Page 73 of Catch a Wave

I start to feel defeated as soon as the words are out of my mouth. Where am I going to find a job that will allow me that kind of flexibility and still pay me enough to live in one of the most expensive places in the United States?

“So, you could work in a surf shop?”

I look Mr. Kapule in the eyes. “I’d definitely work in a surf shop.”

Is he asking me what I think he is?

20

KALAINE

Meet me where the sky touches the sea.

~ Jennifer Donnelly

The weather is starting to stay a little warmer in the evenings instead of cooling off unbearably. The sun isn’t quite setting, but it’s late afternoon and the signs of evening are starting to blow in off the water.

I’m on the shore, watching Bodhi teach a lesson to a teen boy who’s here with his family on a week’s vacation. Shaka’s lying in the sand next to me.

I haven’t put my feet in the shorepound again since that first day, but the tug is ever present. The ocean is a relentless lover, wooing me, reminding me of our past, telling me things will be different this time. I’m not so sure I can trust her or give her the second chance she’s begging me for. When you’ve taken a fall as hard as I did, losing everything in one fell swoop, the idea of going back isn’t merely intimidating. It’s incapacitating.

And dipping my toes in the water was ironically akin to Bodhi’s lips on my neck in the middle of the night. Seeminglyharmless, yet oh-so perilous. So little and yet not nearly enough. These teasers of loves I experienced so fully feel promising—promising enough to make me forget my sense of self-preservation. I can’t imagine going back after being hurt so deeply. And yet, I can’t imagine my life without Bodhi or surfing. It’s nothing I need to decide today.

I rub Shaka on the neck and he flops his head onto my lap. If he were a cat, he’d be purring loudly enough for people to hear him up on the dock.

“You won’t ever let me down, will you Shaka?”

He doesn’t move. It’s just the sign of solidarity and faithfulness I need right now.

Bodhi and his student ride a few waves. His student is obviously athletic, and only takes one fall. For the most part, he’s learning to shift his weight, to pop up on time, and to ride once he’s up. It’s exhilarating to watch. Tempting.

They ride a wave all the way in, and Bodhi instructs the student to leave the boards on the beach. I stand and brush the sand off my shorts and legs and follow the two of them up to the watersports shack with Shaka at my heels.

I don’t get too close to Bodhi and his student, instead, I wander inside the shop and chat with Ben and Kai and the part-timer, named Jamie, while Bodhi and the teen boy rinse their wetsuits and change. Shaka waits on the dock. Kai made it clear the dog wasn’t allowed inside the shop and Shaka knows where he’s not welcome.

“So, I talked to Mila today,” I tell my brother and Ben.

They’re folding shirts and reshelving them after customers riffled through them and left wrinkled clothing cattywampus on the display tables. Jamie’s manning the register.

“Mila?” Kai asks, looking up at me with his brows drawn together.

“Yeah. She told Summer she’s got a part-time job opening for a receptionist at the bed and breakfast. I even met her son, Noah. Anyway, I’m thinking of taking the position.”

Ben says, “That’s awesome, Kalaine,” at the same time as Kai says, “Mila asked for your help?”

I smile at Ben and answer my brother. “Yeah. Do you know her?”

“I do.”

“What’s that look?” I ask Kai.

His face looks concerned, and there’s something else there I can’t pinpoint.

“What look?”

“You look like you’ve got a job with the CIA and you’re keeping state secrets no one could even waterboard out of you. What aren’t you saying?”

“Nothing. I’ve done work over at Mila’s Place. Minor repairs. Stuff like that. She’s good people. You ought to take the job if you want it.”

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