Andrew Gross - The Blue Zone

Kate crawled down the pitch line to the edge of the lake, grasping at clumps of weeds and grasses, sliding down the short embankment onto the shore. She pulled herself along the edge, her sneakers sinking into the soggy soil. So far, so good . She was only a few yards away. She didn’t know where anyone was. Only that it was dark and that she was crazy for doing this.

Finally she made her way to the base of the pier. It was only about ten feet long, with a small powerboat moored alongside. Kate got her jeans wet maneuvering around the side, but she continued, grabbing on to a branch and pulling herself up to the boathouse, where she was concealed. The only light came from the spotlights in the trees. She’d made it. The agent on the porch had barely moved.

The door that led inside was ajar. She cracked it wider and entered the boathouse. There was an exposed bulb on the ceiling, turned off. She didn’t dare turn it on. She tripped over an oar in the dark, but it didn’t fall. There was a rowboat on a stand, orange life preservers stacked neatly on a shelf. Other than that, it was just dark, creepy, and musty. Cicadas buzzed.

Now she just had to wait.

Kate stepped quietly across the shed to a small window that looked out at the house. The guy was still sitting there.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Kate almost jumped out of her skin, turning.

With great relief she stared into the joyous face of her mother.

“ Oh, Jesus, Mom… ” Kate gasped, latching onto her mother’s shoulders. They took a look at each other, then melted uncontrollably into each other’s arms.

“Kate…” Sharon squeezed her tightly, pressing her hair. “Oh, God, I can’t believe it’s you.”

Kate couldn’t help it. She just started to sob.

It was seeing her mother’s face, at last, at the end of this impossible, nerve-racking journey. Everything simply gave out. Emily and Justin crept from the shadows then, too, Em hugging Kate giddily, trying to keep it together. Justin couldn’t stop smiling.

Kate couldn’t believe she was actually seeing them. They couldn’t believe they were actually staring at her. Sharon pressed an index finger to her lips for everyone to keep their excitement down.

“How did you find us?” Em asked.

“It was you. ” Kate embraced her. She told them about the Third Eye Blind e-mail and how she’d tracked the tour, how she’d been to three cities in the past three days, showing Em’s picture at all those squash clubs…never knowing if she was actually ever going to find them.

And now she was here.

“I don’t care how you found us.” Sharon clutched Kate closely. “I’m just so happy you did. Let me look at you.” She took a step back.

Kate swept the hair out of her eyes. “You had me sneaking around the back, and then I slid into the lake. I must look like a swamp creature.”

“No.” Sharon shook her head, eyes beaming, even in the dim light. “You look beautiful to me.”

“You all look beautiful, too.” Kate grinned. They hugged one another again.

Justin had grown to almost six feet, long and lanky, his hair still bushy. Emily had filled out like a young woman. Her hair was shoulder length, with a little streak of blond running through it that Kate thought looked pretty cool-and she had two small silver hoops in her left ear.

And Mom…It was dark, eight o’clock at night. She didn’t have a stitch of makeup on. She was wearing a light blue Fair Isle sweater and a corduroy skirt. Kate noticed a few crow’s-feet around her mouth and eyes that she couldn’t remember being there before.

But her eyes were sparkling and wide. There was a warming smile on her face.

Kate hugged her. “You look great, too, Mom.”

They threw a lot of questions at her. How was Tina doing? And Greg? Kate shook her head guiltily. “He doesn’t even know I’m here.”

Then there was a pause. They all looked at her, reality creeping back in.

“What are you doing here, Kate?” her mother asked numbly. “You know what a risk it is to be doing this now.”

“Have you heard from Dad?” Kate asked, nodding.

“No. They’re not telling us anything. We don’t even know if he’s alive or dead.”

“I think he’s alive, Mom. I found something. Something I have to show you.” She didn’t want to say everything, not in front of Justin and Em. “At first I thought they must be lying and covering something up. They broke into my apartment and bugged my phones.”

“ Who, Kate?” Sharon asked, mystified.

“The WITSEC people. Cavetti. The FBI. But I found this photo, from a folder full of Dad’s things you left back at the house.” She started to reach inside her jacket. “It changes things, Mom. It changes everything.”

Her mother put a hand to her arm. “There are some things we have to talk about Kate. But not here.”

They heard some movement emanating from the house. The agent Kate had seen now stepped down from the back porch. He shone a flashlight broadly around the yard.

Pushing Kate back from the light, Sharon whispered, “You can’t be here, honey. I’ll meet you tomorrow. In the city. I’ll call you. But right now you need to go.”

“I’m not leaving,” Kate said, “not now.” She locked her arms around Em and Justin. “I don’t know when I’ll get to see everyone again.”

“You have to, Kate. We’ll call Cavetti. We’ll let him know you tracked us down, that you’re here. He’ll have to let you stay a few days. In the meantime I’ll come into town tomorrow. We’ll go over some things.”

Kate pulled Em and Justin against her, nodding reluctantly. “Okay.”

“Who’s out there?” one of the agents called. The beam of a flashlight came a little closer.

Sharon pushed Kate toward the boathouse door. “ You’ve got to go!”

She touched her hand affectionately to Kate’s face. Then her eyes lit up. Gently, she lifted something from Kate’s neck.

“You’re wearing your pendant.”

“I never take it off,” Kate said. They hugged each other one last time, and then Kate jumped off the pier and slid down the embankment to the lake.

“Tomorrow I’ll tell you something about it,” her mother said.

The following morning rose clear and bright. From her hotel room on the edge of downtown, Kate could see Puget Sound and the sun glinting off glass-walled skyscrapers. She cracked the window, and the caw of gulls came into her room, along with a gust of brisk sea air.

It had been a long time since Kate had risen so expectantly.

Sharon called about nine and told Kate to meet her at noon in a restaurant called Ernie’s at the Pike Place Market, the most public venue she knew. Kate tried to figure out how she was going to fill the next three hours. She pulled on her Lycra tights and went for a jog along Western Avenue, stopping a few times to gaze at the colorful sailboats dotting the sound, the dazzling skyline rising above her, and the tip of the famous Space Needle. Afterward, she stopped for a coffee and a muffin at a Starbucks that claimed it was one of the first three ever opened. Around eleven she made it back to the hotel and changed into a green quilted jacket and jeans.

It was only a short walk from her hotel to the Pike Place Market. Kate got there a little early and strolled around the crowded wharf and shops. Ernie’s was a large, bustling café with outdoor seating in the center of the festive market. The square was packed with young families and tourists. Kiosks hawking cool artisan crafts, Rollerbladers gliding through the buzzing crowd, street artists, jugglers, mimes.