"BSC034 - Mary Anne and Too Many Boys - Martin, Ann M" - читать интересную книгу автора (Martin Ann M)

Kristy ordered everyone to pack up their beach towels and head toward the car. Four-thirty. It was hard to believe that only a few hours had passed. She stifled a yawn and helped the kids pile into the backseat. Another day with Jackie Rodowsky was finally over.
Chapter 7.
I reread my postcard and decided that it was extremely boring. It was also totally impersonal Ч if you knew what was really going on. It didn't give a clue about the exciting something in my life. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe because I wasn't exactly sure what was going on myself. I felt confused and happy at the same time, and it's all because of what happened at the beach today. . . .
The day started out in a very ordinary way. Stacey and Mal and I had just spread out our blankets on the sand, and the younger Pike kids were getting ready to hurl themselves into the water. The Pikes may be a laid-back family, but there is one hard and fast rule Ч no one can go in the water before nine A.M. or after five P.M. That's because those are the only hours the lifeguards are on duty.
The moment the lifeguards climbed into their seats, the kids raced down to the ocean. I put another coating of zinc oxide on my nose and pulled my straw hat down over my face. Then I put sunblock on my arms and legs, and made sure my caftan covered my knees.
While I was going through all these contortions, I noticed that Stacey and Mal were doing just the opposite. I was bundling up like an
Eskimo settling in for the winter, and they were getting ready to soak up the sun. Stacey slipped out of her cover-up and stretched out in a skimpy blue bikini. I had to admit she looked great. Her skin was the color of maple sugar, and her sun-streaked hair tumbled halfway down her back. And Mal, in a bright two-piece suit (blue bottom and striped tank top), was turning a golden brown. Her skin was catching up to her freckles.
Stacey was busily applying Sun-Lite to her hair (can you get any blonder than blonde?) when we heard the shout.
"Mary Anne! Stacey!" It was definitely a masculine voice.
"What in the world Ч " Stacey began.
I turned around just in time to see two teenage boys and half a dozen little kids racing toward us. The kids looked young Ч even younger than Margo Ч and I couldn't figure out who they were. Then I recognized the boy in the white cutoffs and the green-and-white-striped top. "Ohmigosh!" I cried. "It's Alex."
"And Toby," Stacey added, scrambling to her feet. "Wow," she said softly. "Doesn't he look gorgeous?"
He did. Except I couldn't really concentrate on anyone except Alex. I hadn't thought of
him a lot since we'd said good-bye, but I felt a jolt when I saw him now. He looked wonderful.
"Mary Anne! How are you?" He was at my side then, a little out of breath. He was tall, with brown hair, and had a great smile. How could I have forgotten that smile?
"I'm fine. How are you?" I smiled back. Alex took a step toward me, as if he wanted to sweep me into a big bear hug, and then he seemed to remember we were surrounded by kids. It was like the Munchkin scene in The Wizard of Oz.
"Toby and I are working together for a whole month as mother's helpers."
"Really?" I felt incredibly happy. A whole month! I'd be able to see Alex every single day.
Alex nodded. "We found two families who were vacationing together, and they wanted two sitters for all the kids." He glanced over at Toby, who was already deep in conversation with Stacey. I noticed she had tucked the Sun-Lite bottle out of sight and was trying to dry her hair with a towel.
"Nice kids," I said, eyeing a little red-haired girl who had wrapped her arms around Alex's tanned leg.
"This is Sheila," he said, swinging her up on his shoulder. "She's two years old, and those boys are her brothers. They're twins. The other three kids are their cousins."
"And this is Mal," I said. "You remember Mallory?" Mal and Alex smiled at each other.
Claire came out of the water just then and glared at Sheila. "What's that baby doing here?" she demanded.
"Claire," I said, "that's not very nice."
Claire put her hands on her hips. "Silly-billy-goo-goo," she said to Sheila, who stuck her thumb in her mouth.
Alex laughed. "Is that some sort of code?"
"No," I said, embarrassed. "Claire just says that when she gets in one of her moods."
Alex didn't seem the least bit annoyed and knelt down so he was on eye level with Claire. "I've got a great idea," he said very seriously. "Want to hear it?" (Claire didn't say anything and looked totally unimpressed.) "Why don't we all build a sand castle?"
Claire scuffed her big toe in the sand for a full thirty seconds before answering. "That's a dumb idea," she said flatly.
"Claire!" I was shocked. Maybe Claire was feeling a little jealous of Sheila, but that was no excuse to be rude.
I started to tell her so when the other Pike kids trooped curiously out of the water, and we introduced everybody.
"Fourteen kids," Alex said, counting heads. "Definitely enough to make a monster sand castle. Anybody interested?"
"We are!" Jordan said, speaking for the triplets. "Come on, guys, let's start on the base." He turned to Sheila's twin brothers. "You can be helpers," he said generously.
We all walked down to the water's edge, and I noticed that Stacey and Toby never took their eyes off each other. Stacey seemed thrilled to see Toby again, but I reminded myself that she had acted exactly the same way around Pierre, a boy we met at a ski lodge. And there'd been Scott, the Sea City lifeguard, too. Toby was at the top of the list for the moment, but who knew if it would last?
I noticed that Sheila looked a little left out, so I took her by the hand. "I'll show you how to decorate the sand castle," I said, putting some wet sand in her hand. "Just let it dribble out slowly."
At first Sheila didn't want to touch the sand, but then she tried it and shrieked with delight. "Birthday cake," she said loudly, and Alex laughed.
"That's right. It's just like the decorations on your birthday cake."
Everything went smoothly for the next few minutes, but then Sheila's foot slipped and she accidentally kicked the castle. A portion of the wall fell away and Claire hooted.
"Stupey-silly-billy-goo-goo," she shouted, and Sheila began to cry.
"Claire!" I said sharply. "It was an accident." Then I bent down and handed Sheila a plastic shovel. "Here," I said. "I've got a very special job for you to do." She stopped crying and looked at me. "You can make a tunnel that will lead all the way to the castle." I led her to a spot a few feet away, and she started digging happily. I watched her for a moment and then stood by Alex.
"I'm really glad we ran into each other again," he said quietly.
"I'm glad, too." The understatement of the year! There were a million things I wanted to say to Alex, but I knew the beach wasn't the time or the place. Particularly with fourteen kids around. I wondered if he remembered the last night we spent together in Sea City, and if he still had the ring I gave him. (I know he wasn't wearing it, because I looked.) I even found myself wondering if he had a girlfriend
back home, and if he planned on seeing me when he was in Sea City. Of course we'd see each other at the beach, but I was already hoping for more than that.
The sun was setting when Stacey and Mal and I finally rounded up all the beach towels and kids and equipment. Then Stace and I said good-bye to Alex and Toby.
"That was fun, wasn't it?" I said to Stacey as we plodded through the sand back to the house, Mal at our side, the others in front of us.
"It was fantastic," she said dreamily. "Who ever thought we'd see them again? It's just perfect." She paused. "Do you think they'll ask us out?"
"I don't know. I guess it depends on whether they can get any time off."
Mal looked aghast, and I had a feeling she was thinking of Logan. I shook off pangs of guilt.
Stacey stretched out her arms to inspect her tan. "From the look on Toby's face, he'll make the time."
I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks. I blush very easily, as any of my friends will tell you. "I'm not so sure about Alex."