Spring Break Secret by Holly Rayner
Louisa
Afew days after Rei’s sleepover and Tom’s sweet picnic date, Louisa was back at work, dropping off water sampling kits from her organization at the Sea Turtle Conservation Center. The Eco Scouts were off that day, and Rei was with Louisa’s mom, but Ellen was still at the center, of course.
“Hey, Squid!”
“Hi, Ellen. I’m just here to bring you the water sampling kits.”
“How are things going with that Palmco Development issue? I heard you managed to get a meeting with someone important? Someone at the last county board meeting said you’d been all up in their hair about it.”
“I did,” Louisa said.
“Well? Tell me all about it.” Ellen pushed a rolling chair toward Louisa, beckoning her to sit down and dish. “We’ve been fighting that stupid project for a year, and you’re the first person to get any traction. What’s going on?”
Louisa took a seat and told Ellen everything—that she had been meeting with the CEO, and that he was actually receptive to her concerns. She mentioned talking with Tom multiple times, and may have included some details about how cute and charming he happened to be.
“I’m glad you’ve finally got someone over there to listen to you,” Ellen said, “but be careful with that guy. The way you talk about him, it’s not the way you talk about other real estate developers or county board members we usually deal with. It sounds like you actually like this guy.”
“Maybe I do,” Louisa confessed, twisting a strand of hair around one finger. “He is really nice.”
“Louisa,” Ellen warned, “he might be cute, and he might be good at paying for fancy lunches, but he’s the CEO of a real estate company that’s trying to dump tons of toxic chemicals in our water. Don’t let him distract you.”
“I know, I know.” Louisa hated to admit it, but Ellen was right. She and Tom had a deep conflict running between them, and their differing values were a serious enough concern to warrant a lot of caution.
At the same time, though, Ellen didn’t know Tom the way Louisa did. He wasn’t just some corporate suit trying to ruin everything in La Vega. He had a heart, even if it was a bit buried and battered by business school and his family’s expectations.
“He’s receptive to your research, you said?” Ellen asked. “Did you show him the pictures of the dimpled shells?”
Louisa nodded. “He said it was awful.”
“Did he cancel the project? Or commit to ending the use of that stupid chemical?”
Louisa hesitated, knowing Ellen would not like the answer she had. “No, not exactly, but—”
“Louisa. Squid,” Ellen interrupted, her voice sharp. “I know you’re smarter than this. I’ve known you your entire life. He’s just trying to run out the clock, convince you that he’s listening and considering, to keep you off his back. He wants to be able to start construction with no fuss from the activists here in town. And once it’s started, there’s nothing we can do. Don’t let him fool you.”
“I don’t think he’s trying to fool me,” Louisa argued, though she wasn’t entirely sure. “He said he wants to delay things, to try and understand more about the use of Comentex and how we can ameliorate its effects on the environment.”
Ellen rolled her eyes. “Don’t let yourself be taken in by a pretty face. If he hasn’t halted the use of Comentex, he’s still just the same as he was before you met and noticed his Prince Charming routine. Keep pushing until we get what we want—what we need. Okay?”
“Okay.” Louisa nodded.
Back at work, Louisa changed into her waist-high rubber wading pants and went out to do some tidal pool checks. She typically had the interns do work like this, but she missed being out in the field, and she needed some time outside to think through what Ellen had said.
It was true, she had to admit, that she liked Tom. More than liked Tom. Ellen was right about that. But Louisa didn’t think she was being swayed by her feelings. As a researcher, and a scientist, and an environmentalist, Louisa would not be convinced, even by Tom, that the development was a good idea or that the risks of Comentex were worth the cost savings.
And Tom wasn’t lying to her—at least, she didn’t think so. He seemed genuine in his concerns and his willingness to delay the project. Still, he wasn’t willing to simply put the kibosh on Comentex entirely, and Louisa knew Ellen was right that they couldn’t afford to accept half measures. Even if Palmco Development poured millions of dollars into environmental charities in the area, turtles couldn’t exactly eat dollar bills, and the damage might be irreversible.
Louisa was finishing up with her first set of tide pools when she saw Tom wobbling out over the wet rocks, waving at her.
“What are you doing here? This is my work,” Louisa said, crossing her arms.
“I know,” Tom said, slightly out of breath. “You told me where you worked.”
“Right. But why are you here?”
“I had something to ask you about, but you look really busy. What are you doing?”
“Tidal pool checks,” Louisa explained.
“Is that why you’re wearing rubber overalls?” Tom asked, giving Louisa’s strange outfit a wary once-over.
“They’re called waders, but yeah. They have special soles on the boots so I don’t slip on the rocks and seaweed, and they keep me from getting wet.”
“Well, you look…professional. Like someone who is really committed to the work.”
“Committed enough to look like a shipwrecked clown?” Louisa asked.
“Hey.” Tom put his hands up as if in surrender. “You said it, not me.”
“I’ve got to get back to work,” Louisa said. “What was it you wanted to ask me about?”
“A buddy of mine found out that I’m down here in Florida, and he told me he has a boat in the area that he’s just paying to store at one of the marinas while he’s in France. He said we could take it out if we wanted. What do you think? A nice sailing trip around the Florida Keys?”
Louisa was a bit stunned by the offer. “I don’t know if I can take the time off work, and I’ll have to ask my parents about watching Rei, but if I can make it work, sure. I’d love to.”
“Great!”
They stood there for a second, Louisa swinging an empty bucket at her hip.
“Well,” she said, “I’ve got to get back to work.”
“What, exactly, is a tidal pool check?” Tom asked.
She told Tom about the project, how they needed to check on the tidal pools at least once a week to collect samples and tally up how many of each creature they counted.
“Looks like hard work,” Tom observed. “Can I help?”
Louisa knew that someday she might be surprised at Tom’s quick, easy willingness to help out even when the work was tough, but she was still elated that he wanted to stick around. “Sure. But you’ll need your own pair of waders.”
“I can’t wait to be the peak of marine biology researcher fashion,” Tom said with a grin.
Soon, Tom was wearing a pair of loaner waders, looking just as ridiculous as Louisa knew she must. He threw himself into the work, hauling heavy buckets of seawater around for the collected samples, his curls damp with sweat. In between sample collection trips, he peppered Louisa with questions and helped point out crabs and sea anemones in the various tide pools.
“All right, well, that’s it,” Louisa said once they had cataloged all the tide pools and collected enough samples for the week’s research. “Let’s get out of these clown pants.”
“Aw, man,” Tom said, striking a pose like a fashion model. “I was hoping to keep them. They’re so dashing, I think I might wear them to my next investor’s meeting.”
Louisa giggled. “Considering I’d prefer to see no new development in the area, it might actually be smart of me to let you do that.”
“Saboteur,” Tom accused, his tone playful.
“Hey, I may not have gone to business school, but I do know how to make someone’s life difficult. Just ask Rei about the restrictions I’ve put on her screen time.”
“I’d love to,” Tom said.
Louisa knew he was telling the truth. “Someday soon,” she promised. “Then you two can totally gang up on me.”
Tom grinned. “Can’t wait.”