Page 24 of Love At The Shore
All signs pointed toward a great morning, but he should probably act fast. The surf report predicted a stormy afternoon.
He waded farther into the water, just past the swirl of foam where the sandpipers darted in and out of the surf.
And then he paused.
A little boy was coming out of the water, carrying a boogie board. The board had the same shark pattern as the swim trunks Nick wore yesterday at camp. And the boy had the same slender frame that reminded Lucas so much of himself at that age.
Lucas’s heart gave a little squeeze and before he fully realized what he was doing, he grabbed hold of his board and met the boy at the water’s edge. “Hey buddy, how’s it going? How are your lap times coming?”
Nick’s answer was flat. Lifeless. “They’re fine.”
“Fine? What’s that supposed to mean?” Lucas said.
Nick shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’m not trying out for swim team anymore.”
Lucas wasn’t buying it. Nick wouldn’t have asked him for help if making the team wasn’t important to him. “Because you don’t want to, or because you’re afraid to try?”
Lucas knew a little something about the latter.
You don’t want to get involved, remember?
He didn’t…hewouldn’t…but maybe he could just give the kid a pep talk. What harm would that do?
“Listen,” Nick said, suddenly sounding like a tiny adult. “I know this isn’t your ‘thing.’”
Ouch. “Did I say that?”
Nick nodded. “Twice.”
Guilty as charged. But maybe it wasn’t too late to provide some encouragement.
Lucas shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “You know, a very wise dude once said ‘you miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.’”
Nick gave him a blank look. “Is that some sort of Yoda quote?”
“No. That’s a pretty good guess, but no.” So much for his genius pep talk. “It was Wayne Gretzky.”
Surely the kid knew who The Great One was.
“Does he surf?” Nick asked.
Lucas sighed.
“That’s not the point. The point is, if you’re interested…” He took a deep breath. Was he really going to do this? “…if my schedule lightens up…”
“My mom said you don’t have a schedule,” Nick countered.
Oh, she did, did she? “Your mom doesn’t know everything.”
Nick let out a laugh.
“Like I said, I’ve been thinking. If you’re interested, I could give you some pointers.”
The little boy’s face lit up like it was Christmas morning. “Really?”
“Yeah.” What had he just gotten himself into? “I mean, don’t get too excited. Just like twenty minutes here and there. Nothing major.”
“Cool!” Nick bit back a smile and did his best to imitate Lucas’s casual demeanor. “I mean, yeah. Sure. I’d be up for that.”
