The Mermaid's Mirror - L. K. Madigan [9]
"Great! Tell me."
She hesitated, looking into his beaming face. "I was hoping—"
He waited.
"That this year—" She swallowed and said, "That you would let me take surfing lessons."
Her dad's smile disappeared.
Lena's heart bumped. Oh, no. She moved closer to the desk, gripping its hard wooden edge. "Or if, you know, lessons are too expensive ... maybe you could teach me." She heard the tremor in her voice and winced.
Her dad stood up and crossed the room. He paced back and forth, finally coming to a stop in front of the same window where Lena had stood. She imagined him staring out at the sliver of ocean, just like she had.
"No," he said. "I'm sorry."
Her shoulders sagged. "But Dad—"
"You know I can't, Lena."
She took a deep breath and held it for a moment, to keep her response inside: No, I don't really know that. "Okay," she said. "What about lessons? Kai's sister said she—"
"No."
"What? Dad. Come on. It's not fair! Do you know how it feels to splash around in the water like a little kid while your friends are out surfing? Or worse ... to sit on the sand watching them? No, you don't, because you learned to surf when you were, like, Cole's age! Which, by the way, don't you think he's going to want to surf someday, too?"
Her father didn't answer.
"Dad. I know you had a bad experience—" She stopped and tried again. "I know you're worried that something might happen to me, but I'll be super-careful."
Still no answer.
Lena was breathing heavily. The longer her father stood at the window, the angrier she felt. "Aren't you even going to answer me?"
Her father turned to face her, and his eyes were chilly now. "Yes, Lena, I'll answer you. The truth is that I've been thinking."
She lifted her hands. "About?"
"I've been thinking that my new job in the city is going to mean I spend a lot of time commuting from now on. Forty-five minutes each way. Longer if the traffic is bad."
Lena blinked. What did this have to do with surfing?
"And I've been thinking. That's an awful lot of time away from my family."
Lena frowned. "Yeah, but you knew that."
"Too much time, I think." He sat down heavily behind his desk.
Lena looked at his slumped shoulders, and had a terrible understanding of what he was saying. She began to shake her head.
"Maybe it's time we moved closer to the city," said her father.
Lena couldn't answer, just kept shaking her head. An aching lump filled her throat. Finally she said, "Leave Diamond Bay?"
He nodded.
"Just because I want to learn to surf?!"
"Not because of that."
"Then why?" Tears slid down Lena's cheeks.
Her dad put his hand over his eyes. After a long moment, he said quietly, "I don't think I ... we ... can go on living here anymore."
"But this is our home. Why would you say that?"
"We could get a lot of money for this house. We could start over somewhere."
Lena stared at him. "I don't want to start over," she said, and headed for the door.
She stumbled down the stairs, hardly seeing where she was going.
I'll live with Pem, she thought. I don't care what he says, I am not leaving Diamond Bay.
"Is Dad going to take you to the mall, honey?" asked her mom.
Or I could live with Martha. Or maybe Leslie, thought Lena, walking past her mom and out the back door.
"Lena? What's wrong? Are you crying?"
As she headed toward the beach, Lena's mind raced. Even Kai, she thought. It might be weird, but his parents would probably let me stay there.
By the time she reached the narrow beach path, Lena's tears had slowed. At the sight of the sea, relief flooded her body. Lena walked across the sand and into the knee-deep surf, letting the waves wash away her fears.
After a time, she became aware that someone was saying her name.
Her mind felt curiously empty, except for a wordless little song that was playing over and over ... It was very soothing, combined with the sound of the ocean in her ears. The counterpoint of the foghorn added a note of longing to the melody.
The sound of her name grew more insistent. Someone touched her shoulder. Lena blinked and looked around.
She was seated