Agate Beach

Agate Beach-

Janie’s hand rested on the rain-splattered railing. As she ran it back and forth through the droplets, tiny bits of paint flaked off and caught on her skin. Their sharpness hurt a little, but it was worth it to hear them crack as they came free, leaving the smooth metal beneath. For just a moment she was still, taking in through her feet the rumble and churn of the giant motor beneath the deck. Looking out through the hovering mist, she could just see the dark rise of the island.

Daddy took her fingers and wiped the flecks on his canvas jacket. His hands smelled like Ivory soap and engine grease, and she squeezed her eyes shut to hold the scent in her memory. He tucked the already damp cuffs of her red sweatshirt into the sleeves of her raincoat.

“ Come on,” he said, “let’s get you warmed up.”

“ Just one more minute, Daddy, I think I see something in the water.”

They were almost white, most of them the size of a dinner plate, spreading out then squeezing in, long tendrils floating behind them.

“ Those are jellyfish, honey.”

She wrinkled her brow and stared hard at them. She had seen the jellyfish scattered around the beach at Alkai Point, big translucent blobs of goo, and been warned never to touch them. These were beautiful, even magical, nothing like those ugly things that she made a wide berth around.

Her father’s hand on her back steered Janie through the glass doors of the passenger cabin,her damp Red Ball sneakers squeaked along the speckled linoleum tiles leading to the snack bar.

“One coffee and one tea, please, “ Daddy ordered from the man behind the counter.

“Coming right up! “he turned to the silver machine and dispensed coffee into one paper cup and hot water into the other. The tea bag was wrapped in yellow and red paper, which the man handed to them along with the steaming cups. At a little side table, Daddy opened the paper and dropped the bag into the hot water.

Janie watched the red-brown tea begin to seep out. She reached for the colorful paper on the table and slipped it into her pocket.

“Let’s doctor these up”, Daddy poured cream from the metal pitcher into both cups, the white clouds swirling up from the bottoms. Then he gave them each two spoonfuls of sugar from the glass jar with its tiny flap at the top.

Handing the cup of tea to Janie, he warned her to be careful walking with it.

“Can we go back outside? “

“No, honey, it’s cold and we will be out in it all day. But we could sit in the front row of chairs so you can see the island getting closer.” She slipped onto the Naugahyde and steel couch, sitting close to him, trying to soak him up while he was here.

They sipped the sweet drinks, warming their insides, and watched the island grow larger and clearer.

Over the loudspeaker came the announcement, “Bainbridge Island, please make your way to the car deck.”

With most of the other passengers, Janie and her father lined up and headed down the clanging metal stairs to their truck. The truck was always easy to pick out, first because it was so old and second because, although they called it “ the blue truck”, it had one green door that used to belong to another ‘42 Chevy.

Janie opened her door and stepped onto the running board that boosted her up to the seat. She caught a glimpse of the fishing gear and her beach bucket with the pink octopus swimming across it in the plastic bin in the bed.

“Do you have to fish today, Daddy? Aren’t you going away to fish again tomorrow? “

“Yes, but today I’m fishing for us. And there is something I want to show you.”

“What?”

“You’ll see.”

They waited their turn, then bumped across the ramp and onto the island.

It was a short drive down a forested road. The small patch of dirt at its end just barely had space for the blue truck to park. Daddy got out and gathered his pole and creel while Janie scrambled into the truck bed to get her bucket. Turning his back at the tailgate, he said, “Jump on,” and carried her piggyback down the narrow trail that led to the beach. Coming out the the shadows, the shore ahead seemed to glow, golden and white.

“ What kind of beach is this? “ Janie jumped down and ran to see the rocks up close.

“ I told you there was something to see”, Daddy said, laughing at her surprised expression, “They are called agates. You can take home the 20 prettiest ones.”

Reaching down for one of the stones, she held it up to the sun.

“Pretty?” he asked.

“So pretty, “ Janie said, putting the treasure into her bucket, “I can only take 20?”

“You have to leave some for when we come back. Choose your favorites. “

Daddy walked out to where the beach met the boulders and little swirling pools gathered at their base. He began casting out for the sea-run trout that would be their dinner.

Janie picked up one stone after another, trying to be sure she had the most beautiful. When she couldn’t decide, she would take two contenders and run to the water’s edge to have Daddy choose. He would rub the smooth stones with his hand and then hold them up together to let the light through and pick the best one. She moved from place to place along the beach. When a stone would catch her eye, she would crouch down to get it with her chilly fingers, then wipe it on her pants to get the sand off before seeing if it was a keeper.

Daddy had already caught three of the speckled silver trout; one more would be all they needed. Janie had fifteen stones in her bucket. It was getting harder to choose the last ones.

Daddy had their last fish and was crouching down to clean them. It wouldn’t be long before they had to leave. He tossed the fishes insides into the rock pools for the small creatures to devour, rinsed the fish in seawater and packed them into the creel.

“Did you find the best ones?” he called to Janie. She was picking up stone after stone, wanting the last one to be the best. Tears began to prickle and catch in her lashes. She squeezed her eyes hard shut so they wouldn’t fall.

“ Come on , honey, we need to get back.”

“ But I need one more”, she could hear her voice catch.

“ How about if I pick the last one? “, he said. Janie nodded.

Daddy walked away from her down the beach, pushing rocks with his toe, then bending down to see them up close. He picked one up, then wiped it on his pants to see if it was the keeper. Bringing it back to Janie, he said, “ What do you think?”

He handed her the stone, yellow and white mixed. As she held it up, she saw three dark red spots deep inside. “That’s a good one,” she said and put it on top of the others.

Walking together, they made their way back to the blue truck.

On the drive to the ferry, she scooted next to him and put one of her cold hands into his jacket pocket. He gave it a pat, smiling down at her. His hands now smelled like fish and salt, the same way they did when he came back home.

They drove into the car deck of the ferry. “ Do you want to go up top and look out?”

“Can we just stay here?”

“Sure, honey”

She rested her head on his sleeve and listened to the engine roll and hum.

At home, Janie went to wash her hands and face while Daddy fried trout and potatoes in the big black skillet. Changing into her striped pajamas, she felt her tummy rumble as the buttery smell drifted into her room.

Together they ate the fish and potatoes, both were crispy, brown and salty. Then washed and dried their plates, putting them back at the table for the next meal.

Their tiny living room held a couch that was also Daddy’s bed, and a small black and white TV perched on a wooden crate. Tonight they watched the Andy Griffith Show, her favorite. The little boy, Opey, and his daddy fished together too.

At bedtime, Janie went into her room. Seeing the octopus bucket, she took the rocks and made a little pile on the nightstand beside her bed, placing the last rock with the red spots on the top. She got the red and yellow tea paper out of her jacket pocket and tucked it under her pillow.

“Time for sleep“, Daddy peeked his head around the doorway.

She crawled into bed under the woolly,green army blanket.

“Just a minute”, Daddy said and walked to the kitchen. He came back with a miniature flashlight.

He sat down on the edge of her bed and smoothed the hair back from her face.

“When will you come back?”

“When the boat is full of fish.”

“Ok”

He turned off the lamp on the nightstand and switched on the flashlight, laying it behind the agate pile so that they glowed toward her, a nightlight.

“We really did find the prettiest ones”, Daddy said.

“We did.”

“Mrs. Carter will be here to make your breakfast.”

He kissed her forehead and walked out to the couch.

Janie slipped her hand under the pillow to rest on the paper, then watched light through the stones until her eyes closed on their own.