Pulse of Heroes (20 page)

Francesca thought for a minute and then
plainly said, “Oh, he likes you, trust me about that.” Michelle
felt a little hopeful, but unsure of how Francesca could tell with
such certainty, considering that the three and a half times she had
actually spoken to Elliot he had yelled at her, only once was he
very nice, well, and he did almost kiss her the second time he
yelled at her. It was too damn confusing. Francesca said it was
easy to figure out because Elliot had come to see Michelle twice,
once in her room and once in the woods.

“But I kind of went to see him twice too,”
Michelle argued. But that wasn’t the point, Francesca said. It was
the fact that he came on his own; it was not a chance meeting. He
came to apologize to her the first time, and then he met her in the
woods, and about the half time, which was what Michelle called
their first meeting when she fell off the wall, he helped her sneak
out without getting in trouble, did he not?

“I guess,” Michelle said, doubting that
conclusion. But Francesca continued on, that his actions at the
school when she fell, combined with his apology in her room, and
topped off with him meeting her on her request and loaning her his
jacket, was definitely enough to show that he cared about what
Michelle thought and felt. She didn’t even need to know that they
almost kissed to arrive at her conclusion.

“Well, what do I do?” Michelle asked,
desperate for a magical love spell or something in the same
category.

“You can’t do anything, my dear. This is his
problem. That’s why he keeps getting upset. It has nothing to do
with you or the way you look. You are a beautiful girl, you
shouldn’t think any such nonsense about not being good enough,”
Francesca told Michelle in a protective voice.

“Do I wait?” Michelle asked.

Francesca gave her a sideways look. “You do
nothing like that. Some men like him never come around.” She told
Michelle that she could end up waiting a very long time, and miss
out on other opportunities to find
amore
. “You are a young
girl. You need to forget about him. He’s no good, even if he likes
you. This is how the world goes. I’ve seen this situation many
times before.”

Michelle fought back her tears that began
streaming out and dripping off her chin. She felt embarrassed, but
Francesca moved in and held her tight. “You cry my child, it is all
right. You think you love him, maybe you do. There is nothing wrong
about crying for love.” Michelle did just that. The sobs that
Michelle had held away all weekend long needed to come out; she had
been scared to let them loose. But in the arms of Francesca she
found comfort and safety, so she cried until the tears ran out.

Michelle told her parents that she was
planning to spend the night at Samantha’s house Wednesday night. So
on Wednesday morning she and her parents said their goodbyes
although her mom tried one more time to convince her to join them.
Nevertheless, Michelle had no intention of missing out on the
diving expedition.

Michelle had taken Francesca’s advice to
heart and decided to forget all about Elliot. She wasn’t going to
let him ruin the trip for her. She was about to meet a bunch of new
people, and who knows…

The arrangement was to meet up at 4:00 PM in
a dirt parking lot across from the
Rose and Glee Inn
. That
way they could see how many cars were needed for the trip. Parking
was always a problem along the coast, so the less vehicles the
better. Everyone in the group was given something to do and
Michelle was delegated to be the breakfast chef. She packed
two-dozen eggs and two loafs of cinnamon bread in a small cooler.
French toast would have to do.

After school, Michelle and Samantha packed
and repacked their gear at Sam’s house while they waited for James
to show up. James had arranged to borrow his father’s Suburban,
which was going to make much more sense for the trip than the tiny
VW bug. When James pulled up in front of the house, the deep sound
of the V-8 engine vibrated the entire street. The girls’ excitement
was contagious, and James couldn’t help but smile when he saw the
two of them standing outside the house. They were adorable he
thought, especially Sam.

One of James’ friends, Dave, was going to be
coming all the way up from Mill Valley to join them, and when
Samantha heard that Dave was single she immediately hatched a plan
to get Michelle and him to hook up. With the way that Michelle was
feeling after having been rejected by Elliot, that was not such a
far-fetched scenario.

The back of the Suburban was packed with a
large tent and other camping and diving gear. James had even
brought a couple of extra wet suits just in case someone forgot
theirs or the girls decided that they wanted to give it a try.
Hypothermia was one of the great dangers, and there was no way
anyone could survive in those waters for more than a couple of
minutes without a thick wet suit. Many deaths occurred when
people’s bodies would start to shut down slowly and without notice,
and by the time a person realized what was happening it would be
too late. Their arms would seize, then their legs, and that was how
they drowned.

By the time the Suburban pulled up into the
dirt parking lot across from the
Rose and Glee
there were
already two other vehicles waiting. Michelle recognized one from
school, but not the other. Perhaps the cute guys that Sam had been
talking about were already there? Michelle’s heart rate rose with
anticipation. At last Michelle and her friends stepped out of the
Suburban and everyone else did the same. It was time for the
introductions.

Michelle recognized the couple from Meadows
High, Robert and his girlfriend Marion, and there was also a new
couple from San Rafael, Tom and Liz. When she saw Tom get out of
the car her heart skipped a beat. He was very handsome and his eyes
were extra-friendly, but then she saw his equally beautiful
girlfriend and her heart sank back down. Now they were just waiting
for Dave to show up. And supposedly there were two other guys
coming with him. Three to one is not too bad Michelle thought,
realizing that she was the only girl there that was not attached to
anyone. After about ten minutes a black Prius pulled up to the
group. “That’s so Marin!” James said, laughing, while Dave and his
friend Nicholas got out and approached the group. Samantha nudged
Michelle to pay attention because she could see that Dave was ‘way
fine’. And in fact, she blushed when they were introduced even more
than Michelle did.

“Wasn’t there supposed to be someone else
with you?” James asked. Dave answered that his friend had gotten
sick at the last minute with some nasty foreign flu that was going
around.

After much shuffling, Dave and Nicholas were
able to get all their gear loaded into the Suburban, just barely.
And Rob and Marion hitched a ride with the other couple. They had
to stop at the local gas station to feed ‘the beast’, which was
what James called the Suburban, and then headed out of town.

“I could have tied your car to mine and towed
it up the coast if needed,” James said, teasing Dave about his
Prius. But Dave defended himself, letting everyone know that his
truck was in the shop. The little Prius go-cart belonged to his
older sister, and he confided that unless he was driving downhill
the car would choke up. It just didn’t have enough power, and there
was no way that he was going to attempt to drive up the steep
grades around Indian Rock.

“I would do better walking,” Dave concluded.
Everyone laughed and Michelle couldn’t help but be charmed by his
manners.

Once they passed the last little towns of the
Napa Valley they finally felt free. It was going to be a long drive
and despite their attempts to keep the conversation going they all
tired pretty quickly. James turned on the radio and everyone
watched the beautiful scenery that immersed them in Northern
California magic while listening to the stations fade in and out as
new ones with different songs took their place.

They pulled over in Hopland, which was a must
because at least half of them needed to use the bathroom by then,
and there was going to be nothing but nature for the next two
hours. While Michelle stood in the cashier’s line at the local
market, Dave and Nicholas walked up with their own provisions.
Nicholas was 21 and he bought a case of the famous Hopland
microbrewery beer and some chips, while Dave bought a huge sack of
oranges. “Vitamin C,” he later told everyone. Diving was physically
draining; they would thank him later. Dave insisted on paying for
Michelle’s beverage, and she eventually gave in and let him buy her
the very expensive antioxidant free radical acai berry / green tea
concoction. After that, they all settled back into the Suburban for
the long haul. Dave, who was sitting in the way back, rummaged
through his stuff and eventually emerged with a guitar in hand. And
so the next few hours were spent listening to congenial tunes.
Unfortunately, while following Route 20 to the coast the gang had
to pull over a couple of times because Samantha got sick from the
sharp hairpin turns.

The group reached Fort Bragg around 7:30PM,
and found that the campsite they had reserved was just a few yards
from the beach. The guys set out on a race against the sun to set
up two large tents while the girls unpacked the foodstuffs and
sleeping bags. The evening was colder and windier than Michelle had
anticipated, and the sound of the crashing surf along the shore
made her a bit nervous. Everyone pulled on their jackets and they
got a large fire going.

Dave and Tom took charge of the grilling
while James heated up a large pot of beans on a gas burner. Rob
went to figure out the route to the bathrooms while the girls sat
huddled together around the fire. Nick walked around distributing
drinks to everyone, but Michelle declined; not only was she not yet
of age, but she didn’t really like beer all that much. Samantha’s
stomach was still iffy and she chose to forgo most of the meal,
chewing on a piece of French bread in the hope that it would settle
her belly for tomorrow.

The food was delicious, compliments to the
chefs of course. Michelle thought that it was funny how most guys
seemed to have little interest in cooking while at home, but
suddenly became experts outdoors in front of an open flame.

Samantha decided to go to bed early and James
followed her. Dave strummed his guitar while the embers glowed and
changed colors. With the smell of the fire, smoky and earthy, sweet
and natural, Michelle was in the zone. Things were just perfect;
why couldn’t she always feel like this, she wondered? Sitting
around a fire under the stars gets everyone talking about different
things that they wouldn’t even think about during their ordinary
lives. The conversation ran deep and everyone felt as if they had
known each other forever.

Eventually, a thick curtain of fog began to
move in and cover most of the coast. Michelle could feel the fine
mist and tiny water droplets against her bare face, but she didn’t
mind. She was entranced by the lyrics to one of Dave’s songs. Dave
was a cool poet/nature-boy type, and he seemed to be closer to the
earth than most people she had met. There weren’t any sparks flying
between them, yet, but she was glad that he was there. James was
right, which is funny for a guy to have insight about what a girl
would like; Dave was definitely someone that piqued Michelle’s
interest.

Michelle needed to go to the bathroom, but
dreaded leaving the warmth of the fire. She held out for as long as
she could, waiting for someone else to go so she could join
them.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Michelle said
eventually, looking at the other girls, but everyone had already
gone. Dave gracefully offered to accompany her, and Michelle felt a
bit uncomfortable at the idea that a guy had to walk her to the
potty. Couldn’t she pee by herself? She felt like a child. They
walked together while continuing their small talk about when did he
start playing guitar, and where did Michelle plan to apply for
college. Dave was 20 years old and was attending U.C. Berkeley, but
he still wasn’t sure what he wanted to do with his life. He had
gone backpacking for a year before starting his studies. It was
something he didn’t regret. He told Michelle about Thailand, and an
African safari he went on, even about scuba diving in the Red Sea.
Michelle wished she could travel like that.

By the time Michelle and Dave got back to the
campsite only Liz and Tom remained seated around the dwindling
fire. Rob and Marion had gotten tired and turned in, while Nick had
started snoring while still in a seated position. Michelle was
tired as well. They had an early wake up call, and she wanted to
feel halfway awake for tomorrow. As for the sleeping arrangements,
Liz and Tom stated that they could sleep anywhere, so the choice
was left up to Michelle. There was no way that Michelle wasn’t
going to sleep next to Samantha and James; she wouldn’t feel
comfortable otherwise. So Liz and Tom joined Nick and the other
couple, while Michelle and Dave climbed into James’ tent. There was
an odd and uncomfortable moment when Michelle deduced that somehow
she and Dave were left to couple up. Was this planned? She
wondered. Dave asked Michelle if she felt comfortable with the
arrangements, and she sensed from his question that he was not a
slime ball and told him that it would be fine.

Once inside the tent Dave used a small
flashlight to see where there was space for them, and it became
obvious that they would not be sleeping next to one another.
Michelle wasn’t sure if she was disappointed or relieved, or maybe
a little bit of both. While she unrolled her sleeping bag, Dave
asked her if she had a travel mattress.