Page 107 of Catch a Wave

Shaka wags his tail.

“You stay here, buddy.” I point to his dog bed in the living room.

I don’t know why we have that fluffy pillow thing for him, he still sleeps in Mavs’ bed at night, and then he naps on the floor—right next to the dog bed, but never on it.

“He can come,” Kai says.

“Shaka?” I look at Kai. “You’re saying he can come? We’re doing a lesson.”

“I know. He can … you know … hang with me. Or around outside the shack. Whatever.”

Mavs and I exchange a look. Kai’s softening to our dog, but he still doesn’t want to admit it.

“Okay. Come on, Shaka. Let’s go surf.” I smile down at our mutt. He’s scrappy and rough around the edges, but he’s the best dog on the island as far as I’m concerned.

Shaka wags his tail. Mavs isn’t the only one who found a renewed love for the ocean this year. Shaka loves getting out on a board with me.

The four of us walk down the street until the beach comes into view and then we turn and walk across the sand toward the watersports shack. A group of kids has already gathered out front on the benches. A few parents linger, chatting. We geteveryone suited up and assigned a rental board and then Mavs and I lead our students down toward the spot on the sand where we will start lessons.

Once everyone has their boards laid out on the beach, Mavs takes over. She’s signed on with Alicante to teach lessons whenever she’s home on Marbella. Her time is split between training for her competitions, traveling for surf contests, and living here on the island. She still helps Mila part time when she’s home. Kai hired on another two part-time employees to fill in so I can have more flexible hours too.

The six junior wannabe surfers are lined on the sand, facing the ocean, each one with a foam trainer board next to them.

Mavs smiles and addresses the group of five boys and one girl, probably all ranging between the ages of eight and eleven.

“Hi, everyone. I’m Kalaine, but you can call me Kay or Kala or Kah. I’m going to be one of your instructors today. And this is my friend, Bodhi. He and I are going to be showing you the basic moves and techniques you’ll need to start surfing. We’ll practice here on the beach, and then we’ll take you out into the waves once everyone has the hang of the basics.”

“You’re Kalaine Kapule?” the student named Leena asks Mavs.

“I am.”

“You’re my idol. I want to be a surfer because of you.”

Mavs smiles warmly at the girl and thanks her.

We run through the moves, showing the kids how they’ll drag their arms to paddle out into the water, and then we practice popping up. Once everyone has a hang of the moves they’ll need, we lead our class down into the shorepound and show them how to walk their boards out. Then we take them into waist-deep water and help them mount their boards.

Mavs and I paddle alongside the cluster of students, calling out instructions and watching for their skills and safety.Eventually, a few stand up and catch waves. We ride and float in the water for an hour, and then everyone paddles back to shore.

It never gets old: the excited chatter and beaming smiles of our students after they’ve caught their first waves, or even when they didn’t learn to stand, but spent an hour in the water pushing their own limits. And now I get to share this experience with Mavs.

I watch her come out of the water, her long brown hair falling in wet waves down her back, her smile wide. She looks over at me.

“Fun?” I ask her.

“I loved it. Did you see Leena catch that last wave?”

“I did. She’s no grommie—not yet. But she did great for a first day.”

The urge to lean in and kiss Mavs tempts me, but we’re technically at work with six sets of eyes fixed on us. We lead the group up to the dock where Shaka meets us, his tail wagging wildly.

Parents congregate inside the shop and out front near the benches, retrieving their children one by one. Some set up lessons for later in the week so their child can build on the skills they learned today while they’re here on vacation. Others thank us and head back to the resort for the day.

Leena lags behind.

“Um, Miss Kalaine?”

“Yes?” Mavs smiles at her.

---