up pretending to hide.
Addie giggled. "You’re funny."
"How'd you get here then?" I asked feeling more and more annoyed.
"I rode my bike, too. Duh." She took a few steps back on the dock so she could get a better picture of the boat. "Cool boat. It's pretty old, though. You should paint it red."
RD's cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and something flashed across his face. "I gotta take this." He jumped over the bridge and walked along the bow toward the edge of the rail.
"He's the guy with the hat," Addie said.
"Yeah, I returned it."
"That's cool," Addie said. "We should go. Mom said if you don't bring your cell phone with you, she's not going to pay for it anymore because what's the point of having a cell phone if you never answer it. What if there was an emergency?"
RD kept his back to us while he talked. He paced back and forth, his head lowered, fingers raking through his hair.
"Here, let me take your picture," Addie said, pointing the camera at me.
I made a face. "Why did Mom send you here to find me, anyway?"
"It's Aunt Lucy. Mom says she'll be here within the hour. She wants us home."
Aunt Lucy. She was here already? So this was really happening.
"Fine. I'll go home. Just give me a second." I was stalling. I didn't want to leave while RD was on the phone. Why was I being so weird?
"Are you going to take forever?" Addie said.
RD dropped the phone from his ear and gripped the rail a moment before turning to smile. "All right," he said, climbing back into the cockpit. "Family stuff. So you two are taking off?"
"Yeah, I have to go." I wished Addie wasn't there so he would really talk to me, not act like I was just some girl. His tone was different around her. I didn't like it.
"No worries." He stood with his hands in his pocket.
"Glad you got your hat back," I said, nodding toward his head.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks." His eyes widened as if he'd just caught my hint. "Yes, thanks for the special delivery."
I felt like he'd given me a secret message, a message in a bottle. He'd slipped inside my brain and thoughts of him now mingled with everything. With a single touch, I needed him.
Aunt Lucy looked nothing like my mother. She looked exactly like me.
Her thick brown hair hit her right at the collarbone. She didn't have Mom's rounded cheeks or button nose. Her face was more angular and sharp like mine. The only feature they shared was their blue eyes.
We were all sitting around the mosaic table Mom had made the summer before out of broken china plates. The sky was painted a sharp blue, streaked with thin pink clouds high above us.
"You don't look like my mom's sister. It's weird," Addie said, staring at Aunt Lucy.
"Don't be rude," Mom said.
"It's all right," Lucy said. "We've always looked different. Kind of like you and Cassie."
But, it wasn't just their features. It was their style. Mom was all swirls and long skirts and funky jewelry and Aunt Lucy was shiny and polished. Her hot pink t-shirt looked pressed. Even her jeans had a telltale fold along the front; she clearly ironed them. In all honesty, Aunt Lucy looked a lot like the other mothers at San Sebastian High. I'd seen her clean, steel grey SUV in the drive and she had a designer handbag stashed by her feet.
"Well, Grandma Bennett brought Lucy home from the hospital when I was four years old," Mom said, brushing a strand of her wavy, red hair off her face. "The neighbors all wondered where this baby with thick, black hair had come from."
"I look like your grandpa, girls," Lucy said. "I think that's who you got your coloring from, too, Cassandra."
"I always thought I had the same hair color as Dad," I said, resenting the idea that Aunt Lucy would tie me to her instead of my father.
"Well, I remember your dad's hair as lighter, more of an ashy blond. It's been so long." Her voice trailed off. She swirled her glass, ice cubes clinking.
"His hair was lighter," Mom said. "I think Lucy's right, honey. There is no denying you two are
Addie giggled. "You’re funny."
"How'd you get here then?" I asked feeling more and more annoyed.
"I rode my bike, too. Duh." She took a few steps back on the dock so she could get a better picture of the boat. "Cool boat. It's pretty old, though. You should paint it red."
RD's cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen and something flashed across his face. "I gotta take this." He jumped over the bridge and walked along the bow toward the edge of the rail.
"He's the guy with the hat," Addie said.
"Yeah, I returned it."
"That's cool," Addie said. "We should go. Mom said if you don't bring your cell phone with you, she's not going to pay for it anymore because what's the point of having a cell phone if you never answer it. What if there was an emergency?"
RD kept his back to us while he talked. He paced back and forth, his head lowered, fingers raking through his hair.
"Here, let me take your picture," Addie said, pointing the camera at me.
I made a face. "Why did Mom send you here to find me, anyway?"
"It's Aunt Lucy. Mom says she'll be here within the hour. She wants us home."
Aunt Lucy. She was here already? So this was really happening.
"Fine. I'll go home. Just give me a second." I was stalling. I didn't want to leave while RD was on the phone. Why was I being so weird?
"Are you going to take forever?" Addie said.
RD dropped the phone from his ear and gripped the rail a moment before turning to smile. "All right," he said, climbing back into the cockpit. "Family stuff. So you two are taking off?"
"Yeah, I have to go." I wished Addie wasn't there so he would really talk to me, not act like I was just some girl. His tone was different around her. I didn't like it.
"No worries." He stood with his hands in his pocket.
"Glad you got your hat back," I said, nodding toward his head.
"Oh, yeah. Thanks." His eyes widened as if he'd just caught my hint. "Yes, thanks for the special delivery."
I felt like he'd given me a secret message, a message in a bottle. He'd slipped inside my brain and thoughts of him now mingled with everything. With a single touch, I needed him.
Aunt Lucy looked nothing like my mother. She looked exactly like me.
Her thick brown hair hit her right at the collarbone. She didn't have Mom's rounded cheeks or button nose. Her face was more angular and sharp like mine. The only feature they shared was their blue eyes.
We were all sitting around the mosaic table Mom had made the summer before out of broken china plates. The sky was painted a sharp blue, streaked with thin pink clouds high above us.
"You don't look like my mom's sister. It's weird," Addie said, staring at Aunt Lucy.
"Don't be rude," Mom said.
"It's all right," Lucy said. "We've always looked different. Kind of like you and Cassie."
But, it wasn't just their features. It was their style. Mom was all swirls and long skirts and funky jewelry and Aunt Lucy was shiny and polished. Her hot pink t-shirt looked pressed. Even her jeans had a telltale fold along the front; she clearly ironed them. In all honesty, Aunt Lucy looked a lot like the other mothers at San Sebastian High. I'd seen her clean, steel grey SUV in the drive and she had a designer handbag stashed by her feet.
"Well, Grandma Bennett brought Lucy home from the hospital when I was four years old," Mom said, brushing a strand of her wavy, red hair off her face. "The neighbors all wondered where this baby with thick, black hair had come from."
"I look like your grandpa, girls," Lucy said. "I think that's who you got your coloring from, too, Cassandra."
"I always thought I had the same hair color as Dad," I said, resenting the idea that Aunt Lucy would tie me to her instead of my father.
"Well, I remember your dad's hair as lighter, more of an ashy blond. It's been so long." Her voice trailed off. She swirled her glass, ice cubes clinking.
"His hair was lighter," Mom said. "I think Lucy's right, honey. There is no denying you two are
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