Lovesick Little Read online

  Ava, his eldest sister, stood with her back turned to the family in front of the large living room window that faced the beach. “Actually, Gabriel, no one got a wink of sleep in this house because we were actually worried.” Her unimpressed tone was obvious.

  “Well, I’m terribly sorry, dear family, but the boat got wrecked and I washed up on shore somewhere near Effingham.” He said, kissing his little sister on the forehead. “I woke up to a hard slap from a girl who happened upon my unconscious body while she was out on her horse!”

  “Someone slapped you?” asked Demetra.

  “That is correct,” he answered. “Before anyone asks, I have no idea how I got there but I remember the freak storm and the waves busting the boat up.” He turned to his father, a kindly man named Cliff. “Dad, I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t even worry; we have insurance for that!” said Cliff, stepping forward to hug his boy. “We’re all just thanking our lucky stars you’re okay!”

  Lucia shoved the Kleenex she had been dabbing her runny nose with into her pocket, then wiped her teary hands on her jeans before putting them to Gabriel’s cheeks. “What took you so long to come back?” she asked.

  “I came back as fast as I could,” he began.

  Ava snorted. “But not before you were done kissing that girl, right?” She had seen Gabriel and the girl through the window, and was offended that he would leave his family worrying for even a second more than necessary just to chat up a girl on the beach. “Was that the same bitch who slapped you?” she asked him.

  Gabriel couldn’t hold back his grin. “She gave me a ride back. And she’s not a bitch, she’s a nice girl. Like I said, I washed up really far down the beach. . .”

  “How is that even possible?” demanded Ava. “The current couldn’t take you that far in that much time.”

  “I don’t quite understand it myself,” he replied.

  “I saw you go under water, knocked out with your head all bloody!”

  “I remember that too!” he said as he felt the skin of his forehead. “But somehow I’ve miraculously healed . . . it doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I dove in after you,” she said bitterly. “But you had disappeared. We all thought you were dead! So thanks for taking your sweet-ass time getting back to us; it’s been lots of fun.”

  “Ava, please!” interjected Lucia. “Can’t we just be grateful he’s back now?”

  “So no one got hurt?” asked Gabriel anxiously.

  Cliff stepped forward. “But for a few scrapes and bruises, everyone is fine. It seems all your friends are really strong swimmers! The only things that didn’t make it out were a few designer purses and a lot of deck wood.”

  Lucia, starting to choke up again, grabbed a hold of her son and began to sob. “Gabriel, I don’t know what we would have done if we lost you too,” she said, peering up at him through teary eyes.

  “Hey now! Come on, Mom, I’m fine! And everyone else is fine! Didn’t you hear Dad? All we lost were the boat and some purses!” He hugged his mom close and pulled Demetra in, too. Cliff wrapped his arms around their group hug and the only one left was Ava. “You too, big sis!” he said as he waved her over. But Ava refused to budge, choosing instead to stand away from them with her arms crossed.

  “I’m sorry I made you worry,” said Gabriel. “Now please get over here; you’re in this hug too!” But she just wiped her teary eyes nonchalantly and started across the room towards the kitchen, eyeing her brother coldly. “When you’re done down here, I suggest you run upstairs before your playmate Rourke finishes his forgery of your last will and takes with him anything he thinks you won’t need in the afterlife. I’m going to let the coast guard know they can call off the search party now.” And with that, she pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed, walking out of the room.

  Gabriel, Dagmara, their mother Lucia, and their father Cliff all caught each other’s eyes and, in silent agreement, grabbed each other by the hands and swiftly followed her into the next room. As soon as she was in their sightline again, they all hollered like beasts and ran at her, attacking her with the group hug she had declined. She protested but they tickled her into submission and her pouty face opened up into a smile, at long last.

  After a good long hug, they all let go of each other and stepped away. “Can I get you anything? You must be parched,” asked Lucia, noticing how red the whites of her son’s eyes were.

  “Yes, Mum, water would be awesome. My throat feels all gross and salty.”

  “Okay, baby,” she replied, fetching him a glass. “Well, now that you’re home and all is well, I see no reason to change our plans! Are you almost done packing? Think you’ll be ready to leave by tomorrow?”

  “Yep, almost done!” he replied, then kissed his mom on the cheek one more time before dashing up the stairs to his bedroom. Lucia stared lovingly at her son as he went, admiring the polite and handsome young man he had grown into. She congratulated herself on a job well done and said a quiet prayer of thanks that the storm hadn’t taken him away.

  Gabriel sent his friend Rourke away with a backpack full of DVDs and after a few hours of dragging bags out and organizing, the O’Faolain family sat down to their last cottage dinner until the next year. The beach was strangely quiet, in the lonely way it always felt after Labor Day weekend was over and the town was noticeably less populous. Mentally preparing themselves for their return to the bustling city, they were already beginning to miss the wonderful sounds and smells of summertime at the beach.

  As the sun went down that evening, it cast a blood-orange glow through the wide windows of Gabriel’s bedroom while he sat up in bed reading the last few pages of Anna Karenina. He was eager to finish so he could leave the five-pound leather-bound edition on the cottage bookcase instead of lugging it back to his condo where his bookshelves were already jammed. For reasons even he didn’t quite comprehend, he was only ever drawn to reading old books with soft, worn covers that looked (and smelled) like they once lined the walls of some brandy room or eighteenth-century library. To Gabriel, there really was something about an old book that felt to his hands like it had been held and read about a thousand times, and experienced over and over.

  By the time he turned the last page, it was already getting dark outside. He felt strangely comfortable up there in his room, taking in Tolstoy with after-dinner tea and biscotti just like he had so many other nights that summer. Except that this time, he truly appreciated every second of his quiet indulgence, knowing that he could have very easily perished in the storm, never to know the chilled-out joy of reading classic literature in his room ever again. Beginning to feel sticky-hot under the light of his lamp, he walked out to his balcony for some fresh air.

  As he sat in his lounger quietly recollecting, he believed he was very much alone under the moonlight with the breezy gusts that filled his nose with the scent of rain-soaked cedars. He pulled his grandfather’s old harmonica off the windowsill and began to play a tune that complemented the whistling of the winds. Then he noticed something splashing around in the moon’s reflection on the water.

  Curiously, he stood up and squinted to see what it was. From where he stood, it looked like it must have been a creature of nimble grace, like a dolphin out there twirling among the shiny speckles that dappled the surface. He kept his eyes on the creature, appreciating its dance, surprised to see how close it was to the shore. He never imagined that whatever it was, it was dancing on the water just for him.

  “Maybe it’s a mermaid,” whispered a voice from right behind him. Startled, he dropped his harmonica and it fell off his balcony and into the sand. He jumped and turned to see it was just his little sister Demetra, who had no trouble sneaking up on him while he watched the water, entranced.

  Gabriel laughed her suggestion off while he pulled her up to the railing beside him. Sometimes she could be pretty unrealistic but her dreaminess and blatant disregard for popular belief was his favourite thing about her. “What did I say abou
t sneaking up on me, you little monkey?” he said as he caught her in a headlock and began tickling her sides.

  She began to giggle hysterically. “You . . . said . . . you . . . would . . . tickle . . . the . . . sneaky . . . right . . . outta me!” she squealed between laughs. “Okay, okay . . . enough, Gabe!”

  “Well I hope you’ve learned your lesson this time, because next time, I’m going straight for the armpits!” he said playfully, smoothing out her hair that he had just made a mess of. “Check it out,” he said, pointing to the water. “It’s my dolphin!”

  Demetra stepped up onto the railing and leaned into her big brother. She was only nine and very petite, but she was a formidable personality, and wise beyond her years. She squinted to see. “How can you tell it’s a dolphin from here? It could just as easily be a mermaid.”

  Gabriel laughed at her suggestion once again; his little sister always seemed to look for reasons to believe that things generally accepted as mere make-believe could actually exist. In her eyes, the world was far more magical a place than most people allowed themselves to imagine.

  “Good point, little D; perhaps it is a mermaid,” he said, looking out at the graceful creature as it danced. The more he watched, the less ridiculous her assertion sounded, for there was something unmistakably feminine in the way it moved across the water.

  “Maybe it’s the same mermaid that swam you to shore,” she said, her eyes lighting up. “Maybe she’s just hanging out to make sure you’re okay.”

  Gabriel thought about that suggestion for a moment. Sure, he sometimes found it amusing to play into her whimsical ideas, but now that she was getting older he wondered if he was doing her any favors by continuing to be a party to such silliness. He agreed there was some merit to being imaginative, but mermaids? He decided to kibosh the notion, lest his baby sister grow up maladjusted and spacey.

  “You should write some more storybooks,” he said, patting her on the head.

  “Yeah? Why’s that?” she asked.

  “Because you’re always coming up with fresh, cute story ideas!” he answered. “And because mermaids and the like belong in fairy tales, not in the waters around our beach house.”

  Demetra thought about what her brother said and was just the slightest bit offended. “Fine,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ll save my theories for someone who can appreciate the logic behind them.”

  Gabriel laughed. “Logic?” he said gently yet mockingly. “Meaty, are you trying to tell me that all of this mermaid talk of yours stems from logical, sound reasoning?” She shrugged but then nodded. “Demetra,” said Gabriel, putting his hand on her shoulder, “you’re the smartest kid I know . . . but let’s not confuse fairy tales with reality. Mermaids are folklore; the stuff of Disney cartoons. Try not to get ‘em too twisted, or people might start thinking you’re a whack job!”

  Demetra just smiled patiently and gave him a knowing look, as if to say you poor, insipid thing. “Indeed, that is the predilection most widely accepted so at that, I acquiesce and bid you good-night, dear brother.” Then she yawned, stretched and gave him a big hug, whispering in his ear, “I’m just glad you came back to us. You’re my only brother . . . who would protect me from mean boys?” Gabriel was touched, so glad to be back as well. As she stepped through the doorway into the house, she glanced back over her shoulder at him, still leaning on the railing. “Oh and Gabe,” she started, “do let me know when you come up with a more reasonable explanation for how you ended up safely on shore twenty miles from the wreck, all magically healed from your bottle wound and with no recollection of how you got there.” Then she winked, and scampered off to her room.

  Alone in the night again, he thought about what his sister said and looked back out at sea. The dolphin or mermaid or whatever it was, was gone off to wherever it is they go and after the day he’d had, it was time for him to go to bed too. So he waved good night to the moon and went inside, blithely unaware that his mermaid had swum in closer to eavesdrop on his conversation with his sister. Still too far to hear their words, she daringly pulled herself out of the water and crawled across the sand until she was sitting just beneath his balcony. There, she found the harmonica he had dropped and tied it into her long hair while staring up at the light in his window, hoping for another glimpse.

  Lying on his bed, his thoughts turned to Erica. He wondered if she would come around to drop in on him the next summer, or if she would fall in love somewhere along her travels and forget all about ever meeting him. He turned onto his side, pulled the cord of his lamp, and closed his eyes. It had been a crazy twenty-four hours for him, and it was high time that he finally went to sleep.

  When the little mermaid saw the last light in the house extinguish, she crawled back to the water and began to wade out with her lips on his harmonica just the way he had been playing it. One day that will be my home, she said to herself as she looked back one last time, and, with a huge grin from ear-to-ear, she dove under and began making her way back to her father’s castle. When she arrived, everyone was still up waiting for her, almost as worried for her as Gabriel’s loved ones had been for him.

  “What news of the upper world, child?” asked her grandmother as she entered, relieved to see her safe. All was silent on the ocean floor as everyone in the kingdom gathered close to hear what she had to say.

  The princess took a deep breath. She knew she couldn’t tell anyone that she had rescued a human from drowning, because no one would understand and it would get her in a great deal of trouble. So she simply spoke about the beauty she’d seen. “It was the most wonderful place,” she began. “I saw the smoldering sunset and just knew I couldn’t leave without seeing the sunrise on the other side. I’m sorry if I made anyone worry.” Everyone was so happy to see that she was safe that they all forgave her tardiness and continued with their revels. As soon as she was sure no one would notice, she snuck away from the courtyard and swam to her garden to daydream about Gabriel all by herself.

  The next morning, Gabriel woke up bright and early to take advantage of the neat swell that was rolling through on his last day at the beach house. He pulled his damp wetsuit off the balcony railing and slipped into it, tucking in his board shorts so they wouldn’t catch the zipper. It was cold as always but as always, totally worth it because North Pacific water can be freezing on bare skin. He grabbed his board from the toy shed and walked down to the water. The waves were perfect and it surprised him that there were no other surfers out. So he strapped his leash onto his ankle and paddled out alone.

  Between rides, he kept his eyes trained on the beach for signs of Erica, but she never showed. Slightly disappointed but not entirely surprised, he came in after a couple hours, unstrapped himself and took to packing the last of his things. The O’Faolains enjoyed one last lunch on the patio and then loaded up the cars, secured the storm windows and took off for the ferries, excited to get back to their normal lives but already looking forward to the summer that would follow after the next three colder seasons.

  About half an hour after they locked up the house and left, Erica came galloping down the beach. She’d spent the entire day considering whether it was a good idea, and had only decided that afternoon that she would just go for it. The truth was, she had been thinking of him non-stop and was unable to get his warm brown eyes out of her head since she dropped him off and they parted ways the day before.

  When she arrived at the edge of the property, she climbed off Savannah’s back and tied her reins into a loose knot so she wouldn’t trip on them while grazing on the grassy lawn. She pulled her ponytail out and finger-combed her hair, smoothed her t-shirt and pulled her jeans down so they sat seductively upon her hipbones. She had gone through a few different outfits before riding over but had decided on this white tee and jeans, because she knew she looked hot in them without appearing to be trying to be hot. As she walked up the steps, she noticed the storm windows were closed and all the lawn furniture had been taken in. The clos
er she got to the house, the more she arrived at the sinking realization that there was no one home. She knocked on the door anyway but when she put her ear to it, heard nothing from inside. Shit. D a m n. Oh, well . . . she thought, and gave up.

  She walked back down the stairs slowly, berating herself for waiting too long and thereby, missing her chance. She thought about leaving a note for him, but decided that by the time he got it, likely in the spring, he would have by then forgotten all about meeting her. So she climbed back onto her horse and began to ride away. She was disappointed, but decided it was all for the better, anyway.

  The little mermaid went back to visit Gabriel that day too but like Erica, she came too late to see him. Cloaked in darkness, she hid behind the rocks and sang her most beautiful songs, hoping to coax him out of the house somehow. Sadly, for all her efforts, there was nothing she could do about the fact that he was gone. In his absence, all she had was the vivid memory of his face, the steely taste of his harmonica in her mouth, and a view from the water of his cold, dark and empty summer home.

  Autumn came quickly with a chill across the water and still, he never returned. Fall foliage gave way to winter flurries, and still, every day without fail, she came back and sang, hoping he would show. Springtime saw fresh green grass push up from the damp dirt but still there was no sign of him. But she thought about him every minute of every day, and couldn’t get his face out of her mind.

  At home in the palace, she became very withdrawn. Her family saw less and less of her and she fell deeper and deeper into her own little world. One night, upon returning from yet another fruitless visit feeling bored and despondent, she decided to visit her garden for the first time in a very long time. She had long since given up caring for it, and vines and weeds now overran her once thriving flowerbed. At the foot of her beloved statue, she lay down on her belly and stared up, admiring its noble brow and languishing without the company of its flesh-and-blood doppelganger. Though the statue was made of cold stone and in no way compared to the warmth of Gabriel’s sleeping body, it was still the closest thing she had to him, and so she cherished it. Bringing her head to rest at the statue’s feet, she wrapped her arms lovingly around its ankles and fell asleep dreaming of her love.