What if a park ranger sees you? You’re going to get a ticket.”
Zoey was already stripping her leggings off but she decided to leave her T-shirt on since she had to get the sand off it anyway. “Why? This covers more than what most people wear to the beach.”
Gabi kept marching, calling over her shoulder, “I’m going home.”
Whose daughter are you, anyway?Zoey thought but she was glad she had the presence of mind to censor herself. Whenever Jessica wanted to go swimming or bodysurfing, she’d never let a little thing like the lack of a swimsuit stop her.
Zoey waded in as deep as her waist. She stretched her arms out to the side and rested her palms on the water as if it were glass. Her eyes fixed on the horizon, she savored the stillness of the moment as her body adjusted to the chilly water. Then, on the count of three, she took a deep breath and dove in. Her sister once said that coming up from the first plunge of the season was like being born. Zoey understood what she’d meant; she felt newer, if not younger, when she surfaced.
“Wah-hoo!” she shouted at the sky as she stood, tipped her head and slicked back her hair.
She took a few more steps, dove again, and kept swimming, submerged, until she ran out of breath. Then she rolled onto her back and floated, her eyes closed as she let her mind wander to her sister’s last trip to Dune Island six years ago, when Gabi was eight. The doctor had cautioned Jess about going in the water—something about marine illness or infection and her having a compromised immune system. But she had wanted to take one last look at the bay from her favorite vantage point, a secluded little spot between two low dunes overgrown with roses and honeysuckle, about half a mile south of Rose Beach.
Jess had been so weak she’d barely walked a fraction of the distance before she needed to rest. Scott had wanted to turn around but Jessica said she wasn’t leaving until she saw what she’d come to see. So Zoey had unfolded the beach chair she’d brought for her sister and as the adults waited until Jessica felt strong enough to keep going, Gabi searched the high-tide line nearby for beach glass and other treasures. When Jessica was ready, Scott picked up the cooler with one hand and supported his wife with his opposite arm, while Gabi ran up ahead and Zoey trailed behind, carrying the chair, towels and a beach blanket. The foursome would continue their expedition until Jess got tired again and then they’d stop and repeat the process.
When they’d finally reached their destination, Jessica put the seat of her chair into a reclining position and within a few minutes she had closed her eyes, although she wasn’t sleeping. Scott had been incredulous that after insisting she needed to see the view, she barely looked at it. But Zoey had understood; her sister was breathing it all in. Memorizing it, just like she did every summer when it was almost time to leave Dune Island.
Even though it was May at the time, it had been unseasonably humid and eventually Jessica announced she was going to wade into the water to cool off.
“Dr. Freedman said you shouldn’t,” her husband had lectured. “It’s dangerous. Your skin is cracked. You could come into contact with algae or bacteria and get an infection.”
“Yeah, but I’m dying to go in.” Jessica had giggled at her own glibly dark humor, but Scott stormed off, calling for Gabi to accompany him down the beach. Jessica had turned to her sister. “Could you give me a hand?”
“You sure about this?”
“I’m positive. It’s hot out and I’m getting uncomfortable.”
So Zoey had helped her up from the chair and held her steady while she took off her jeans. By then, Jess was so skinny she didn’t even need to unzip them; one tug and they slid down her legs. And when Zoey had wrapped her arm around her sister’s waist to support her as they walked, she could feel her sharp hip bone beneath the fabric of her over-sized shirt.
The tide had been only halfway in, so they’d treaded across the flats and passed through several shin-deep tidal pools before they entered the actual surf. Even then, it took a while for them to wade deep enough for the water to reach their midriffs. The bay had been calm that day, but its tiny swells made Jessica teeter as they lapped against her stomach. And yet, after a few moments, she’d said, “You can let go now. I want to go under.”
“No, Jess. It’s too cold. It’ll be too much of a shock your system and—”
“Zoey, let me go. I’ll be fine.”
“Iwon’t be.” Zoey had begun sobbing because by then everything seemed like a metaphor for her sister’s death.
Fearless to the very end, Jessica had threatened, “Don’t you dare ruin this for me. Stop bawling and let go.Now.”
So Zoey had released her and Jessica pitched herself forward, disappearing beneath the water for what seemed like an eternity. Zoey held her breath until her sister’s head popped up some thirty feet farther out. Gasping and blinking, Jessica looked stunned when she turned to face her.
Zoey rushed forward, running through the water instead of swimming. “Are you okay?”
“I’malive!” her sister had shouted—or she tried to, her voice was more of a squawk—and raised one hand over her head, exultant.
When Zoey dove toward her, she kept her eyes open so if Jessica told her to stop bawling again, she could say her tears were from the salt water. When she swam within sight of her sister’s bright, skinny legs, she had emerged and declared, “I’m alive, too!”
“You aresucha copycat.” Jessica flicked a few droplets at her, clearly trying to keep the mood light. “Just like when we were kids.”
“That’s because I’ve always admired you. I—”
“Knock it off, Zo. It’s not time for my eulogy yet.” Jessica’s no-nonsense tone indicated she meant business.
Zoey wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, which made them sting even worse. “Did you know—”
“I mean it. Not another word.”
“Stop being so bossy. And so vain. I wasn’t going to say any more nice things about you,” Zoey retorted. “I was only going to ask if you knew you lost your headscarf when you went under.”
