Page 33 of Erase Me
This matched with the information I gathered during my internet searches today.
“Reed Michael.”I stretched out my hand, and she didn’t hesitate to place her hand in mine.Her fingers were cold.“I’m glad your friend Pat decided not to come to dinner.”
“Me too.”
“What do you think she’s doing now?”
“I don’t know.But she’s a big girl, and there’s plenty to do around San Clemente.”
“Do you have time to walk on the beach before you need to head back?”
“For a bit.I can’t stay too long.”
“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?”
“I’m not sure.I need to check with her.”
“Well, as you said, there’s plenty to do around San Clemente,” I reminded her.
“And I need to see if anyone else is coming.”
“Right.”
“What did you have in mind?”she asked.
“How about surfing?”
“I told you, I don’t know how.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“Don’t you have to work tomorrow?”she asked.
“Work can wait.What do you say?”
Maybe it was the device in her pocket and the fact that I wasn’t happy with her answer, or maybe it was the realization that the background check I did on her today yielded surprisingly clean results, or maybe I just wanted to spend time with her.Regardless of my true motivation, I realized I was pressing her.
“Okay.Let’s do it.”
I was relieved.
By the time we left the restaurant, the sun had already dipped into the Pacific Ocean, but the wisps of clouds continued to color the sky with every imaginable shade.Avalie and I strolled along the palm tree-lined path that ran between the beach and the railroad tracks.
She was looking ahead at the beach near the overhead pedestrian bridge.“Funny.The light is starting to fade, but the beach is still crowded.Actually, I think more surfers are getting into the water than are leaving.”
“Yeah, I was reading about that in a surf magazine that was left in my apartment.This beach is called ‘T-Street’.According to the article, it’s a busy place all year round, but night surfing is really popular at this time of the year.”
“Night surfing?Really?That sounds kind of dangerous.Don’t they worry about sharks?”
“I guess not.”
“But why do they do it?What’s so special about surfing at night?”Her eyes were scanning the water.“The waves look the same.”
“It’s because of the blue bioluminescence.The phenomenon is back in Southern California right now.”
“What’s that?”she asked.
“It’s a glow caused by tiny organisms that undergo a chemical reaction in the water.It happens when they’re agitated by the surf, or by the wake from a boat, or they’re churned up by a protruding reef.They emit a neon blue light.It’s pretty amazing.It’s not dark enough to see it right now, but it will be in an hour.”
