Season of Change (3 page)

S
tephanie and I lay out on the dock in our bathing suits, enjoying the way it rocked every time a boat came by. It was hot and the sun beat down on us. Stephanie rubbed suntan lotion on her legs, and the smell floated over. I loved that smell of summer.

Every so often I’d dive in the water to cool off. “Come on in!” I said to Stephanie, swimming up to the floating dock. “The fish that bite you are really small, and it barely hurts at all!” I loved teasing Stephanie.

“Fish bite you?” Stephanie’s jaw dropped.

“Yeah, sometimes little ones will see a mole or a freckle and think it’s food and swim up and bite it. Grandpa Roberts says they try to bite his nipples.”

“I’m never getting in!”

“Okay, I’m just kidding.”

“Diana! Are you kidding or not?” Stephanie stood up and put her hands on her hips. She was wearing a pink and white striped bikini that her mom had just given her. More guilt-offerings from her mom.

“It doesn’t hurt,” I said. “I swear.”

“Are there any snakes?”

“Only one or two,” I said, with a grin.

“Just stop, Diana!”

Finally Stephanie got so hot that she decided she had to come in, and she kind of tiptoed down the wooden stairs that led into the water. When she stepped onto the lake’s muddy bottom, she let out a squeal.

“Diana! It’s muddy!”

“What did you think, that it was concrete under there?”

“It’s all squishy in between my toes.” She made a face, and swam deeper and started to tread water. She stayed in the water for probably thirty seconds, a minute tops, and then climbed out.

I dove a few times, opening my eyes under water. Two little fish with black dots just behind their eyes floated up to me curiously, then darted away into the
watery shadows. I turned a couple of flips under water, which I love to do. Then I pulled myself up on the floating dock, letting the water stream off me and darken the gray wood surface.

The geese had adjusted to us being there. Occasionally they talked to each other, a soft honking. I tried honking at them to see if they’d honk back at me.

“It would be so cool if the geese hatched while we’re here,” I told Stephanie. “Did you see
Fly Away Home
? That’s one of my favorite movies. The baby geese hatched while a girl was watching and they imprinted on her and followed her around in a line.”

“Oh, yeah, they thought she was their mother?”

“Uh-huh, and then she learned to fly that glider plane that looked like a goose, and they followed her down the coast to the place where they were supposed to migrate.”

“That was a great movie,” Stephanie said.

“Hey, I’m going to text Noah and see if he can come over,” I said, wrapping my towel around me. “Grandma and Grandpa Roberts won’t mind.”

“I think you have the hots for him,” Stephanie said.

“I do not! We’re just friends!”

“Ha. You know that I don’t think you should invite him,” Stephanie said.

“Why not? You’re always so worried about stuff, Steph.”

“All I know is, every single time I’ve gone along with one of your ideas, I’ve gotten in trouble!”

I started laughing. “I have gotten you in trouble a lot. Sorry!” I added, in a voice that I know didn’t sound sorry at all. I didn’t care what Stephanie said. I texted Noah.

He answered right away.

I texted back and gave him directions. Stephanie narrowed her eyes at me as I was texting.

“You just invited Noah, didn’t you?”

I sat up straighter. “Yep.”

“You are unbelievable!” she said. “It doesn’t matter what I say, you’re just going to do whatever you want.”

“Yep.” I lay on my towel and closed my eyes, letting the warm sun dry the lake water from my skin. Stephanie would just have to deal with Noah, that’s all.

A few minutes later, Grandpa Roberts came down to the dock carrying a tray with slices of watermelon on
it. “Hey, girls, how about some watermelon? Grandma cut some up just for you.”

We sat on the wooden bench and ate the sweet cold watermelon, letting the pink juice drip on the dock. The sun dropped lower in the washed blue sky and we listened to the waves lapping against the pilings.

“Look, the boat traffic has calmed down,” said Grandpa. “Ready to kneeboard, Diana?”

“Sure!” I said.

“Stephanie, are you ready to learn?” Grandpa Roberts asked.

Stephanie studied her feet. “No.”

“Oh, come on! You know you want to be able to do it!” Grandpa leaned over and squeezed Stephanie’s knee. Stephanie flinched.

I helped Grandpa take the cover off the ski boat. Then we went up to the house and from the storage porch retrieved the skis, the kneeboard, the ski vests, and the tow line, and brought them down and loaded them into the boat.

I knew Stephanie was scared, but I also knew that she would be proud of herself if she learned how to do it, so I didn’t try to talk Grandpa out of making her. The blue Wellcraft started up with a putter, then a roar as Grandpa turned the key, and I hopped in.

“Come on, Stephanie!” I called over the sound of the engine. Gas from the boat had created coin-sized
rainbow slicks of oil on the surface of the water behind us. Reluctantly, she climbed in, holding onto the windshield, and then curling up in one of the seats in the back.

Grandpa headed out to the middle of the cove, and then cut the engine.

“Hop in the water, Miss Diana,” he said.

“Okay!” My heart raced. I put on the ski vest, then tossed the knee board into the water and dove after it. Out in the center of the cove the water was a deeper green, and felt cooler. I floated, holding onto the board, and then Grandpa tossed me the tow rope with the handle. Grabbing the handle, I lay on my stomach on the board. It had been awhile since I’d been knee boarding, and I might be a little rusty, but it was like riding a bike. You didn’t forget how. And I wanted to show off for Stephanie.

“Straightening up,” he called, and gave the boat a little gas to pull the line taut.

“Ready?”

“Ready!” I gave him the thumbs up signal.

He hit the motor and the boat leaped forward, pulling me up out of the water. Pressure tightened my shoulder muscles. As soon as I felt stable, I folded my knees up underneath me so I was kneeling on the board, and pulled the strap tight over the tops of my thighs. Grandpa looked back, gave me the thumbs up.
I was skimming on top of the water, whizzing past the docks, flying through the air!

“Yee-haw!” I stayed directly behind the boat for a little while, then leaned right and jumped the wake and landed in the smooth water outside the wake. After riding along beside the boat for a little while, I swung back to the left, and jumped both wakes. Let myself swing all the way up beside the left side of the boat.

The wind rushed by and I skimmed the gleaming surface of the water and the air was filled with the roar of the boat. I grinned my biggest grin at Stephanie, who was turned around watching me. Grandpa gave a lasso movement of his arm above his head, letting me know he was going to turn around, and I let the action of the turning boat swing me wide and I jumped both wakes again.

I leaned back and enjoyed the scenery as it flashed by. Houses and docks, groves of sun-dappled trees, the grassy shoreline. Then I did my best trick: I put the handle behind my back and twirled around, doing a 360, stopping to kneeboard backwards for a few seconds. Then I twirled around the other way. What a rush!

After five trips up and down the cove, I was out of breath and my shoulders and knees were shaking. I gave Grandpa the finger across the neck motion to tell him I was going to drop the line. Leaning back, I threw
the rope high in the air, and felt myself sink down into the water.

Grandpa drove the boat around to pick me up, and I clambered up the ladder on the back of the boat.

“Whew!” I collapsed, shaking, water streaming everywhere, into the back seat and wrapped myself in a towel. “My muscles feel like jelly!” I saw Stephanie’s face, though, and I knew I’d impressed her.

“That was some good knee boarding!” Grandpa said. “Great job!” He pointed at Stephanie. “Now it’s your turn, big girl! Let’s go. No time like the present.”

I looked over at Stephanie and her face was white as a sheet.

I
guess I wasn’t going to get out of this. The ski vest felt wet and clammy when I put it on and fastened the clasps. My mouth just went completely dry.

Grandpa and Diana were both giving me instructions at the same time.

“When you get out there, lie on the board on your stomach,” Diana said.

“I’ll pull the boat up a little to draw the rope taut,” Grandpa added.

Diana: “Get the handle positioned.”

Grandpa: “I’ll drive along really slowly so you can pull your knees up under yourself and get balanced.”

Diana: “Right, just as you get going, pull your knees up and under so you’re kneeling on the board. And then pull the strap tight over the tops of your thighs. Keep the handle centered. Got it?”

My ears were buzzing. What’d she just say? I looked back and forth as they both tried to tell me what to do. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. Sit on my knees? Pull my knees or pull the strap? Balance?
Yeah, right!

“Okay! Hop in the water!” Grandpa said.

I sat on the side of the boat as we bobbed there for a minute, taking a few deep breaths, telling myself to be calm. “Here goes,” I said. I let myself slide in.

The water wasn’t chilly, but my teeth were chattering anyway. The vest kept me riding high in the water. Diana threw the kneeboard onto the water’s surface beside me, and it skimmed along the top.

“Grab it!” she yelled.

I swam over and got hold of it and struggled to pull myself halfway up the way I’d seen her do. Grandpa drove the boat around me, to drag the rope handle around to where I could reach it.

“Grab it!” he said as he drove by, but I didn’t reach for it quickly enough and he had to drive around again.

“Sorry,” I said. A little wave went in my mouth.

“No problem,” yelled Grandpa. “Okay, now, you know what to do?”

I kept myself from yelling “No!” and just gave him a small nod.

“Ready?” Diana called.

I held my thumb up, the way I’d seen her do. Floating along there, holding onto the handle, watching the boat ahead of me, time seemed to stand still. A breeze threaded by my ear and a wave slapped the bottom of the kneeboard.

Grandpa straightened up the boat, pulling the line taut and dragging me through the water just a little. The muscles in my shoulders pulled tight. The boat took off.

And I was pulled right up and over the kneeboard, landing face first in the water, leaving it behind.

The boat dragged me for a few feet, with torrents of water hitting me in the face. Stinging, it went up my nose. And then I let go.

Just before I fell in, I saw the handle fly through the air and then bounce along on top of the water.

“She’s down!” Diana shouted at Grandpa. He turned the boat around. I swam back to get the kneeboard. Grandpa brought me the rope.

And I tried again.

Up, and over the kneeboard. Dragging through the water, drinking half of the lake. Letting go.

Diana yelling, “She’s down!”

And I tried again.

Up, and over the kneeboard. Dragging through the water, drinking half the lake. Letting go.

“You’re going to get it this time,” said Grandpa as he drove by to bring me the rope again.

I didn’t want to try anymore. I’d swallowed a ton of water, my eyes were burning, and the muscles of my shoulders ached with exhaustion.

“You can do it!” Diana yelled at me from the back of the boat. “Come on, Stephanie!”

A wave slapped me in the face.

Grandpa drove up a little ways to pull the rope taut.

“Ready?” he yelled.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself for another try.

“Ready,” I said. And he hit the throttle and took off. As I started moving I pulled my knees up underneath me and tried to center myself. I was shaky and the water surface below the board felt slippery as ice, but I was up on my knees. Water churned over the board and out behind me. I was afraid to move, but knew I needed to put the strap over my thighs. Slowly, I reached forward to get the strap.

And the board slipped right out from under me. I fell.

Again.

Grandpa brought the boat around. I swam after the board.

“You were up!” Diana yelled, leaning over the side. “You were up for a few seconds! Next time you’ll get it!”

“But I’m so tired,” I said, as I bobbed along with my arms stretched over the board.

“Have you had it?” Grandpa said.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.” He cut the engine and he and Diana helped me climb back into the boat.

I fell into a seat in the back. My arms were shaking so hard and I was completely out of breath. I felt like such a failure.

“That was a good try, Steph,” Diana said. “You almost had it.”

“We’ll try again another day,” Grandpa said. “It’s tiring trying to learn.” I wrapped myself in a towel. I felt like a rag doll.

Pretty soon we were back at the dock, and Diana was running around helping Grandpa tie the boat up to the cleats on the sides of the boat slip. I was shaking so much I wasn’t even sure I could get out of the boat and walk back to the land.

Grandpa helped me out and I sat on one of the benches on the standing dock, still trying to catch my breath.

“I wish I could’ve done it,” I said as we headed slowly
up the walkway to the house. I was proud of myself for at least trying, though. Last year I wouldn’t have.

“You’ll get it next time,” he assured me, putting his arm over my shoulder.

“Y’all take your showers, and we’ll have dinner in just a few minutes!” Grandma Roberts said as we trooped into the house. “Don’t drip all over my carpet, now.”

The aroma of roast beef filled the kitchen. Rolls were lined on a cookie sheet ready to be warmed, potatoes were nestled in a casserole dish, and a big bowl with a tossed salad with ruby red chunks of fresh tomatoes stood beside it.

My stomach growled. I was starving!

The hot shower felt great on my tired muscles. Diana and I were sharing a room upstairs with white wicker furniture. A flowered bedspread covered a queen-sized bed and one of frilly white lace covered another single bed under the window.

“I love this room,” I said to Diana, as we were getting dressed. A little green desk by the door had tiny drawers that were fun to open and close. “I recognize that painting,” I said, pointing to a print of a thoughtful and wispy-haired girl in a blue dress holding a watering can. “That’s a famous painting by Renoir. We studied that in art.”

“Oh, yeah?” Diana said, staring at the painting.

“This room is where Mom and I stayed for six months after Mom and Dad separated. I was supposed to sleep in the twin bed but we slept together in the queen.”

“Aw. That’s sweet.”

“Yeah. A couple of times Dad came here and pounded on the front door and yelled that he wanted to talk to Mom and no one would answer the door.”

“Ooh, that must have been horrible,” I said. What happened between my parents had been much more civilized. They had sent me to Grammy’s house for two weeks one summer and when I got back everything had been decided.

“Yeah, hearing him yelling like that made me cry. I was in second grade.”

“Ooh, yeah.” I shivered, wrapping a towel around my wet hair. “Nothing like that would ever happen with Daddy and Lynn, do you think?” I could feel my chest tighten just thinking about it. A few seconds of silence crawled by. My thoughts careened from one possibility to the next. Was it happening with Diana, too? She acted like she didn’t care, but I wasn’t sure I believed her.

Finally Diana shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m never getting married, that’s all I can say.”

“Really?” I wasn’t surprised to hear her say that, to tell the truth. “Why not?”

“Getting along with another person all the time is just too hard.”

“But wouldn’t you get lonely? I can see that marriage is hard, but I don’t want to be alone.” I ran a brush through my hair. “What about having kids?”

“I like being by myself,” Diana said. “When I grow up I’m just going to have lots of pets. I’ll have, like, seven dogs and five cats. They’ll be my kids!”

I stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, brushing my hair, thinking about what Diana had said. I pictured her living in a house with all those animals. “So, how do you think things are going with Jon and Olivia so far?”

“
Jon
and
Olivia
,” said Diana, laughing. “Aren’t you curious what they might be talking about? I bet they’re talking about us, don’t you?”

I laughed uneasily. “Yeah, probably.”

“I mean, when I see Dr. Shrink, I talk about Mom and Norm sometimes.”

“And me?”

Diana grinned. “Yeah, sometimes about you.”

“I kind of wonder what it’s like talking to a shrink. I mean, do you just talk?”

“Yeah. Mostly. I’ll tell her about stuff that happens. Sometimes she’ll ask questions and that’s a pain because they’re hard to answer.”

“Questions about your feelings?”

“Yeah. Sometimes she’ll make suggestions for ways for me to try to be more patient and calm down.”

“I think that would be kind of cool,” I said. “Is it?”

Diana shrugged. “Sometimes it’s a pain.”

All of a sudden my phone rang with Mama’s ringtone, the theme song from “Mamma Mia,” which she had picked herself. I set my jaw. I wasn’t going to answer it. Then, after a few seconds, I broke down.

“Hi, sugar!” She sounded excited and out of breath. “Listen, I know you’re mad at me because you’ve been ignoring my texts. But don’t hang up, sugar. I felt so guilty about you not staying with me this weekend that I told Barry I couldn’t meet him in Asheville. I’m here, and I want to come get you. I have to pick up Matt from work, since he lost his license, but I can come get you after that.”

I got goosebumps all over. Mama had changed her plans for me! I didn’t think she’d ever do that. “Wow,” I said, not sure what to say. “That’s kinda sudden, isn’t it, Mama? I mean, are you sure?”

“I’m sure, sugar! We’ll go shopping and get pedicures together tomorrow or something. I have to pick Matt up at eight, and then I can come get you. Just tell them I’m coming! Bye!”

I hung up, kind of stunned.

“What was that?” Diana asked.

“This kind of strange phone call from Mama. She
said she changed her plans and I can stay with her this weekend and she’s coming to get me later tonight.”

“She’s coming to get you?” Diana plopped down on the bed with a disappointed look on her face. “Don’t go! Do you want to go?”

I couldn’t answer her. I truly didn’t know. I had felt kind of awkward when I first got here, but Grandma and Grandpa Roberts had made me feel really welcome. I’d been mad at Mama, but now she’d changed her plans for me. I wanted to be with Mama, but what about Matt? Would he be around this weekend? Even though he’d been nicer to me, I still hadn’t forgotten the times he’d been mean, and once even threatened me.

“You’ve got to stay, Steph! When Noah comes you won’t be able to hang out. And you won’t learn to kneeboard.”

I didn’t look at her. Instead, I went around the room, gathering my hair dryer and overnight case and wet bathing suit and putting them back into my suitcase. I didn’t know what I wanted. I didn’t like being mad at Mama. I wanted things between us to be good.

“Dinner’s ready! Come and eat!” Grandma called from downstairs.

Trying to kneeboard works up an appetite. The salad was laden with Grandpa’s juicy tomatoes, and the roast, potatoes, and hot bread all smelled fantastic.

“That was a good try out on the kneeboard today,
Stephanie,” Grandpa said. “I’m sure you’ll get it next time you try.”

“I hope so,” I said. I felt like such a dork. I bet Diana had gotten up on her first try.

“Well, let’s talk about our plans for tomorrow,” said Grandma. “Diana, you’re working at the horse barn and we need to get you there, is that right?”

“Right, I have to be there at eight,” Diana said, slathering margarine onto her potato. She looked over at me. “I hope Commanche’s hoof is better.”

I waited for Diana to mention the fact that she had invited Noah to the lake, but she didn’t.

“And Stephanie, you have to teach two gymnastics classes tomorrow morning, right?” Grandma added.

I knew now it was time for me to tell Grandma and Grandpa Roberts that Mama was coming. I bit into my bread, hesitating. I was afraid they might get mad. But then Diana did it for me.

“Stephanie’s mom is coming to get her tonight,” Diana told them.

Grandma put down her fork. “She is? I thought you were supposed to be here for the whole weekend.”

“I was, but Mama changed her plans and I can stay with her now. She’s not going to Asheville to meet Barry.”

“But you have to learn to kneeboard!” said Grandpa.

“Oh,” said Grandma with a sigh. “It’s been so nice to have you with us. I wish you could stay.”

I felt myself blushing. They were being so kind. I didn’t know what to do.

I wished none of this had ever happened. That Daddy and Lynn hadn’t gone away. That Mama hadn’t had other plans when we called her. That Mama and I had never had a fight. I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.

After dinner, Diana and I helped Grandma with the dishes, then ran up to our room to get our flip-flops se we could go with Grandpa to the movie store. On our way back down, Diana grabbed my hand and we stopped in the middle of the stairs. She put her finger to her lips and we listened.

“Do you think the girls know why Lynn and Norm went away?” Grandma was saying. Dishes clattered as she finished loading the dishwasher.

“I don’t know, why?” asked Grandpa.

“Well, Lynn said they didn’t tell them, but what did you think about what they said out on the dock this afternoon, when they were pretending to be the male and female goose getting marriage counseling?” asked Grandma.

“Oh, that? You think that proves that they know about it?”

“It aroused my suspicions. Why would the girls say something like that otherwise?”

“You’ve got a point. Maybe they’ve figured it out.”

“I just don’t like those girls having to face so much uncertainty. That’s one reason why I don’t want Stephanie to go with her mother tonight. They’ve already had enough disruption in their lives. They don’t need more.”