Gathering Water (8 page)

September 8
th
, 1968

Dear Journal,

Been very busy getting Anise ready for the Elfennol, and think that she is ready to start working with a team. I’ve spoken with Henry Neale about his boys and whether they are ready. He told me some disturbing things about L, that he has been acting wild and disobedient. I see recklessness in his eyes, and with a war going on overseas I wonder if he will do something rash and enlist, as so many other boys have already done. I hurt for Anise because I fear this boy will break her young heart
.

Cash and I
had a brief argument over who would sit shotgun in the car, but my aunt took the decision away from us by insisting I sit up front with her since I was “a lady”. We talked all way there about shopping, and Ellis asked if I’d be interested in driving up to Virginia Beach to make a day of it with her since the island didn’t have whatever store she wanted to go to.

Uncle Connor met us at the restaurant
, since he had to work late at the car dealership, and he already had a table for us when we walked in. He also had some appetizers waiting for us; he must’ve gotten there a little early.

“Did you get a lot of wor
k done today, Della?” he asked, right when I was shoving a crab-dip-laden chip in my mouth. I held up one finger while I chewed, like some sort of conversation pause-button.

“Yes. We got all the painting done in the main part of the house, just need to do the bedrooms now, and the little stuff like the window trim. Cash and Dove surprised me and did the entire front room before I even got there.”

“How good of you, Cash! We ought to have Dover over one night for a crab pickin’.” Ellis was pretty much beaming in pride at her son.

“Great. So, what all needs to be done after you finish with the painting?” This was from Connor, who had taken a big interest in all of the goings on at the house.

“Just need to sand and wax the floors and bring the furniture back in, then I’m done with the inside. I need to re-stain the porch and new stairs, and I’d really like to rebuild the little dock that was in the back but that can wait.”

“I shouldn’t have let it rot out.” Regret laced
Connor’s voice and he and Ellis exchanged a look-you know, one of the “weighted” kind.

“D
ella, we’ve been trying to get hold of Gabby’s remains for a while now. Right now it looks like they cremated her, and they disposed of her ashes already.” He coughed to clear his throat, probably so I wouldn’t catch the little hitch in it. “We still really want to have a service here for her, if that’s all right with you. We’d have it, oh say in about a month. What do you think?”

“
Well, it’s up to you guys. It’s just, I didn’t really know her, you know? So, it’s really up to you.” Ellis looked a little teary at my words, but they were the truth. I knew that the guilt I was feeling at her grief was irrational.

“There’s something else that we really wanted to talk with you about, Della. Something about our family.”

“Sure,” I said, though I had an idea what he was about to bring up.

“Well, there are things, that is, abilities, that you may think you need to hide. What I mean is, our family has this…”

“You mean like the Gathering thing? Cash told me about it this afternoon.” I interrupted him before he could go on. He gave Cash a look that had him instantly on the defensive.

“Hey, it’s not
like I just came out and said, ‘Look, our family has these mystical abilities, thought you should know’. She Gathered right in front of me, after she got a little wet. Dried herself instantly. It was awesome.”

“After you sprayed me with a hose, you mean.”

“Cash, you didn’t!” The pride that had lighted Ellis eyes just moments ago vanished.

“
Hey, she splashed me first!” he said indignantly. Ellis may not have approved of his actions, but Connor was obviously holding back a few chuckles. “But dad, you’re still going to need to work with her. She says that’s all she can do, and that she just figured that much out a couple of weeks ago.”

“Really? That’s very unusual.”
His face echoed the confused look that Cash’s had when I told him that.

“Why is that so weird? Cash didn’t say, but he acted all weird about it too.”

“Because Gathering usually presents itself when you’re a child. See, Della, Gathering is really absorbing energy from the elements. So, as a child when a lot of what you do is instinctual, you may Gather when you’re throwing a temper tantrum, or skin your knee, or even in a footrace against your friends in school,” the look he gave Cash made it clear my cousin had done that. “It gives you a little kick of energy, and you can’t do anything without Gathering first. So, in Cash’s case, we knew something was happening if he started Gathering, and we’d go check on him to see what was wrong. If we didn’t, we’d end up with a small wind storm or something. It happened far more frequently than it should.” He gave Cash an affectionate look. “Cash is a bit emotional. Basically any time that your emotions are high you lose control of yourself, and your abilities might present themselves. The first thing we teach is control, and that starts really young because unpredictable things can happen if you don’t control yourself.”

I thought back to my own childhood, looking for those memories where I might have been using some sort of power
. There were a few memories of hysterical crying, but the belt wouldn’t stop snapping until I stopped my tears. ‘I’ll give you a reason to cry’ had been a motto among several of my foster fathers, and mothers. It was better not to feel anything than to feel what was happening, better to shut it out. Even in the nicer homes the other kids would latch on to any weakness. They always thought I was weird and I had learned pretty early to control myself so I wouldn’t be an even bigger target for them. Had they sensed that I was different? Did I show some sort of power to them without even realizing?

The rest of the table was quiet, mostly because our food had just come and they were taking their first bites.

“Well, I can clear out a couple of nights this week if you’re interested in learning a little something. I’m sure Luke wouldn’t mind teaching you a bit either, if you want. He won’t be able to teach both sides quite as well, since he’s all Neale, so you’d definitely need me to go over the Deare side of things. Is there an afternoon that works best for you?”

“Oh, you want to start this week?” I was a little surprised by that.
I guess I was nervous to start and wanted to put the lessons off. Besides, it was moving a little fast. After all, I’d just “come out” not an hour before, and now we were planning lessons.

“Of course
. Della, this is of the upmost importance, and it shouldn’t be put off. You, of course, can decide for yourself, but I really think this is necessary.” He handed the passing server his glass to be refilled. “Give me just one afternoon so I can explain things, and then if you decide that you’d rather learn on your own, that’s fine.”

“I didn’t mean that I didn’t want to do it. It’s just a little fast for me. It’s fine! Um, Wednesday works great for me.”

“Ok, I’ll pick you up after I get off work. Will you be at Luke’s, or at the house?”

Ellis took a sip of wine, then answered for me. “
Neither honey. I’m taking Della up to Virginia Beach that day. We’ll be home by five, how does that sound?”

“Fine. Della, we’ll work out more of a schedule then. Depending on how you do, I’ll probably have you in with Cash on Sundays, since you’ll need to get used to working together. Cash, you’ll finally figure out how to
work in a team properly.”

“Awesome!”
Cash said, happily.

I, again, had no idea what they were talking about. I was working at the shop the next day, and told myself I’d ask Luke a bit of stuff, since Conner had clearly said that Luke knew
some
things.

Being curi
ous was out of character for me. I’d shut down the part of myself that asked questions when I was still a child and it was frustrating to care so much about how little I knew.

Ellis
chatted on for the rest of dinner, asking me where I wanted to shop and what I wanted to get. I didn’t really have any interest in having a shopping day, but Ellis was really looking forward to it, so I decided I could muster a little excitement for her sake.

When we got home after dinner, I went upstairs and changed out of the jeans I had been wearing for a pair of cotton shorts. I desperately needed the centering that a run would offer me. I hesitated at the closet
. Should I bother with the shoe façade?

I hadn’t wanted them to know about my barefoot running, so I usually just took them off at my own house and picked them back up on the run back. But now tha
t the whole ‘Gathering’ thing was out, I dunno, it just seemed silly to hide it. When I went downstairs to tell Cash and Ellis what I was doing, I was surprised to find Dove sitting on the couch watching t.v.

“W
hat are you doing here?”

“Cash invited me over to play a little CoD, but Caroline called him. He’s outside try
ing to woo her over the phone.”

Caroline was the girl that Cash cu
rrently was trying to “get with.” I hadn’t met her, and doubted I would. This was his third “lady-friend” since I’d been living with him; apparently tourists were easy pickings for the local boys, and it was tourist season all right.

“
I hope she has a little self-respect and hangs up on him really soon.” Dove laughed at my joke, then went back to watching his show, leaving me standing there awkwardly.

“Well when he’s done, will you just tell him I went for a run?”
I turned to leave.

“Sure. Hey, Della. Mind if I come along? Cash is going to be forever, and I’ve already seen this episode.” He gestured to the t.v. where Stewey Griffin was pointing a lazer gun at his mother.

“Uh, no that’s fine. Just keep pace.” I had been looking forward to some alone time, but didn’t want to seem rude. He walked around the couch and followed me out the door, sitting on the stairs to put his shoes on.

“That won’t be a problem; I ran track in high
school. Where are your shoes?”

“Oh, er…
I run barefoot.” Of course the first person here that knows this little quirk is also not family. I readied myself for some ridicule, but all I got was a “huh” from him.

At first it was a little strange running with someone. With the exception of gym class, I’d only ever run alone. But soon I got us
ed to the occasional elbow bump, and the pounding of my feet hitting the sandy asphalt coupled with the cool breeze running over my body made me relax enough for the run to do its magic.

“I’ve n
ever seen anyone do that before,” Dover said easily beside me, not even remotely winded.

“
What, running without shoes?”

“
No, Gather with your feet when you’re running.”

I tripped, and barely kept myself from falling flat on my face.

“Oh, oh. Ouch,” I stuttered, having no idea what to say, what to reveal. And I really had no idea that my feet were Gathering. Dove stopped and helped me back up. I had fallen down to one knee like I was going to propose or something. I’d stubbed my toe pretty bad too.

He led me over to a conveniently loca
ted bench; we had made it oceanside and there were benches scattered around.

“This is why normal people wear shoes
,” I said while gesturing to the blood leaking from my toe. I held it on my opposite knee to get a look at it, which only made me bleed on myself.

“Here, let me.” And before I could reject his offer, he’d grabbed my foot (making me swivel on the bench to face him so my leg wouldn’t be contorted) and st
arted pressing a handkerchief to my toe, the warmth of his hand spreading in my foot. I can’t even describe how glad I was that I had shaved my legs that morning, since my foot was resting in his lap.

“Dover, seriously I can do that. My feet are all dirty.”

“No, it’s fine. I mean, they’re filthy, but I’m cool with it. Just relax for a moment and tell me how you gather through your feet. Earth, right? I can’t tell which element you’re doing, only that you’re doing it.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And do you always keep handkerchiefs in your pocket?”
I asked, nodding at the hanky in question.

“Lucky for you that I do. Come on, Cash and I have been friends since birth. I know all about the family gifts, in fact…”

“I figured that out. What I mean is, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just figured out about the Gathering thing a couple weeks ago, and just now told Cash and Uncle Connor today about it. And nobody’s really saying anything else until my lessons start, which is on Wednesday! How can you tell when I’m doing it, and what do you mean by ‘Earth’? Like, are there different things to Gather?” I was hoping he could answer some of my questions so I wouldn’t have to suffer until Wednesday.