So far, eleven-year-old Heddy has met a man named Artie who showed up at Dr. Monroe's abandoned house. She and her family receive a letter that her older brother, Willis, has been injured in the war. Now, she has spent the day with a boy who is visiting the island.

**********************************

Momma is frying up fish cakes for dinner. While she is cooking them up, I trick Lester into helping me pick the vegetables that are ready.

"My mom had a tomato plant one time. The bugs ate the leaves and we didn't get the first tomato off of it." He weaves through the plants, pausing every couple of steps to stop and study the leaves or the vegetable itself. "How do you know when somethings ready?"

"You just know." I twist a cucumber off the vine and place it in my basket. "Get some of those tomatoes," I say.

"How will I know if they're ready?" Lester asks.

"Are they red?"

He scans one of the plants then nods.

"Then they're ready."

He pulls six off, manages to only drop two in the dirt as he makes his way over to put them in my basket.

"You like cantaloupe?" I use my barefoot to point to the fruit peeking out of the overgrown vine. "I think that ones ready."

Lester hurries towards it and kneels down. He works diligently trying to get that cantaloupe free. Finally, he plops down on his rear in the dirt. "They sure are tough to get free."

"Run ask Momma for a knife. We can saw it loose."

He sighs and gets up, awkwardly stepping over the lanes of cucumbers and squash. "I'll be right back."

I pull some squash and two big fat eggplants and carry them back to the porch with my basket full of cucumbers and tomatoes.

I can hear my momma asking Lester about things only mommas want to know. Did he like school? What was his favorite subject? Did he go to church? Lester answered her every question. He even told Momma that he loved school. Momma said, "I sure wish Heddy did. She'd rather spend her days roaming the beach looking for shells."

"I don't blame her. If I lived in a place like this, I'd never want to leave."

I bite my lip to keep from laughing because I know that isn't what my momma wanted to hear him say.

"Lester, go tell Heddy to come on inside, then the both of you need to go get washed up. Dinner is almost finished."

"Yes, ma'am."

**********************************

After dinner is finished and Daddy and I had walked Lester back to the post office, I decide to take a stroll along the water's edge. I even promised to take a bath if I could go.

I don't have to walk very far before Nonni falls in step beside me. "Well, how was your afternoon with that dreadful little boy?"

I shrug. No sense lying to her because she knows when I lie. "He was fine. He's funny. Didn't expect that."

She nods. "You set him straight about not wanting a boyfriend, right?"

Again, I shrug. "He said he had a girlfriend. Lucy something. He said she was the prettiest girl back home."

"That must have made you feel better," Nonni says. "It did, didn't it?"

I stop and sit Indian style on the damp sand. "Nonni, am I pretty?"

Nonni cups my chin and tilts my head. "No, Heddy. You're beautiful."

I smile, feeling happy and warm all the way through. "Willis told me I looked like I swallowed a quarter and broke out in pennies."

"Willis was teasing you. You look like your momma. And your momma is beautiful. But, you haven't hit your season yet."

"What's that mean, Nonni?"

"Means right now you're still a little girl. You shouldn't worry about whether you're pretty. Just be Heddy right now. You've got the rest of your life to think about things like that."

I close my eyes as the warm evening breeze blows across my cheeks. I look like my momma. I wonder if she ever looked like me or was she always this pretty.

Nonni is gone when I open my eyes. I look around. Artie is standing by the waters edge. His pants legs are rolled up to just below his knees.

"Hi, Mr. Artie," I call, jumping to my feet to run towards him. "Did you finish fixing Dr. Monroe's house?"

"Almost finished. And thank you for telling me how to do it correctly. "

"You're welcome."

He stands there, his hands thrust into his pockets, just staring at the waves. "I saw you playing on the beach today."

My cheeks burn because I know Mr. Artie knows I was spending time with a boy. "He's not my boyfriend."

"Duly noted. Must be nice to have someone to play with though, right?"

"Sure. You want me to bring him around so you can meet him?"

Artie steps back from the water. "No, but thank you. You probably should just keep him down your end of the beach. You, uh, didn't tell him about me, did you?"

"No."

Artie smiles and squats down beside me. "That's good, Heddy. I like people I can trust."

The sky is getting darker, and I know my parents are going to come looking for me. "I better go."

"Remember, Heddy," he says, then puts his finger to his lips.

I turn and run. I'm not so much scared as I am confused. I don't like secrets. Artie wants me to keep his secret. I think about Mr. Collette, the janitor. He caught me spying on him and my teacher. He winked at me as he put his finger to his lips.

Secrets used to be fun. Now they're ugly. Maybe Nonni was lying when she said I was beautiful. Maybe I'm just an ugly secret keeper.