Between (10 page)

The next exhibit was an elaborate faux cave with dozens of small tanks set into the rock façade. Aiden peered diligently into each one, noting the variety of crabs, eels, seahorses, and saltwater fish. His features gradually relaxed and he even occasionally pointed to a fish he found particularly fascinating. “Look, this one is called a Pinecone Fish, and I’ll be damned. The wee bugger really does look like a pinecone!”

“
Look at this Fiddler Crab,” I said. “They’re called that because one of their claws is great big while the other is really small, like a fiddle and a bow.”

“
One thing’s for sure, lassie,” he said with a grin. “Our God in heaven certainly has a sense of humor to make such wee beasties as these.”

We moved on to the Underwater Dome, which looked like a glass version of the deck of the Starship Enterprise. But instead of space and starlight, sharks, salmon and sturgeon swam past us and over our heads. Aiden’s eyes were wide, trying to take it all in. “Are we underwater, then? How did that happen?”

“
Yeah, we went through that little tunnel and now we’re in a special room underneath the sea. So the fish are not in a tank anymore. We are!”

He stared at me like that was the craziest thing he’d ever heard. “If you say so, love, I believe you. It’s like we’re right there swimming in the water with them.”

Dad got a dreamy look on his face and absently reached out, taking Mom’s hand. She looked surprised at first but then the corners of her mouth pulled up in a smile and she stood quietly watching the hypnotic movement of the fish with him. Seeing them together, knowing that they would eventually split in a bitter divorce was harder than I could have imagined. I sighed deeply, wishing in retrospect that I’d cast the scene without all the people instead of as a memory so I didn’t have to relive my parents’ struggle so intimately.

Is everything all right, Lindsey?

His thought caressed me and I smiled, thankful for his presence and strength. He didn’t have to touch me or even talk and I could feel the force of his love, holding me close.

God, how am I ever going to leave him? Please help me.

I sent up the silent prayer, ever conscious of the tension in my core that grew stronger each day.

We left the dome and came out into the sunlight. A marine biologist flung a dead fish to one of the sea lions. The large, slick black animals waddled back and forth on their flippers, entertaining us in return for their supper.

“
Finally a creature I know!” he said. “Selkies have the most lovely, mournful eyes. There’s a legend in Scotland about them, that they’re actually fairies who can shed their skin and come ashore as beautiful women. ’Tis said that if a man finds and hides the selkie’s skin, that she can’t return to the sea but will stay married to him. But she won’t be happy, always longing to return to the water of her home.”

The sea lions barked at me with their sad, glossy eyes. I could see where the legend might have some merit. “It probably makes just as much sense as us being in the tank with the fish outside, huh?” I conceded. “I think if I were going to pick a creature to turn into,” I mused, “it would probably be an otter, since they always seem to be having so much fun.” We peered into the sea otter pen and watched them playfully twirling and diving, cracking mollusks open on their chests.

“
Aye, they are cute. Their spirit is more like yours, playful and sweet.” He tucked an unruly curl behind my ear affectionately and put his arm around me.

Mom glanced at her watch and grimaced. “Crap, it’s getting late. We have to go or we’ll be late for the symphony. Gary, are you ready?” she called, looking around for him.

Dad was watching the otters push a beach ball around with their noses. “Huh? Oh, yeah. We’d better get going,” he agreed.

I pictured the concert hall in my mind and the ripple of change passed over me. I’d cast Aiden in a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath and a sky blue tie that accentuated his eyes. He was so handsome that it literally took my breath away, even though I’d imagined the outfit myself.

“
Aiden, you’re…” I stammered, trying to put into words how beautiful he was to me, how I could barely breathe when I looked at him.

“
Thank you. I was about to say the same to you.”

I wore a fitted ice blue dress with spaghetti straps and my hair fell loose over my shoulders. He held his arm out formally to me like he’d done at the king’s palace and I took it with a mischievous grin. “I decided it wouldn’t be appropriate to have you share in my memory of getting dressed in the bathroom of the restaurant with my mom earlier, so I skipped us over that part,” I said.

He laughed out loud and shrugged, looking over at my mom. “Wouldn’t have been so bad, I think.”

Mom looked fantastic as a matter of fact, in a low-cut flowing black dress, her long blonde hair cascading like a waterfall down her back. Dad cleaned up pretty nice too, though he did seem uncomfortable in his suit and tie. When I turned back to Aiden, his gaze traveled appreciatively over my dress. My heart raced at his unspoken admiration.

We made our way into the expansive auditorium where oddly shaped walls were acoustically designed to best reverberate the sound throughout the hall. An enormous pipe organ decorated the stage, its tubes extending from floor to ceiling in a majestic display. The musicians tuned their instruments on stage and the lights dimmed as we quickly found our seats. The conductor walked on stage and the audience applauded in anticipation. He turned to the first chair violinist and shook her hand, then struck a pose on the podium with his arms high in the air.

With a sudden downward stroke, he brought the symphony to life. The sound of violins, flutes, trombones, timpani, and French horns filled the air as if they were playing in the seats right beside us. Aiden’s eyes widened briefly in surprise at the intensity of the sound. The violinists’ bows floated rhythmically over their strings and the trilling notes of the flutes bounced off the uneven walls all around us, drawing us in. The music flowed through the air like the fish we’d seen swimming in the sea and my spirit swayed with the movement. The piece rose in a crescendo then fell away to a tender pianissimo as the melody echoed through each of the instrumental groups, one by one. The symphony hung on one final note, waiting for the conductor’s cue, then set down their instruments in synch as he brought his arms down to his sides.

The audience erupted in applause. Enraptured, Aiden and I instantly jumped to our feet, though no one could see us. The musicians stood and bowed, then followed the conductor off the stage. The lights in the auditorium came on and the audience rose as one, moving to the exits for the intermission.

“
Is it over already?” he asked, disappointed.

“
No, only half. Everyone gets up to stretch and go to the bathroom, then we come back and they play the other half.”

My younger self hung out in the hallway, studying the photos of the musicians along the walls and reading their bios. Dad headed off to the restroom and Mom wandered over to the bar for a drink. She struck up a conversation with a man in line, flipping her hair back over her shoulder and laughing at something he’d said. I couldn’t quite see him but he was tall with wavy black hair and well dressed in a dark pinstripe suit. He turned toward my mother with a smile and whispered something to her. I gasped in shock, immediately recognizing him. Aiden was at my side in a heartbeat, his arm tightening around my waist protectively.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
It’s Nick…” I stammered, struggling to make sense of it. “What the hell is he doing here?”

Nick had a wolfish grin on his face as my mother leaned close. She trailed her hand down his arm and then threw her head back, laughing at what he’d said.

“
My mom left my dad for him,” I explained between clenched teeth. “She said she hadn’t known him very long, that they’d met at the library.” I shook my head in disbelief at what my eyes were seeing. “And yet here he is in my memory, years before their divorce and my mom is throwing herself all over him like a whore. Oh my God… She must have been cheating on my dad for years before he found out.”

I could hardly breathe as the nauseating scene played out in front of me. Mom toyed with her necklace while running her fingertips over her cleavage, her eyes twinkling up at him. Nick openly noticed her invitation and leaned in, his eyes darkening with interest. Aiden took me by the shoulders and turned me to face him, breaking my trance.

“
We should go. It’s not good for you to be here.”

I shook my head vehemently and pulled myself together. “No. I won’t let her spoil this for me.” The lights in the lobby dimmed briefly, then came back up. “Come on. That means it’s going to start again so we need to go sit down.” I could feel his resistance but I was determined to enjoy the rest of the symphony in spite of my mother and Nick.

The second movement of the composition was a tribute to Mars, the Roman god of war, and the percussion instruments on stage had doubled in number. The cymbals crashed over me like waves breaking on the sea as I listened, unable to move. Emotions raged within me as the music pounded and pulsed in a symphonic battle. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the movement of the air, which swirled around and through me as the violins built momentum in a frenzied cadence. The timpani rolled like thunder through my blood, the horns blasting staccato in a defiant march to the finish. I felt battered and bruised with my heart tossed against the rocks when the piece ended, and could hardly muster the energy to stand and clap with the rest of the audience. Aiden frowned down at me, concerned.

“
We’re going,” he said. “I’ll make the cast myself if I need to, but we are not staying here any longer. I won’t allow anything to cause you pain if it’s in my power to stop it.”

“
Just one more thing,” I pleaded. “I want you to see the city lights at night. Then we can go. Just come with me on the drive home. That’s all I ask.”

He stared at me for a long time without answering, his brow furrowed. “Fine, then. I’ll do as you ask, but this is the last time. I haven’t much time with you, Lindsey and I don’t want to spend it like this.” His eyes searched mine for any sign of distress. Finding nothing but a tired peace, he sighed and kissed me lightly on the forehead.

An instant later, we were back in the car with my family. Soft classical music was playing on the radio and Mom sat in the front seat with her eyes closed, swaying slightly to the music. “Mmmm, isn’t it heavenly?” she said. “Lindsey, you should marry a man who can play an instrument so he can serenade you.” I rolled my eyes, realizing that she was likely recounting her encounter at the bar with Nick.

Dad glowered at her. “What kind of ridiculous criteria is that for a husband?” He craned his neck to see me in the rear-view mirror. “All that matters is that he loves you, respects you, is honest and trustworthy, and wants nothing more than your happiness. And if he is all of those things, you’ll know he’ll never leave you, no matter what.” He glanced over at my mom with a sigh, shaking his head. My heart reached out to him since I could tell he was talking to her as much as to me and she didn’t even get it.

“
Gary, you’re such a romantic. What are the chances she’s going to find someone who meets all of your lofty criteria?” She waved her hand at him in dismissal.

To my surprise, Dad and Aiden frowned at her with identical expressions and responded together sternly, “She will.” Mom sighed in exasperation and looked out the car window, obviously done with the conversation. Aiden put his arm around me possessively, his face set like stone.

“
You guyyyyys!” my younger self whined from the backseat. “It’s not like I’m interviewing anyone for a husband right now so you don’t need to fight about it. Geez!” She settled back in a huff with her arms crossed.

Hoping to dispel some of the tension, I pointed out the downtown buildings all-aglow.

“
Look, Aiden! Isn’t it beautiful? I’ve always loved the city at night, with the twinkling lights and the reflection of the moonlight on the water. It’s as if the stars came down from the sky and landed on all the buildings.”

“
Aye, it is lovely. I can’t say I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.”

Suddenly a loud strain of pop music burst out from the front seat and Mom reached into her purse for her phone.

“
Hello? Hey, Suzanne. Yep, we just got back from the symphony. It was fabulous. What? Oh yeah, I’ll be at the PTA meeting on Wednesday. Is there anything I should bring? Okay, I can pick up some cookies from the store. It’s not like I’m gonna be baking them myself! All right, talk to you later.”

Aiden watched her, confused, and I tried to explain. “It’s called a cell phone,” I said. “You can talk with people on it, if they have a phone, too.”

“
It’s not attached to anything. I saw it! How could she have been talking to someone? And where is this Suzanne woman anyway? She’s not in the car!”

“
Truthfully, I don’t know how it really works,” I admitted. “It has to do with signals passed between the two phones. And it doesn’t really matter where the other person is because the signals travel all over the world. We could call someone in Scotland and it would sound like they were sitting in the car with us.”

Dad pulled the car into the drive, pushing the garage door opener on the dash. Aiden made his trademark grunt as he watched the door magically open for us, shaking his head but not saying anything.