The Forget-Me-Not Summer (26 page)

A
fter a dinner of grilled hamburgers and a game of flashlight tag in the pear orchard, Mom and Dad tucked the girls in.

“I can't believe you survived sharing a room with these two for three whole weeks,” Dad said as he kissed Marigold good night. Mom was sitting on Lily's boat bed, brushing her hair.

“Ugh, me either,” Marigold said.

“Hey!” Lily and Zinnie said at the same time.

“Just kidding,” Marigold said. “They weren't so bad. Except Zinnie never puts her clothes away, and she stays up late reading with her flashlight, and Lily wakes us all up before sunrise.”

“We weren't so bad?” Zinnie said. “Please. You're the one who snores.”

“No, I don't!” Marigold said.

“Sometimes,” Zinnie said. “It sounds sort of like a whistle. Like this.” Zinnie did one of her perfect imitations. Mom laughed, but Marigold did not find it funny.

“I do not snore,” Marigold said.

“Okay, girls,” Mom said. “You'll be back to your own rooms in just a few days. So try to enjoy this togetherness while it lasts. Unless of course you'd all like to move into one room back in L.A. Marigold's room is the biggest, so . . .”

“No!” Marigold said.

“We could turn Zinnie's room into a gym.” Dad said.

“No way!” Zinnie said.

“And Lily's room into my office,” Mom said.

“No way, José!” Lily said. They all laughed.

Marigold was looking forward to being back in her own room with its lavender walls, fluffy pillows, and iPod docking station next to her canopy bed. She needed her privacy. After all, she was starting seventh grade in a month. The thought of it shot a dart of worry into her heart. But then she heard Mom singing Lily the song about the chariots swinging low. As she pulled the sheet up to her chin, she had to admit that there was something about sleeping in the same room as her sisters that made her feel extra safe and cozy inside.
Maybe I could share a room with them.
Marigold wondered about it as her mom sang. Visions
of Zinnie's clothes cluttering her closet and Lily's toys on her floor quickly entered her mind.
Nah,
Marigold said to herself, and curled up on her side, amazed that she'd even had the thought.

Mom and Dad gave them each one last kiss and went to settle in on an air mattress downstairs. The house quieted down, and the moon cast a pale glow on the bedroom. Usually Marigold fell asleep right away, but not tonight. After several minutes of tossing and turning, she sat up in her boat bed.

“What's up?” Zinnie asked Marigold.

“Can't sleep,” Marigold said.

“What are you thinking about?” Zinnie asked.

“I don't know what will make Peter forgive me,” Marigold said.

“What did you do to Peter?” Lily interrupted.

“You're still awake, too?” Zinnie asked.

“Would I be talking if I was asleep?” Lily said.

“Good point,” Zinnie said.

“I hurt his feelings,” Marigold said.

“Say you're sorry,” Lily said, and sat up.

“He's not ready to hear it,” Marigold said. “Jean said so.”

“Maybe that's it,” Zinnie said. “He doesn't want to hear it. You need to think of a way of saying sorry without actually saying it.”

“What do you mean?” Marigold asked.

“Like when he gave you the hat, he was saying that
he liked you without actually saying that he liked you, right?” Zinnie asked.

“And when he gave me the rock,” Lily said, “he was saying that he loved me.”

“Like ‘actions speak louder than words' kinda thing?” Marigold asked, twirling her hair around her finger.

“Exactly!” Zinnie said.

“But what could I give him?” Marigold asked. “He likes baseball. He likes stars and constellations.”

“Maybe you could get him, like, those sticky stars to put on his ceiling,” Zinnie suggested. “Or a book about constellations.”

“He likes sea glass,” Lily said.

“Oh, yeah,” Marigold said. “He does.” She thought about his collection and how he wanted a red piece.

“Aunt Sunny has a red piece in her jewelry box,” Lily said.

“I remember,” Zinnie said. “But Ham gave it to her. It was the one thing that we couldn't pick out.”

“But maybe if I traded back my sea horse necklace, she would consider it,” Marigold said. “And she was wearing lipstick tonight.” Not only had she been wearing makeup, but Aunt Sunny had had a new look about her lately, something rosy and light about her face. Marigold had the feeling she knew what it was. She had felt like that once, too, right after Peter had kissed her.

“So?” Lily asked. “What's lipstick got to do with it?”

“A lot,” Marigold said, and stood up. “I need to go ask Aunt Sunny.”

“Now?” Lily asked. “In the middle of the night?”

“Yes,” Marigold said. “It's important.”

“I'm coming, too!” Lily said.

“This is so romantic,” Zinnie said, clapping her hands, and hopped out of bed.

T
he girls tiptoed past their sleeping parents on the air mattress to Aunt Sunny's bedroom. She was sitting on her bed in her bathrobe and slippers, reading the latest
National Geographic
with her glasses perched on the end of her nose. There was a giant red frog on the cover.

“Knock, knock,” Marigold said.

“My goodness, what is this, the flower brigade?” Aunt Sunny asked.

“I have something to ask you,” Marigold said.

“We all do,” Zinnie said.

“Even Benny,” Lily said, and held up her bunny. “It's for Peter. Beautiful Peter.”

“Beautiful Peter?” Aunt Sunny asked. “I'm intrigued.”

Marigold held out the sea horse necklace. “I was
wondering if I could trade this for something else from your jewelry box.”

“But you love that necklace,” Aunt Sunny said. “It looks just darling on you. What would you trade it for?”

“The red sea glass,” Marigold said. “You see, Peter has a collection, and he's been looking for a red piece his whole life. And I just know that it would mean a lot to him.” Aunt Sunny put her glasses on her head and bit her lip. “I know Ham gave it to you, and it felt like he was giving you a piece of his heart, but . . .” Marigold couldn't find the right words.

“We were thinking that maybe if you let it go,” Zinnie said, finishing her sister's thought, “there would be a little more room in your heart for Tony.”

Aunt Sunny regarded her nieces thoughtfully. There seemed to be many things crossing her mind at once. Then she sighed. “It's funny,” she said, “how I didn't see it until now.”

“See what?” Marigold asked.

“How tightly I've been holding on to him.” Then she stood up and opened the jewelry box. She handed Marigold the red sea glass, kissing her hand as she passed it along. As Marigold put back the sea horse necklace, Aunt Sunny remarked what a lovely birthday present it would make for a teenager. Perhaps someone's thirteenth birthday.

Marigold wrapped the sea glass in tissue paper and attached a little poem, which she had written in private:

Here's a piece of sea glass that is red

in hopes you'll forgive me for being a butthead

good-bye is something I must say

before I go back to L.A.

                                      
Marigold

Now she just needed to make sure she was able to give it to him in person before she left.

“B
oy, your girls had me laughing last night,” Edith said as she handed Mom and Dad sugar cones of her signature flavor, the very one for which she'd named her beloved dog, Mocha Chip. Marigold, Zinnie, and Lily already had servings of their favorite flavors: lime sherbet for Marigold, double chocolate for Zinnie, and strawberry for Lily. They were seated at the best table, the one next to the jukebox. Marigold made sure to sit on the side that faced the big window in case she happened to see Peter walking by. The red sea glass and the poem were in her shorts pocket, and she was determined to give them to him today, no matter what.

Even though their parents had both been to Pruet before, the girls wanted to show them all the places they had come to love in the past three weeks. They'd already been to the general store, where they bought a
few postcards to hang on the fridge back home, and to the library, where Zinnie returned the book about putting on a play, and to the town beach, where Ashley was enjoying her status as the new town celebrity. In between selling ice pops and candy bars, she was signing autographs. Last on the list was Edith's ice cream. This afternoon Aunt Sunny was taking a nap, the first one in three weeks, but had instructed them to please bring her back a pint of mocha chip.

“These girls are made for the stage,” Edith said.

“They were great, weren't they?” Mom said as she paid for the ice cream and stuffed the change in the tip jar.

“Now, I knew Zinnie was a cutup from the minute she walked through my door,” Edith said, “but Marigold is a riot, too. And the little one! Oh, how she lights up a room with those cheeks! All three of them are stars. We're going to miss them around here.”

“Thanks,” Dad said. “That's really nice to hear. And this is the best ice cream I've ever tasted, by the way.”

“I aim to please. Let me give you an extra scoop on the house,” Edith said, gesturing for Dad to give her his cone.

“Excuse me if I don't refuse,” Dad said, handing Edith his cone.

Mom sat next to Marigold and put an arm around her. Marigold rested her head on her shoulder and felt her whole body relax.

Dad flipped through the music selections at the jukebox. “Oh, this is a good one,” he said. He pressed a few buttons and put in a quarter. “My Girl” piped through the speakers. “Come on, Gwen, won't you dance with me?”

“I'd love to,” Mom said.

“You're supposed to eat sitting down,” Lily said. “That's what they say at school. Bottoms on the chairs!”

“I think we can get away with it this one time,” Mom said, standing up and taking Dad's hand with the hand that wasn't holding the cone. “After all, it's summer.” Lily grinned and joined in. Zinnie did too. Edith turned up the volume so that the song filled the shop. Dancing with an ice cream cone was a little messy, especially for Lily, but nobody seemed to mind.

“Come on over, Marigold,” Dad called. “You're my girl, too!”

Marigold was about to give in and join them, even if she was wearing her linen pintuck top in the perfect shade of pink that would most definitely be ruined by a drop of lime sherbet. She stood up but paused when she noticed the black SUV with the tinted windows heading toward the bridge. She knew that it was Amanda, heading out of town. Marigold was surprised to find that she felt sorry for the movie star. Amanda may have had all the things that Marigold longed for—an acting career, the most incredible wardrobe, and
even her picture on the cover of
Young & Lovely
—but when Marigold saw her parents and sisters dancing and singing with wobbly ice cream cones in their hands, she knew that she was the lucky one.

“I need to make one more stop,” Marigold said as the Silver family walked by the Pruet Yacht Club. It was four o'clock, and Marigold knew that that was when sailing practice was finished. Marigold's hands started to sweat, even though she had been charged with carrying Aunt Sunny's pint of mocha chip.

“At the yacht club?” Mom said.

“I just need to drop something off for someone,” Marigold said, handing Aunt Sunny's ice cream to Mom.

“Peter,” Zinnie and Lily said at the same time.

“Let's go find him,” Lily said, but Zinnie held her back. “Zinnie, let go. He's my boyfriend.”

“I think Marigold might want to do this alone,” Zinnie said. Lily began to protest, but Zinnie cut her off. “Besides, we don't want Aunt Sunny's ice cream to melt. Come on, race you to the end of Harbor Road!”

As Zinnie and Lily sped away, Mom took Dad's hand, turned to Marigold, and said, “See you back at the house.”

Marigold took a deep breath, waved at the clipboard guy, and headed toward the docks.

Peter had just finished tying a dinghy to the dock and was walking in Marigold's direction. Marigold felt her tummy flutter when she saw his red hair and baseball cap. She couldn't help smiling. But when he saw her, he looked away.

“Peter,” Marigold said, and she stood in his way to try to stop him from passing her.

“I'm not talking to you,” Peter said, shaking his head.

“Wait,” Marigold called. To her surprise, he actually turned around. She held up the envelope and said, “This is for you.”

“I don't want it,” Peter said.

“Please,” Marigold said, holding it in her outstretched arm. “I'm really sorry. I was a jerk. And I can explain, sort of. But I think this might say it better than words.”

“If I take that envelope, it doesn't mean I like you,” he said.

“Okay,” she said. “We're having a picnic on the beach tonight. Your mom and dad are coming. I hope you will, too.” She handed him the envelope, which was crumpled from spending the day in her pocket. He held it in his hand, noticing its weird shape. Marigold smiled because she knew there was no way he could guess what was inside and she could tell he was curious. Then, feeling that she had said what
she'd come to say and done what she'd come to do, she turned around, walked down to the dock, and went back toward Aunt Sunny's, where her family would be waiting for her.