"Great." she said, and turned and walked back into the apartment.
I stood there, looking down the beach and then out at the dock, but he was nowhere to be seen.
I did see him, I told myself. I did.
I found Mommy working on her fingernails when I entered the apartment. She looked up at me.
"If you don't start looking for someplace to go, something to do with your life. I don't know what." she said. "You sounded like a real idiot out there."
She looked at her nails again. I waited a moment and then went to bed. At breakfast she didn't mention anything about what had happened the night before. She talked about chores she had, shopping she must do,
"I'm almost afraid to leave Linden here alone with you," she finally added.
"Why?"
"You're acting strangely again. You should go back to the therapist."
"I'm fine," I said.
"I hope so." she countered in a threatening tone. Finally she left. and I took Linden to the beach as usual. It was a very quiet morning, The Eatons rarely appeared outside before one or two in the afternoon. Mommy said that was because they partied all night into the morning. She called them the idle rich.
I didn't care. I was happy not to be bothered, not to have anyone looking at us. I sat there doing a crossword puzzle and watching Linden play.
"You were right," I heard, and looked up. There was Daddy. He was in his flight suit this time and holding his helmet under his arm. "He's a very handsome young man. A little like myself at his age," he added with a smile, "I ever show you pictures of me as a little boy?"
"Yes,," I said. "I still have them in a chest."
"Well, take them out and look at them again. Show them to your mother. She is sure to get a kick out of it, out of the resemblance," he said. He looked out over the ocean. "Stiff winds today. I'm off on a mission. Sailor Girl. You take charge here. okay?"
He always used to say that to me.
"Aye, aye. sir," I said, and he smiled and gave me the two-finger salute.
I saluted back and watched him walk off. He seemed to walk right into the air and was gone.
Linden was looking up at me.
"Hey," I said. "Let me show you how to salute."
I worked on it all day and finally got him to do it. I couldn't wait to show Mommy when she returned.
"He saw Daddy do it, too." I told her. and she spun her head around at me so fast I thought she would snap her neck.
"What did you say?"
"Daddy was on the beach. He told me to dig out his old pictures, the ones of him as a little boy. He said he looked like Linden, and he said you would get a kick out of it."
She stared at me. "Why are you doing this. Grace? Are you trying to convince me you shouldn't go back to college, or are you trying to avoid doing something with your life? Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" I asked.
She stared and then shook her head. "I won't play this game with you," she muttered, and went to feed Linden.
I went to the chest and found the pictures. I had them spread out on my bed when she looked in.
"See." I said. "Linden does look like him when he was a little bay."
"Put those pictures away," she ordered. "You're absolutely ridiculous."