Page 8 of Big Island Weddings
On land, being out and about without her babies left her feeling off balance. Even running into town for diapers while her kids stayed with friends was rough on her anxiety.
On water, though… Nell felt like a different person entirely. A version of herself that she had very nearly forgotten. She paddled past the other surfers, past the breaking waves, until there was nothing in front of her but sea and sky. It gave her an intoxicating sense of freedom.
When she finally paused and sat up on her board, Hugh drifted up next to her. With someone else, she might feel the need to explain why she had blazed past the other surfers and out into the open ocean. Most people would be a thousand times more anxious out here than walking to the corner store. But Hugh was a kindred spirit; he found peace out here on the water, just like she did.
“It’s been so long,” she said, still breathless from paddling.
“I feel like that every time I’m out here,” Hugh said easily.Hewasn’t short of breath. “It doesn’t matter if it’s been a few months or a few days; I always wonder why I didn’t paddle out sooner.”
They sat there for a while, bobbing up and down as waves rolled through beneath them. The sun beat down, warming the back of Nell’s swim shirt. Her feet were cool in the water, but sweat trickled down her neck.
Finally, she turned away from the clean blue horizon and pointed her board towards the shore. The beach was a stark black line beyond the white froth of breaking waves.
“Ready?” Hugh asked.
“Let’s go.”
He kept pace with her as she paddled into the lineup, where twenty-something locals sat waiting for a good wave. There were a few that they could have gone for, but Nell was nervous of getting in the way of the other surfers. Hugh stayed close, content to wait with her.
The area around them cleared out as locals took off on one wave after another. Nell let the waves roll by. She rode up and over and gently back down, enjoying the lulling motion of the waves that hadn’t broken.
Then, finally,herwave. She could feel it.
Before the gentle blue swell broke into whitewater, she paddled hard. She may not have been out on the water in years, but her arms were still strong. She kept pace with the wave, refusing to let this one pass her by the way that all of the others had.
Then came a sudden surge, that magic moment when she went from chasing the wave to riding it. Her board flew forward, propelled by the rushing water, and she used her arms to steady herself. In one motion, she brought her feet beneath her and stood.
Wind and salt spray kissed her face as she stood in a crouch, hands out for balance. Some dormant part of her brain took over the mechanics, and she rode the wave without even thinking about it, just flying free through the air.
Then her board went out from under her, and the wave swallowed her whole.
Water enveloped her, cooling her skin and burning her nose. Her board hurtled towards the beach, then came to a sudden stop as its leash yanked at her ankle, pulling her feet towards shore.
Nell flung her arms out and broke through the surface of the ocean, coughing out saltwater and gasping in breaths of warmair. She pulled her board in by its leash and threw her arms over it, catching her breath.
Back in the lineup, Hugh was cheering for her. Her cheeks ached, and she realized that it was from grinning so hard. Laughter bubbled up from her chest, wild and free.
A wall of whitewater barrelled towards her, and she ducked under. Once it had passed, she pulled herself up onto her board and paddled back out.
“You’re a natural!” Hugh crowed as she got close.
“Not really,” Nell laughed, remembering how many wipeouts it had taken her to finally become a passable surfer.
“An old pro, then.”
“I’ve spent so many hours out on the water,” she acknowledged as her board drifted towards him. She sat up and he caught the end of her board in one hand, holding her steady. They were just past the crowd, out where the water was calm. “It feels amazing to get back out here again.”
He grinned at her, dark eyes gleaming. “Ready to go again?”
She grinned back, feeling lighter than she had in years. “Race ya!”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and paddled back into the thick of it.
4
Lani
Lani chose the morning that Tenn was off buying produce for his restaurant for her next meeting with Lorenzo. She wanted to tell Tenn, and she would… she just hadn’t yet. She couldn’t seem to find the words.
