Shark Lover (6 page)

            “Marc?
Oh thank God you are awake and alive! You were riding a wave into the shore and
you hit the sand pretty hard. The waves kept eating you up. I think you
swallowed a lot of water. I’m just glad to see you up and talking.” He held his
son with the grips of God as if he hadn’t seen him in years.

                        “Dad,
I’m okay now.” He said as he shrugged off his father’s arms. “Let me get back
in and ride another so I don’t leave with my last wave as a wipeout.”

            “Marc,
I’m not so sure that is the best idea. You may have a concussion. We need to
take you home as soon as possible. I’m going to ride by the hospital on the way
back just to make sure you are alright.” His father said concerned.

            “Dad,
I am fine. Just let me do this.” Marc looked up at his father with
determination in his eyes so his father would know there would be no stopping
him now. “I won’t even go out very far. I’ll just be close to the shore. I
can’t leave here feeling like a failure.”

            He
ran as fast as he could to the waves, feeling dizzy as he paddled. He hopped up
on his board and caught the wave closest to him. He rode it slowly, but it
burned out quickly. With determination, he paddled again persistent to get a
wave. A medium-sized one came crashing down on him as he stood up rapidly. He
rode it all the way to the shore standing with ease on his board. He had such
grace and poise, nobody would have known that he had just crashed a few minutes
ago.

            “Marc,
that was amazing! You really have some talent there. You will do big things one
day. I am so proud to call you my son.” His father hugged him tightly as he
started leading him off of the beach. “Are you feeling okay? I will still drive
by the hospital if you would like me to. You know I get worried about you. It’s
a dad thing.”

            “Thanks
Dad, but I am fine. I just wanted to erase that bad crash from my mind. They
say it’s good to leave with your last wave as a success.” He ran his hand along
his soaked wetsuit and yawned. “I’m so tired, I just want to sleep. Surfing
wore me out.”

            “Alright
home it is then. You were a success, you always were.” He took his keys out of
his pocket and secured the surfboards on top on the car. “Let’s get home and
get some sleep.”

            He
started the engine as Marc hopped in on the passenger side and fastened his
seatbelt. They drove away from the bay beach slowly as Marc stared wistfully
out the window in silence. He looked out onto the lighthouse and saw it
gleaming back at him. He smiled in pure joy that surfing had brought him. It
made him strong. He was a fighter. He stole a glance at the man who had taught
him everything he knew.

            “Dad?”
He said softly into the darkness.

            “Yes,
Son?”

            “I
love you. Thanks for tonight. I became a true surfer. I got back on that board
even when I was hurt and scared. It’s all because of you.”

            “I
love you more Son. And no need to thank me. You turned out to be a great son. I
feel rewarded every day that God has blessed me with your presence and one day
you will make a great man as well.”

            Marc
beamed at this father’s remarks as he laid his head against the glass of the
car door. He replayed the images of the night over and over again as he drifted
off to a restless sleep. He had never felt so alive in his life and he didn’t
want to lose this miraculous feeling.

           
Marc
was swiftly pulled back to the present as Cathy squeezed his hand while they
walked down the shore of the bay together. Remembering the good times with his
father was something he often did when he walked along a beach. There was
something about the water hitting the sand that reminded him of his past life.
It was almost as if the water was calling out his name, calling him back to
where he had first discovered who he was. He couldn’t escape the past; no
matter how badly he had wanted to move on, it was always there. He knew he
couldn’t change his upbringing or his identity, but he tried to avoid it to
escape the pain that it would bring him. He realized Cathy was looking at him
with a tangled look on her face. He figured it was time he said something and
left his thoughts for later.

            “Beautiful
night out here isn’t it? You can see the sun setting right before your eyes. I
always loved this time of night, right before it gets pitch black. Everything
in the ocean is so clear. It’s almost as if it has a purpose for being, like it
exists specifically for this moment alone.”

            “It
is beautiful. I love how the sun is sparkling down on the water like that. It
looks so warm and generous. Do you want to sit down by the water? We could get
the tips of our feet wet by the sun soaked water.” She grinned sheepishly, her
deep blue eyes persuading him.

            “Of
course. It would be my pleasure.” He sat down in the sand and softly set her
upon his lap as her attention drifted swiftly out to the bottomless blue sky as
a seagull flew ahead.

           
He
held her hand as he set her in his lap where the sand meets the sea. She was
only three years old and wiggled as he tried to sit her steady. She laughed as
she kicked her feet in joy at the water. She leaned into him as he held her
tightly against his lap. Her bright pink, floppy sunhat blew in the wind as she
reached her hand up to steady it on her head.

            Her
little finger pointed up to the sky. “Daddy what’s that? That big thing flying
in the sky.”

            “That’s
a seagull Cat.” He brushed through her tangled curly hair with his rough
fingers. “Seagulls are always found on the beach. Look above. Do you see the
whole flock of them?”

            She
looked up into the sky. “Yes Daddy I do. I like them. What are they doing
here?”

            “Well,
seagulls represent integrity, purity as well as opportunity.” He held his chin
deep in thought. “Seagulls are spiritual messengers that have a higher
communication. Since they fly above in the sky they see situations with better
clarity than humans do. They have a strong sense of friendship and community.
See how they all fly in a flock like that Cat?”

            “Yes
Daddy.”

            “They
fly together as a team and they understand the cooperation that is needed for
them to operate efficiently and successfully.” He coughed searching for his
breath. “If you look carefully you will see that they teach us that there are
many perspectives to consider. Seagulls demonstrate how to ride the currents of
the mental, emotional and physical worlds.”

            “Daddy,
you’re silly.” She held his face and giggled.

            “These
are old Native American tales. One day when you’re older you will understand.”

            “Okay
Daddy.” She got off his lap and bounced down to the beach as he still sat in
the sand looking after his daughter.

            She
lifted up her long green dress in an effort to save it from the splashing
ocean. She pulled off her black jeweled sandals and pushed them off to the side
in the sand. As she kneeled down she raveled up Marc’s khaki pants to his
knees. She softly moved her hands up to his arms and slowly pulled up the long
sleeves of his white buttoned down shirt.

            “There
now we won’t get drenched from the mess this water is making.” She giggled as
Marc made a sarcastic face.

            “Yes,
but now I look silly. At least I look silly with you.” He laughed as he pulled
back her long, blond curly hair into a hand-made ponytail. “I want to be able
to see your face. I love your vibrant blue eyes.”

            Cathy
smiled as she looked into his dark brown eyes. She ran her hand over his cheek
in admiration. He pulled her closer to his body and held her tight as the waves
crashed fiercely at their feet. The sun set further down into the clouds as the
sky started to darken into night. He moved her face closer to his and planted a
light kiss on her lips. She soaked in the moment as she kissed him back
passionately running her hand through his dark wavy hair.

            “I
don’t want this night to end.” Marc whispered into Cathy’s ear. “I love being
with you.”

            “Me
too.” Cathy held Marc closer to her body and gave him a playful grin. “We
should get back to walking, though it’s getting dark out.”

            “Yes,
you’re right. This beach gets rough at night. Let’s walk back.”

He
stood up as he held Cathy in his arms, pulling her up with him. She slipped on
her shoes as he pulled down the cuffs of his pants and shirt. He grabbed her
hand as they walked the beach back to the boardwalk. He couldn’t take his eyes
off of her as they strolled along the coast. She looked beautiful as the
moonlight danced off her shiny blond hair.

            “Cathy?
Where in the world have you been? I haven’t heard from you in weeks. Mom and I
have been so worried. Plus it’s so weird living in this house without you. We
don’t ever get to see you. My room gets so lonely, I miss you talking with me
on the edge of the bed. I literally have nobody to share my problems with!”
Carly screeched on the phone right as Cathy answered.

            “Carly?
Is that you? Sorry I just got home. We just barely missed the storm. If we
would have stayed there for another few minutes, we would have been soaked.”
She took off her shoes with her feet as she prepped the phone with her shoulder
so that it would stay by her ear.

            “Did
you even hear anything that I just said? And who’s we?” Her sister cried so
loudly into the phone, Cathy had to remove it from her ear for a second.

            “Sheesh,
Carly give it a break. I just walked in the door. Now what did you say?”

            She
sighed and Cathy could feel her sister’s eyes rolling from a mile away. “You
know I hate repeating myself. Why couldn’t you just listen the first time?”
Whining as she set the phone down.

            “Come
on Carly, just this one time please. I honestly didn’t hear what you said.
Please repeat it for me?” She waited patiently for her response, but silence
followed. “Carly? Carly? Did you hang up on me?” Silence still held its place
at the other end of the line. “I didn’t know she was that mad.” Cathy said more
to herself as she was about to end the call.

            “Cathy?
I’m still here sorry. I was getting a snack. I just ran two miles. I needed water
and a protein bar.” She said matter-of-factly.

            “You
run now?” She asked in confusion. “When did this start? You hate running.
Actually you hate doing anything physical.”

            “Yeah,
well you would have KNOWN if you would have called me!” She said sarcastically.
“And don’t go turning this around on me. Where have you been? And what’s his
name? You have been too distracted lately, there has to be a guy.”

            “It’s
called school. Maybe you should try it.” She grinned to herself at her
comeback.

            “Hey!
I do try in school. I’ll have you know I am currently receiving a 4.0. So take
that!” Carly stuffed a protein bar in her mouth and downed some water.

            “Well
of course you do. Everyone does! The semester just started and it’s only two
weeks in, but good job anyways.” She laughed as she went to the refrigerator to
get some water, realizing she forgot to bring her glass cup with her. She set
the phone down and went to the cabinet to grab a glass, then she moved over to
the ice machine as it sounded it the background. She filled her glass all the
way up and brought it down to the couch with her.

            “I’m
going to keep that 4.0. You’ll see. Now that I am in college, I am actually
going to do well. It’s not like high school where I cared more about being
popular. I’ll show you all. I can be smart too. Anyways enough about me. Who is
the guy? Stop lying to me, I know that there is one because every time you get
a new boyfriend you end up ignoring me for weeks!” She wined even louder this
time.

            “Let’s
make this interesting. If you maintain the 4.0 throughout the entire semester I
will pay you one thousand dollars,” She said slowly. “But now if you don’t
maintain it, you have to clean my apartment every weekend for a month. So do we
have a deal?”

            “A
whole month? Are you kidding Cathy? You know I don’t get along with a mop and a
broom or a sponge for that matter.” She got up and started pacing around her
living room. “Although I could use the money. I want to get a dog.”

            “A
dog? Carly, you can barely take care of yourself.” Cathy stated pointedly, glad
that Carly was distracted for a minute and had stopped asking about Marc.

            “Hey!
I can take care of myself! This morning I woke up all by myself and drove to
class. I made it there on time I will have you know! Of course I ate a balanced
breakfast beforehand as well.” She threw back, finally stopped pacing and sat
back down on the couch.