Western Waves (Compass 3)

I did as Grams said and hurried off to my bedroom. I changed into my sundress, which was my favorite color after teal. Most of my closet was yellow and teal stuff. I loved teal because it was my favorite color. I loved yellow because it was Mama’s.

I felt my tummy flipping as I got ready. I hoped Rosalina liked me because it would be nice to have another girl in the house. Sometimes, Kevin didn’t understand things that happened to me, and I could never talk to him about my crushes. I could talk to Grams sometimes, but it wasn’t the same.

I wasn’t looking for a new mama because mine was still around in the water, but maybe Rosalina could’ve been my friend. I didn’t have many friends at school, so it would’ve been nice to have her.

After I finished getting dressed, I dashed out of my room to go back to the living room to wait for Rosalina to come. As I was running around the corner, I bumped into Kevin, making me come to a fast stop. I tumbled a little, and he caught me in his arms before I fell to the ground.

“Whoa there, speed racer,” he mentioned.

I looked up at him and saw his eyes. His eyes used to smile more. Mama always said that was her favorite part of Kevin—how his eyes could be the happiest thing on his face. But now they looked sad. That made me sad, too.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I went standing to my feet.

He flicked his thumb against the bridge of my nose and then dabbed my fist with his like we always did. “It’s okay. You ready to meet Rosalina?”

“Yes! Grams said she’s going to like me, and maybe we can be friends, too.”

“Of course she’ll like you! You’re a star.”

I struck a pose. “I know, I shine.”

His eyes didn’t look as sad anymore as he kept chuckling. “You’re sassy like your mother, you know that, right?”

I lowered my eyebrows. “Do you miss her, Kevin?”

“Every single day.”

“Then why don’t you talk to her in the ocean? That’s how I talk to her, Grams, too! You could do it if you wanted to.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” He rubbed his hand against the back of his neck and bent down in front of me. His hands fell against my shoulders, and he whispered. “I talk to the ocean. It just doesn’t talk back to me.”

I leaned in closer to him and whispered back, “That’s cuz you’re not listening closely enough.”

His mouth parted to speak, but the doorbell rang. Following right after that, we heard a shout. “Honey, I’m home!”

“Rosalina’s here,” he said.

My heart was doing cartwheels as excitement filled me up.

Kevin smiled and leaned forward, giving me a forehead kiss. Mama used to kiss my forehead, too. I hoped Kevin never stopped that. Ocean kisses, Grams called them because the forehead kiss sent waves of comfort throughout my body. They were reminders that someone loved me.

“I know I’ve dated a lot, but this thing with Rosalina is going to be different,” he told me, but I felt as if he was really trying to tell himself. “I promise, Stella.”

I nodded my head as he stood back up. He stared at me with a smile and those sad eyes. “Every single day, you look more like your mother. UB, you know?”

I smiled. “UB.”

UB stood for universal blessings. Little things that happened in the world that felt like small gifts from the universe. We learned a lot of our weird sayings and stuff from Grams. She was into magic and tarot cards, crystals and sage, and all of that stuff. When it came to the universe, Grams had a gift of knowing lots of stuff. UB was just one of the millions of things she’d taught Kevin and me.

“Come on.” He took my hand into his. “Let’s go see her together.”

We walked toward the living room, and there Rosalina was, standing there tall as ever in her high heels and fancy clothes. Her driver was bringing in some of her suitcases, and she was typing nonstop on her cell phone with big black sunglasses that covered her whole face.

When she saw us, she stopped typing and slid her phone into her purse. “Kevin!” she cried out, rushing to him. Kevin dropped my hand, and I stepped behind him a little bit as they embraced.

She was so beautiful. I’d never seen anyone look that pretty outside of Mama and Grams.

“I missed you, baby,” Rosalina said, taking off her sunglasses. She put those in her purse, too, and then placed her hands against Kevin’s cheeks and kissed him hard. For a long, long, time.

Gross.

I scrunched up my face and looked away. It was weird seeing an adult do that kind of stuff.

Kevin pulled back from Rosalina and looked back at me. “Stella, want to say hi?”