The Secret of Othello Read online

  “You could,” Steven acknowledged, “but just because you know how to fight doesn’t mean you actually should. Here, punch this way. From the shoulder, not the wrist.”

  Jimmy copied Steven’s move. “Why shouldn’t I fight if someone’s picking on me?”

  “Because karate is a philosophy, too. Defend yourself, but also know when to walk away.”

  “I’d rather beat up Stanley Delaney,” Jimmy said, and tried another punch.

  Steven blocked him easily. “Your sister told me she and her boyfriend are pacifists. Glad it doesn’t run in the family.”

  “What boyfriend? She and Matthew broke up.” Jimmy stopped to take in a deep breath. “And what’s a pacifist?”

  “Someone who hates violence. She doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

  “He dumped her for another girl in their class,” Jimmy said. “Am I punching right?”

  By the time Brad, Tristan and Denny returned, Jimmy could throw a punch and do three different kinds of blocks.

  “I want to take karate classes!” Jimmy said as his dad rested on the portable platform.

  “You hate exercise,” Brad said.

  “It’s not exercise,” Jimmy said. “Steven says it’s a philosophy.”

  Tristan pulled herself up. “It’s still exercise.”

  She was wearing a green bathing suit today. Steven thought it was the prettiest one of the week. He wondered how Claire would look in that bathing suit, but in his head he heard you’re so cute. While they ate sandwiches for lunch, Tristan told them all about their trip to Key West and the Mel Fisher museum.

  “We had to drag Dad out of there,” she said mischievously. “I thought he was going to hide in a corner and stay there overnight.”

  Brad’s cheeks reddened. “Not true.”

  “Totally true,” Tristan said, adding in more details of what they’d seen.

  Watching them, Steven realized for the first time how much she tried to encourage and cheer up her father when his mood was bad, which seemed often enough that she had to be constantly on her toes. He remembered what she’d said about her mother leaving. Maybe Tristan’s mother had gotten tired of always trying to bolster her husband. It had to be exhausting.

  As they stowed trash in the galley, Steven said to her, “You do a good job with your dad.”

  “Diving?” she asked.

  “And other things.”

  Tristan rinsed a plastic cup out in the sink. “It’s not a lot.”

  “It seems like a lot,” he said.

  She gave him a sideways glance, maybe suspecting a tart comment to follow, but Steven kept quiet. He didn’t mention anything about Matthew, the missing boyfriend, or ask her why she’d lied to him about it.

  Tristan carefully dried the cup. “None of us can control how we feel every day. Emotions just come up, right? Like ocean waves.”

  “But we can control how we respond to them.”

  “You and I can,” Tristan said. “Imagine if you couldn’t walk. If you couldn’t dive anymore, or run, or do karate. Imagine someone took that all away from you. Now you need help going to the bathroom and you can’t have sex the way you want to and the love of your life decides to leave you. How would you respond to all that?”

  She went back on deck, leaving him to think it over.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Their second spot of the day was Sombrero Reef. Two other dive boats were already on the site when they arrived. The dive and photo shoot with the prop wheelchair went well, though Brad insisted on pushing their underwater time as far as possible again. Steven tried not to lose his temper over that. He was beginning to understand that for Brad, the weightlessness of being underwater must be like having full mobility again. Every moment in the water was a moment away from being dependent on others.

  Didn’t mean he liked the man, but he supposed he could put up with him for one more day.

  And Tristan, too. He’d only have to endure one more day of her pretty face, sharp personality, and sexy bathing suits. Of her secret little smiles, and the way she openly adored her dad, and those stupid astronomy books she lugged on board every day.

  She caught him looking at her on the trip back to Fisher Key. “What?” she asked as she rinsed her mask out.

  “Nothing,” he said, forcing his gaze away.

  Back in port, Brad said, “I want to do the Rumney Marsh tomorrow and the Agana on Friday.”

  Steven traded glances with Denny.

  “We can do the Rumney Marsh,” Denny said. “But the Agana’s off-limits. You want someone to take you out there, it’ll have to be someone else.”

  “I can find someone to do it,” Brad said.

  “Then you do that,” Steven said. “We won’t endanger you.”

  Not that Steven was going to be around Friday anyway, but he hadn’t told them that yet.

  Brad rolled away in a huff. Tristan followed, shrugging.

  Once they were gone, Steven tried to think of someone they could hire to take his place on Friday if Brad changed his mind. The Othello II was still in port, so he went over and asked Claire about her plans.

  “We should be back at sea by then, if the repairs go well today. If not, I’m still buried under mountains of paperwork.”

  “You don’t know what you’re missing. Denny knows all the best spots on the reef.”

  “I wish I could,” Claire replied, sighing.

  “You could make it up to me,” Steven proposed. “Give me a tour of your top-secret research ship.”

  Claire laughed. “Top-secret, is it? No one told me. Sure. Come aboard.”

  The vessel had a galley, crew berthing for eight people, and a cramped marine lab. Bud, another crewman, and a mechanic from the island’s biggest boat repair shop were huddled down in engineering, where the big diesel engine wasn’t looking good. Steven didn’t see Jamie Harrison anywhere. When he asked about him, Claire seemed unconcerned.

  “Needed some swimming time,” she said. “Being cooped up in port doesn’t do him well.”

  “I thought I saw him with a cut lip last night,” Steven said carefully.

  Claire shook her head. “Men and their bar fights. I will never understand testosterone.”

  Steven met more of the crew, and he enjoyed seeing the places where Claire spent her days, but when she gazed at him, he knew she was still seeing a kid. It annoyed him to the bone. On the way back to the Idle he thought about calling Jen or Kelsey or Melissa. Just to hang out. Or watch a movie. Nothing more serious than some kissing.

  You’re only fooling yourself, he thought.

  Steven left phone messages with three divers he knew and waited for replies. On the deck of the Idle, he called and told his father about the new test. Dad was pleased to hear it.

  “You want company on the trip?” Dad asked. “Your mother or me?”

  “No,” Steven said quickly. He absolutely didn’t want to show up at Master Chief King’s office with one of his parents in tow. “I’ll be good.”

  Denny emerged from below with a bucket of water and said, once Steven hung up, “I’m going to go take the Sleuth-hound out to Franklin Key. You want to call Kelsey or Jen? Bring one along?”

  “Shut up.”

  “Or Melissa Hardy?”

  “You’re going to look pretty funny taking the black belt test with your mouth crazy-glued shut.”

  Denny seemed unimpressed.

  He called his mom and put her on speakerphone to tell her the news about his test. She gave a little shriek of delight and said, “I knew they’d see their mistake!”

  “They’re not saying they made a mistake. It just means I might not pass again,” Steven warned.

  She scoffed. “You’ll do fine.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “What are you boys doing for the rest of the day?”

  “I’m going swimming,” Steven said. A good long swim around the key would be great for his stress level and for physical fitness. “Denny’s going to take his b
oat out before she dies of neglect—”

  Denny started waving his hands frantically. Steven had no idea what he was doing. Denny accidentally knocked over the bucket he’d brought up, and soapy water spilled over the deck.

  “—and I think that would be nice,” Mom was saying over the clatter. “We can meet you there in a half hour. What’s that noise?”

  “Denny’s being a klutz,” Steven said, distracted. “What did you say?”

  “Oh, I said it would be nice to give Aunt Riza a ride around the island,” Mom repeated. “We’ll be there in a half hour.”

  Steven hung up. Denny gave him a murderous glower.

  “I didn’t suggest it,” Steven said. “It’s not my fault!”

  “I already asked Brian to come,” Denny said scathingly. “I can’t have him, Aunt Riza, and Mom on the same boat.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because she hates gays!”

  “She doesn’t hate gays,” Steven said. “She just hates finding out her nephew is gay by catching him making out on the sofa with another guy.”

  “She thinks it’s a phase I’m going to outgrow.”

  “So what?” Steven asked. “Twenty years from now, you’ll still be gay. That’ll show her.”

  “I’m not disinviting him.”

  “Maybe she’ll get to know him better and let you invite him to the party.”

  Denny looked ridiculously unhappy. “It’s going to be a disaster,” he predicted. “And you’re coming along, since you started it.”

  “I started what?” Steven demanded.

  “And whatever you do, don’t mention the party,” Denny said. “Don’t let them talk about it at all.”

  Steven sighed. “You’re so weird.”

  Denny called Brian and warned him that Aunt Riza was coming. Steven called Mom and told her Brian would be there, too. Thirty minutes later they all met up at the house, where the roofers had made some progress but were packing up for the day. Mom and Aunt Riza both wore khaki shorts, sensible sandals, and flowered blouses. Aunt Riza didn’t look any happier than Denny.

  Brian, however, was perfectly polite. “Nice to see you again, Mrs. Anderson.”

  “You, too, Brian,” Mom said. “This is my sister, Riza Valencia. You weren’t formally introduced.”

  “Mrs. Valencia,” Brian said, and offered his hand.

  Gingerly she took it. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Steven almost commented that it wasn’t the first time they’d met, but Denny picked up the cooler Brian had brought and shoved it into Steven’s hands. “Let’s go before we run out of daylight.”

  The cooler was full of food, which again proved how smart Brian was. Steven crammed a chicken salad sandwich into his mouth as Denny steered the Sleuth-hound across the water. Steven realized, too late, that Brian and Denny had been planning some alone time on the beach—which was exactly the kind of information Steven didn’t need to know. He didn’t care at all that Denny was gay, but he didn’t want to picture him getting anything on with another guy. That was just…well, weird. Mostly because he found nothing at all alluring about kissing a guy with his stubble and hair and the same male junk that Steven himself had.

  “So, Brian,” Mom said. “Are you getting ready for your move to Boston? Ree, Brian’s going to MIT. He’s very smart.”

  Brian looked uncomfortable. “The plans are kind of flexible right now.”

  Steven remembered Denny saying something about that. It was kind of funny that Steven and Brian and even Eddie were all in approximately the same place, Limbo, even if they’d arrived there in different ways. Funny in a frustrating, annoying, futile way that Steven didn’t want to dwell on. Uncertainty had never been one of his favorite things.

  Aunt Riza asked, “What are you going to study?”

  “History,” Brian said. “I know everyone goes there for engineering and science, but I’m more of a liberal arts kind of person.”

  “Are you liberal?” Aunt Riza asked.

  “Let’s not talk politics,” Mom said.

  Aunt Riza lifted her chin. “You should go into the military like my nephews. No liberals there.”

  Steven didn’t correct her on the political leanings of U.S. soldiers and sailors. But he didn’t think Brian would last more than one day in any military. Not because he was gay or soft or anything but because he didn’t have the mindset. He said, “It’s not for everyone. Denny’s been a geek about the Coast Guard since we were ten. I think he’d pay them to let him go, if he had to.”

  Brian cocked his head. “You think he’s going to like it at the academy?”

  Steven had read the material the parents’ association had sent to Mom and Dad—what swabs should bring, and how they would have very little time to call home, and how the best thing parents could do was to be encouraging and supportive. Maybe for some cadets it was all going to be a culture shock. Denny was going to love it. He’d probably end up first in his class.

  But he was also probably going to be homesick, too. Neither Steven nor Denny had ever spent much time away from Fisher Key. And there was the whole gay thing, too. It would only take one homophobic classmate or by-the-books instructor to ruin things in New London, or at least make them very difficult for Denny to bear.

  “Denny will make us very proud,” Mom said, holding her hair so that it didn’t whip in the breeze. “Steven, you, too.”

  He wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Not if he didn’t get into BUD/S.

  Denny brought the boat into the shallows around Franklin Key and anchored her. They all waded ashore, Brian carrying the cooler and Denny carrying a blanket, with Steven helping Mom and Aunt Riza. The beach here wasn’t very big, but a scenic hiking path led through the interior to the old quarry.

  Denny said, “I’m going to show Brian around.”

  “Show us, too,” Mom said. “I haven’t been to the quarry in years.”

  Denny shot Steven a pointed look. Steven thought about letting him squirm, but took pity.

  “I’ll show you, Mom,” he said.

  Mom turned to Brian. “Don’t you want to see it?”

  “I’ll show him later,” Denny said, through gritted teeth.

  For a moment, Mom seemed perplexed. Then she said, “Oh! Yes. Later.”

  They left Brian and Denny on the beach. Aunt Riza looked over her shoulder with a frown, suspecting something amiss, but Steven distracted her by pointing out the mahogany and ironwood trees that were native to the keys. The quarry wasn’t so much a hole in the ground as a slow rise of the ancient reef around them. Soon they were flanked by the eight-foot walls, which had once been far underwater but were now mossy and green with plant growth.

  “What did they do with the rock they took away?” Aunt Riza asked.

  “Built bridges and stuff,” Steven replied. “Causeways to connect the keys. There’s a plaque over here.”

  Aunt Riza squinted at something beyond Steven’s shoulder. “Something’s wrong with those trees.”

  He turned, expected to just see some had toppled in storms, but she was right—something had smashed right through a cluster of joewoods above the coral wall. Steven hiked up to find out more. Moments later, he was staring down at a battered metal object the size of a motorcycle sitting in a crater.

  “What did you find?” Mom called up.

  Steven grinned. “NASA’s missing satellite!”

  Chapter Twenty-four

  A blanket, the ocean, and Brian—Denny really couldn’t ask for more. He’d be ecstatic if only his mother and aunt weren’t nearby and likely to interrupt any minute.

  “Come on, relax,” Brian said, stroking his arm. They were sitting on the blanket together, the cooler open near their legs, their sandwiches and drinks barely touched. “You’re going to give yourself a stroke.”

  Denny replied, “I didn’t want her to come along. Any of them. This was just supposed to be us.”

  “Stuff happens,” Brian said. “How far is the quarry?�
�

  “Ten minutes from here.”

  “So we’ve got some time.”

  “Not enough,” Denny replied.

  Brian’s hands slid lower. “We’ll just have to work fast.”

  “We can’t,” Denny said, laughing, squirming away. “If my mom comes back and we’re in the middle of anything, I’ll die of embarrassment.”

  Brian eyed the ocean speculatively. “Then we’d better go swimming.”

  They waded into the water but Denny wouldn’t exactly call it swimming—there was kissing and groping, sun glinting off water, the warm waves lifting and dropping them, pushing and pulling. Denny’s hands roamed over Brian in a way that he’d only dreamed about. He’d never thought he could have this, not before the academy and certainly not while there.

  “You are the handsomest guy on this island,” Brian murmured. “I don’t think I’ve told you that enough.”

  Denny grinned as he tasted Brian’s lips and rubbed his broad, smooth back. “No, I think that’s you.”

  Brian tugged him into a wave. “We’ll have to wrestle over it.”

  Denny let the water wash over him. He loved doing this with Brian. He loved the sky and sun above them, the wind on his neck, the rising and falling ocean, the boy in his arms. But soon it would be over—there’d be no summer waves in New London, nobody to hold and kiss, probably not even anyone to confide in. Just secrets and furtive glances and the danger of being discharged if anyone found out.

  “Hey, where’d you go?” Brian asked suddenly, his hand on Denny’s face.

  Denny blinked at him. “What? I’m right here.”

  “You’re a thousand miles away,” Brian complained.

  “No, I’m not,” Denny promised. He surged forward on a wave, landed atop Brian, and pulled him into his arms. “Right here for three more weeks.”

  They kissed again, hands going lower, skin rubbing against skin. Just as Denny thought maybe tonight he’d reach a milestone—thank goodness, finally!—Steven burst out of the trees.

  “Call the Coast Guard!” he said, all excited. “We found it!”

  Denny wanted to drown himself.

  If he thought his evening had been ruined before, it was ruined all over again when the Coast Guard showed up to investigate Steven’s claim. The Navy arrived as well. Mom and Aunt Riza took great delight in it all. Steven strutted around, proud as anything, even though it had been Denny’s idea to come out to Franklin Key in the first place.