by Kelly Risser
***
“Earth to Meara…Are you there?”
Katie stood in front of me, holding a red sweater in her left hand and a black sweater in her right. I was thinking about something that David said the night before, so I had no idea what she asked me. I assumed it had to do with the two sweaters she held up.
“They’re great,” I said, glancing at them but not seeing. They looked like every other sweater Katie had shown me over the last hour.
Katie raised one blond eyebrow at me. “You’re right,” she said slowly. “They are. Except—what I asked you—was which one you liked better, the red or the black?”
“Remind me again,” I said. “Who is this for?”
“Brian! I’ve been shopping for Brian for the past twenty minutes!”
“Then the red,” I said. “Definitely the red.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, biting her lip.
I grew tired of Katie’s indecisiveness. “Buy it. It’s great.”
“Okay,” she said. “Come stand in line with me.”
The line was six-people deep. Why didn’t they bring in extra cashiers around the holidays? It was worse than waiting in line at an amusement park. At least there, you went on a ride when you go to the end. Here, you gave some stranger your money and were lucky if they thanked you for it.
My phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, but I answered anyway.
“Hello?”
“Meara? It’s Ula. How are you?”
“Ula!” I didn’t even know she had a cell phone or knew my number. I missed her. She hadn’t been at the clinic the last few times I went with Mom. “I’m great. How are you?”
“Good. Listen, I hope you don’t mind that I called you. I was hoping we could get together? Finish our conversation?”
I remembered that she was trying to tell me something the last time we hung out.
“Uh, sure. I’m at the mall with Katie.”
“You are? Are you going to be there a while?”
I glanced in front of me. The line hadn’t moved. The cashier was paging a manager. Inwardly, I sighed. To Ula, I said, “Yeah, I think so.”
“How about if I meet you there?”
“One sec,” I said, turning to Katie. “Ula wants to meet us. Do you mind?”
“No,” she said. “That’s fine.”
“When will you get here?” I asked Ula.
“In about fifteen minutes. Should we meet by the food?”
“The food court? Sure. We’ll see you there.”
I hung up and realized that the difficult customer was gone. The line began to move, and soon, there was only one person in front of us.
“What are you getting Evan?” Katie asked.
“I have no idea.”
“You better decide quickly. Christmas is only a week away.”
“I know. Don’t remind me!”
Katie seemed to hesitate, and then she asked, “Are you getting anything for David?”
“I got him a sweater,” I said. “But maybe I should have bought him a compass, so he can find his way back to us if he gets lost.”
“Ouch. That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”
“It’s a joke,” I muttered. Katie obviously didn’t think it was funny. She fiddled with the neck of the sweater and seemed uncomfortable. Great. Now I was alienating my friends. I mentally sighed, and then pasted a smile on my face.
“I know!” I said. “You can help me think of something for Evan. You must have some great ideas. What did you get him?”
Relief flickered across her face. This was safe territory.
“I got him a book he wanted about Scottish legends or something.” She shook her head. “It’s not the type of book he normally reads, but he wanted this one. He has a whole bunch of books on his list.”
“What’s different about it?” I asked. Evan liked anything to do with the ocean, so I didn’t see why this was unusual.
“He likes nonfiction. His favorite ones read like textbooks. Boring.” Katie wrinkled her nose in distaste. “This one is a fantasy book with a mermaid and a sea monster on the cover. More fiction than fact.”
“Interesting.”
“You could get him one of the others.” Katie unzipped her purse and began to search around it. “
I have his list. It’s in here somewhere…aha! Here it is.”
Katie handed me half of a torn sheet of loose-leaf paper. On it, in Evan’s handwriting, were about ten things that he wanted. Katie had crossed most items off and written names next to them stating who was giving the gift. Boring things like socks and t-shirts were left on the list, but then I saw the books he wanted. As I read the titles, a shiver ran down my spine. What was Evan up to?
“After we meet up with Ula, can we go to the bookstore?”
“Sure,” Katie said. “I’m done after this anyway.”
Katie paid for the sweater, and we walked to the food court. I spotted Ula right away. She wore another pair of vintage jeans and a black sweater. We were out of earshot when Katie asked, “Why does she always have that ratty old backpack with her?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe it’s like her purse. I actually think it’s kind of cool, her whole vintage look.”
“It’s different. I’ll give you that.”
Ula grinned when she spotted us and started walking over. I hugged her when she reached us. “You remember my friend, Katie?”
“Yes,” Ula said. “Hello, Katie.”
“Hi, Ula. So, do you have shopping to do, too?”
“Not really. I was just bored and hoping to hang out for a bit.” She eyed Katie’s shopping bags. “Looks like you’ve had luck.”
Katie smiled. “A bit. We were just about to go to the bookstore. Meara’s going to buy Evan some books he wants for Christmas.”
“Sounds fun. Let’s go,” Ula said.
I walked between my friends and tried to keep the conversation going. Katie got along well with Kim when she visited, but she didn’t seem to like Ula. I got the impression she thought Ula was weird. Ula did not seem to mind or have much interest in Katie either. So, why did I feel obligated to make sure everyone got along?
When we reached the bookstore, Katie handed me the list. “Here are the books he asked for. You may have to ask where to find them.”
I read the list. “The Mythical Creatures Bible, Monsters of the Deep, Ocean Lore and Legend…What kind of books are these?”
Katie shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe Evan’s doing some kind of research project at school. You know how crazy he is about anything related to the ocean. Find him a mermaid, and he’d probably marry it.”
Ula looked pale. “Those are books Evan requested?”
I showed her the list. “Guess so. It’s in his handwriting.”
I asked the bored-looking man at Customer Service if he could help me find them. He perked up when he saw this list, confessing his love of fantasy and folklore.
“It’s for my boyfriend’s Christmas present,” I told him, before he gave me a play by play of the last fantasy con he attended. He stopped smiling, but he showed me the section where I could find them. As luck would have it, they had all three books in stock.
I thumbed through the pages and shivered as image after image of giant squids, shape-shifting creatures, and merpeople caught my eye.
“Are you going to be here a while?” Katie asked. She was clearly bored, never mind that I already spent hours helping her shop.
“Probably a little longer. Why?”
“I’m going to get a cappuccino in the café downstairs. Come get me when you’re ready to go?”
“Sure,” I said, not looking up.
“’Kay. See you soon,” Katie said.
Ula picked up the book on top and nodded toward a table in the corner. “We can sit over there if you like.”
We sat down, and I set aside the first book and opened the larger one. It contained detailed illustrations, known facts, and retellings of lege
nds. I lost myself in its contents, forgetting Ula was there until she cleared her throat and I looked up.
“About our last conversation…” she started. Her voice wavered. Was she nervous?
“Yes?”
“I…uh…I just wanted to tell you…” She looked down. “Well, I haven’t told you the whole truth.”
“What do you mean?”
Her cheeks reddened. “The big one, to start with…Me mum is not being treated at the clinic.”
“What?”
“She’s dead.”
I gasped. “Oh no, I’m so sorry!”
Ula shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. “No, you don’t understand. She’s been dead. For many years.”
My throat constricted painfully. What was she saying? I cocked my head to the side and looked at her. “Why were you at the clinic then?”
“For you.”
I found it difficult to swallow. My heartbeat thrummed in my ears. She wasn’t making any sense. “I didn’t even know you.”
“No.” Ula’s voice grew stronger. “You didn’t, but I knew you.”
“What? How?” My questions came out in a whisper.
“I’m your aunt, Meara. David’s sister.”
I looked around. Was this a joke? Was she crazy? “You’re kidding, right?”
She shook her head. “I wanted to tell you sooner. Believe me, I did.”
“Why should I believe you? I talked to you about David. How do I know you’re not making this up?”
“I’m not,” she said. Her voice was firm.
I started to cry, but brushed the tears away. “You lied to me.”
“I misled you. Yes. For that, I am sorry.”
“You’re sorry,” I repeated. How did one apology make this all better? “You’re not the person I thought you were. You’re not my friend.” I stood. “I think…I think I need to go now.”
Ula watched me with sad eyes. She didn’t try to stop me. I picked up the books to leave. I was several steps toward the escalator when I heard her.
“I can give you answers, Meara. I can tell you what he won’t.”
I stopped. It would be easy to go back and sit down. I wanted answers so badly that I could taste it. The taste was bittersweet. She lied to me. Could I trust her? Would she tell me the truth? I didn’t know, and for that reason, I didn’t turn around. As I started to walk again, she spoke once last time.
“Find me when you’re ready to know.”
Her voice sounded strange. Distant. My own curiosity made me turn back.
The table was empty.
