The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island

by Dana Alison Levy

  Eli sighed and rolled over. Then he rolled over again. Finally he sat up and looked at the clock. It was almost five in the morning. Already the barest hint of dawn was brightening the sky. Soon it would be his birthday! Lying back down again, he closed his eyes, willing all bad thoughts of Kark and the lighthouse away, trying to dream of seals and soccer games, bridges and building forts with Teddy and Jamil at home, until he drifted back to sleep.

  —

  “Is he ever going to wake up? I’m hungry!” Frog said from the top of the ladder.

  Eli opened his eyes, bleary and disoriented. He had been dreaming, dreaming hard, about a school in the woods where he had to fight to find food. Now he was awake, his stomach grumbling. Outside, Sir Puggleton was barking.

  “What time is it?” he asked, squinting toward the clock. “I was awake half the night.”

  “It’s almost nine o’clock! And we have muffins! And SOMETHING ELSE!” Frog announced importantly. “I thought you would never wake up!”

  Eli jackknifed out of bed. “Nine? Why didn’t anyone wake me! Let’s go!” Grabbing his glasses, he started to race downstairs, but Frog put up a hand.

  “Wait! I have to announce you!” He turned down the ladder and bellowed, “HE’S AWAKE!!! HE’S COMING!”

  Eli cringed. Frog at his loudest was really, really loud.

  “Thanks, buddy, we got it,” came Dad’s voice from downstairs.

  “I’m pretty sure the Galindo-Greens got it too. Probably the Harringtons heard it over by the cove,” Sam said. “Jeez, Frog, could you be louder? Please?”

  Frog ignored him and climbed down, with Eli close behind.

  “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” chorused Dad, Papa, Sam, Jax, and Frog. They were standing in front of a pile of presents, and Eli was sufficiently distracted by the size and lumpiness of the pile that he didn’t notice Frog inching toward the deck.

  “Frog!” Papa said sharply. “Hold up.” He turned back to Eli. “Normally we would have breakfast first, then presents, but we have something very special today, and it can’t really wait. So…outside you go!”

  Eli cast a longing look at the muffins, but he was too excited to care that much about leaving them behind. With a few big steps he was through the living room and at the door to the deck. He stared out, unsure what to think.

  Captain Jim and a college girl whom Eli vaguely recognized from Sam’s play were on the deck, with a giant plastic kiddie pool between them. And in the pool…

  “A SEAL!” he yelled. “That’s a seal!”

  “Very good!” Jax said. He turned to Sam. “I thought he was supposed to be so smart. Wow.”

  Eli ignored him and stepped forward. The seal was tiny, not much bigger than Sir Puggleton, with a sleek black head and enormous eyes. Its mouth was open in what looked like a smile, and it was splashing about the pool like it was having a ball.

  Captain Jim swept one arm forward, like he was presenting royalty. “This here is our little rescue pup from the marine lab. Julia, who’s an intern there this summer, was going to help me bring her back out to Tuckernocket today, because she’s old enough to survive on her own. But we thought you might want a birthday visit before she goes. And after all, once you make your birthday trip out there, you get to name her.”

  Eli plopped down on the deck and kneeled next to the pool. The little seal was nosing a plastic toy as she scooted around in the water.

  The other boys crowded around, only stepping back when the little seal splashed a huge wave of water at them.

  “What do you say, E-man? Is that a pretty cool birthday visitor?” Dad said.

  Eli nodded. “I can’t…It’s the best thing in the entire world!” He felt like his face would explode from smiling.

  Captain Jim smiled too. “I’ll tell you, we wouldn’t take a detour like this for just anyone. But I’ve seen you kayaking around out there, brave as can be, and, well…eleven years old. That’s worth something! Happy birthday, Eli.”

  Eli couldn’t speak. He was so happy. Happy to be eleven, happy to be brave enough to kayak, happy to be sitting with a seal on Rock Island. He reached out a hand, then pulled it back.

  “Can I…Am I allowed to touch her?” he asked.

  Julia stepped forward. “Sure, just be very gentle. In fact, you can give her a fish if you want.” She reached into a cooler next to the pool and pulled out a small piece of fish. “Just be careful—she can take a chomp without meaning to! Throw it to her and see what she does.”

  Eli flung the piece of fish high in the air, and they all laughed as the little seal leapt up and caught it.

  “What are you going to name her? What? Will you name her Ladybug? That’s a nice name, don’t you think?” Frog asked, clapping his hands in delight.

  Eli shook his head. He had been thinking about the name ever since Captain Jim first mentioned the seal and had finally decided. Before he could tell them, though, the phone rang in the house.

  “That’s going to be for you, E-man,” Dad said, walking back inside. “But I’ll tell them you’re busy visiting with a seal. I’m sure whoever it is will understand.”

  Eli threw another piece of fish to the seal. She let it fall into the water, then pushed it up with a flipper, catching it as it flew upward. Once she had swallowed she turned toward Eli and gave a loud, honking bark.

  “She wants more,” Julia said, laughing. “She’s a little piglet, this one. Here, Eli, one more before she’s all done.”

  Eli took the fish from Julia. He thought that being an intern in the marine lab for the summer was about the coolest thing he could imagine. Maybe when he was older he could do that! The thought was tantalizing.

  “So? What’s the name going to be?” Sam asked. “How about Puck?” He grinned at Julia, who grinned back.

  “I think a version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with seals would be spectacular. We just have to get Alan and the rest of the cast on board,” she said, laughing.

  Eli shook his head. “Nope. I decided on the name a while ago. I’m going to call her Anna. For my friend Anna, who lives on a farm in Maine,” he told Julia and Captain Jim. “She’s already named a baby goat after me, so it’s only fair. Besides, Anna is a nice name for a seal.”

  “Anna the seal…I like it,” Captain Jim said, nodding. “It suits her, and it will wear well.” He clapped his hands. “Well, Anna, how’d you like to get back into the big lake? Time for a real swim, don’t you think?”

  The little seal stared up at him, then took a flipper and splashed with it, hard, so that Captain Jim, Julia, and Eli were all covered in water.

  Eli scrambled backward, laughing and wiping water from his eyes.

  “What was that for?” he asked.

  “She’s just telling us she’s getting restless, that’s all! Time to get rolling.” Captain Jim turned to Julia. “Let’s get her back in the truck. I’ll pull around and you can get her cage ready.”

  Within a few minutes Captain Jim and Julia had coaxed Anna into the truck bed, where she quickly galumphed her way into a large cage. Julia rewarded her with another piece of fish.

  “Well, Team Fletcher, why don’t you give us a half-hour start, then set your kayaks for the island? We’ll get Anna settled and meet you there. You can help with some fieldwork—you know, counting the pups and that sort of thing. Sound good?” Captain Jim asked from the driver’s seat.

  “Sure! We’ll be there,” Eli said, his eyes on Anna. She was contentedly nosing a ball around the cage, ignoring the idling of the loud engine.

  Dad had come back out, and was talking quietly to Papa. But he looked up and answered quickly, “Of course! Wouldn’t miss it for anything. Thank you, Jim, truly. This was a real treat for the boys.” He smiled, but Eli thought he looked distracted.

  “Who was on the phone?” he asked Dad. “Is something wrong?”

  Dad shook his head. “Not at all! I’m great! It was Lucy, but I told her we’d call her later. Can’t wait to hit the water with you, E-man! Let’
s get some breakfast…those muffins have been waiting!”

  They waved goodbye to Captain Jim and Julia, then trooped back inside. Eli’s insides felt like a low-burning campfire…all warm and bright and cozy. He was aglow with the fact that he was on a first-name basis with a creature like Anna. Rock Island felt more magical than ever, and he had a moment of feeling sorry for his brothers, whose birthdays would never be in such a special place.

  “Her first name is Anna, but maybe you guys can choose her middle names,” he said expansively, through a mouthful of muffin. “Maybe she’s Anna Ladybug Puck…” He turned to Jax. “What name do you choose?”

  Jax spoke quickly. “Frost. You know, like in X-Men.”

  “Okay. Anna Ladybug Frost Puck. It’s a pretty good name!”

  The other Fletchers agreed, and for the rest of breakfast, the tearing of wrapping paper, and the phoning of grandparents, Eli kept the warm glow, knowing that soon they’d kayak out and see Anna again.

  —

  The kayak trip to Tuckernocket was easy, Eli thought, as he paddled home in the fading afternoon light. They had spent the whole day there with a picnic lunch that included birthday cake and salami. Eli had used a clipboard and a data sheet to track the approximate ages of all the seal pups born there that spring. Then they had collected shells; Eli found a piece of dark blue sea glass, and Frog found a tiny perfect starfish. It had been the best day ever.

  As he paddled home, his hands stinging slightly with newly formed blisters, Eli stared at the shore of Rock Island, lit up in the afternoon sun. The lighthouse stood like a beacon, guiding them home. He felt sure they would be back inside before too long. On a day like this, anything felt possible.

  “Dad, can we ask Captain Jim or Carol or someone about when they’re deciding on the lighthouse? I can’t wait to hear—I have this feeling we’re going to be allowed back in! It’s weird, I know, but I just have a feeling.”

  Dad, who was paddling next to him, didn’t answer right away. Eli looked back at Tuckernocket, almost invisible now, then back toward the lighthouse.

  “Dad?” he said again. “Will you?”

  With a few strong strokes Dad pulled slightly ahead, and Eli could barely hear his voice when he answered. “Sure, E-man. But for tonight, let’s just celebrate. Eleven years old!” He turned briefly in his kayak and smiled at Eli.

  “Happy birthday, son. I hope it’s a great year.”

  Eli smiled back. He was sure it would be.

  Sam was pretty psyched with the way the summer was going, all things considered. He had gotten some sick surfing in, and was going to save his money to buy a new surfboard next year. His brothers were willing to play soccer almost every morning, so he was in good shape for the Shipton Elite team. And the play, which he would NEVER have thought he’d do, was turning out be the best accident he could imagine. Shakespeare, it turned out, was a pretty funny guy. There was a character in the play called Bottom, and there were tons of silly, gross jokes and stuff he never would have thought would be in a play with all that thee and thou language.

  Plus, he got to hang out with the older kids, like Julia and Ted. Ted was hilarious—for sure one of the funniest people Sam had ever met. He cracked them all up constantly in the part of the bumbling country bumpkin who thought he was a great actor. Julia was funny too, but she also had a kind of coolness to her that made it hard to watch anyone else when she was onstage. She played one of the “youths of Athens” who got mixed up in the fairies’ tricks, falling in love with the wrong guy and getting lost in the woods. The whole thing was cool to be a part of. And here, on Rock Island, Sam didn’t have to worry about fitting the play in around soccer practices and homework, let alone having Tyler or some of his other friends bugging him about being arty. Here, he could just enjoy it.

  “Big day, Sammy! You ready for your costume?” Julia asked when they were at the theater for evening rehearsal.

  Val was there too, of course, faithfully filming, and Sam had to admit that she was part of what made the rehearsals fun. Unlike his brothers or Alex, she actually cared about the play and was always laughing at the theater jokes that his family didn’t understand. Sam realized that despite the crazy scarves and ruffly bathing suits, Val was relatively normal. It was weird to be so comfortable with such a girlie girl…he guessed it must be like having a sister. Brothers he knew all about, but Val was definitely different.

  “I wonder what you’ll wear,” she mused, perched on a stool next to the light table, her knees drawn up to her chin. “There are so many cool ways to do Shakespearean costumes. And since Alan is doing this one as a kind of modern take, set in the woods of New England with a big businessman as the duke…well, it could be really fun!” She sighed. “I wish I could design the costumes! I have lots of ideas.”

  Sam and Julia looked at her. Val was wearing some kind of orange-and-red-print long shirt thing, with a head scarf and dozens of wooden bracelets. Sam laughed.

  “I’m sure you do, but I’m not sure I’d want to wear your costumes. Nothing personal, of course.”

  Val made a rude gesture, but she laughed too. “Oh, nothing personal, but I would rather eat a bug than walk around in the endlessly boring little-boy T-shirts that you wear. So we’re even.”

  Julia gave Sam a look. “You do dress kind of like a four-year-old,” she said. “I think my little brother has those shorts.”

  Sam looked down at his shorts. They were normal black sport shorts, though he had to admit they were a little frayed. And maybe getting a little small. Still, who cared? It was summer! He was about to say so when Alan came out on the stage and clapped his hands.

  “Okay! Is everyone here? Terrific. We’re going to pass out costumes now, but I’d like you to wait until the end of rehearsal to try them on, complain about them, or anything else you plan to do, got it? We have around ten days until showtime, so let’s not waste time. We’ll start with the nobles: Lysander? Helena? Come on up.”

  One after another, the cast members jumped onto the stage and grabbed their costumes. Everyone laughed when Teddy picked up the donkey head and pretended to give it a long, passionate kiss.

  “Puck! Come and get it!” Alan yelled, toward the end of the cast list. “We had to change it slightly….The kid who was going to play Puck was a lot smaller than you, Sam. But I think it will work.”

  Sam ran up to the stage, a rush of anticipation in his stomach. He loved this part, the moment when the costumes changed them all from a bunch of everyday people saying lines into someone totally different.

  “Um…are you sure this is mine?” he asked, when Alan handed him a series of hangers and turned back to his list. “This looks…” He trailed off, unwilling to say more.

  Alan glanced up distractedly. “What? Yes, of course I’m sure. Oberon! You’re next!” he called, dismissing Sam.

  Sam climbed down from the stage, his heart sinking. He couldn’t wear this! There were purply-rose velvet short pants…he thought they were called knickers. And a silky, puffy shirt that looked like it belonged on a pirate. But the worst part by far was the curly blond wig, complete with a flower wreath in it. It looked like something one of the tiny china figurines his grandmother had lining her mantel would wear…not something a hard-core, athletic, totally wild fairyland creature would be caught dead wearing.

  Alan clapped his hands again. “Okay! Remember, no complaints or comments. Let’s jump into it. I want to get back to act three, scene one. Places!”

  Everyone scattered, and Sam slunk over to his spot on the stage. This was one of the more complicated scenes, in which the various mortal lovers wake up and Oberon realizes that Puck has messed up and given the love potion to the wrong boy. Normally it was one of Sam’s favorites; he had to dance around Oberon’s temper while keeping his mischievous attitude of not really caring what happened to the dumb mortals. During the scene he got to leap off some of the stage scenery and climb various ropes, but today he didn’t even want to move.

 
They went through the scene, with Alan barking at Sam practically every other line. Finally Alan called a halt.

  “Sam! What’s going on with you? Are you not feeling well? This scene is you at your most manic….Puck is excited by the trouble he can cause and desperate to prove himself to Oberon, his master. Why are you phoning it in?”

  Sam’s face burned. Ms. Daly would never call someone out like that. He was humiliated. Visions of the velvet pants kept popping into his head. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  “Let’s try again,” Alan said, and they did.

  But Sam didn’t find it any easier this time. Finally Alan called a halt. “Go take a break. Get some fresh air or something. Let’s move on.” He shot Sam a look. “You be sure to get a snack. I need more from you than that.” He turned back to the other actors, and Sam trudged out of the theater toward the break room, where they kept a supply of cookies, grapes, and popcorn.

  At the end of rehearsal the others chattered about their day and the costumes, throwing out questions and laughing, but Sam stayed silent. Clearly no one else was being a baby about the costumes. Of course, as far as he could tell, no one else was wearing weird velvet knickers and a pirate shirt. He felt sick to his stomach. He couldn’t complain about his costume, could he? Not with this group of serious actors, all buzzed and ready to go. He felt like a total fake.