*****
“Unbelievable, Evan,” said Tyler. “Never saw anything like it. You were like a kid possessed out there.” The sixteen-year-old crunched into another tortilla chip slathered with habanero salsa. “Biggift freakin’ conff I ever faw.” Chunks of tomato tumbled from his mouth onto his lap, then onto the white sand.
Zack chuckled in agreement. “Can’t believe your skinny ass could lift it up from the bottom.” His tortilla was more carefully constructed, just a few pieces of conch ceviche and a spoonful of the spicy salsa.
Tyler laughed, salsa mixed with tortilla crumbs flying from his lips. “Zack, you couldn’t even get past ten feet. How do you even know he got it? Maybe it was me all along, and I’m just giving little Mr. Gabriel the credit. Next time try clearing your ears.”
Evan just listened silently, chewing on conch. He held another skewer of the white meat over the edge of the bonfire the boys had built after beaching the catamaran at their secret family spot, a tiny deserted island just south of Cuba. He smiled to himself. Nice to finally be the center of attention, he thought.
He looked over at his father and uncle, sitting on beach chairs at the waterline with a bucket of iced Carib lagers between them, talking and chuckling in muffled tones. He hadn’t seen his uncle in three years; always off-planet on some secretive Special Forces mission. And his father…well, he hadn’t really been around much either, at least mentally. Ever since Evan’s mother died, his father had been distant, withdrawn. He was glad to see him smiling again.
Maybe my uncle will even let me finish his beer like he did that time when we...
“Hey, Ev, finish your snack and get us some sodas!” yelled Tyler, wiping his hands on his bathing suit.
Zack stood up, knocking Evan’s soda bottle over, the once-cold liquid seeping into the white sand. “Oops, might as well make that three. Go on, little man, time’s a-wasting!”
The two older boys ran towards the water, kicking sand up as they flew by the adults. His uncle flicked a bottle cap at the boys as they ran, laughing. Back to reality, Evan thought, his conch victory long forgotten. He launched himself from his chair towards the water...
Gabriel: Zero Point Page 16
