Page 3 of Barefoot Chaos
"We're gonna talk about Tit-ology??" This came from a particularly industrious fellow in the back row, followed by obnoxious laughter at his own hilarity.
I sighed.
"Patience, Hessa..." I muttered under my breath.
2
Kai
"Tower one, I need backup south side of the pier. We got a jumper."
I dropped the radio on the control desk, stripped off my polo and exited the door. I jogged over to the railing, taking a split-second to take a deep breath. Before I wasted time doubting my actions, I jumped off the cement pier, jackknifing my body and dove into the water below. My dive was picture-perfect and I bet I didn't even make a splash as I dove in head-first. My high school diving coach would be so proud.
I surfaced quickly, scanning down into the water for the man I'd seen jump off the pier just moments before. He was flailing with one arm, seeming disoriented, floating a few feet down. I swam over, dove down to grab him and propelled him to the surface. Thankfully he was too out of it to fight me. Once I looped my buoy around him, I swam over to the lifeguard jet ski driven by my buddy Jax. Quicker to get him out of the water on the jet ski than to swim him all the way to land.
We rolled him safely onto the backboard and tied it to the back end of the jet ski. Jax paused, lifting an eyebrow at me and I gave him a thumbs-up in return. Seeing that I was fine after the jump, Jax took off. I took a moment to float on my back, enjoying the sway of the water out past the break. I took deep breaths to let the adrenaline release from my system and let my heart rate slow down.
When I was ready, I swam it back in, body surfing a wave to expend less energy. As I pulled myself out of the water, I thought about how lucky that guy was. He was breathing when I lifted him out of the water and didn't look like he'd broken anything significant. At the end of the pier, the water was one hundred feet below. A jump from there would end in certain death, but he'd jumped much closer in, where the drop was maybe fifty feet. Still a crazy jump, but not certain death.
We got a jumper or two every year, but I saw the guy's face the moment before he leaped. He didn't look depressed or scared. He'd looked excited and determined. Plus, he did it right in front of the lifeguard office window. I'd have to follow up at the hospital later and find out how he was doing.
When I got back to my post on the pier, my supervisor, Ivan, was there to question me about the incident. Ivan was a good supervisor and an even better person. He kept pressuring me to interview for a higher-up position, but my heart just wasn't in it. I didn't want the added stress or the responsibility of supervising other lifeguards. I just wanted to stay where I was, spending time in the ocean where I felt at home.
"What's up, man? You survive that dive okay?" Ivan leaned one hip against the control desk like we were just shootin' the shit, but I knew he was genuinely concerned.
"Wanted to take a little dip and check the water temp. Happened to do that right after a guy jumped in. Lucky coincidence, man." I shrugged like I didn't just make a killer save, the type us lifeguards dig for the adrenal hit.
"Know why he jumped?" Ivan got right to the point. We tried to lock down any word of jumpers getting out because it usually caused copycatters, which required more man power from the lifeguards. And regardless of how effortless I made the dive look, it was risky jumping from that high up.
I shook my head. "Nah, he wasn't talking when I lifted him out, but I'll stop by the hospital after my shift and see if I can ask him a few questions."
"That'd be great. I know the police will do their own questioning, but I want to know what's happening on our beaches. If he's got friends that will try to one-up him out here on the pier, I wanna know about it beforehand." Ivan may have looked chill, but he never messed around when it came to people's safety out on the beach.
"I'll see what I can do."
Ivan got to his feet and walked to the door, hesitated and then turned around. "So. What are you doing on June sixteenth?"
I frowned. "Well, let's see here. Eight months from now, I know I have..." I stopped to chuckle. "I'm just kidding, man. I have no idea what I'm doing on June sixteenth. Why?"
"That's the day Esa and I are getting married and she's hounding me already on some of the details. Would you stand up for me? Be a groomsman?" Ivan looked a little sheepish to be asking me.
"Hell yeah, I will! That would be a great honor. Thank you. Why you embarrassed? It's not like you're asking me out on a date, dude."
Ivan finally laughed. "It just feels weird asking my friends to join in on the wedding formalities. I can't wait to marry Esa, but this wedding stuff seems so silly. I know she's planning all sorts of things and it means a lot to her. I just want to marry her. Who cares about the actual ceremony, you know?"
"Well, hang in there, brother, because your woman wants a beautiful ceremony and I know you can't say no. But I'll be standing up there with you, okay?" I stepped forward and gave him a guy hug, you know, the kind that involved whacking each other's backs. "Who else you got?"
"I only plan on you, Dean, Jax, and Cane, but Esa keeps adding bridesmaids, so I may have to ask a few more guys to keep the numbers even."
"The Beach Squad is growing, huh?" I laughed, remembering how Esa named her group of girlfriends. "Got any hot, single ladies I should know about?"
"Yeah, I believe Shasta is still single." Ivan shot me a smile.
I cringed. "Yeah, she'd be hot if I was ten or twenty years older. But she kinda scares me too, man. I need a woman who's kick-back and will love my VW bus just as much as me."
"You might try fixing it up a bit or even just cleaning it occasionally...that might help draw the ladies in," Ivan added dryly.
"Dude, no way. My ride is a perfectly worn-in, comfortable carriage. The right woman will appreciate her finer points."
