Summer of Lost and Found (10 page)

“That's fine—I have to work with my mother too.” I'd forgotten that he actually had a job at the Festival Park. “But I'm good at waiting. It's not often I get to spend a day frolicking like this, with you.”

My heart pounded in a rush of nervousness.
He likes
frolicking
with me. Whoa.
That was kind of a weird way of telling someone you liked hanging out with her. But I still felt a little burst of pride. I had tons to tell Jade, whenever I had enough bars to send a text.

“Till Monday, then?” he asked. “I'll find you at the fort, in the morning.”

I nodded. “I'll be on time, too. I promise.”

We stood awkwardly for a few minutes, neither of us saying good-bye first. Finally, not knowing whether I should try to give him a hug or just ride away, I spun the combo lock to unchain my bike. “See ya later, Ambrose.” I swung my leg over and sat down. This was going to be one fun ride home: wet butt on a bike seat, precious artifact in the basket.

“Fare thee well, Nell.” He smiled and waved as I carefully pedaled away.

T
he sun blazed down on me, stronger than it should have at almost four p.m., but it was a hotter-than-hot day and I
was
already sticky-sweaty. To make matters worse, whomping blisters on both feet screamed with every push of the pedal. I wobbled along the road as I biked with one hand on the handlebars, the other arm hugging the flask—I hadn't trusted it in the bike basket, where it could roll and bounce.
I have to take a break.
I pulled onto the shoulder and sat down cross-legged in the grass. I ran my fingertip over the etched letters.
A
,
V
, maybe
E
. I knew
AVE
could be “ave,” like “Ave Maria.” We used to have an opera-singer neighbor who sang that a lot.

Putting the flask aside, I flopped onto my back and stared up at the sky. I felt happier than I had in weeks. Kind of exhilarated, like I'd just finished running the mile in gym class. Ambrose had seemed excited about our find, but not as giddy as I felt. The sadness in his eyes never faded, even during excursions in the sunshine that made the dad-less pit in my stomach disappear, at least for a few hours.
Poor Ambrose.

When I got back to the cottage, I dropped the bike on the lawn and raced into the kitchen, where I rinsed the outside of the flask (but not with soap because I was afraid that chemicals could hurt the markings) and carefully dabbed it dry with paper towels, then wrapped it up in a couple of dishcloths. In my room, I put the bundle of cloth and flask into a cabinet on the bottom the vanity, firmly shutting the door. Then I threw a load of my dirty clothes, including stiffly dried shorts and sand-covered shirt, in the washer. Before I hopped in the shower, I used the Notes function on my phone to start a log of the evidence so far. I wrote down what I'd learned about the colony from Ambrose and Lila. All this info would help my dad write his greatest mystery yet. I had just turned on the water when I heard the clatter of Mom coming in the front door.

She was standing in the kitchen, with a bunch of big paper bags lined up on the counter, when I wandered in, still toweling off my hair. Mom turned away quickly to fuss with something in the sink, and when she faced me I noticed her eyes were red and watery.

“Onions,” she said, clearing her throat. Although the cutting board wasn't out. “You're in time to help me cook. Start unloading those bags, will you?”

I reached into the first one and pulled out a shrink-wrapped package of crabs. “Ew! Mom! You know I don't eat anything that swimmeth or creepeth upon the sea!” I dropped them onto the counter and hurried to the sink to wash my hands. Seafood is so gross.

Mom rolled her eyes. “Still, Nell? When's the last time you ate fish? If you try it again, I'm sure you'll feel much differently. I mean, you wouldn't even eat potatoes when you were little, and you've outgrown that, Miss French-fries-are-a-food-group.”

“Doesn't matter. It's my right to be totally and completely disgusted by fish food! Just because I'm not an adult doesn't mean I can't have strong food preferences.”

Mom sighed. “Well, I thought it might be rude to not serve it with the Midgetts coming over. Lila's mother is a fisherman, you know.”

“Fisher
woman
, you mean?”

“My bad.” Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

The Midgetts didn't ring the bell like I expected, but bounded into the garden, where my mom was grilling. Specifically, it was Lila's mom, and Sir Walter, who did the bounding. “What in tarnation is that glorious smell?” She strode right over to my mom and poked at the sizzling fish with a huge smile across her tanned face. “This looks absolutely divine, Celia!”

My mom opened her mouth, to say hello or something. But Lila's mom kept on talking and waving her arms around, showing off her biceps. She was wearing a striped tank top underneath a very worn pair of overalls, which kind of made her seem like an overgrown kid, and maybe one on a sugar high. Sir Walter hustled over to me and nosed my hand to start petting him.

“I've forgotten my manners!” Lila's mom stuck out her hand for my mom to shake. I noticed right away that hers looked rough and weathered like, well, a fisherwoman's. “Kate Midgett. Very pleased to make your acquaintance.” She turned to me next. “This darling little gal must be Nell. So nice to meet you, sweet thing! Why, I heard so much about you after Lila came home from the bookshop. Can't tell you how happy I am that she has a summer friend.” Her handshake was so firm it almost stung.

Lila had told her parents about me? “Uh, thanks.” Given Kate's big personality and even bigger smile, I could see where Lila got her confidence. Although that was no excuse for being a know-it-all.

“You know,” Kate leaned closer to me, in a confiding way. “Lila, for some reason, has the hardest time making friends. Don't tell her I said that. We encouraged her to try out for the play so she'd have something to keep her occupied this summer—and stop obsessing about ghosts all the time. But her audition was a bit of a debacle. So I'm pleased as punch that you girls found each other.” She gave my shoulder a squeeze before standing up straight. I felt mortified on behalf of Lila. Maybe one of the reasons why she had a hard time friendmaking and friendkeeping was because her
mom
was running around telling almost-strangers about her social woes. I also wondered what the “debacle” she mentioned meant.

“Mom? What were you saying about my audition?” Lila and her dad had walked into the garden while her mom was spilling the beans to me. The look on Lila's face was pure horror.

“Nothing, sweetie! Just that you wound up being free for the summer, that's all.”

Lila sputtered to me, “It was not a
debacle
. I didn't have a choice about stopping in the middle of my number—my EMF detector started beeping. I had to investigate why! Anyway, I only wanted to be in the play so I could look for the backstage ghost,” she huffed. “I didn't care about hanging out with the other kids in the cast.” But the way she bit her lip suggested maybe she had.

Lila's dad, Luke, came over to introduce himself. He was much quieter than Kate and Lila, and seemed like the sort of person who would happily sit for long periods sifting through rocks and dirt to find tiny artifacts. Which is not a bad thing. “Nice to meet you, Nell,” he said. “I'm delighted to work with your mom this summer.”

Our parents chatted over by the grill, Kate waving her hands around and miming something that must have to do with her fishing adventures—making motions like she was reeling in a huge catch. Lila pulled another Adirondack chair up next to mine. Her smile stretched across her face and for the first time, I noticed the gap between her front teeth. Something about it, and the embarrassing audition story, made me feel like I should be a little nicer to her. Maybe I'd misjudged her. Maybe I'd simply been having a grumpy day when we met at the bookstore.

“Have you reconsidered?” She perched on the edge of her chair, bouncing her legs with eagerness, while I sprawled back in mine. Sir Walter flopped onto my feet again, which was apparently his thing. “Because I could use a helper. Someone to take notes for me, and carry some of my heavier equipment. My work is
important
, you know. No matter what my dad thinks, I'm not just ‘messing around' and getting in the way. Why, I made a very interesting discovery today.” Lila paused, waiting for me to ask her what the discovery was. It was
killing
me to say nothing—especially considering what Ambrose and I had uncovered. But I didn't want to encourage her. I shrugged.

“Nope, haven't reconsidered.” I fiddled with a piece of wood that was splintering off the chair. It was hard work to look so relaxed when Lila was irritating me and my foot was falling asleep from Sir Walter's not-insignificant weight.

Lila sighed and pulled her hair back from her face, winding it into a knot. She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “I really shouldn't tell anyone what I found. I have a strict confidentiality policy.” She reached into her purple backpack and pulled out a typed-up sheet of paper. “Will you sign it?” The title, in bold type, was
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT
. Was this girl for real? I shook my head no. She sighed and zipped it back up in her bag. “Since you don't seem to know anything about this stuff, or care one lick, it can't hurt to talk to you.”

But now I cared quite a few licks, and the notes on my phone showed I knew something. I kept quiet.

Lila continued, “I was on my way to the old swimming hole, and of course I had my EMF detector with me—you know, a tool that picks up electromagnetic fields, sometimes from ghosts. It started picking up some crazy energy. I wandered off the road, away from the houses and deeper into the woods, near where they're building the golf course. Then it went crazier. Even Sir Walter seemed affected. Normally, he loves to scamper around, and sniff everything within a two-mile radius, but he kept close to my side and growled.” I looked down at Sir Walter, smile-panting up at me. I couldn't imagine him ever growling. “This was by a specific grouping of trees. There must be something—or some
one
—there.” Lila leaned in closer. “Maybe a lost colonist. Which means that haunted area might be where the village was. I'm a genius, right?”

It made sense, but if she had been by the golf-course construction—that was near my mom's vine. Not near the beach where Ambrose and I had found the flask. I knew I should keep that information to myself, but there was something about the condescending look Lila was giving me, and her calling herself a genius, that I could not stomach.

“Unfortunately, I made a recent discovery, and it suggests you're not on the right track.”

Lila's eyes narrowed to slits. “What do you mean
you
made a
discovery
?”

“
I
 have a strict confidentiality policy too.” I raised my eyebrows at her. “You're not the only girl around here who wants to find the colony.”

Lila's mouth dropped open slightly. “Why aren't you working with me, then?” There was a smidge of disappointment in her tone.

I shrugged. “Why did people come to America in the first place?
To be their own bosses
. Same reason.”

She leaned even farther off her chair, so much so that I was afraid she would topple it. In fact, it wobbled enough that Lila dropped the scowl from her face for a second while she caught her balance.

“Girls! Come set the picnic table. Food's about ready,” my mom hollered. She and Lila's parents stood around the grill, clutching sweating glasses, huge relaxed smiles on their faces. I welcomed the chance to escape Lila, so I nudged Sir Walter and then sprang out of my chair. Lila followed close behind me, practically hissing.

“Nell! What did you mean? Tell me now!”

I ignored her, grabbing the stack of melamine plates and tumblers. I arranged them on the checkered tablecloth, humming nonchalantly just to drive her that much crazier.

Kate called, “Lila, help me carry the food to the table.” Lila stomped over to her mom. I tried to set the table such that I could sit next to mine, or maybe Lila's dad, who might have some useful information for me. But I was thwarted when my mom came over and pressed her palms onto my shoulders. “I thought you girls could sit next to each other. We'll put Kate, Luke, and me across the table.”
Great.

After we sat down to eat, I felt something nudging my leg under the table. I thought it was Sir Walter wanting table scraps, but it was actually Lila.
“You
have
to tell me what you were talking about.”

“None of your business,”
I hissed in between bites of biscuit and veggie burger. Even though the spices smelled delicious, I still couldn't bring myself to touch the fish. My mom had thrown a veggie patty on the grill for me before the rest of the food.