Page 31 of The Shell Collector
“I brought something for you too, sir.”
He froze in place, his eyes widening with interest as he straightened. “A present for Jesse?”
“Sort of.” She dug down into her shell bag and pulled out a length of leather that held a single shark’s tooth. The tooth wasn’t sharp, as the tide had worn the edges smooth, but it was impressive nonetheless. “Look. This big tooth used to be in a shark’s mouth.”
Jesse put his hand above his head like a shark. “Shark. Shark.”
“That was so thoughtful, Maeve,” Amanda said. “What do you say, Jesse?”
“Thank you. Please.”
He took the necklace and tried to put it over his head. Amanda stepped in to help. Jesse took a victory lap with the shark tooth around his neck. “I like this,” he said.
“I’m glad.” Maeve walked over to where Hailey busied herself with a mound of sand. “Can I help?” she asked.
“Sure. You can help Jesse make a wall.” Hailey scooped more sand together. “I want it to be a big castle.”
Jesse and Maeve worked together to form a wall in the time that it took Hailey to patty-cake one tiny mound. Amanda finally joined them, behind their sandcastle hedge of protection.
“Nothing’s going to get past that wall to ruin my castle,” Hailey said. “We’re totally protected.”
“As you should be.” Maeve lifted a handful of wet sand and let it slip through her fingers, building up the height of the wall drip by drip. Jesse tried to mimic the move. “Would be nice if it were this easy to protect ourselves from anything that could go wrong, wouldn’t it?”
She looked at the two happy children and then into Amanda’s eyes. They seemed to be smiling, but inside there was something troubling her. A sadness hung behind an invisible veil.
What is your story, Amanda? Can I help? Just give me a clue.
But Amanda turned away, busying herself by placing shells on the top of the turrets her daughter had just built. “Beautiful, Hailey. Best castle ever.”
Maeve let out a deep breath, not allowing herself to get stuck on wondering what was wrong but rather to enjoy the company.
Jesse looked up at her as if he’d heard everything that had just played through her mind. He lifted his sandy hand and patted her on the leg. “Good job.”
Just then Amanda got up and started folding towels. “I’ve got to get these two back up to the house and feed them,” she said to Maeve. “Would you like to join us?”
“No, but thank you so much. Maybe another time.” Maeve stood. “I’m off to catch up with a friend.”
Hailey and Jesse jumped up and swished the sand from their bodies, then waited for Amanda to dry them off.
Maeve enjoyed watching the choreographed routine the family went through to leave. By the time they were done, everyone was dry and they were ready for the trip back over the dune.
Even after all these years, she remembered how long those hikes over the dune had seemed when she was their age. It may as well have been the Sahara Desert to cross in the blazing heat.
She watched the trio disappear toward their house before she set off down the beach. She needed to stop in at the surf shop this afternoon and check on things. It was hard to picture Kimmy as a mother, much less Becky as a grandmother, even though she was plenty old enough to be one. She still remembered when Becky would sit on the beach watching little Kimmy skimboard for hours. That child was no bigger than a whisper, but she had the energy of a school of porpoises. It seemed like yesterday.
A teensy bit of envy chewed at her about the shell Becky had found. It was strange how shells found their way into the hands of exactly who needed them, at just the right time.
Suddenly Maeve realized what had been nipping at her. She didn’t know how much longer she’d be around to enjoy Whelk’s Island, or her friends, old and new.
Shaking off the thought, she walked through her back gate and showered off her feet under the spigot at the bottom of the stairs. Methuselah met her there and then followed her up the stairs, hanging close as she fixed herself some cheese and crackers before walking over to the surf shop.
Traffic was busy on the beach road today. Word was getting out about where the locals shopped and ate, and although it was great for merchants, it was changing the pace of this part of town.
As soon as Maeve entered the store, the smell of surf wax and suntan lotion washed over her. A group of girls were trying on bathing suits in a fit of giggles while Becky helped a young man with a surfboard. Maeve recognized the logo on a yellow-and-lime-green board as one of Kimmy’s sponsors.
All the medals and surfing-championship trophies Kimmy had won lined the shelves around the shop. She was a celebrity around these parts. Maeve was pretty sure it was a surf competition in California where Kimmy had met her husband.
Maeve wondered if he was the one interested in creating a Muscle Beach kind of workout place here on Whelk’s Island. That would make sense. Perhaps she’d skip that town meeting. She’d hate for her opinion to play any part in Kimmy and her family not reaching their dreams.
