Friday afternoon when Abby got off the bus, the sky was overcast and the water was dull. Grammy's car was not in the drive. This was unusual. Grammy was always home when she got home. Great, thought Abby, an afternoon with my dad. This will be fun. NOT. She got the mail and went to the back door. It was locked. She walked around to the front and onto the porch. She knocked, but no one answered. Stupid Chester probably couldn't hear her over his guitar playing. She fished through her backpack and found her house key. It had been a long time since she had used it. The lock clicked open and she walked inside. Something very rare greeted her. Silence. If Grammy was awake some sort of music was always playing, Chester was the same. Abby couldn't remember the last time the house had been so still, so silent.

Propped up against the floral center piece on the dining room table was a note. It said,

Abigail,

Chester and I have gone to Houston. Be back around

5:00.

Love, Grammy

That was it. No explanation, no real destination. Houston was huge, they could be anywhere. She went upstairs and turned on her TV. The noise of it, did not ease the sense of panic that was growing inside of her. She did not know why she felt scared, but she did.

The phone rang. Abby went downstairs to answer it. When she picked up, Ryan said, "Hey. Mom wants me to go check on the boat." He hesitated before he asked, “Want to come along?"

Usually, Abby would have said no. Being out in the weather was not her favorite thing, but the emptiness of the house was giving her the creeps. "Sure."

"Great! Meet you outside."Ryan sounded a bit too enthusiastic.

Abby hung up the phone and went to the hall closet and got her rain poncho. It was bright yellow. David always called her his 'sweet duck Juliet' when she wore it. Stupid David. She went out and locked the front door. The smell of rain was heavy in the air. Ryan drove his four wheeler out of the garage. Abby was scared of the thing. She did not like the rumble of it or the way Ryan drove. When he pulled in her drive he handed her a helmet. Noticing her reluctance he yelled above the roar of the machine, "I will be careful I promise."

She yelled back, "You better!"

He smiled at her. His smile cut into her sideways. Butterflies in her stomach, really? Ryan had NEVER given her butterflies. Something was seriously wrong with her. She climbed behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Grammy was not affectionate. Her hugs were quick and her kisses were pecks at best. Abby couldn't remember the last time she had been this close to anyone much less a boy. He took off fast, but did not drive like the crazy he was. Over head dark clouds piled and the wind began to gust.

At the marina the sailboats pitched back and forth pulling against their moorings. Ryan parked and Abby climbed off. She followed him to Sanity. He unlocked the hatch door for her and she went inside. The wind slammed the door behind her. She could hear Ryan's foot steps on the deck as he checked each line's security. She lay down on the cabin's tiny bed. The motion of the boat reminded her of being rocked by someone. She closed her eyes.

The hatch door opened and Ryan came inside. Quietly he crept onto the bed beside her and asked, "You asleep?"

"No." She opened her eyes. Ryan's nose was almost touching hers. He leaned even closer and his lips touched hers. The softness of his lips was a surprise. Abby had never been kissed on the mouth by anyone. David had tried once, but she had ducked and he had hit her ear. Ryan's eyes were closed. Sudden anger ripped through her. He had just stolen her first kiss! She had planned what her first kiss would be like and it did not involve a Spenser. She pulled away from him and wiped her mouth.

Ryan's eyes opened. There was something in them that disturbed her. Something that made her feel not special. Had she kissed badly? How could she kiss good, she didn't have any experience? Embarrassment flushed her face. Ryan had experience, he had lots and good God what was he thinking! She was NOT going to be another on his long list of girlfriends. "I want to go home now."

"What's you're hurry?"

"I've got homework."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Ryan’s eyes held hers. "You've got all weekend to do it."

She cleared her throat and said as firmly as she could, "I like to get it out of the way."

He asked, "You know what I think?"

"I don't want to know. I want to go home."

"I think you are afraid to be alone with me." Gently he touched her cheek.

His caress set the butterflies to flapping in her stomach. Damned butterflies. Again she said,"I want to go home."

He shrugged like it didn't matter and stayed where he was. This made Abby scared. Grammy had told her teenage boys stored almost all their brains in the penises, and that she must watch out for herself. She slid off the bed.

He asked, “What are you doing?"

"I'm going home. I've already said that twice."

Softly he said, "God Abby. Don't you know I like you? You are all I have been able to think about."

"Well think of something else. I’m walking home." She headed for the hatch door.

"Hang on. I will take you home." He got up off the bed. Abby glanced back at him. He was angry, but also hurt. Somehow him being hurt eased her fear. She really didn’t want to walk, it was kinda far on foot. Ryan opened the door for her and then locked it. The wind whipping fiercely around them. The sky was getting darker. When Ryan climbed onto the four wheeler and handed her the helmet, he said, "You realize you will have to hug me all the way home." The ride home was awkward because despite her anger her stomach was still full of annoying little wings. This attraction would not be pursued, EVER. It started to rain, huge fat drops. Abby ducked her head against Ryan's shoulder. The rain stung her hands. When Ryan pulled up to Abby's front sidewalk, she was confused by her sudden reluctance to get off the back of the four wheeler. This was so stupid. She climbed off, handed him the helmet and went toward the house without saying, good bye.

The lights in the house were on, Grammy and Chester must be back. The rain came down harder. The wind was so fierce, it almost pulled the screen door out of Abby’s hands when she opened it. Near the front door, sheltered from the rain, Chester sat on a stool with his guitar. He asked, "Hear that?"

All Abby could hear was the wind. "You mean the wind?"

"Yep. That's a sound I've been trying to capture my whole life. Don't guess I'll ever will though." Chester fingers ran the length of his guitar strings.

Since he didn’t say anything else Abby figured he must be finished talking to her, so she went inside. Grammy was in the kitchen struggling with the staples in a big box. She had a butter knife jammed under one staple and was pumping it up and down.

Abby looked at the box. It was juicer. "What's that for?" she asked.

"Chester." Grammy let out a sigh as the staple finally came loose. She pulled the machine out of the box and smiled at it.

Abby asked, "Am I gonna have to drink that stuff?"

"No. I told you it's for Chester."

Abby thought, Isn’t everything?

Grammy plugged the machine in and turned it on. It made a soft whirring sound. Grammy ran her hand along the side of it like it was some fat bellied baby. Abby shook her head and started to go upstairs.

Grammy asked, "Did Chester have his hat and coat on?"

"I don't know."

"He better. It is cold out there." Perturbed Grammy added, "That boy."

Angrily Abby said, “He is a man not a boy."

Grammy didn’t respond. She went to the porch to check on Chester. Abby rolled her eyes and went to her room. Through her window she watched the violence of the storm roll across the bay. Her fingers went to her lips. She could still feel Ryan's kiss.

*

The next morning Abby walked along the water’s edge. Unusual things often washed onto the pilings after a storm. In the past she had found a Coast Guard Life preserver, oddly shaped pieces of drift wood, varied colored bottles. and once she found a ball of tawny blown glass. Why it had not been smashed continued to be a miracle to her. She still had it in her room. Maybe she would find something precious today. Farther down the pilings she saw a man stand up. It was Chester. A ray of light broke through the overcast sky. It struck the water at Chester's feet and shattered. The effect was blinding. Abby shaded her eyes. The clouds moved, the light disappeared.

Chester turned and saw her. Much to her dismay he started walking toward her. She did not want to talk to him, or even have to greet him. He stopped beside her and stared up at the screeching gulls. "That was some weather we had last night."

“Yeah."

He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets. It was cold and he was not wearing a jacket or cap. Grammy would be so pissed if she knew. In a soft voice he said, "I had forgotten how the old house trembles and complains during a storm."

Abby agreed, "It does make a lot of noise. It used to scare me when I was little. I thought the house was haunted."

He turned and looked at her. The corners of his mouth twitched. "That's funny. I did too. I made Ma sleep with me when I got really scared."

Although Abby usually avoided eye contact with Chester, she made herself meet his eyes when she said, "Me too." Amazingly he smiled at her. Abby felt the warmth of her own smile spread across her face.

Chester looked back up at the gulls. "I wish I could fly. Sometimes I dream I can. Do you ever do that?"

"No. But it must be wonderful."

In a wistful voice he said, "It is. It's the most incredible feeling to transcend the earth and all its limitations."

"Like an angel?"

Angrily Chester responded, "No, not like that." His features hardened into his usual frown. Without even a glance in her direction, he stepped passed her and headed back to the house.

Abby stared up at the seagulls and then down at her feet. Rock roaches scuttled around her boots. She didn't feel like looking for treasure anymore.