Free The Book of Eleanor by Nat Burns Page A

different today, less severe, her unruly hair in a loosely fastened ponytail. She wore baggy khaki shorts and a crew neck shirt in navy blue. The color enhanced the depth of hue in her blue eyes. I found myself admiring the strong lines of her face.
    She approached and helped the boy to his feet, then looped an arm protectively about his shoulders. She eyed me angrily. “Why are you beating up on Emilio?”
    My jaw dropped. “What? He attacked me ! For no good reason.”
    The blonde cocked her hip and folded her arms across her chest. “Oh, I am so sure. He doesn’t know you from Adam.”
    Her sarcastic tone hit a nerve. “And I don’t know him. If this is your son, and you’re going to let him wander the beach alone, maybe you should teach him how to behave.”
    The blue eyes widened in surprise, then clouded so I knew my remark had hit home. Emilio, who had been following the conversation by peering intently at each of us in turn, started gesticulating wildly. I backed away. The fair woman watched him intently before she gestured in return. I realized suddenly that they were speaking in sign language. I sighed in dismay. Obviously, the youth had been trying to tell me something.
    The woman shook her head and smiled. She gestured once more to Emilio then came toward me.
    “Come with me,” she said, her gaze meeting mine.
    A strange thing happened. As I gazed into her eyes, I felt something push my curiosity about what she was going to say clean away. I had an absurd urge to touch her, and had to clasp both hands together so I wouldn’t. I looked away, afraid of the intensity of the feelings welling in me. Ridiculous.
    She turned and walked a few feet. “This is what he was warning you about.”
    I followed her pointing finger and saw a long swath of jellyfish in a vertical arch that traversed my path. I would have stepped on them, especially with my eyes closed.
    I glanced back at the boy. He stood, his fingers nervously flipping the hem of his shirt. I felt awful. I lifted my eyes to the woman’s and knew she realized I’d meant him no harm. I still felt compelled to explain to her. I didn’t. Instead, I moved toward the boy.
    “Emilio. Forgive me. I didn’t mean to misunderstand.” I positioned myself so he could clearly see my lips. He brightened and hung his head as if much younger than his teenaged years. I tapped his chin, bringing his gaze back to mine. “Thank you for saving me from a lot of pain.”
    “Well, I guess you’re not as mean as I originally thought,” the blonde said from behind me.
    I stiffened. “I can show you mean, if that’s what you prefer,” I said, turning around slowly, ready for battle.
    The woman held up her hands, spread apart as if to show me her good intentions. She smiled. Though miffed at her, I couldn’t prevent my own small grin in return.
    “What, no pizza today?” I asked.
    She blushed a fierce red and shook her head. “I am so, so sorry about that. I can be such a klutz sometimes.”
    “No harm done,” I said as several young people approached us. “It was a nice welcome to the area.”
    “What happened?” asked a young boy. His speech was slurred by an overlarge tongue, but I understood him easily. He peered quizzically at me through thick glasses.
    “Everything’s okay, Tommy,” the blonde told him. “Emilio was trying to warn this nice lady about the jellyfish. What do we know about jellyfish, especially the blue ones?”
    “Don’t touch,” said a young girl with a heavy mane of flaxen hair. She wore thick glasses as well. Her face was round and seemed to encircle a continuous smile.
    “That’s right, Sally,” the woman said, nodding sagely.
    I watched them, and suddenly realized that the woman had to be a teacher of special needs kids. I wondered why they were walking the beach instead of working in the classroom. Some type of field trip?
    “Look, let’s try this again,” the woman said, extending her hand. “Let’s forget about the