Our green 1950 Plymouth was packed for Riviera Beach, Maryland—a good hours car ride from Baltimore. I had brought Luna the Tuna, my rubber raft, who was eager for a swim.
My sister and I would spend the whole week with our uncle and aunt. Mommy would drop us off and return next Saturday. I would be able to splash in the creek and escape the heat of the city. I was not eager to be with my uncle. His bushy eyebrows, deep voice, piercing eyes, and intimidating questions scared me. And my aunt always had a list of rules that you had better obey. What would happen for an infraction? We would probably be sent home and then I would have to face my father’s wrath.
"Draw a picture on my back. No, write a word and I will see if I can guess it," I suggested to my sister because I was bored with the long car ride.
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"No, not now. We will be there soon,” said my sister.
"Come on. Just one word. Please. Pretty please with sugar on it," I pleaded as I turned my back to my sister so she could write on it. "Just print slowly."
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It seemed forever until we crossed the last bridge over Stoney Creek. The bright blue water reflected the sky and puffy white clouds. My hair stood straight on my head from the wind coming into the car through the back windows.
Mommy had given me another Toni Home Perm and as a result, the curls in my bangs knotted. They were crooked as usual. Mommy could never cut my bangs straight, just short and shorter. My sister’s pigtails were thick and beautiful. Mommy would not let me have long hair. She said mine was too thin. It was so hot that my legs stuck to the car seat and my sweat tasted salty.
We pulled into the gravel driveway on Harlem Road and tooted the horn. Mommy opened the trunk and I retrieved Luna the Tuna and my red suitcase. By then my aunt had grabbed me for a kiss. I could look my aunt in the eyes. She was my height. My sister towered over her. My aunt had to pile cushions in her car to see over her steering wheel. As I struggled my way up the steep stairs, the screen door banged behind me.
“Girls, you know where your rooms are. The rules are posted on the wall in case you forget.”
The upstairs smelled of pine. The bed with wire mesh mattress frame squeaked as I took a dive.
“I get the room by the water because I’m the oldest,” my sister announced as she pushed past me into the front room. I let her pass. It was too hot to argue. A breeze lifted the curtains. The water sparkled, beckoning us.
“Let’s get our suits. I’m so hot I can’t wait to get in the water,” I said.
“I have my new two-piece suit to wear. I wonder if the boys are around.”
“I sure hope not. They always dunk me.”
Mommy was sitting in the shade of the trees sipping her drink as we rounded the corner of the house. We could not exit through the front door via the living room (Rule #10), but had to use the back door at all times.
“Swim in, never out,” Mommy stated as we headed toward the steep wooden stairs that lead to the beach below.“There are rakes at the bottom for the seaweed. Don’t forget to pull some before you come in. If you don’t, the seaweed will multiply so fast and so thick that you will not be able to swim without getting tangled in it,” said my aunt.
“Okay,” we both yelled.
The steps smelled of creosote and were so hot that they burned my feet. Luna the Tuna bounced down the never-ending steps along with me. After forty steps, I gave up counting, trying to take two at a time to beat my sister.
The sand was wet from the tide. I could barely make out the distant rocks that guarded the entrance to Stoney Creek. Waves lapped happily at my toes and at Tuna’s fin. I raced into the creek with my sister close behind. Plunging my face into the water and opening my eyes, I grabbed for her toes, but she was gone.
My sister had taken lessons at the YWCA, so she swam in deeper water. The other kids from the neighborhood were out there with her too. Surfacing, I put my leg on Tuna, and pushed. I flew through the water then rolled off for another ride.
Swimming underneath the smooth cool water felt so good. It would wash past my face and stream across my legs and arms. I surfaced. Mommy was yelling, “You’re out too far. Turn around. Swim in.” I did and thought to myself I have a whole week to enjoy this. The only downside would be my nose and back peeling from sunburn.
excerpt from The Plaid Robe
