Maven stood. “Really?” She already felt a little better.
Henri nodded. “Sure. If it makes you feel better.”
“It would.”
“Well, let’s go.” They started to the water and Henri was the one with the chest pains now. He thought about backing out of it, but when he looked at her and the big smile on her face, he couldn’t. He thought about going in with his shirt on, but knew that would only cause more questions.
“Ok, are you ready?” Maven asked excitedly, waiting on Henri to remove his shirt. He gave a nod and pulled his shirt over his head. Suddenly he felt as if everyone on the entire beach was looking at him. It wasn’t a great feeling.
Maven noticed the scar close to his shoulder. It was new, she could tell. She was the daughter of two doctors, she knew a lot about stuff like that. She noticed several gawkers nearby. She took Henri’s hand in hers and pulled him toward the water, not bothered in the least by his scar.
“I feel better already,” she said, running into the water until it was touching her thighs. Henri stared down at the current. “Isn’t this fun?” she asked.
He had to admit it was a bit fun. He moved further in, until the water covered the scar he was so ashamed of. “Pretty fun.”
Maven disappeared under the water. Henri searched for her and finally she emerged behind him. She poked his shoulder with her fingertips. “Boo!”
An hour later, when their skin was shriveled like an aged person, they found a spot on the shore, Maven found her beach towel and they both sat staring at the water, tired and at peace.
“That was fun,” Maven said for the third time since they finished.
“Yeah it was.” He smiled. Already back in his black t-shirt. She was okay with that, it didn’t take much to realize how insecure he was with the scar. But it didn’t bother her at all. She wanted to tell him that. But she worried bringing it up would end their fun time and make him withdraw into his shell.
“Maybe we could do it again sometime.” Maven hoped he would agree. She liked being around Henri. He was a nice person.
Henri admired her pink bikini, and the dewy glow her skin held after their swim. He thought her hair looked amazing when it was wet. It made her look shimmery. Even better than when she was dry. He knew deep down he wanted to see her again, his head was screaming it the entire swim. But the idea of another swim was torture.
She could see how reluctant he was. “I understand if you don’t want to.”
Henri sighed. “I want to. Maybe next time we can do something else. Have you been to the art museum before?”
Maven’s eyes filled with radiance. “Once when I was younger, that sounds fun.”
Henri was glad to hear it. “I could walk you home.” He offered. The beach was slowly thinning and the sun was nearly setting in the sky.
She dropped back on the towel, sprawling out. Her hands folded and resting on her abdomen, she stared up at the soft blue of the sky. “Or we could hang out for a little while longer.”
Henri brushed away a bit of sand from her cheek, studying her expression. “You had sand on your face. I didn’t want it to get in your eye.” He dropped down beside her, putting his arms behind his head and he too stared up at the tiny wisp of clouds sailing by them.
Their sandy feet touched, and neither of them bothered to pull away.
“So how did you get the name Maven?” Henri started, ending the peaceful calm all around them. Maven smiled, closing her eyes, the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore was magnificent. The moment was heavenly.
“My mother and father always had high hopes for me. My father said the moment they laid eyes on me they knew I was going to be something special. And the name fit.”
“I like it.” Henri told her.
Maven dropped her head to the side, “I like your name too, Henri.”
“What’s to like? It’s an ordinary name.” He looked at her. Her eyes shimmered with life and he couldn’t believe it—he felt happiness for once.
“Henri is French. It means ruler of the house.” She told him. “It’s also a very kind name. And you seem kind.”
He thought about this. “My grandfather was French. Maybe that’s why then. I’m no ruler of the house though. I’m not the ruler of anything.”
ANYTHING IS BETTER
SHE WENT HOME in a good mood for once. Thinking about her day with Henri, she wondered if he was thinking about it too. She hoped so.
“Mom wants you to set the table.” Maggie told her as soon she came into the kitchen. Maggie sat at the counter, book in hand. “Where were you all day?”
She pulled a stack of dishes from the cupboard. “At the beach,” she said. Short and to the point.
Maggie studied her sister closely. “You went to the beach?”
Maven scoffed. “I love the beach. How could you forget that?”
“Hey girls,” Their mother said. She slipped off her jacket and placed it on a hook. “How’d today go?”
Maggie shrugged, not worried about giving details. But Maven smiled at the most recent news in her life. She floated on air to the other side of the countertop, setting the dishes down. Her mother could tell something excellent had happened.
“So tell me about your day, Maves.” She lifted the pot with dinner in it.
Maven opened the silverware drawer. “Nick and I went to the beach. He met up with Sandra’s older sister April. So I took a swim.”
“With who?” Maggie and her mother asked in chorus. They knew better than to believe Maven did anything alone. And if Nick was with a girl, he was far away from his family—everyone knew that.
Maven toyed with the idea of giving Henri up so quickly. “You wouldn’t know him.”
“Does this mean you’re over Jake and are going to quit being depressed all the time?” Maggie put a hand over her mouth at the sight of her sister’s hurt look and her mother shot her a wicked frown.
Maven ignored the tears stinging her eyes from her sister’s selfish words. “His name is Henri. He’s related to Sandra and April.” She dropped a pile of silverware on the plates and turned away from her mother and sister.
But this caught her mother’s attention. She was very familiar with the name. She slowly turned away from the stove, her mouth forming a straight line. She swallowed down her concern. “Tell me about him.”
Maven took a seat. She pushed her hair from her eyes, studying her fingernails. “I don’t know, Mom. He seems nice enough. And I really enjoyed talking to him.” Her cheeks warmed at even this admission.
Maggie listened attentively. She wished every night she could find a boy she enjoyed being around. But she was barely fourteen and her parents were never going to allow it. And most boys that she knew did really strange things. Rocky, the rich boy in her class, was constantly trying to stick his hands up every girl’s skirt. She found it a bit gross, but at the same time intriguing.
“What do you know about him?” Her mother frowned, causing the crease between her pale eyebrows to intensify. “You were gone for quite some time. I can’t believe you didn’t talk about everything under the sun.”
Maven pursed her lips.
“Yeah Maven, what’s he like?” Maggie smirked, exposing her toothy grin. She slid her messy hair behind her ear. Maven smiled at her. There was something about her sister’s ingenuousness that made her immediately happy, even if most of the time Maggie was busy saying all the wrong things.
“He’s very humble. And he has a nice sense of humor.” She looked at her mom. “And he is forever trying to keep busy. And he did something that Jake never did even once in our entire relationship.” Everyone’s eyes were glued to Maven, waiting for her next words. “He did something to make me happy.”