was in no mood to discuss Pete and her failed attempt at love. Rory saw through her, though.
“I have a feeling I hit a nerve,” he said, sober now, his intense green gaze on her face, and she felt herself seduced by his sympathy.
The spell of the caretaker.
“Let’s talk about Grace,” she said, although Grace was the last thing she wanted to discuss. Still, Grace seemed to be Rory’s new favorite subject, and so they talked about her until Daria had to leave for her class. And as she drove away from the Sea Shanty, she knew she had drifted into a role she did not want: that of Rory’s summertime confidante.
Ohelly bent over the line of shells in the sand and picked up a piece of turquoise glass, washed smooth by the sea. She examined it, then slipped it into the fabric bag tied around her waist. Smooth glass was a find, and once she polished it, it would make a beautiful necklace or ring. She’d seen man-made tumbled glass, but it always had an unnatural look to her. The sea did a much better job.
It was very early in the morning, the sun peeking out from a purple cloud above the horizon, and she had this stretch of beach to herself.
A few people and a couple of dogs were in the distance both north and south of her, but this area near the cul-de-sac was her own. Thank you. God, for this beautiful morning. There was never a morning on the beach that she didn’t feel close to God. How could she not? His creations were all around her.
Bending over the shells once again, she heard a voice behind her.
“Watch out, Shelly!”
Shelly turned to see a golden retriever racing toward her. The dog leaped at her joyously, nearly knocking her to the ground, and she laughed. She caught her balance and looked up to see two more dogs bounding toward her, followed by their owner, Linda.
“Sorry,” Linda said as she walked closer to Shelly.
“They saw you and just started running.”
“That’s ‘cause they know I love them.” Shelly dropped to her knees to cuddle all three of the dogs.
“Are you finding some good shells this morning?” Linda asked. She was barefoot and moved closer to the water so that it rushed over her feet after each break in the waves.
“Lots of colored glass today,” Shelly said. Standing up, she reached into the bag at her waist and pulled out the turquoise glass to show her.
“Pretty color,” Linda said. She threw the red plastic bumper she was always carrying into the water, and two of the dogs chased after it.
The remaining dog, the one whose name Shelly couldn’t remember, jumped up on Linda, his paws nearly to her shoulders, and she stroked its back.
“You know,” she said, “Jackie’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and I would love to commission you to make one of your sea-glass necklaces for her.”
“What does commission mean?” The word was familiar to her. It had something to do with the way she sold her jewelry in the shops, but she didn’t know what Linda meant, using it the way she did.
The dog jumped off Linda and ran into the ocean, where the other dogs were fighting over the bumper.
“I mean, I’d love you to make a necklace that I could buy specifically for Jackie,” Linda said.
“Oh, sure, that would be easy,” Shelly said.
“Come over to the Sea Shanty and pick out a piece of glass and the style of necklace you would like, and I’ll make it.”
“Great,” Linda said. Melissa dropped the bumper at her feet, and she picked it up and threw it into the waves again.
“Isn’t it amazing that Rory Taylor’s on the cul-de-sac for the summer?” Linda asked.
“Yeah, it’s great,” Shelly said.
“Melissa hangs out with him sometimes.”
Linda looked at her dogs, who were jumping over the breaking waves to get to the bumper.
“So that’s where she’s been,” she said.
“Daria and Chloe knew him when he was a kid,” Shelly said.
“Yes, so did I. Although I don’t think he remembers me. I was pretty shy and quiet back then.”
“Oh, yeah, I think he remembers you,” Shelly said.
“Daria and Chloe were telling him who still lived around here, and he knew who you were. I don’t think he knew you were a lesbian, though.”
Linda laughed.
“Even
“Like I know I’m different,” Shelly said. She hoped Linda didn’t think she meant that she was a lesbian. She knew for a fact that she was not. It was hard for her to understand how a woman could want to be the lover of another woman, but she liked Linda and Jackie, and if that’s what they wanted to do, that was okay with her.
“You are wonderfully different. Shelly,” Linda said. She called to one of her dogs, who was sniffing at the overturned shell of a horseshoe crab, and the dog trotted obediently to her side for a biscuit she had hidden in her shirt pocket.
Shelly wanted to tell Linda that Daria was madly in love with Rory, but knew her sister would not appreciate her blabbing that fact around the neighborhood. It was so wonderful, though, to see some life in Daria’s eyes again.
