Hand in the Cookie Jar ~ Mirna
I tiptoe down the stairs and sneak into the kitchen. Deb's nowhere in sight, and Jimmy's in the shower. Now's my chance! I lift the lid off the red ceramic cookie jar and set it back down on the countertop. Then with both hands, I reach into the jar and shovel all the dollar bills out, letting them spill all over the counter.
What kind of idiots leave this much cash just lying around like this? They deserve to have someone steal it, I think with a smirk as I remove my pink baseball hat and wad all the bills together inside. I run back upstairs before anyone catches me with my hand in the cookie jar.
Back in my room, I lock the door behind me and spread the money over my bed. I've never had this much money in front of me before. I sort all the bills into piles: ones, fives, tens, and even a twenty dollar bill. This is over fifty bucks! Way more than I need to pay for a bus ticket to San Francisco. I'll be able to pay for food when I get to the beach.
I roll all of the money together into a cylindrical wad of cash, so that it looks like it belongs to a drug dealer. With another smirk, I slip the money into my pocket and go downstairs for breakfast.
For Mirna's Sake ~ Jim
I run my hand over the bathroom mirror, making a track through the condensation. With my five o'clock shadow, dark circles and pallid complexion, I resemble a war survivor. Or maybe I just feel like one, and my imagination simply completes the visual for me.
So I'm a little tired; nothing is going to ruin today. I won't let it.
I shave, ruff up my hair quickly, and go back to our bedroom. Deb must be downstairs already.
Nessa intercepts me at the door. I take her harness from the belt rack inside the door. Nessa stands still as I slip it on, tighten it, and stand up.
Nessa nuzzles the back of my knee and woofs softly.
Not today! Why does it always happen at the exact moment to mess everything up? All I ask for is just one perfect day for Mirna's sake. It's always too much to ask.
Nessa keeps barking. Before she gets loud enough to hear downstairs, I kneel and unsnap the harness. Nessa cocks her head, but otherwise handles this new experience very well. "Good girl, Nessa," I croon. "Let's go." I stand up and hang the harness in its place, then walk down the hallway to the stairs. Nessa follows along at my side, as if she is still in her uniform.
I find Deb in the kitchen and pull her into a hug. "Good morning, ready for your test?" I ask.
Deb groans.
I rub her shoulders. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."
"I know; that's the problem. I don't want to do just fine. I want to do great."
"Then you'll do great. You know this stuff, Deb."
She grins sheepishly. "Thanks. You know ..." She sighs heavily. "I hate to tell you this, considering it's Mirna's birthday."
"Tell me what?"
"The cookie jar is empty."
"Empty?" I pull away from Deb and reach for the jar on the kitchen counter, not because I don't believe her, but because the thought of the jar being empty is such a ridiculous idea. But it is. "Oh, no."
"You'd better talk to her," Deb says.
I nod. "I can't believe—why does she feel like she needs to steal from us?"
"Maybe she just doesn't know how to ask."
Oh, of course. "Do you know how much was in there?" I ask.
"Around fifty, I think."
"Okay. I'll take care of this. You have nothing to worry about."
Deb squeezes my arm. "Thank you. I'll see you after my classes." She grabs her purse, checks the time, and turns for the door. "I'm off."
"Take care," I say.
Debsmiles at me and goes through the door.
Mountains and Waves ~ Mirna
"Good morning, birthday girl," Jimmy says from the kitchen table. His chocolate lab Nessa sits on the floor beside him, her tongue lolling out. She isn't wearing her red service dog harness, like she usually is. I wonder why not.
"No breakfast today?" I ask when I notice that he's not scrambling eggs or frying bacon like he usually is. His hair is still glistening from the shower, which means he almost caught me.
"Oh there will be breakfast—whatever you want—but first I need your help with something." He gives me a baffled look and gets up to step over to the cookie jar. "I'm hoping you can help me understand why this is empty."
My face starts to burn as I realize that I didn't put the lid back on the stupid jar. How dumb could I be? Well, he obviously knows I took the money, so I shove my hand into my pocket and pull out the roll of dough. I shove the money into his hand and disappear back up the stairs.
I race into my room and go straight for my drawing pad, incredibly anxious to forget that whole disaster just happened. I take a huge breath and concentrate on how I feel, then pour that emotion out onto the page in a frenzy of pencil strokes, tearing across the page until all I can think about is the shape of the lines I'm making, and I start to form a picture with my movements. Mountains and waves crashing together.
Someone knocks at my door. I look up from my drawing to see Jimmy. I roll to my back, lying upside down on my bed. "Let me guess; I'm grounded."
"May I come in?" he asks.
I roll my eyes at how stupidly polite he always is, but I hold my hand up and wave him in.
Jimmy steps through the doorway, with Nessa only a step behind him, and says, "I don't want to ground you. You already made it right by giving the money back. I only want an explanation."
What? Seriously? He doesn't even sound mad. I roll over to my stomach and push myself up onto my knees. My eyes wander over to the wall, and I shrug.
"Why didn't you just ask us?"
"You woulda said no."
"Sapph, it's your birthday." He puts his knee on the corner of my bed. "I'd love to get you something you really want."
I tilt my head. As cliché is this sounds, what I really want can't be bought with money. Jimmy keeps on staring at me with that look in his eye that always brings the truth coming out of my mouth. "My mom used to take me to this beach for my birthday. It was the most motherly thing she ever did, and I ..." I swallow. "I wanted to take a bus." I try to look at Jimmy, but I just can't hold his gaze. "You know, see if she was there."
Jimmy ponders my words for a moment, his eyes wandering down to the floor where Nessa is sitting, watching us both talk as if we were discussing what to feed her for breakfast.
"Okay," he says.
"Okay?" I tilt my head.
"Okay, we can go to the beach."
Really? I get a rush of excitement.
"But." He points at the ceiling. "I need you to do two things for me."
I nod begrudgingly. There's always a catch when you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar.
"Promise me you'll ask about stuff like this."
"Sorry. It's just ... everyone else woulda said no."
"Well I'm not everyone else, so talk to me next time."
I nod. "And ... ? What's the second thing?"
"Help me make a picnic lunch."
"Right on!" I smile big, and Jimmy's big brown eyes shine.
Fly ~ Mirna
"And that's how you heave to," Jimmy says. "You got all that?"
I nod. "Easy! Just turn the boat into the wind, right?"
"Gently," he says, and I nod. "Don't jibe or tack if you can help it. And always make sure you respect the boom."
Jimmy turns to Nessa, who is crouching on the opposite side of Jimmy's cruising dinghy. She looks so cute in her doggie life vest. "Are you ready, Nessa?" Jimmy asks.
She woofs softly.
"Here we go." Jimmy lets out the rope, and the big sail swings way out and instantly puffs up from the huge gusts of wind. Nessa barks as the little sailboat starts to move forward, almost like magic. We pick up speed quickly, with the wind behind us.
"Woohoo!" I shout. It's like we're flying.
"Hold on, Sapph. We're picking up speed," Jimmy shouts.
I grab the side of the dinghy and hold on tight. The sailboat skips across the waves. Water sprays in my face. "Woohoo!" I shout over the roar of the wind and the waves. "This is awesome!"
Jimmy pulls on the rope, the mainsheet, I think it's called. His other hand is still on the handle at the back. That's called the tiller, and it's how he steers. "Get ready for the jibe!" he calls out over the wind.
"What's a jibe again?" I ask.
Jimmy points at the big sail. "The boom switches sides, remember?"
Oh, right. That's the fun part. "I'm ready!"
"Keep your head down. Jibe ho!" Jimmy ducks his head, pulls on the handle, and yanks on the mainsheet. The sailboat turns and the sail swings over fast. I scream and duck my head. It snaps to the other side and puffs up. I let out a laugh as the boat shoots forward again, and I have to hold on. Nessa barks again. She really doesn't like the sails.
"Good job!" Jimmy shouts. "You're a natural."
"Can I do the next one?"
"You can come help me." He holds his arm out.
I slide down the boat toward the back with Jimmy. He catches my shoulder and pulls me close, so the handle is between us.
"Hold the tiller." He guides my right hand to the handle. "We'll go straight on until the jib starts to sag, then we point the tiller away from the boom and tighten the main sheet to start the jibe." Jimmy tugs on the rope connected to the sail. "When the boom switches, let the main sheet back out and straighten the tiller. Can you remember all that?"
"Yep! I got it." I squeeze the tiller. "Now?"
"Wait for the jib to sag." Jimmy points at the tiny sail at the front of the boat.
Finally, it starts to billow, and then droop. "Now?"
"Now!" Jimmy shouts. "Jibe ho!"
"Jibe ho!" I yell.
Jimmy grabs my arm and makes me turn the tiller to the left. He pulls the rope tight. The boat turns the other way, to the right. The boom flies at us. We both duck as it whizzes over our heads. Nessa barks her head off.
"This is awesome!" I say. "Thanks for taking me out."
"Anything for the birthday girl." He puts his arm around me, so that I'm the only one steering the boat. "I'm glad you're having fun."
We sail on in silence, so smooth we practically fly over the water. Nessa holds her head over the side of the boat so she can catch the wind on her nose. The jib stays nice and tight. I wish it would sag so we could jibe again.
"Hey Jimmy? What did you name your boat?" I ask.
"You think I named her, huh?"
"Everybody names their boat. Come on, what's she called?"
"Named her Shooting Star," Jimmy says.
I gaze up at the big sail, which is a deep blue with a bright yellow star. Nessa barks again and scrambles across the boat to us. "Cool," I say. "Do you think someday I could get my own sailboat too?"
Jimmy doesn't answer.
"That sure would be cool. I'd totally name my boat Sapphire. Or maybe Diamond. Or Blue. Blue is a pretty name. Blue Diamond. Yeah. Hey Jimmy, let's go sailing in Blue Diamond this weekend. Weatherman says the wind will be nice and strong."
The jib is completely wilted.
"Hey, Jimmy, the jib is sagging."
He doesn't respond again.
"Jimmy?" I lean over to look at him. He gazes forward with wide huge eyes and smacks his lips. He reaches out for nothing. It's a seizure!
Holy cow, we have to stop! What did Jimmy say about stopping? Turn the boat into the wind, right? The wind is behind us, coming more from the right now. I turn the tiller left—but the boat turns to the right and the boom starts to swing out at us. I scream and pull the tiller back the other way.
Jimmy sways into me. I drop the tiller so I can catch him.
Nessa barks and scrambles around the boat for footing.
I hold Jimmy tight and squeeze my eyes shut, waiting for the boom to hit me in the back of the head.
It doesn't.
I open my eyes and look over my shoulder. The sail is flapping in the breeze, completely limp, barely a foot away.
I did it! I turned into the wind and stopped us. My body goes limp with relief. That was a close one! Good thing Jimmy taught me how to heave to. Good thing I was listening.
I pull away from Jimmy. Nessa scrambles back over and sits next to him, resting her head in his lap. As soon as she touches him, he seems to calm down a little. He stares through me and fiddles with the loose rope in his hand. Pulling it in and then letting it out, over and over again. Good thing he isn't trying to walk this time. That would have been a disaster.
We rock back and forth on the waves. The limp sails softly flap in the breeze. Nessa starts to lick his hand, and slowly, Jimmy comes out of it. As the seizure finally lets him go, it shows in his whole body. His eyes go heavy and his arms relax and he stops moving in that stiff jerky way. Nessa keeps licking Jimmy's hand. It slowly brings him back into focus.
"Good girl," Jimmy mumbles as he pets Nessa's head. Then he blinks at me, looks down at the rope in his hand, up at the sails billowing behind my back, and his face goes red. He yanks on the rope, jerks the tiller. Slowly the boat starts to spin a circle.
"... Jimmy?"
"I'm okay," he snaps. His voice sounds nasally.
Jimmy usually needs at least five minutes to rest after a seizure. He'll say he's okay, and he'll even talk sense, but he can't think clearly. He shouldn't be sailing a boat right now. "Let's sit for a bit, then we can go eat our lunch on the beach and go home."
Jimmy stares past me, clenches his jaw and pulls the rope tight to bring the boom in. He reaches out to catch it, and tries to get up, but Nessa grumbles and steps over his lap, pinning him down.
"I got it." I jump up and grab the boom. "What do I...?"
Jimmy gestures toward the mast. "Undo that line and let the sail down. Tie it tight."
I stagger toward the pole and find the rope, fumble with it for a while, and finally figure it out. The line works sort of like a flagpole. I let the sail down, tie it again, and sit next to Jimmy.
"You heaved to and stopped the boat." Jimmy pulls me into a hug, squeezing me tightly.
"Well, yeah. You did teach me how."
"We shouldn't have come out here," Jimmy says. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay."
"No it's not." He pulls away and stares down at me. "Anything could have happened while I was having that seizure. That's why I only go sailing when Deb is here. We should have just waited until the weekend. What was I thinking?!"
"It's my fault," I say. "I begged to come out."
"No, Mirna, it's my fault. I could have said no. I should have said no."
He never uses my real name. He must be really shook up.
"But you didn't. I had tons of fun, and we're both fine, so stop worrying about it."
Jimmy's lips form a tight line.
"You don't always have to be the one taking care of me, you know. I can take care of you sometimes, too." I smile.
Jimmy hugs me again. "Thank you. You're the best daughter a guy could ask for."
My throat goes tight. "You're the best dad a kid could ask for."
"You know." Jimmy pulls back and smiles down at me. "We were going to tell you tonight, but ..." He puts his hand on my chin. "It's official, now. We're going to adopt you next week."
"What?! No way!" I swell up. Suddenly I feel light enough to float, to fly away on the wind. Somebody wants me! Not just any somebody. The best foster parents I've ever had. Finally we're going to be a real family. I'm the luckiest kid in the whole universe!
This is the best birthday I've ever had.
~*~
2,816 Words