Chasing at the Surface by Sharon Mentyka

Author:Sharon Mentyka
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Graphic Arts Books
Published: 2016-11-08T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Orca Day 17

The damage from the massive wakes is all anyone talks about for days, and every story is worse than the last. The launching facilities at Evergreen Park and Lions Field have both been hit hard, and all up and down the inlet, stories pour in. Just this morning five people got tossed in the water when their sailboat overturned from the wake of a forty-foot yacht.

It gets so bad that the Coast Guard broadcasts a warning message on marine radio every hour, and sends out their cutter Point Defiance to enforce it. Worst of all, the big boats keep coming. With another weekend of whale watching looming, everyone is edgy.

After class, I duck into the bathroom. With the water off at the marina, I haven’t showered in two days. One look in the mirror says it all. But Kevin’s got a long list of stuff that needs to be done, so I give my face and neck a good scrub and have to settle for twisting my hair up into a double ponytail.

My newest job is posting “No Wake” notices along the shoreline. I head down the hill toward the inlet, a big stack stashed in my backpack. For close to an hour, I work my way south, stopping every 100 feet or so. As I tack the notices to the telephone poles, electricity running through the wires buzzes overhead. It’s slowgoing, climbing off and on my bike, and the dirt kicked up from passing traffic on the road makes me feel even grimier.

Near Lions Field, I turn and head straight down to the shoreline, rounding the curve as the purple and white turrets of Tal and Bette’s house come into view. Mut comes shuffling off the porch to greet me, followed by the familiar figure of Harris. As he comes closer, I can see he’s carrying a small video camera.

“Wait, stop,” he greets me, grinning. He holds up his hand. “Let me try this out.” He brings the camera up to his face. “Move a little, maybe ride the bike back and forth.”

Awkwardly I obey, making lazy figure eights on my bike. Mut pads after me as the camera whirs.

“Is that Tal’s?”

Harris nods from behind the lens. “It’s old, he says he never uses it anymore. I get to mess around with it now.”

I glide my bike out of one final circle and come to a stop. It’s only been a little over a week since Harris and Jesse have been at Tal and Bette’s but it’s like I’m looking at a whole new person.

“You look great,” I say, without thinking, then quickly blush. “I mean, you look … better.” I lay my bike and backpack down near the road.

“Yeah, it’s cool.…” Harris nods, then laughs. “It’s like being on vacation! These last couple years, I’ve been mostly trying to make sure Jesse and me get by, you know, eat okay and stuff. But man, I was losing steam. Now I’m kinda getting a plan,” he says, his eyes shining.

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