought–”

“Darling, if you don’t want to do it you don’t have to
.
Just return the check, and I’ll tell Jacques that you’re simply not interested. But honestly, I think it’s a great opportunity– they’d be your only client– and the money is nothing to sneeze at!”

“It is a lot
…” my mind started racing, and then I couldn’t stop grinning. I knew just what I wanted to spend it on.

“Sleep on it,” she advised. “Call Jacques tomorrow, and he’ll fill you in on the details.”

“Alright,” I agreed. Evie walked me to the door, and I paused, “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” she replied.

“There’s this graduate student… Max– Max Abrams. He needs his research project funded, and I was wondering if one of your foundations could–”

“Is this the young man that helped Yuri and Ethan?” she asked.

I nodded, “His research sounds really interesting, and–”

Evie put up her hand, “Say no more. I’ll take care of it right away.”

I smiled gratefully, giving her a big hug goodbye, “I love you Aunt Evie.”

When I walked back in, Ethan and
Dad
were at his desk on the far end of the room, talking about my father’s work
in Africa
. Amrita was on the couch,
with
Stumpy curled in a ball on her lap. I went and sat next to her.

After a few minutes Ethan joined us, and the little cat hopped over to sit on his lap. Stumpy yawned, making me follow suit.

“Ready to go home?” Ethan asked.

I nodded, “Yeah.”

“I was talking to the cat,” he teased me.

I got up to gather Stumpy’s things, handing Ethan the bag while I took the cat. My father looked tired, and I hoped that he hadn’t pushed himself too hard for our sake. Knowing my dad, I realized that he probably had. I noticed how he leaned on Amrita as they saw us off at the door, and I realized that she was only allowing him to stand for the sake of his dignity. She’d have him off his feet the second we left. He was lucky to have her, and
again,
I had to wonder about the capriciousness of fate.

Terrible things had happened, but n
ow we were all
terribly
lucky.

When we got to the garage Yuri was on guard duty, and his rugged face broke into a grin when he saw us. He exchanged fist bumps with Ethan and shook my hand shyly.

“Ees
n
o bugs. Clean,” he said, gesturing to the Rover, and I knew he’d gone out of his way to sweep it for me.

I took his giant mitt in both of my hands, “Thank you.”

Ethan’s beat-up old truck looked completely out of place in a garage packed full of shiny luxury cars, and it only served to point out the simple
existence
I
was aiming
for.
I wanted a
life spent out of the fast lane
, far
away from the intrigue of muse councils and the tyranny of trying to remain
fashionable.

Ethan walked me to my car, holding Stumpy for me as I climbed behind the wheel and slipped on my seatbelt. “So what did Evie have to say?”

“She said to thank you. Did my dad say anything
to you
about us getting married?” I asked.

“No, but I think he might be warming up to the idea.”

“Really? What did he say?”

“We talked about lots of stuff. He asked me how I knew you were the one.”

“What did you tell him?”

“I told him,” he passed Stumpy in the window to me
.
“That I fell for you the very first time I laid eyes on you.”

We both laughed, remembering his embarrassing stumble and fall. “Drive carefully,” I told him, “I’m going to need you home in one piece.”

“Do you have plans for me?” he asked
,
a wide smile
spreading over his face like a curtain
.

I kissed him goodbye and started the car, “
Yes.
For the rest of your life.”

~

C
hapter
T
wenty-N
ine

MERMAIDS

~

The early morning light found us
entwined
, a
tangle
of arms and legs topped with a mound of blankets. I woke up first, stealthily sliding my arm out from under Ethan’s head and crawling out of bed to slip into a pair of jeans. He muttered something incoherent and fell back to sleep.

I washed up and fed Stumpy, leaving a note for Ethan and hurrying out the front door. I drove down the coast, past fertile fields of strawberries and artichokes, finally pulling up at a familiar little compound. I slid out of the car into a bracing new day, and came across a familiar figure making its way purposefully up a gravel path towards me.

“Hello water girl,” Lue said, his eyes full of mirth.

~

A couple of hours later I was back, mission accomplished. All of the loose ends were coming together, and I could see
my
future
,
looming bright and shiny
in the distance
. I bounded up the stairs with a bag of groceries and a satisfied smile to find Ethan out front, leaning on the rail. He was barefoot, clad only in his drawstring pants, his messy hair making him look like he just rolled out of bed.

“Good morning sleepyhead!” I teased him, planting a big kiss on his cheek.

“You look happy this morning.”

“I am.” I waved the bag at him, “I got cinnamon rolls.”

We settled in at the kitchen table, drinking coffee and looking at the paper. Stumpy skittered around under the table, attacking my shoelaces with wild eyes. He started running up and down the hall with his unique bouncing gait.

Ethan looked at him and back at me with a smile, “He hops like a little bunny.”

“I was thinking about re-naming him Cabit,” I said.

Ethan shook his head, “Nope. It’s too late. He knows he’s a Stumpy cat.”

“Oh, come on. Nothing is set in stone.”

He moved his chair closer to mine, leaning in to kiss my cheek. His warm breath tickled my ear, “Some things are.” He squeezed my knee and leaned back in his chair, taking up the newspaper. 

He snapped a section open, “Whoa!”

“What?” I asked.

He read aloud, “The burned out vehicle found abandoned at an east side industrial park has been identified as belonging to the university’s marine biology program. The tanker truck had been specially equipped to transport large marine mammals, and was completely destroyed in a fire that appears to have been deliberately set.” Ethan looked up at me with raised eyebrows.

“Whoa,” I echoed him.

He smiled
mischievously, “Way to go Yuri!”

I grimaced, thinking about the last time I’d seen the truck in question. I remembered lifting Nixie out of it, and I started worrying about her again. It must have shown on my face.

“What’s wrong? I think it’s good that they can’t use it anymore!”

“I need to go
check on
Nixie.”

He paused, “I know.”

“I was thinking about going today…
like,
right now.”