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"It's like you have a clean slate, no one's sins to overcoet You can be yourself, and anyone who can be an individual these days is lucky, especially if he can ot to go into town to get some supplies," he added and stood "Got to earn money I'll be back in a few hours"

I sat there fu as if I had hit another wall of silence about my past How could he be so cold about it? If he was my f

ather, why didn't he just admit it? Was he afraid I would ask to move in with him? Was he afraid he would have to provide for me?

Maybe, just as he said, I was better off not knowing I could create ination and make him perfect He would have no skeletons in his closet and no sins to weigh on both of us He would be like sood, who sailed in on a cloud of sea mist and strolled confidently into Provincetown and when he saw Mommy and she saw hihts on the beach One day, he was just gone and then I was born

Now that I was here, one day or one night I would be on the beach andwas all right I wasn't an orphan and I had a destiny

Dreaht They're the riches of a poor person, stashed in treasure chests buried deeply in the ih?

I cleaned up and took Ulysses for his afternoon walk The clouds had broken up and the sky had becoe patches of blue The breeze was still strong, h and sparkling, and once again I turned to the sea for answers

I was so lost in hts and the surf was so loud, I didn't hear the horn or the shouts until I turned to look back at the house and saw that Cary had driven up in his truck and aving wildly from the top of a dune I waved back and started toward him

"What are you doing here?"

"The water is too rough today My father decided to coht I'd take a ride over to see how you were doing Where's Kenneth?"

"He went on an errand he said would take him a few hours," I replied

Cary knelt and patted Ulysses, but kept his eyes on me

"Has he said anything?"

"Very little I thought he was going to say so at lunch today, but--"

"But?"