CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Three hours later, our bellies were full with what I had to admit was the best breakfast I’d ever eaten. Fluffy blueberry pancakes with maple syrup, smoky sausages, eggs Benedict, extra thick bacon, and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Erik did most of the actual cooking, but everyone pitched in.

By the time we all left the house, Mom and Ana were chatting about which celebrities Mom had met, and Dad and Erik were talking about why epic movies set on the ocean were filmed in studio water tanks instead of on location. It almost seemed a shame when we split up into our separate vehicles.

I rode with Dad and Ana, and as we arrived at the dock I saw Devon standing by the boat fiddling with the lens cap of a fancy camera. Elle waved when she saw us. Even in casual clothes, she still looked glamorous, and I couldn’t help the small surge of wonder that spread through me. How was it possible that a famous author was going out on my father’s boat?

“Afternoon,” Dad greeted them when we’d all piled out. He paused and I noticed him glance at Elle’s shoes. Her high-heeled shoes. No one wore heels on a boat. “So,” he said, “have you two spent much time at sea?”

Elle shook her head. “No. We aren’t exactly seafarers, but today we’re being bold.”

“Isn’t most of Wales coastal?” I asked.

Devon looked up, and Elle seemed impressed. “Why yes, but we’re from the area inland near the border.”

“Plus, my father always got seasick,” Devon offered. “So he preferred to holiday in the Lake District.”

“Well, I’m happy to have you on board,” Dad said. “You two remember Susan, Erik, and Ana?”

Devon and Elle nodded. “Of course. So nice to see you all again.” Elle glanced at Ana. “I didn’t realize you were a friend of Emmett and Jane.”

“Ana is more than a friend,” Dad said. “She’s . . .”

“Family,” I filled in for him.

“Oh,” Elle said. “How lovely.”

Dad jumped on board the boat, and then he tossed life jackets to everyone waiting on the dock. Including me.

“Dad,” I groaned. “I’ve been out on The Clam hundreds of times, and I know how to swim.”

My father shook his head. “You know the rules, sprite.”

I sighed, fastening the bulky vest around my chest with a click. The Clam was an old lobster boat that Dad had gotten used when Buzz Jackson retired. There was a cabin in the front of the boat and a flat back where Dad kept his equipment. It was a good size for a lobster boat, but it wasn’t exactly set up for a pleasure cruise. There weren’t any chairs, but there were huge coolers where Dad kept his samples once he’d gathered them. One by one, Dad helped each person step from the dock onto the boat.

Devon had a huge grin on his face when he hopped onto The Clam.

Elle tripped gracefully into my father’s arms as she boarded, and I wondered if she’d done that on purpose.

A few minutes later, the rumble of the boat’s engine made the whole thing come alive. I could feel the low thrum up my legs, radiating through my entire body. That sound was pure anticipation. I sniffed the air, thinking about how I’d describe the smell if I were writing a scene on a boat. Diesel and seaweed—usually rotting seaweed because inevitably some piece of green muck got stuck somewhere until it baked in the hot sun. It wasn’t a smell everyone loved, and I could see my mother and Elle scrunching up their noses. They each sat on a separate cooler, both with one leg crossed over their knee.

It struck me then how much they looked alike with their long dark hair and tall elegance. Even the way they held themselves was similar. Was it the tilt of the chin? Or something in the eyes?

Ana, on the other hand, was nearly a foot shorter, and her blond hair glinted in the sunlight. She wore sturdy sneakers that had scuff marks and a hole in the toe, but the rubber soles would keep her steady as the boat shifted on the waves. She cast off the fenders as Dad manned the wheel and I stowed the lines, the three of us working like a well-oiled team.

Devon hovered next to me, snapping pictures.

“Here.” I threw him one of the ropes. “Make yourself useful. You can hank the bow line.”

“Hank?”

“It means coil them and then wrap a piece of the rope around the coil. Like so.” I showed him how I’d done the stern line so he could copy me. “Dad has a locker in the cab where we can stow them along with the fenders.”

“What are fenders?” Devon asked.

“They’re bumpers that prevent the boat from crashing against the dock.”

Devon took care of his line, then wandered over to where Ana was checking the equipment. “How do you guys know how to do all this stuff?”

Ana laughed. “My father is a lobsterman, so he had me working on his boat as soon as I was old enough to tug in a trap. It’s second nature by now.” She nodded at me. “It’s the same for Jane. She’s been going out on expeditions with her dad since she was three years old.”

“Wow.” Devon picked up his camera and snapped a bunch of photos, but I pretended not to notice.

Dad idled the boat into the open ocean, then finally kicked the engine into higher gear once we’d passed the final marker. I felt the familiar lurch and the rush of the wind against my face. No matter how hot it is on shore, once you’re on the ocean and the spray hits your skin, you feel chilly. The Clam’s wake made white, foamy streaks behind us.

The sea was choppy, but the boat easily rode each crest and dip. I could tell that Mom and Elle were freezing, because they hugged their knees to their chest, but Devon looked happier than I’d ever seen him, standing in the stern, looking out at the open sea.

I ducked into the cab and a few minutes later, Devon followed.

“Where are you taking us?”

On the map, Dad pointed just north of the string of small islands dotting the coastline. “You kids are going to help me do some sampling today,” he said. “I’m working on a project measuring the effect of climate change on plankton in the Gulf of Maine.”

“Cool,” Devon breathed.

Dad pointed to two large sets of lines on the chart. “See this? That’s the Labrador Current, which brings in cold water from the arctic. And this one is the Gulf Stream. It’s the most important current in our hemisphere.” His rough finger traced a path. “The Gulf Stream starts in the Gulf of Mexico, stretches around Florida, moves up the East Coast, and then it goes all the way to Europe in a complex, swift loop. Both of these currents meet in the oceans off Maine’s coast and when warm and cold water combine, they create the perfect conditions for plankton.”

“That’s good, right?” Devon asked.

“Definitely. Plankton are the base of the food chain, so every other form of life in the ocean depends on them. The problem is, as the oceans get warmer, the Gulf Stream is slowing down, so we’re monitoring this stretch of water to keep track of what’s happening.”

“What if it slows down too much?” I asked. “That would harm the Earth, right?”

Dad laughed. “Sprite, the Earth is stronger and more resilient than you can imagine. The problem isn’t whether things like this will harm the planet, it’s whether they will harm us.”

“Really?” Devon leaned forward.

“Yup,” Dad said. “Life on Earth won’t disappear if our climate heats up, but certain species will thrive while others die out, and we’d rather not be one of the species that dies out. But that’s certainly not a guarantee. Some human species have already come and gone; like Neanderthals. We have to remember that life on this planet existed for millions of years before us, and there’s a good chance it will exist for millions of years after us.”

“Which species would thrive if the climate gets warmer?” Devon asked.

Dad rubbed his chin. “Lots of them. Toxic algae blooms, mosquitos, ticks, snakes, sharks . . . jellyfish.”

I thought about a planet teeming with the kinds of life that humans couldn’t tolerate. Maybe instead of bumper stickers saying SAVE THE EARTH, we needed bumper stickers that said SAVE THE HUMANS.

Dad chuckled. “Don’t look so dire, Jane. If we play our cards right, we might be able to earn ourselves a bit more time on the cosmic scale. You know that’s why I work so hard, right? I’m working for you—so you and your kids can inherit a world as beautiful as the one I’ve lived in.”

Huh. That was why Dad worked so hard? I’d always assumed ocean science was Dad’s version of my writing. Something he just loved to do. It had never occurred to me that maybe I was part of why Dad put in such long hours.

I wanted to say something, but I didn’t get a chance because Ana came up beside Dad and let out a huge sigh. “Erik and Elle are feeling a little queasy already.”

Dad frowned. “That’ll only get worse when we slow down to throw out the plankton nets.”

“I know,” Ana said. “It’s a bit late, but I don’t suppose you’ve got any Dramamine on board? Peppermints, maybe?”

Dad shook his head. Why would he? None of us got seasick. Now that I stopped to think about it, the waves were pretty high today. The boat rose and fell, and spray soaked every inch of the bow. A minute later, Mom stomped into the cab.

“Emmett, it’s far too rough to be out today.”

“It’s not that bad,” I argued. “Dad and I have been out in weather way worse than this.”

“Oh, you have?” Mom said, hands on her hips. She glared at Dad.

“Susan, we’re fine and you know it,” Dad argued. “We’ll be where we need to be in a few more minutes and then it won’t take long to let the kids draw a few samples. It’s not my fault the sea is rough today.”

Mom snorted. “Nothing’s ever your fault, is it?” She turned and stomped back the way she’d come. Dad and Ana exchanged looks, and I saw Elle watching them.

I left the cab and stared out at the vast ocean. The swells didn’t feel threatening to me, but maybe they should. According to Dad, the sea wouldn’t care if it swallowed us up. We were just a little blip in space and time.

Devon joined me, and we were both quiet for a long time. I wondered if he was thinking the same things I was, about how old the planet is and how young we were in comparison.

Just then, a whale spouted in the distance. Devon gasped and we both watched as its slick back crested the surface. Even from far away it was huge. Devon lifted his camera as if he might snap a photo, but then he set it down again. “That was amazing,” he breathed.

I nodded. Yes. It really, truly was.