She heard a footfall on the dock, felt its vibration, and turning her head, she saw a dark silhouette coming toward her.
“Dora?” she called out.
“Found you!” Dora exclaimed, stepping down to the lower floating dock. “What are you doing out here all alone?”
“Nothing.”
“Want some company?”
“Love some.” Harper patted the dock beside her.
Harper caught the scent of Dora’s floral perfume as she settled beside her and slipped her legs into the black water.
“Seems strange to be out here without Carson,” Dora said.
“Yeah. I half expect to see Delphine pop her head out of the water. Poor Delphine . . .” In her mind’s eye she saw the sweet smile of the dolphin and felt a prick of conscience for what the consequences of their actions had cost it.
“When is Carson due back?” she asked Dora.
“Not sure. Tomorrow or the day after.”
“I saw on the weather report there’s a tropical storm brewing off the coast of Africa and the computer models say it will head our way.”
“Please . . .” Dora said with a wave of her hand. “Whenever there’s any disturbance from that direction, the weathermen go wild, stirring us up into a frenzy. I swear they’re disappointed if the storm veers off. I don’t pay any of the warnings any mind until it’s hugging our coast.”
Harper was the type to study the computer models, and at the moment, the majority of them had this storm hitting Charleston.
“You’ve lived here longer than I have,” Harper conceded. “If Carson comes back tomorrow, she’ll just beat the storm. I’m hoping she and Nate don’t get stuck driving in a downpour.”
Dora’s face clouded at the slightest possibility of Nate being in a storm. “Maybe I will check those storm warnings.”
Harper saw the worry on Dora’s face and regretted bringing up the topic of the storm. “They’ll be fine,” she said in consolation.
“Oh, sure . . .” Dora’s voice was troubled.
“You must miss Nate a lot.”
“Terribly. It’s been wonderful to have some time to myself, but it’s been long enough. I want my baby home.”
“I miss him, too.”
Dora turned to face Harper. “It’s also been really nice spending time with you this past week.”
Harper smiled into the water.
“I’ve gotten to know you better,” Dora continued. “I feel closer to you. I’m trying to break old patterns, and you’ve really helped me.” She paused. “Thank you.”
Harper looked up and in the moonlight saw the sincerity in Dora’s eyes. “We’re sisters,” Harper said. “You don’t have to thank me.” She broke into a broad grin.
Dora released a wide smile and nodded, looking out at the moonlight dancing on the Cove. “I like that.”
“You know, I don’t know who was the tougher sell on getting Nate to go—you or Nate.”
Dora laughed. “I think it’s a miracle he agreed to get in the car with Carson in the first place! But I have to hand it to her. She’s done a real good job. She’s been sending me pictures every day of Nate’s progress. He looks so good, so tan. For a boy who rarely smiles, Nate was smiling all the time! It was a side to my little boy I rarely see. I’ve sent the pictures to Cal. He needs to see that side of his son.” She paused. “Carson doesn’t seem to have a problem having a good time with Nate, does she?”
“Carson? She doesn’t have a hard time having a good time with anyone. It’s her gift.”
“And yours. You play with Nate, too. On the video games.”
“Well, yeah . . .” she replied hesitatingly, remembering the terse words when Dora discovered Harper playing video games with Nate.
“I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. I’m so sorry. It . . . it wasn’t the video games I was upset about. I was jealous,” she admitted.
“Jealous?” Harper asked, shocked at the confession. “Of what?”
“Jealous that you found a way to have fun with Nate. Like Carson did. This isn’t easy to say, but I don’t know how to do that.” She mulishly kicked the water.
“He’s your son,” Harper said, not understanding how a mother wouldn’t know how to play with her own child.
“Moms are the rule makers. It’s not always a fun job. There has to be balance, and I see now that I’ve been so obsessed with helping Nate because of his Asperger’s, I forgot to have fun with him. I don’t want to just be his keeper, the one who tells him what to do, tidies up after him, feeds him.” Dora glanced at her sister. “In the dressing room you said something to me that made me think.”
“Oh-oh . . .” Harper recalled she’d said some harsh things in that tight space.
“No, really, it was good. I know Nate loves me.” Dora took a breath. “But I’m not sure he really likes me.”
“Aw, Dora, of course he likes you.”
Dora shrugged and said in a small voice, “He doesn’t like to play with me.”
“It’s easy. Find something he likes to do.”
“I’m trying . . . but it’s not easy with Nate. He doesn’t like imaginary games and he prefers to play by himself most of the time. I can’t count the number of games I’ve initiated with him or the outings we’ve gone on that are instructive or will help him learn some skill. He shuts me out.”
“That’s the problem. Stop being his teacher and just have fun.”
“But I am his teacher. I love Nate, more than life itself. I’m trying to make life easier for him, to somehow make him better. He needs help if he’s going to learn to deal in the normal world.”
“But not all the time. Nate’s a pretty remarkable boy just the way he is. Instead of trying to change him, once in a while try hanging out with him without an agenda. See what he’s interested in. He’ll let you know.”
Dora put her face in her palms. “God help me, I know you’re right.”
“I’m speaking from personal experience here,” Harper said. “There’s a difference between compelling your children to do what you want them to do, and just letting them discover for themselves what they want to do.”