by K. K. Allen
“We’ll have two chicken salad wraps with fries.” Charlotte orders for us and hands him the menus. His eyes are directly on me now with a chilling look that could shatter my bones. With a nod, he turns and walks away.
Are all of the people in this town strange?
I excuse myself for the restroom once we’re done eating. Since I have to pass by Iris, Ava, and Alec’s table, they see me. Alec’s eyes widen in recognition. “Hey!”
The excitement in his voice brings a smile to my face. “Hi.”
“We’re about to play some pool. Wanna join us? We need a fourth.” I almost can’t believe that this is the same guy from the beach that first night.
I look behind my shoulder at Charlotte and she must understand what’s going on because she gets up and walks over to us.
I turn back to face Alec. “I’ve never played pool before.” I must sound dejected because Iris and Ava eat it up.
“If she’s playing she’s on your team Alec.” Ava says, eyes glaring.
If the girls want me to feel uncomfortable they are successful. I swallow a knot of air, eyes wide, and back on Alec. His smile is reassuring. “Fine by me.”
“Hi Kat.” Charlotte approaches us. “Everything okay?”
Alec extends a hand to her. “Ms. – Charlotte. I’m Alec Stone. I live a few houses down from you.”
Charlotte’s eyes grow wide with recognition and a smile spreads across her face. “Oh yes, Alec. So nice to meet you.”
“We were just asking Kat if she wanted to play some pool. I can walk her home if you didn’t want to wait around.”
Charlotte searches my expression for something – maybe my approval or disapproval. Then she looks to the two blondes and smiles at them. “Hello.” But she doesn’t linger there. Her eyes are back on Alec. “Okay. I’m going to head back. Kat, if you need anything call or text me. Have fun.”
I sigh thankfully, knowing that she’ll talk Rose down before I get home.
I head to the restroom before meeting the group at the pool game. They’ve already set up the balls in a colorful triangular shape. I’ve only watched others play, so the pole thing is weird in my grasp.
Alec helps me position the stick in my hands, as he does, I can feel his breath over my shoulder and I stiffen. He smells fresh and laundered. I see him smile at me from the corner of my eye. Once I have the positioning right he tells me to aim for the white ball. The white ball is supposed to hit the solid ball behind it. If done correctly, the solid ball will go in the pocket to my left.
As complicated as it sounds and feels at first, I get the hang of it after my first couple of turns. Iris and Ava flaunt around the table, taking their time, pouting their lips in true show-off fashion. Iris misses every shot but she finds a great excuse each time. “I swear. This table is so crooked.”
Alec is great at pool, but after talking to him a bit more between turns, I find out that he’s great at a lot of things. In the winter he plays football for Apollo Beach High School and during the spring he plays basketball.
It’s the first time I’m really getting a sense for who Alec is. The two other times we’ve bumped into each other were awkward and rushed. This time, I pay close attention to his relaxed demeanor and playful tone with Iris and Ava. Their reactions make it clear that there is more than friendship there – at least for the girls. If I’m not mistaken, Ava seems to have the hots for Alec too, but she hides it better than Iris.
“Okay, Kat. You’re up. No help this time, you’re getting good.” Alec winks at me and the heat rises in my face.
I eye the table, planning my next move. I notice a solid ball near the middle pocket but the white is jammed behind a stripe. If I aim for the top of the table, it would bounce back and hit the yellow solid right into the pocket. I firmly position myself, eyes focused.
“Whoa getting fancy,” Alec exclaims.
“Yeah right,” Iris says, as if she can’t believe I’m trying this.
I look up at Iris just as I hit the ball, meeting her challenge. I’ve never felt so confident. I feel the tip of my stick hit the white ball perfectly. The white ball takes off, just missing the stripe ball, and ricochets off the back plush green velvet. I watch with anticipation as it successfully hits the yellow solid. The yellow ball sinks into the deep black hole.
Alec is whooping and hollering and hugging me. Iris and Ava stand off to the side, arms folded, and unbelieving expressions on their faces.
As I’m laughing and raising my arms in celebration my right fist slams into a person behind me. I turn in horror to see whom I’ve struck.
The scruffy, troubled waiter who was taking our order earlier is holding his nose, cringing. My mouth is wide and I step closer to him. “I’m so sorry!” I reach for his face.
He just glares at me and walks away. I’m left with a deep sinking hole in the pit of my stomach.
“He’ll be fine,” Alec says and pulls me back to the table. “It’s your turn again, rock star.”
We played two more games, all of which, Alec and I won. Iris and Ava took off in Iris’s red Fiat shortly after, fuming. I knew I recognized their long blonde locks. They almost ran me over in the shopping mall parking lot.
I ask for an application as we exit the Grille. “I think I’d like to work here,” I tell Alec.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It’s against bar rules for employees to shark all of the customers.”
I throw my head back and laugh. There’s something about Alec that affects me. It’s as if I’m finally myself, whoever that is. But I’ve never been this elated before.
We are strolling our way across a walking bridge that looks to be opening up to a beachfront. The shore sounds as if it’s taking a beating since the wind has picked up.
“I’m sorry again – about your mom I mean.” Alec looks at me, our shoulders side-by-side.
At first, I’m not sure how to answer him. It’s not a conversation I’m used to having. “She kept a lot of secrets from me,” I say quietly. “Rose has all of these photo albums and great stories of my mom, but my mom wanted nothing to do with the Summers. It’s all just so confusing.”
Alec frowns. “Your mom never said anything? Not even a clue as to why she kept them from you?”
I shake my head. There’s an uncomfortable sensation in my chest, knowing that I’m telling Alec too much. I barely know him. But he’s been the only person besides Rose and Charlotte that I have to talk to. Iris and Ava weren’t going to be asking me to join them at sleepovers any time soon.
I touch the heart locket I wear around my neck. “My mom gave me this.” I hold out the necklace so he can see it. “It was a week before she died. She took me to the mall and we picked it out. She said she wanted me to have something that always kept her close to my heart.”
The story troubles me now because it’s the first time I’ve thought about the coincidence of my mom passing so soon after her gift.
Alec must sense my heartbreak because he wraps a comforting arm around my shoulders and squeezes. “That’s a great story. You’ll never forget her, Kat. And she’ll always be looking over you. She must have known that you’d end up here if anything happened to her.”
I nod my head, fighting back tears. “I think so too.”
Silence fills the dimming night’s air as we walk along the Coast, his arms still wrapping me like a blanket.
We’re standing in front of Summer Estate’s back entrance now, facing each other. “I had fun today. Thanks for asking me to join in.”
Alec shakes his head. “No. Thank you for being on my team. You picked pool up quite well.”
I grin, happy that he is impressed. “Well I should go.” I hesitate to walk away, unsure of when I’ll see him again.
“Do you run?” He asks me.
I nod and tilt my head. “Why?”
“I’m looking for a running partner. It’s more motivating,” he grins. “Would you want to run with me? I like to go after dark.”
<
br /> My heartbeat quickens. “Okay.”
“Tomorrow?” He asks, a hopeful look in his eyes.
I smile and nod, not trusting myself to answer. Oh, Alec Stone. Who are you and what have you done to me?
Chapter Five
The restaurant conversation between Alec, Iris, and Ava weighs on my mind the next morning. But I’m not sure what disturbs me more – the conversation between my peers, or the fact that I could hear every word.
There were only two scenarios that I could come up with – two of which made sense anyway. One, my hearing has improved greatly – so great that I could hear over all other voices in the restaurant. Two, I’m going crazy and made the entire thing up in my mind. I vote for the latter. But could I have really created an entire conversation in my head? My mom’s death has been hard on me. There have been a lot of changes in my life in just the past three months, let alone two weeks. There. Justified.
Exhausted from a restless sleep, I have a hard time eating my breakfast. Rose sits there long after she’s finished her meal, staring at me. She waits until I have eaten a good portion of my eggs before speaking.
“How was your shopping trip yesterday?”
“Good. Thank you for my things. I can repay you. I was considering what you said about finding a job. I think it would be good for me.”
“Don’t be foolish. You don’t need to repay me.” Rose’s harsh voice causes my fork to slip from my hand and land on the porcelain with a clank.
Confused, I look up at her. “Okay, but I’d still like to get a job.”
Rose nods. “I appreciate that, Katrina.” She sighs, which confuses me deeply. I wait for her to continue. “But we have plenty of money. In fact, Charlotte will take you to the bank this week to open your checking account.”
“Rose, I know you have the money but I would really like to do what I can for myself. This is all so new to me. And I don’t want to lose sight of who I am because I’ve suddenly come to live with my rich grandmother.” I close my eyes tightly, knowing that I need to rephrase. “I’m sorry, Rose. You are being so generous, but I need to be comfortable.”
“You are stubborn like your mother. You know, her and I had this exact same argument.”
I raise my eyebrows, interested. “Really? When she came to live here?”
Rose has a look of amusement on her face. “Not exactly. When she first arrived it was a temporary situation until we found where she came from. But the story with finding her parents became complicated. After a few months of us caring for her, we decided to make it official and offer her a permanent home. She accepted of course. We had become a family. But she made a point of not trying to spend family money outside of this house.”
I am proud in this acknowledgement and smile. “I must get it from her.”
Rose nods. “Yes, I suppose you do.” Then she shrugs. “If it’s a job that you want, if it will make you feel good, then let’s go job hunting.”
“” the Island Grille, I got an application yesterday.” I wait for her to get upset but she doesn’t.
“Okay. But just request something part time. You will be busy soon with – other things. I don’t want a job taking you away from that stuff.” She’s swats an invisible fly. “You will understand when the time comes.”
I still don’t understand what the deal is. Everything that comes out of her mouth tells me that nothing is supposed to make sense right now, but it will. “Okay, fine.” I groan. “When will any of this make sense?”
“What do you mean?” She tilts her head in her own confusion.
“I mean everything! You tell me I will soon understand this and that and I just want it all to make sense now. What are you waiting for?”
Rose narrows her eyes in my direction. “You must practice patience dear. I only tell you to wait because I want you to learn on your own. I will not spoon-feed you everything. But I understand your frustration so here is what I can tell you. There is a circle of life before you and it all begins on the day of your 16th birthday.”
“The Summer Solstice.” I say this matter-of-factly.
Rose smiles and nods. “Yes dear, at least you’ve been paying attention.”
I shake my head. “Attention to what? What is the big deal with the Summer Solstice? And what are all these secrets about? Wiccans are associated with the Summer Solstice. So, are you a Wiccan?”
Her eyes now glare, her nose flares and her voice raises a few decimals. “Absolutely not! Where would you get an idea like that?”
I sigh, frustrated with myself for giving everything away in this moment. “All this talk of the Solstice and Ancient Greek rituals and the big deal you are making about my 16th birthday – I’m just trying to put it all together. I went to the bookstore and bought some books on the Solstice, you know, to understand it all. But when I was leaving the store someone saw the books and asked me if I practiced Wicca. They thought I was a witch!”
Rose takes a few seconds to answer. She seems to be settling down after hearing my words. “I’m sorry about that dear. It is all connected in a way but not in the way you think.” She stands up from the table. “There’s something I need to show you.”
“Again?” I complain.”
“It won’t take long. And this, I think you will appreciate. I was going to wait until after your 16th birthday but I think you are ready.”
She walks around the table and out to the great room. I follow her, reluctantly. She passes the great room and at first, I think she’s going to the den, but this time she turns right before the den and down a wooden staircase. At the bottom of the stairs is a single door. It opens into a bigger, circular-shaped room that is bursting with light.
There are sizeable rounded windows in one section of the room that face the Bay, but the rest of the walls are wood paneled. Books line the stretch of walls, winding around me. Each of the three floors of books is separated by a small set of stairs. The dome ceiling made strictly from glass. The morning sunlight shines down bright on us. I inhale and exhale deeply.
There is a large cream area rug in the center of the room. Above the rug sits a plush crimson loveseat adjacent to a matching oversized chair.
“This is the Summer Library. Your grandfather was far more into it than I was but I haven’t touched a thing.” She watches my face for a second before continuing. “You’ll find more information here than any bookstore.”
I turn in a circle, taking one final gaze around me before answering. “Okay.”
Rose steps forward, fingering the row of books in front of her. “Most of the books in here are first editions. Some books are just for entertainment, but most of them have been passed down from our ancestors. Some are even handwritten and well preserved. Any information you seek on the Solstice will be here. And you’ll understand why your birthday is a special day.”
I breathe out, still unbelieving. “This is amazing.”
Rose makes an appreciative noise. “Well, I’m glad you like it. I hope you’ll spend time here. It has only seen dust since your grandfather passed.”
I nod my head. “Thank you.”
“I’ll leave you to it.”
“Wait!” I stop her before she exits. I have one more question. She pauses in the doorway. “Why do people connect the Solstice to Wicca?”
Rose doesn’t answer me right away. “Well, dear. Wiccans have similar beliefs as us. They practice the art of magic and worship the earth, gods and goddesses. They sacrifice things in order to stay holy to their gods. Our family – well, we merely come from that magic. We don’t practice any art. We simply are that art.”
My eyes glare at her, unappreciative of her joke. “The art of magic?”
“Have fun exploring, dear. I think I’ll take my nap now. Let Charlotte know when you’re done and she can take you out if you’d like to go somewhere.”
“Wait –.” I call to her now. Perhaps it’s the desperation in my tone but she stops in her tracks and turns to me.
“
What is it, dear?”
The conversation at the restaurant has come back to haunt me in a dream the night before and I know Rose might have answers for me. I tell her the story of Alec’s conversation with Ava and Iris. Rose doesn’t give much away as I tell her the story but when I’ve finished she takes a seat across from me and crosses her ankles.
I watch as she settles in, eyes – everywhere but on mine. I wait patiently, wondering what is playing in her mind now.
Finally, she speaks. “I wouldn’t think too much about the fact that you were able to hear them. I would just chalk that up to great genes.” It sounds as if she’s teasing me, but her smile tells me different. “As for the conversation you overheard,” Rose continues. “I guess I should tell you. There are – many politics that come with running a town of this size. We’re not the smallest town, but it’s small enough for certain folks to feel a sense of privilege if they’ve lived here long enough. Most of us in the community agree with the laws we’ve set, and they want me as their leader. But there are some that don’t agree and think that they can run this place much better than I can.”
As Rose speaks I can see a sadness in her eyes. “What rules?”
Rose sighs. “Business owners around here want to rip down trees and bulldoze historical landmarks in order to build McDonalds and Wal-Marts. They want to promote the Community Center as a tourism spot. The majority of us deny the right to own any business in this town unless it is locally built and run. It’s just our way of preserving what – to us – is unique.” Unique plays oddly in her tone, as if she really meant to say something else.
“So Iris and Ava’s parents don’t agree with preserving the community.”
“To say the least,” Rose says dryly.
She stands, signaling that my time is up. She leaves before I can get any more questions out. Why does she have to be so mysterious? I look around the three-storied room of wonderment and grin. I have a lot of reading to do.
Rose and Charlotte are both aware of my new nightly run schedule – although I may have left out the part about Alec. It’s the first night of my planned run with Alec and I don’t want to take any chance that they will say no.
