to you. And anyway, I brought you the tent, didn’t I?”
“I don’t know what to do.” Summer sighed. “I guess I’ll see how I feel. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, so this’ll have to wait till after the holidays. There’s no way I could get them together tomorrow. Even if I
did
think of a way to do it.”
Esme honked the horn impatiently. “Hang on, Es,” Austin called. He turned back to Summer. “Finished with your paper?” he asked.
“Almost. But I’m not sure how to end it. I guess I was waiting to see if I’d go through with this plan.” She smiled wistfully. “I even got a CD. Greatest hits of the forties. They’re kind of cool, actually. There’s this one song, ‘I’ll Be Seeing You.’ They used to play it all the time during the war. Really sad.”
“I’ve heard it. Harris has some old, worn record he used to play. ‘I’ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places …’”
“That’s the one.”
“Yeah, it is sad, when you think about all the men and women who died. All the couples who were never reunited.”
Another car, even more rust-eaten than Austin’s, rolled up. Diver jumped out and waved to Summer and Austin.
“You know, I could stick around if you want,” Austin said. “That tent’s tough to put up. Especially with this wind. Weather sure has been freaky lately.”
“I’ll manage.”
“It might require some manly brute strength.”
“The same could be said of Esme,” Summer replied coolly. “Besides, I can get Diver to help. And Seth’s coming over later to work on our roof. You’d better hit the road.”
“Look, if you do go ahead with your plan, call me, okay?”
“Sure.”
Austin started to leave, then hesitated. “You know, you were wrong about what you said the other day. I
do
have a romantic bone in my body.” He grinned. “I’m thinking it may be my left tibia, but I’d need an X ray to verify it.”
Summer crossed her arms over her chest. “Whatever you say.”
“If you read some of my latest poetry, you’d believe me.”
“Odes to Esme?”
Austin’s smile faded. He looked as though he was about to say something, then reconsidered. “I’ve been working on another subject, actually.”
“What?”
“Oh, you know how poets are. We don’t like to discuss works in progress.”
“When will you be done with it?”
“I don’t know,” Austin said, and he suddenlylooked terribly sad. “Maybe never.”
Summer watched Austin head back to his car. He passed Diver on the way, acknowledging him with a terse nod.
“What’s up with Austin?” Diver asked.
“You tell me. You’re his roommate.”
Diver sat on the steps. “I told you. We don’t discuss our feelings.”
“I forgot.” Summer sighed. “Just your gaskets, right?”
“Carburetors. What’s the tent for?”
“I’m not sure.”
Diver leaned back, face raised to the sun. “Marquez back from her lunch shift?”
“Yeah. She and Sarah are building sand castles down on the beach. At least, Marquez is. Sarah’s kind of just observing.”
“Summer? Everything okay? You look a little confused.”
Summer sat down beside her brother. “I am. Austin’s confusing me. My history project’s confusing me. I guess you could pretty much say life is confusing me. How come you never seem confused, Diver?”
He smiled at her. “Because I accept my confusion instead of fighting it. It’s easier that way.”
“Does Marquez ever confuse you?”
Diver laughed. “Every day. But that’s okay. I loveher. So I figure the confusion is the price I have to pay to be in love. It seems like a fair trade-off. It’s just one of the mysteries of life. I like it that way.”
“I wish I did.”
Diver kicked off his shoes and stretched out his legs. “Today at work we had this great mystery.”
Summer smiled. Diver’s job guaranteed he always had some strange new alligator or pelican story to tell.
“A lady came in this morning with this Kleenex box filled with six
“I don’t know what to do.” Summer sighed. “I guess I’ll see how I feel. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve, so this’ll have to wait till after the holidays. There’s no way I could get them together tomorrow. Even if I
did
think of a way to do it.”
Esme honked the horn impatiently. “Hang on, Es,” Austin called. He turned back to Summer. “Finished with your paper?” he asked.
“Almost. But I’m not sure how to end it. I guess I was waiting to see if I’d go through with this plan.” She smiled wistfully. “I even got a CD. Greatest hits of the forties. They’re kind of cool, actually. There’s this one song, ‘I’ll Be Seeing You.’ They used to play it all the time during the war. Really sad.”
“I’ve heard it. Harris has some old, worn record he used to play. ‘I’ll be seeing you in all the old familiar places …’”
“That’s the one.”
“Yeah, it is sad, when you think about all the men and women who died. All the couples who were never reunited.”
Another car, even more rust-eaten than Austin’s, rolled up. Diver jumped out and waved to Summer and Austin.
“You know, I could stick around if you want,” Austin said. “That tent’s tough to put up. Especially with this wind. Weather sure has been freaky lately.”
“I’ll manage.”
“It might require some manly brute strength.”
“The same could be said of Esme,” Summer replied coolly. “Besides, I can get Diver to help. And Seth’s coming over later to work on our roof. You’d better hit the road.”
“Look, if you do go ahead with your plan, call me, okay?”
“Sure.”
Austin started to leave, then hesitated. “You know, you were wrong about what you said the other day. I
do
have a romantic bone in my body.” He grinned. “I’m thinking it may be my left tibia, but I’d need an X ray to verify it.”
Summer crossed her arms over her chest. “Whatever you say.”
“If you read some of my latest poetry, you’d believe me.”
“Odes to Esme?”
Austin’s smile faded. He looked as though he was about to say something, then reconsidered. “I’ve been working on another subject, actually.”
“What?”
“Oh, you know how poets are. We don’t like to discuss works in progress.”
“When will you be done with it?”
“I don’t know,” Austin said, and he suddenlylooked terribly sad. “Maybe never.”
Summer watched Austin head back to his car. He passed Diver on the way, acknowledging him with a terse nod.
“What’s up with Austin?” Diver asked.
“You tell me. You’re his roommate.”
Diver sat on the steps. “I told you. We don’t discuss our feelings.”
“I forgot.” Summer sighed. “Just your gaskets, right?”
“Carburetors. What’s the tent for?”
“I’m not sure.”
Diver leaned back, face raised to the sun. “Marquez back from her lunch shift?”
“Yeah. She and Sarah are building sand castles down on the beach. At least, Marquez is. Sarah’s kind of just observing.”
“Summer? Everything okay? You look a little confused.”
Summer sat down beside her brother. “I am. Austin’s confusing me. My history project’s confusing me. I guess you could pretty much say life is confusing me. How come you never seem confused, Diver?”
He smiled at her. “Because I accept my confusion instead of fighting it. It’s easier that way.”
“Does Marquez ever confuse you?”
Diver laughed. “Every day. But that’s okay. I loveher. So I figure the confusion is the price I have to pay to be in love. It seems like a fair trade-off. It’s just one of the mysteries of life. I like it that way.”
“I wish I did.”
Diver kicked off his shoes and stretched out his legs. “Today at work we had this great mystery.”
Summer smiled. Diver’s job guaranteed he always had some strange new alligator or pelican story to tell.
“A lady came in this morning with this Kleenex box filled with six
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