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Then and Now

By Marianne Evans

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PROLOGUE

Fourteen Years Ago
Lake Avalon ~ Hillman, Michigan

“Know what you are, Livy?”
Ten-year-old Olivia Masters clucked her tongue and huffed, crossing her arms against her chest. “Aiden, you’re ridiculous.” She loved the way that big word rolled off her tongue. It felt so grown up. “You know what I am. I’m a girl.”
Her coolest summertime friend, Aiden Balfour, laughed so hard the sound lifted to the tips of the towering pines that lined a lake painted every color of blue imaginable. Olivia’s Nana DeRew liked to say the magical colors happened because of the way the lake bottom would go deep and then shallow, or the way the sunlight would strike, or the way the sky and its clouds were reflected. Olivia cared for none of that. All she knew was that Avalon was the closest thing she could imagine to heaven on earth.
“No you’re not, goofball. You’re not a girl. You’re my friend. My very best friend. Ever. I won’t let anybody hurt you, Livy. If anybody even tried, I’d slice ’em right down.” Using wide, dramatic swings, Aiden dashed forward and brandished the gray, plastic sword he’d been horsing around with for most of the day. He was in the same grade as Livy, and he was so awesome she couldn’t help but let out a sigh. Weird, fluttery wings tickled her belly, and her heart raced really fast, and really strong.
Unable to hold back, Olivia launched to her feet and wrapped her arms around him just as tight as could be. “I love you.”
He patted her shoulder and squeezed right back before stepping away and resuming his imaginary battle. “I love you, too, so you don’t have anything to fear.”
“You’re being a swashbuckler. That’s what teacher talked about during a story she read to us on the last day of school. The story was all about sea battles and ship captains and pirates.” Olivia spun circles, arms wide, angling toward the wooden bench overlooking the lake. She flopped down. Since so much energy bubbled through her body, she started to kick her legs back and forth above the sand. Long grass felt like feathers against the soles of her bare feet. “Swashbucklers always save the day and beat the pirate.”
Aiden tilted his head, eyes flashing. “Oh, man! I’d love to beat a pirate! Wouldn’t that be the best? And I promise I’d save you from ever being their prisoner.”
All of a sudden, he scowled, but not really in a mad way, more like he was joking. Aiden loved to tease and joke. “Look away. Don’t watch me.”
“Huh?” She scrunched up her nose and frowned, confused.
“It’s a surprise. Don’t look at me.” He stared her down. “Close your eyes; or are you chicken?”
To answer that challenge, she stuck out her tongue and sneered at him. Only then did she close her eyes. “OK, OK. I’m not looking already. Hurry. I feel stupid.”
Aiden didn’t say a word, but she heard him move through the scrub grass and pad across the sand; she heard his laughter.
“OK, open your eyes.”
There wasn’t much to see at first; the sun vanished behind a tall line of trees at the far end of the lake. Dark green branches dimmed to nothing more than black, sketchy outlines. Water sparkled and rolled with the wake of the last few boaters of the day. Pretty soon Lake Avalon would go still to the point of becoming a mirror, and Nana DeRew would be calling her in for the night. For now, though, Aiden stood before her, arms folded behind his back.
A few seconds later, he swept one of his hands into view. Held toward her in offering was a bouquet of lacy white and purple wildflowers with big green leaves and long stems. Olivia gasped then she squealed and giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. She looked at him through the eyes of her joyful, overflowing heart.
“They’re for you.” Aiden spoke in an official tone. “’Cause when I say words like I love you, I mean ’em. And I seal ’em with a gift.”
“Aiden! Move it!”
The rolling thunder of Jack Balfour’s bellow echoed through the air. Aiden froze at his father’s call. The flowers wobbled. Chewing her lower lip, Olivia grabbed the bouquet, blinking hard and fast. Before she could even swallow, or speak, the atmosphere vibrated all over again.
“Aiden, get in here! Now!”
“See you.” He croaked the two words, head hung at his father’s harsh, angry summons. It probably carried clear across the lake.
In an instant, happiness dissipated on a cloud of tension and sadness. Olivia wanted to hold Aiden. She wanted to squeeze his hand and make him feel better. “See you.”
She whispered her reply as Aiden dropped the sword, dashing to his family’s cottage not far down the curving gravel path leading away from the shoreline of Avalon.
Olivia watched his retreating back, heard the slam of the screen door, then the main door and she dissolved. She squeezed her lips against trembling. Tears stung, then rolled.
Poor Aiden. His dad was never nice, and his mom wasn’t around anymore. She hadn’t died or anything like that; she had just kind of disappeared. Olivia didn’t ask questions about that; she didn’t want to make Aiden sad. Time with Aiden was about fun, and playing. It was about hikes through the woods, weaving through giant old trees, feet crunching on brambles and sticks. It was about swimming and games of tag and jumping off the dock into water so cool and fresh it jolted your whole body.
All the same, sadness lingered. Jack Balfour ignored everybody and didn’t leave his cabin much. That always amazed Olivia. Who’d visit northern Michigan for a month during the summer, and not spend every spare second they could outside? Sure, he’d putter away in his fishing boat first thing in the morning with Aiden in front; afterward Aiden would spend a couple hours gutting and cleaning the day’s catch of rainbow trout and perch before he was allowed to play.
Aiden always tried to please his dad, and never complained. Olivia liked that. Still, she didn’t understand why Aiden excused his dad’s rude ways and the fact that sometimes, when Olivia came to visit the small, time-worn cabin not far from her grandparents’ house, the smell of beer and the stench of cigarette smoke filled the air. Often times, when she was close enough to the man, the odors that surrounded him were pretty gross. Empty brown bottles with long necks seemed to always litter the kitchen counter and dining table.
Through it all, Aiden respected him. That was another big word Olivia had learned in school this year. Respect. Aiden did his best to honor his dad, even though, to Olivia, the man sure didn’t deserve it.
With the flowers clutched to her chest, she retrieved the sword and tromped up the hill that led to her grandparents’ home. It was their home all year long, so it was made of bricks, and it was pretty big compared to the cabins and cottages that backed away from the lake and dotted the shoreline of Avalon. There were lots of bedrooms, a second story, and a really cool attic on the third floor stuffed with wooden trunks and odds and ends that Olivia spent hours exploring during the occasional rainy day.
This was such an awesome place to call home for the summer.
Inside, Nana and Gramps DeRew waited. Nana would listen and understand. Olivia could talk to her. Nana was real smart, and she loved to cook and make hot buttered popcorn on top of the stove. The smell and taste was beyond awesome; sometimes Aiden would stop by for a few bowls and watch a movie while Olivia snuggled with him under an afghan crocheted by Nana. Mom and Dad always called Nana a nester—whatever that meant. Olivia supposed if it meant making a house feel warm and cozy and full of love, then the word fit perfectly.
Light spilled across the big porch that wrapped around the house. When she neared the stairs leading inside, she watched curls of smoke curve skyward from the chimney. Olivia stopped in her tracks. A thought pushed through her mind just like waves lapped and pushed against the sandy beach far below. Aiden might not realize it, but he was already a pirate slayer. He battled bad spirits and evil every day of his life.
And oh, how she loved him.

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