Blue Autumn Cruise

by Lisa Williams Kline

  It was a beautiful night, and brilliant stars were spread out over us. The water all around us made a hushed noise, and the boat’s engines purred beneath us.

  All of us had already seen the movie when it first came out, but we were always up for watching Pirates of the Caribbean again. In this one, Jack Sparrow was searching for the Fountain of Youth, but so were Black-beard and his daughter.

  “I can’t wait to see the part about the mermaids again,” I told Guy. “I’ve always loved mermaids.”

  “These aren’t good mermaids, though,” Guy said.

  “Well, one is,” I said.

  “I wish I could order something from one of those waiters,” Evan said. “I think it’s so cool to sit out here and order something. You just charge it to your room, right?”

  “Yeah,” Lauren said. “Hey, check out those people making out over there.”

  We all looked over at two people not far away sharing a lounge chair. They were wrapped around each other under the blanket, their faces close together in the dark.

  “Oooh,” said Evan. He made a kissing noise.

  “Evan!” said Lauren. “Be quiet!” But she giggled.

  I curled both arms underneath the blanket. As I watched the movie, I was aware of Lauren snuggled next to me on the lounge chair. I was even more aware of Guy next to me on the other side. The evening air was cool, and he was warmer than Lauren, and fidgeted less.

  There was one scene in the movie where a scary mermaid popped out of the water next to a boat, and I screamed and put my hands over my mouth. As I took my hand away, Guy reached over and took it. I was surprised at first, but I didn’t pull away. His hand was warm. I could feel my heart beating and could hardly pay attention to the rest of the movie. I let my hand remain in his, where all my nerve endings were at full alert and my whole arm began to tingle.

  Once the movie was over, Lauren wanted to wander around and videotape some more. Evan said he’d go with her.

  “Want to just stay here and look at the stars for a few minutes?” Guy asked me.

  “Sure.” My mouth felt dry, and my heart thudded, but I wanted to.

  “Okay, so you guys are staying here?” Lauren said carefully.

  “Yeah, just for a few minutes. We’ll meet you back at the teen club,” I said, ignoring the look she gave me.

  As soon as Lauren and Evan were gone, a silence fell over us. I couldn’t think of a thing to say. At the same time, I was acutely aware of Guy sitting right next to me. My mind raced through a dozen thoughts as I scanned the star-spangled sky, and my heart began to beat faster.

  “So, what’s with your stepsister, Diana?” he asked. “She isn’t hanging out with us much anymore.”

  “I don’t know. She’s definitely been acting a little different,” I said. “But she isn’t much for groups.” I didn’t want to say anything negative about Diana.

  “I get that. I don’t like big groups that much either. Because of my diabetes, I’ve always felt a little different. People watch me when I test myself and bolus and ask a bunch of questions, and sometimes it feels awkward.”

  “Bolus? What’s that? Now I’m asking questions.”

  “That’s okay. That’s when I give myself a dose of insulin to correct my blood sugar. But anyway, having diabetes has helped me understand what it’s like for people who might be different. And sometimes people can be mean.”

  “Are people mean to you?”

  “Sometimes.” He turned on his side and snared me with a challenging look. “Once in a soccer game, the coach put me in, and another guy on the team said, ‘I can’t believe you’re putting him in!’ like I was the worst player on the team or something. I know it was because I have to be careful about my blood sugar when I’m exercising, and I have to sip Gatorade through practice. That hurt. Anyway, are people mean to Diana?”

  “Yeah. Some kids call her ‘annn-i-mal’ in the hallway at school.”

  “Where’d that come from?”

  I hesitated. I hadn’t told anyone about this. “I think it came from me.”

  “You’re kidding. You said something mean about Diana? I thought you were close.”

  I sat up to explain. I wanted him to see that I hadn’t meant it. “I told someone once, when I was mad at Diana, that she liked animals better than people. And then I guess that girl told some other people, and some kids started calling her ‘annn-i-mal.’ I didn’t mean to start it. I didn’t mean anything by it. I didn’t know the girl would repeat what I said.”

  “What does Diana think about it?”

  “Oh, it really hurts her feelings when people say that. But she doesn’t know that it was me that started it.”

  “You have to tell her and say you’re sorry,” Guy said.

  I didn’t say anything. I knew he was right.

  “You have to take responsibility for what you did,” he added.

  “But do you think she’ll forgive me?”

  Guy regarded me seriously. “Maybe not right away.”

  “I don’t know if I can do that. She’ll get so mad.”

  Guy was silent for a few minutes. He seemed to be thinking about saying something and then changed his mind. He looked up at the sky. “The stars are so bright out here on the ocean.”

  I knew he was thinking that I wasn’t brave enough to tell Diana. And maybe that’s what it took. Bravery.

  He raised up on his elbow and pushed my hair back from my forehead. Then he reached for my hand again.

  I could feel myself blushing. Something was about to happen.

  It was as if the ship stopped there in the middle of the ocean and the earth stopped turning.

  And then he leaned down and very lightly pressed his lips onto mine for a moment. His lips were very soft and warm. He pulled away, and I could hear him breathe, then he touched his lips to mine again. Mine tingled for a long moment after his lips were gone. His breath smelled like peppermint gum.

  My first kiss! Under the stars in the middle of the ocean!

  “Hey!” Suddenly Lauren was right up in our faces, running the video camera. “I got it! I got it on camera!”

  Gasping, Guy and I jerked apart from each other. “Lauren!”

  “You knew I wasn’t going to leave you alone for too long,” Lauren said, laughing. Guy and I both sat up, embarrassed. “Besides, it’s almost curfew. We have to go back to the room.”

  All in a rush, before I even knew what was happening, I was saying good night to Guy. He lightly touched my elbow as he moved away.

  “I can’t believe you did that!” I told Lauren as we headed down to our deck on the elevator.

  “Well, I didn’t want you to get in trouble by being late for curfew.”

  “Still, you didn’t have to videotape us!”

  “It was just a joke!”

  “Well, I don’t think it’s very funny, Lauren!”

  “Well, I mean, did you have anything to hide?”

  “No!” I said, confused. “But whether we had anything to hide or not, you didn’t need to videotape us.”

  We headed back to the room in silence. My heart was beating hard, and I could feel the heat of anger on my face. I hadn’t ever really fought with Lauren before.

  When we got back to the room, Diana was in bed reading.

  “Did y’all have fun?” she asked. She didn’t even seem that curious about what we’d done.

  “Yeah, it was pretty exciting, actually,” Lauren said as she stretched out on her bed. “You missed out.”

  It made me mad that Lauren was trying to make Diana feel like she missed a lot.

  “You didn’t miss that much,” I said. “We just went down to the employee cafeteria and videotaped a little bit and kind of got in trouble, that’s all. And then we watched the movie under the stars.”

  “You got in trouble?” Diana said, her chin on her hands on the edge of her bunk.

  “Yeah, a little.” I told her about what had happened, and about the conversation we’d taped.
>
  She listened and nodded her head thoughtfully. “So Manuel is supposed to find something that they’ve lost. I wonder what that is.”

  “I have no idea,” I said. “But it’s alive, because he said, ‘It got away.’”

  Diana nodded her head again, thoughtfully. She had a funny expression on her face, as if she was thinking about something. But she didn’t say anything.

  “Anyway, listen, why don’t we write a speech or a song for Grammy’s birthday celebration? Or maybe a poem?” I asked. “It’s tomorrow night, so we only have tonight and tomorrow during the day. I’d love to see her face if we write a song.”

  “We could videotape ourselves singing “Happy Birthday” or reciting a poem we’ve written,” Lauren said.

  “Why is everything about videotaping for you?” Diana said irritably. “That seems like all you think about.”

  Lauren sat up straight on her bed and made a face. “Well, I’m sorry; it’s fun!”

  “Why can’t we talk about something else?” Diana added.

  “Well, that’s kind of rude,” said Lauren.

  My heart started beating harder, and I could feel my chest getting tight. Uh-oh. This was turning into another argument. At the same time, I’d had about enough of Lauren’s video camera myself. I couldn’t believe she taped Guy and me. What if she decided to show it to Daddy?

  “Let’s talk about Grammy’s birthday. We could just sing a song or recite a poem in person at dinner,” I said. “She might really appreciate that. What about singing an ode to Jelly, her dog? She’s so crazy about her dog. She’d like that!”

  Both Lauren and Diana sat on their bunks sulking. Neither of them answered. I searched around in my mind for something else to talk about that wouldn’t cause drama.

  “Let’s show each other what we’re wearing for Grammy’s birthday tomorrow night. It’s dress-up night.” I reached into the tiny closet and held out the sleeveless yellow sundress I was planning to wear. I knew the color looked good with my dark hair. “This is what I’m wearing,” I said. “What do you guys think? And my new sandals.” I saw my strappy silver heels standing on the floor of the closet, but I didn’t see the shoebox they came in. “That’s funny. Where’s my shoebox? Did anybody see it?”

  “No,” Diana said.

  “I haven’t seen it,” Lauren said.

  “Well, it’s not that big a deal, but I was pretty sure I brought my sandals in that shoebox.” I looked through the rest of the things in the closet and then under my bed and Lauren’s bed. “Just kind of weird, that’s all.”

  “Maybe you took them out of the box to pack them and then just forgot about it,” Lauren said.

  “Maybe.” But I was pretty sure I had packed them in the box. I’d been afraid they’d get crushed, since they were new. I looked under the beds again but didn’t find the box. Diana lay on the bunk above me in her pj’s, with the covers piled up around her feet, reading her horse book. “Oh, well. Anyway, what are you wearing tomorrow, Lauren?”

  “I have a couple of dressy dresses, because a lot of people in my class had bar and bat mitzvahs this past year,” Lauren said. “I brought two to pick from. There’s this one that I told you about—royal blue off the shoulder, and the other’s a strapless black-and-white print with a little jacket with capped sleeves. I’ll make up my mind tomorrow when I’m getting dressed.”

  I didn’t need to ask Diana what she was wearing. I had gone with Lynn to get a dress for Diana one day when she was at the barn, because she had refused to go. Lynn and I have fun shopping together. She and I had tried to pick out a dress we thought Diana might like. We knew she didn’t like bright colors or frilly styles, so we found her a deep purple empire waist with spaghetti straps and just a few ruffles, not many, on the top. I don’t even know if she tried it on before bringing it. It was hanging in our small closet here on the ship.

  “Diana is wearing this,” I said, showing the dress to Lauren. “Lynn and I picked it out for her. Don’t you like it?”

  “Sure,” said Lauren noncommittally. She was playing with her camera, not looking at the dress.

  “You like it, right, Diana?”

  “Sure,” she said after a second, turning a page in her book.

  I put the dress away and got ready for bed, listening to the awkward silence in the room. I started to get mad. Diana was always picking fights with people and Lauren wouldn’t stop videotaping everything, and here we were on this great trip and I was having to try to keep the peace. Not that I was perfect or anything. But I decided to stop trying so hard to make conversation. They were going to have to do some of it themselves. I got out my book and climbed into my bunk, below Diana.

  I started trying to read but still felt mad. Why was Diana like this? Why was I always in the middle with her and someone else? When we’d gone to the Outer Banks, she’d gotten mad at Cody, the boy we met there, because he’d made a mistake. It was a big mistake, granted, but it was still a mistake. She picked fights, and she didn’t forgive people for things they did.

  I had given her a lecture on forgiving people, because I think that we all make mistakes sometimes. None of us are perfect The only one who is perfect is God.

  While I was sitting there thinking, I heard a scratching noise coming from Diana’s bunk.

  “What’s that noise?” I said.

  “What noise?” Diana said.

  “That scratching noise.”

  “I don’t hear anything.”

  “How can you not hear anything? I hear a scratching noise.” I got up, climbed up on her bunk, and pulled back the blanket.

  “Hey, stop it!” Diana yelled.

  But not before I saw my shoebox sitting up there in the back corner of her bunk.

  “What’s my shoebox doing up here? And why does it have holes cut in the top?”

  11

  DIANA

  I tried to keep Stephanie from taking off the box top, but she reached out and flipped the top off, before I could stop her. Iggy poked his head over the edge, with his funny smile.

  And Stephanie screamed.

  I knew she would.

  “What is that?” she yelled.

  “What is what?” Lauren jumped up from her bunk, videotaping everything that happened, which made me so mad, I wanted to break the camera.

  “It’s Iggy. An iguana,” I said. “He won’t hurt you.” I felt a sudden stab of sadness that they had found out about him, and he wasn’t just my secret alone.

  “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you’re keeping a lizard in our room!” Stephanie sat down on her bunk, with her palm flat over her breastbone, taking deep breaths. “Where did you get it?”

  There was a knock on our door, and Luke, wearing his pj’s, poked his head in. “Mom and Dad said they heard a scream and wanted to know if everything was all right,” he said.

  “Everything is fine,” I said, my heart pounding, as I quickly covered the box with the end of my blanket. “We’re just fooling around, having fun. It was a fun scream, not a scared scream.”

  Stephanie glanced at me, opened her mouth, and then closed it. She looked at Luke and smiled. “I was the one who screamed,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

  Luke cocked his head and stared at us. He saw Lauren sitting there filming the whole time. He made a fish face at the camera, then crossed his eyes, then uncrossed them.

  “Sure?”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “Is my sister with her camera driving you crazy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay,” he said, and then shut the door.

  Stephanie took a deep breath. “What is that, and where did you get it, Diana?”

  I opened the box and took Iggy out, holding him out to her. His skin felt dry and cool, and I worried about him getting enough sun. “It’s an iguana,” I said, “and I found him in the supply room just off the hallway beside our room. I saw him wandering down the hall.”

  Stephanie shrank away. “Does it bite?”

&nb
sp; “No, he’s gentle.”

  “You found an iguana wandering down the hall outside our room?” Lauren asked.

  “I’m not going to answer any questions while you’ve got that camera on,” I said.

  Lauren put the camera down. “Okay. It’s off.”

  So I told them how I found the iguana, and how I had looked up iguanas online in the teen club and had been feeding Iggy from the buffet.

  “I want to see you feed it,” Lauren said. “Can I videotape you feeding it?”

  “Okay, watch.” I picked up a small leaf of kale from the plate of vegetables I had wedged at the foot of my bed and offered it to Iggy. “First he’ll flick it with his tongue.”

  Sure enough, Iggy gave the kale two rapid flicks before taking the leaf and chewing on it.

  “Aww! He’s cute,” Lauren said.

  “I know. He’s like a little dragon or dinosaur, isn’t he?” I said.

  “A lizard is cute?” Stephanie said. “I can’t believe you said that. What are you going to do with it? You can’t keep it at the foot of your bed for the rest of our trip. I’m afraid he’ll get away and be crawling on me at night or something. And what about when we go home? Are you going to take it home with you?”

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. “I haven’t thought about any of those things.” I’d just been trying to figure out things as I went.

  “Why would an iguana be walking down the hallway outside our room?” Stephanie asked.

  “Maybe someone brought it onto the ship, and it escaped from them,” Lauren said. “Maybe that’s what Manuel and his American friend are looking for.”

  There was silence in our room for a minute as we all thought about what she’d suggested.

  “A lost iguana? Why would they bring an iguana on the ship? And why would it be a big deal?” I asked. Then it occurred to me: they were endangered. “Remember when we were on Grand Cayman, Mom was reading to us about some of the endangered animals on the island? The blue iguana is an endangered type of iguana. I wonder if this is a blue iguana.” I was letting him walk across my bedspread now.

  “He doesn’t look blue. He looks gray,” said Lauren.