Page 56 of Hidden Gem
Marnie stared at the funny looking rock in disbelief. An old memory surfaced, a news story she’d once read about the substance. “You mean whale vomit? How do you know?”
Jason’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “My dad used to take us ambergris hunting. We only ever found two small pieces, but one of them was white like this. It’s the mature kind that you get a better price for. He sold that piece for a thousand dollars and used it as a down-payment for a car. And he bought us all ice creams.”
He looked away, smiling.
“What an amazing memory!” Marnie marvelled at the wistful delight in his eyes, until her freezing knees reminded her it was time to get up. As she tried to move, sharp pain reminded her of something else. Arthritis. A few weeks ago, it had been the only thing on her mind. With Jason, she kept forgetting about her condition. The doctor had told her to look after herself, avoid cold and draft. She hadn’t specifically mentioned sex on a freezing beach, but that was probably on the no-no list.
Marnie pulled back, suddenly hyper aware of her partial nudity, and that she was still hosting him inside her like an awkwardly long, limp handshake.
It felt good to pull her tights back up, to shield herself from the elements. Marnie hopped in place, trying to warm up her legs. The sun had dipped below the horizon, dropping the temperature even further.
Jason hugged her. His fingers snuck under her chin, lifting it up to make eye contact. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just trying to process what happened. I never thought I’d do something like this.”
“Not on your bucket list?” He grinned, victorious.
“No.” She offered him a weak smile.
Too many things crowded her mind, the relentless doubts over their future, how good she’d felt, how cold, how loved, how special. A shiver ran through her from head to toe. Jason pulled her tighter against his chest. His heartbeat pounded, calming her wayward thoughts, bringing her back to present. If she could just stay here, they might make this work.
A gust of wind found its way under her shirt, and she trembled.
Jason rubbed her arms. “Let’s get you in a hot shower, okay?”
“What about the ambergris?”
Jason knelt to examine the white lump. It was partly buried in the sand, making it hard to determine its true size. He dug into the sand with his fingers, scooping out wet lumps. Marnie joined him, digging on the other side to reveal the entire piece. A strange smell caught her attention and she bent down to take a sniff.
“Isn’t it meant to smell like cow dung or something foul?”
“No. This is the good stuff. Look how white it is! This one’s cured in the ocean for a long time. The smell changes. I always thought it was sort of pleasant, almost addictive. A bit offensive, but also good.”
A sharp pain shot through her finger joints, and Marnie pulled her hands out of the sand. “Maybe we should get a shovel?”
Jason tried to get a hold of the ambergris, to wiggle it free. “What if someone else finds it?”
“Well, I hope it’s someone who really needs the money.” Marnie pulled her sleeves over her aching fingers and tried to rub them warm.
Jason stared at her with such wonder she felt like hiding inside her hoodie. “You’d give up twenty-thousand dollars if you knew it was going to someone in need?”
She nodded, confused. “Wouldn’t you?”
“I guess so. But we found it. Finders keepers, right?”
“You found it,” she corrected. “I just thought it was a funny rock.”
“No!Wefound it, and we’ll split the money. You can give your half to someone in need, and I’ll use mine to buy you presents.”
On the word ‘presents’, he dislodged the ambergris and fell on his bottom holding the massive, white lump. It was much larger than she’d first thought, about the size of a new-born baby.
Jason folded the hem of his hoodie to create a makeshift ambergris carrier, grinning from ear to ear. “Let’s go.”
