5 Summer, Year 4
Mussels
It's my first day this season where I'm done with work early – it's only 3 pm. My first thought is to go see Harvey, but I already went over last night. I should probably leave him alone for a day.
Which leaves me to wonder what else to do. It's really surprising just how quickly I've gotten used to spending all my free time with him. But then, I've never had so much of it, or felt so free to enjoy it. Previous years contained a lot more watering, more time spent on making cheese, mayonnaise, jam... With Maru's help, I now have a sprinkler system and several big tanks to do that for me, and all of it on solar and water power, the girl is a genius.
In the meantime I'm comfortable in the money department. I don't need to sell fish to Willy anymore, so I don't need to spend as much time fishing. I don't need to mine anymore. I spent yesterday cutting wood and I don't even need it for fire right now so that's probably going to last all season.
So many things I used to spend whole days on, just... gone. My relationship with Harvey seems to have started taking off exactly at the moment I started to have time and money to spend on it. Maybe that's what surprised him. I guess he never expected me to have this much time to spend on him.
Well, it's a beautiful, sunny day, and even though summer has only just started, it looks like it's going to be a pretty warm one, too. I could head to the beach. I haven't been there in a long time. Something interesting might have washed up, or I could have a chat with Willy. As a matter of fact, I have a set of instructions on how to make crab pots somewhere. It was in my grandpa's notebooks, and I've copied it into my own, but I've never actually made one. If I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands this summer, I might as well make a few of those. Dump them in the water when I arrive, stay a few hours and grab whatever is in them when I leave.
But there's going to be time for that later. Now I really just want an ice cream and a dip. And I know just where to get ice cream.
Alex is right there where I expected him, at the ice cream stand near the museum, chatting up Haley.
"Hey, guys. Beautiful day, huh?"
"Hello," Haley says, barely turning her head to acknowledge me.
"Hi. Perfect weather for an ice cream," Alex winks.
"That's exactly what I'm here for. Have you got any flavors, or is it pre-made pops?"
"I got yogurt pops with real fruit and also chocolate, vanilla, banana and strawberry to put on cones."
"Can you get me a cone with chocolate and banana, please?"
"Comin' right up."
"So, you two having a good summer so far?" I ask the question mainly to Haley because I don't want to distract Alex.
"Oh, don't talk to me about it," she goes off, "this town is just so boring. I mean, it's summer! This is the time to shop for cute clothes and there isn't a single mall for, like, a thousand miles. Honestly, the only good thing about this place is the beach. I'm sure I would die without it."
"Yeah, the beach here is brilliant. When I still lived with my parents it was always an hour's drive just to get to a beach, and that's the closest beach to the city so that was always chock full of people."
"Here you are," Alex speaks up. "That's 250."
I count out the money while Haley answers me.
"That's fun, though. There's always cute guys to talk to. Or girls, for you boys."
"I dunno, I guess I wouldn't mind the cute guys either," I smirk, and take a big lick of ice cream. "But it's no fun to compete for a spot to put down a towel. Yo, Alex, this stuff is amazing. Where do you even get this?"
"My grandma makes it," Alex says with a wide smile. "I'll tell her you like it."
"Love it, more like."
"Woah, woah, hang on," Haley interrupts, eyes wide, hands up, like she lost her contact lens. "You're gay?"
"Wait, you didn't know? I literally walked into the pub half drunk and told everyone. Emily didn't tell you?" Haley's sister works at the bar, for heaven's sake, she must have told her.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe she did." Haley tosses her hair, clearly annoyed. "She doesn't really say much that's worth listening to. But that's really cool."
"Cool?" I focus my attention on my ice cream for a moment because I'm at a loss for what to say.
"Yeah, you know. You like clothes and girl movies and stuff, right?"
I demonstratively look down at myself – I changed into something more temperature-adapted after finishing work, but I wouldn't say I look like a fashion gay. It's just a t-shirt and khakis, after all.
"No, but that's just work clothes," Haley protests. "You know what I mean."
"Yeah, I do, and I put on these clothes to go to the beach. This is probably the newest t-shirt I own. And I'll watch just about any movie except for horror, as long as it's well-written... which most rom-coms I've seen are not. I'm not a stereotype."
"Okay, okay. You can cut the drama."
I should've seen it coming, really. I'm not gonna make a dent in this blonde's ignorance. Well, at least I made an effort not to judge her by how she looks and sounds. I've done what I could.
"So I'm gonna go enjoy that beach. See ya."
"Talk to you later," Alex answers, and wouldn't you know it, he actually looks embarrassed.
"Yeah."
I sit down on the pier to eat my ice cream first, letting my feet dangle in the water, and focus on enjoying the here and now. It's a beautiful, warm day. That ice cream really is to die for. The view is beautiful, the see stretched so far that it seems to unite with the sky far in the distance, with only a few dark patches on it – the shadows of a few lost sheep clouds. The noise of the waves and the cries of the gulls calm my annoyance. It wouldn't be a bad day for fishing, if I had my rod with me; I could probably catch some tuna. Herring. Sardines. It's too late in the day for tilapia. It's been a year since I've had tilapia, maybe I should come back earlier tomorrow. Though I really prefer fishing in the lake this time of year, for the rainbow trout. And bass. There's flounder, though, that's not bad either.
My ice cream is finished before I know it and I hang my shirt on a pole of the pier, leave my shoes next to it and do a bomb into the sea. I didn't come here to stay dry. I paddle around a bit, swim back and forth, go as far out as I dare and then back. After getting bored with that, I breast-stroke over to the Eastern side of the beach. From afar I see Leah standing there, recognizable mainly because of her red hair and the fact that she's drawing on a large board held in one arm. I don't interrupt her.
I can't go ashore here – this part of the beach is basically one large rock jutting out from the mainland, and even though the rocks aren't particularly steep to climb, they're covered in slippery seaweed and oysters with sharp shells, a dangerous combination to put one's feet on. I have cut my feet open on oyster rocks when I was a kid, and I don't want to end up needing to go see Harvey after all because of my own stupidity. However, I do find large mussel banks clinging to the rocks in places where I don't need to climb to reach them. The trouble is I don't have a knife to cut them free... nor any way to keep them with me. Maybe Willy has something that will help.
"Is that you, Evan?"
I look up and notice Leah has looked up from her drawing board and spotted me.
"Yeah. Came to cool off. It's a beautiful day for it."
"Finished work on the farm early, did you?"
"Yeah. Maru helped me automate a couple of time-consuming processes – cheese and such – so I have a lot more time now."
"And you're not at Harvey's?" She raises her eyebrows meaningfully.
"Er... I would appreciate it if you didn't mention that out loud too much? He gets a bit... self-conscious about it."
"He's not ashamed of you, is he?" Leah immediately looks outraged.
"No, no, no-no-no, hang on. We're perfectly fine. It seems he just hadn't expected people to come looking for me at the clinic this soon. I'm giving him space. I mean, I was spending literally all my spare time at the clinic. He's right. I should have a life aside from our relationship and work."
"Right. Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know..."
"Thanks. If I ever do, I'll remember. Right now what I'm more interested in is how I'm going to get these mussels home."
"I'm sure Willy has a knife or something."
"That's exactly what I'm thinking. What time is it?"
"Um... a quarter to 5."
"Then I'm gonna hurry. Be right back."
I swim back to the sandy part of the beach, in a bit of a hurry now, because Willy closes up shop at 5. And because it's Friday, he'll be headed to the pub instead of staying on the pier to fish.
I nearly run into Willy as he's about to leave.
"Willy. Hey. Sorry, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. What'll it be, skipper?"
"I... kinda came just to swim and then figured I might as well get some of the mussels on the rock. But I didn't really think about bringing a knife or a bag to keep them in or anything. Would you mind lending me something?"
"Aw, you just can't resist them jumbos, can you. Lemme see, this here's a good one for mussels..." Willy gets back behind his counter to rummage in a drawer back there. "And this... this is gonna be good to keep 'em. Lot better than a bag."
He pops back up with a dangerous-looking serrated knife, gleaming with care, and a small piece of fine netting. "Ya hold it like this, see?" He hooks his fingers in the outer loopholes of the net and pulls it together, forming a pouch. "And then the water doesn't hold ya back."
"Oh, that's perfect, thanks. I'm giving them back tomorrow."
"That's fine, I trust ya. Now I'm goin' fer a cold one. Handling salty fish all day makes me real thirsty."
"Of course. Hey, come to think of it... You can make nets, right? I mean, obviously, I shouldn't have to ask. Would you mind teaching me how to do that sometime?"
"My boy, I never woulda thought, but yer a fine fisherman, you are. Come in whenever ya like and I'll teach ya anything."
"Aww, thanks, Willy. See you tomorrow."
I head back out to the mussel bank. Leah spots me and I hold out my newly scored tools for her to see, then get to work.
"You want a few?" I ask her while I'm on it.
"Sure. By the way, did you know some of the seaweed here on the beach is edible too?"
"Really? Which types?"
"Just one. This one here, the brown one."
She squats on the edge of the rock to point at a rust-colored growth hanging down into the water in a clump. It floats where the water reaches, spreading out into a long, unusually thin-looking frond.
"That's slake. They eat it on the Fern islands. You have to boil it for over an hour first and it turns into this green mush that goes really well with butter and a splash of lemon juice and they generally also add bacon or cockles. Or both. Or they roll it in oatmeal and fry it, like a kind of crispy ball."
"Have you tasted that?"
"Yeah, it's better than it sounds, trust me. But it goes bad really quickly, so don't pick it unless you're going to use it the same day."
"Well, it'll stick around for a bit longer." I go on sawing off mussels.
By the time I figure I have enough for two, the sun is getting quite low.
"I think that should do the trick. Here, do you have... I dunno, a bag or something? Or I can also just walk you home and then leave your half with you. You think half of this would be good?" I hold my net pouch up out of the water so she can see.
"Oh, sure, that's more than enough. I'm not that big of an eater, really."
"Eh, I'm sure they'll keep for a day or two after you cook them."
I wade out of the water and go pick up my shirt and shoes, not putting on either of them. I'm not worried about walking barefoot on the cobbles. Hopefully my feet will be dry by the time we get to the forest.
"So, productive day for you?"
"You could say so, yes," Leah chuckles, and shows me her drawing. I can feel my cheeks get warmer.
"That's me, isn't it."
"You didn't think I could be standing there with my drawing board and just totally ignore the bish in front of me doing something interesting, did you?"
"Did you just call me a bitch?"
"Nooo, bish. It's... this word people use in... some circles to mean a handsome boy."
"Right. Guess this is what getting old feels like."
"Naw, Evan. I told you, very few people know this."
"I'm pulling your leg, Leah."
"But you don't like the drawing."
"No, it's very good. I could definitely not do that. I've just never really thought of myself as a model."
"Believe me, you're better to look at than a lot of the ones I've had in art school."
"Er, thanks."
"I just can't say anything to make you happy today, can I?"
"I'm sorry, I guess it's me. I just get... uncomfortable."
"From compliments?"
I sigh.
"Look... I have been told before that compliments can be... like, random. But receiving one from someone else than my parents... now, I mean, now that I... well, look a lot better than I used to... I get kind of worried about having people... hit on me? I know it sounds stupid, and probably arrogant, it's not like I believe that anyone would hit on me, but..."
"Man, that sounds really insecure. You've just never received compliments in your life, have you?"
"From my parents. I didn't exactly have much worth complimenting before, I guess."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm lesbian."
"Oh. Wow. That... really shouldn't make me feel this much better."
"Welcome to a woman's world. We like gay men because it feels like 98% of all the others wouldn't hesitate to grope us all over if they found us drunk."
"And that sounds terrible."
"It's probably just a perception thing," Leah shrugs. "If I go to a bar or something, men will be all over me. Even if it's a gay bar, they just don't want to get it. But then you're not supposed to go up to someone and strike up a conversation in a library, are you? The places where you're more likely to find a serious, respectful man are also places where people go with the intention of being left alone. And I have to admit, I don't specifically go looking for men to strike up a conversation with. So the ones I end up talking to tend to be the ones who come up to me."
"I'd think you should be able to find people of all genders whom you can have a conversation with about something that interests you in art school, no?"
"Don't believe it. Half the men there are slackers who think any degree will open the same doors to them and in the meantime they can spend their time staring at nude models. The girls tend to be either dreamy pixie girls or brooding and depressed."
"Is that why you came to the valley? Tired of city people?"
"No, that's a different story. Tell you what, if you want to know, why don't we just cook all of these together and have dinner at my place?"
"Sounds like a great plan. Do you have enough ingredients? I could bring something."
"Oh, do you happen to have any coconut milk? I have everything else for that recipe."
"I have a coconut. Anything else?"
"Well, if you happen to have a bottle of good wine lying around..."
"Wine coming up. Lemme pass by home and I'll be right with you."
