August (The Year of The Change Book 2) (14 page)

Catching the Big One

Emma reached around Destiny with a dish cloth and picked up the fish. “Let us see if we can find a good place for this big boy. He will make a wonderful Sunday dinner.”

Destiny leaned as far from the fish as the picnic bench allowed. “Yes, please take it away, yuck, gross.”

Richard looked wistfully down the shore where the guys were swimming. “Looks like football is done for the day.” He sighed. “Sylv, you want to swim to the island again?”

I couldn’t contain myself. “Yeah!” I jumped up.

Richard cupped his hands and swung them. “If you want, I’ll catch you a fish.”

“No, thank you.” I hurried toward the beach.

Richard kept up. “A bigger one than Destiny’s, even.”

“No, thanks.” We walked down to the water.

“Are you sure? I’d be glad to.”

“Richard, no.” He couldn't be serious?

“Well, I wouldn’t want you to feel left out.”

“I’ll tell you what, you beat me to the island …” At the water’s edge I shoved him. “… and I’ll let you catch me a fish, okay?”

He laughed as I ran into the water, but recovered his footing and dashed after me. We were about half way there when I slowed so he could catch up.

“Sorry we ended the game for you.”

“It’s okay, they were getting tired.” He chuckled.

Richard looked tired, too. We probably should’ve waited a little while before we swam to the island.

My hearing went crystal clear. I could tell by the crisp sound of each drop of water as it hit my body. Someone called for help.

“Did you hear that?” I treaded water and looked around. There had to be someone close, but where?

“Hear what?” Richard stopped and treaded nearby.

“Someone called for help.”

Faintly, I heard it again. I twisted my body around hunting for the person who called. Between us and the island, I saw a head rise out of the water.

“There.” I pointed and kicked off towards the disappearing hand.

Richard followed. He must’ve seen the head that bobbed up for he quickened his stroke. When we got within a yard, I tried to stop him, but he charged past. Before Richard could grab him, the frightened man lunged, pushing them both under water. I had to act quickly or I would have to watch one of them drown and it would not be Richard.

Behind the thrashing man, I slipped my arm over his shoulder, across his chest, and under his other arm. With a fist full of arm pit hairs I pulled his head above water. He screamed in pain and swallowed more of the lake. “Relax, or I pull harder.”

With his head above the waves, the man let go of Richard and quit thrashing. Barely able to breathe I waited for my adopted brother to surface. He did, coughing and gasping for air.

“Are you okay, Richard?”

He nodded as he coughed some more, kicking hard to stay above water.

Now that I knew Richard wasn’t drowning I had to get the two of them to the nearest land. The man in my arms struggled. I pulled his hair and he stopped. As long as I kept his head above water, he behaved pretty well under the circumstances. Richard was still coughing. He didn’t look so good.

From deep inside I pulled up my meanest voice. “I have you and will save you. As long as you do what I tell you, I won’t pull your hair, okay?”

His voice was raspy. “Okay.”

“The only way you can help me is to not move. Don’t even kick your feet.”

“Okay.” He went still.

“Richard, it’s closer to the island. You ready to go?”

“Yeah.” He sounded exhausted.

I kept the man on his back. For the most part he remained still, but I kept a firm hold on his arm pit hair.

Richard found his stride. “What’s your name?”

“Obadiah.” He cleared his hoarse throat. “Call me Obi.”

Richard chuckled. “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

Obi hooded his eyes. “Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”

We neared the shallow water of the island and Obi tried to twist around. I yanked on his hairs.

“Ow! Man, that hurts!”

“I said not to move.” I wasn’t going to let him get away from me and drown so close to land.

“But it’s shallow here.” He whimpered.

“Not shallow enough. You don’t move until I let you go.”

“Okay, okay. Kinda pushy, isn’t she?”

Richard chuckled as he stood in the shoulder deep water. “Yeah, I guess she can be. Better do as she tells you or she’s likely to pull both arm pits out.”

Obi clamped his other elbow tight to his side.

When the water was knee deep, I let Obi put his feet down. He was so weak it took both of us to drag him to dry ground, where he lay limp and panting. We dropped beside him, exhausted.

Richard slumped to the sand. The fight for his life had really taken it out of him. He could barely hold his head up and was still coughing up water. How close had I come to losing him? The question took the last of my strength. I put my head back and closed my eyes.

Obi groaned and grabbed at his leg. “Ow! Not again.”

With his leg in my hands I found the offending muscle. Up and down his thigh and calf, my right hand massaged while holding the pain center with my left. It was a major muscle that screamed abuse.

“This is the same cramp that got me in trouble in the first place.” He panted.

Richard watched what I did and looked as though he wanted to help, but didn’t know what to do. Most people didn’t and to be honest, I didn’t fully understand what I did. I just … did it. The cramp subsided and Obi laid still, the last of his strength gone. I continued to massage his entire leg. Only his soft moans told me he wasn’t asleep. Richard sat back and watched quietly, fighting to keep his own eyes open.

“Richard, I’m not sure how we’re going to get him off the island.”

He chuckled. What in the world could he possibly find funny?

“My grandmother is amazing.” He looked across the water.

I followed his gaze. There, on the gentle waves of the lake, was an inflatable raft coming towards us. It was one of those blow-up strips of plastic that kids use in pools. On top was Emma on her back, paddling her arms. She had good form. She came within twenty yards and waved at us. We waved back. Obi rolled to his side before we helped him sit up and lean against a driftwood log. Emma reached shallow water, got off the flotation device and pulled it to shore.

“I hope you do not mind. I thought I would come out and see what the island looks like. Who is this?”

Richard made the introductions “This is Obi, he had a leg cramp.”

She reached down and shook his hand. “Oh my, I am Emma, are you alright now?”

He nodded. “I am, thanks to these two.”

Emma was our savior.

“Can we use your raft to take Obi across the water?”

She smiled. “Of course you can.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll come right back for you after we get him across.” Perhaps I should leave Richard with Emma so he could rest some more.

“No need, I am a very good swimmer. I only used it because I did not want to get my hair wet.”

The last thing I needed was to have to save Emma half way across. Now, how was I going to convince her without hurting her feelings?

She must’ve read my expression. “If I get tired I will hold onto the raft and float.”

That sounded safe enough, but I was still apprehensive. Obi needed to get to the mainland and I didn’t have enough energy left to deal with more than one person.

“How much more time do you need, Richard?”

He’d swallowed a lot of the lake and still looked waterlogged. “Give me five more minutes and I’ll be ready.”

Emma eyed him closely and worry lines creased her forehead.

“Okay, five more minutes would be good for me, too.” The adrenalin had worn off and I could feel the effects of all the effort expended. While Obi told Emma about his rescue, I lay back wishing I could take a long nap. He could talk as long as he wanted. The more we rested, the safer it would be when we crossed the water.

When the story was done being told, Emma looked at me with a smile. “Where did you learn to do lifesaving? Were you a lifeguard?”

“No, I wasn’t, but I could’ve been this year if we hadn’t moved.” I sighed at the thought. “You have to be sixteen to be a lifeguard and this year the pool offered me a job and everything.” I sighed again. I could’ve had a job and gotten to know all the cute lifeguards. “I’ve taken all the Red Cross lifesaving classes…every year.”

Richard looked surprised. “Every class? Every year?”

“What else was I going to do in the summer? I don’t date, yet.” Ah, the ever hopeful ‘yet’. A yet that would probably never happen.

They thought it was funny. I tried to join in their mirth, but couldn’t muster any volume.

All too soon, it was time to go. Richard and I helped Obi up while Emma held the raft still. Carefully, we got him situated and shoved off from shore. He was nervous, so we kept reassuring him and he stayed fairly calm. Emma was a
very
good swimmer. Richard even held out until we got to shore. Emma and I helped Obi to our picnic table where we found a folding lawn chair for him to sit on. The other adults took over. I needed to rest. On my towel in the shade, a nap stampeded over and proceeded to kidnap me. Before it succeeded, Richard came and laid his towel beside me. I was sure Dad didn’t like the situation, but I was too tired to care.

Obi retold the tale to the others.

As the nap carried me away, somewhere in the distance, Dad said he would drive Obi to his campsite down the road. I dreamed about the dozens of rescue simulations I’d practiced. I’d never actually had a real victim to save. The sensation was so different when it was for real. It was horrible to realize how I had someone’s life in my hands. He could’ve died if I’d done something wrong. We could’ve both died. I shivered at the thought. Somewhere outside the nap, Emma placed a dry towel over me. I drifted back to la-la land. It felt so good knowing I’d learned what I needed to do and was able to do it when it was needed. It was a very satisfying feeling to drift through space with.

When I awoke, Richard still slept next to me. The adults and Destiny were at the table with a deck of cards between them. The kids were in the water playing catch. All was well, happy and normal. Normal, I liked best of all.

Sitting up, I watched my family and friends enjoying what was left of the beautiful day. Though the sky would stay light all night, there were others packing up and going home. The clock still ruled. The football group was nowhere to be seen. Dad looked over and smiled teeth and all. Was he proud of me? If he was, it was a nice change from his usual worried expression. Maybe we both will survive this year.

Got Religion?

The birds chirped too loudly and my stomach tugged at me. I didn't want to get up, but I was cold. I must’ve kicked my covers off. I patted around for them. My bed didn't feel right. I turned my head and clunked it.

"Ow!"

White … everywhere white. Where was I? I opened both eyes and blinked. It finally clicked. I was in my bathtub. I definitely recalled crawling into bed last night before I turned out the lamp.

Hand over hand, I pulled myself to sitting and sat cross legged while I tried to remember how I got there. Waking up in odd places had begun to worry me. I needed to talk to Dad about this.

No use staying here any longer. With an “Oomph,” I crawled out of the tub and slowly straightened my back. Stiff didn’t begin to describe how I felt. No doubt I didn’t sleep much curled up on the hard surface. On the way to my closet, I moved my neck from side to side.

Dad wasn't going to be happy about this, but I really needed to talk to someone. Technically, I could talk to Sue. Unfortunately, this would freak her out too much, and we aren’t close enough for me to be comfortable confiding in her. Tam was too young and I shouldn't worry her. Besides, she would tell Sue. Tim would think it was cool, but he wouldn't be much help. And he, too, would tell Sue. I didn't dare tell Destiny. This might be too freaky and I couldn't chance losing her. It would have to be Dad.

I went down to his room, but he wasn't there. If he'd gone somewhere, then I could put this off for a while longer.

No such luck. I found him in the kitchen alone, sipping OJ and reading the paper. It was a no-no to bother him when he was reading, so I took down a large bowl and filled it with oatmeal from the stove.

As I ate, I couldn't help but stare at the paper my father hid behind. He turned the page and glanced over at me. I quickly dropped my gaze to my bowl.

He continued to read.

While shoveling breakfast, I watched and waited for him to be done. After my seventh piece of toast Dad turned the next page and caught me staring, again. I promptly went back to studying the last of my third bowl of oatmeal.

He continued reading.

Rummaging, I found a banana, an orange and two more pieces of burnt toast. About the time I slathered the second piece of toast with strawberry jam, Dad turned to the last page. It wasn’t easy not to stare now that he could easily see me fixed on him. It wouldn't be long and I could talk to him about my waking up in odd places. I fidgeted in my seat as I stuffed the half burnt bread into my mouth. I was just about full.

Dad laid the paper to the side and looked at me. "Is there something on your mind, Sylv?"

Now was my chance and I took a deep breath while I bolstered my resolve.

Sue walked in with a sheet of paper in her hand. "Len, I have that list we talked about."

She stood beside Dad waiting for his attention. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't talk in front of her.

"Just a minute, Sue, Sylv wanted to tell me something."

I panicked. "Uh…you're busy and it's nothing." I got up and put my bowl in the sink.

Sue huffed. "That's good because there's a lot to do.”

They barely noticed my retreat as Sue launched into her discussion about her list. I escaped to my room and spent the morning cleaning it.

Around eleven, my stomach growled at me, it was hungry already. The package of cookies I ate around ten hadn't satisfied it.

Down in the kitchen, Sue stirred a large pot of soup.

"Where's Dad?"

"He's in the garage and then after lunch he's going to take a nap." She was warning me not to bother him.

"Is lunch ready?"

"Almost," she said as she turned the dial and lowered the heat.

With a sleeve of crackers tucked snuggly to my side, I headed for the garage. It would be safe to talk in there since Sue didn't like going in the garage. When I entered Dad was hunkered over a box on the floor.

"Whatcha doing?" The package crinkled as I opened it.

Dad looked up. "I'm trying to figure out what to do with the stuff in this box."

"Why?" Mmm, the salt burst in my mouth as I crunched on a square.

He pulled out an odd object and turned it around in his hand. "It’s part of the 'Honey Do' list Sue put together for me."

Sue was good at lists. Whenever she went into list making mode, we all knew to scatter and make ourselves scarce. Poor Dad got caught.

He huffed at the thingamajig he held. "I know there was a reason I kept this, but I'll be snookered if I can remember what this is." He frowned at it.

Our neat garage, with the few boxes stacked to one side, was larger than the one we had in Oklahoma. I would wager that small stack was part of Dad's 'Honey Do' list. Glancing up, I noticed the space overhead.

"You know Dad, for the stuff you're not sure about you could put a couple of boards across the rafters. Sue might not notice for a month or two. Gramps use to do that when Gram got after him."

Dad looked up studying out my idea before he smiled. He sat back and crossed his legs. "Good idea." He tossed the unknown object back in the box. "Now, what do you want to talk to me about and how much will it cost me." He chuckled.

He caught me off guard and I stammered. "No, no, no money." I laughed nervously.

How was I going to explain my concern to him without sounding like a baby or an idiot? He watched, waiting for me to speak.

"Well, um…it's nothing really…"

The door to the house opened and Tim poked his head out. "Time to eat!"

I stood with a jerk. "It'll keep, but my stomach won't." My laugh squeaked.

Not wanting to talk about it around the others, I kept my mouth full all through lunch. Tim kept Dad busy telling him about some scout event coming up that the whole family was supposed to attend. I wouldn't go because the last thing anyone needed was a stampede of well-prepared scouts.

We had just finished up lunch when there was a knock at the door. Tim ran to answer it.

He came back with a quizzical look on his face. “Mom, Dad, there’s a man all dressed up at the door and he has Danny with him. He said he would like to talk to you both.”

Everyone looked at me and I shrugged. “I haven’t seen Danny since Friday. Though a little wet, he was all in one piece when he left.” That incident had ended well—as well as could be expected this year, so I didn’t have any idea what this was about. “You go ahead, I’ll clean up lunch.”

Not in any hurry to face an affected boy, I cleared the table as everyone went to let Danny and the well-dressed stranger in. The door creaked. Dad needed to fix that. There wasn’t any yelling or harsh words, so the situation must not have been too bad.

With the dishes stacked and the table wiped down, I couldn’t put this off any longer. I hung up the dish towel. My developing OCD straightened the damp cloth twice. Then, I readjusted the chairs before joining the others. When I reached the stairs, I slowed and peered around the doorway to see what was happening. On the couch sat Danny, who exploded into a smile when he saw me. He nudged the man next to him, who looked up. Danny stood, being the gentleman he tried to fake. The man chuckled and stood also.

“Dad, this is Sylvia.” Danny motioned to me.

Reluctantly, I entered and the man offered his hand. “Pleased to meet you, Sylvia. I’ve heard nice things about you.”

I could just imagine what he’d heard about me. A blush bloomed as I shook his hand.

“Sylv, this is my dad, Reverend Michaelson.”

“Pleased, to meet you, Reverend.” I had no idea Danny’s father was a minister.

Danny forced his father over two steps. “Here, Sylv, you can sit by me.”

The Reverend tried, unsuccessfully, to remove a smile from his face. It would’ve been rude not to sit next to Danny, so I had no choice. Why did I have to be taught so well?

So our guests could sit, I forced a smile and slid onto the far corner of the cushion, away from Danny. He sat too close and I shifted my position so I was at an angle with my knees towards our guests. If he tried anything — guest or no guest — I was leaving.

“Well, as I was saying. Our church is only three blocks from here and we have two worship services: eleven a.m. and seven p.m.. There’s Sunday school at ten and we have the finest teachers in town. Our youth group is very active.”

Danny went animated. “Yeah, we’re always doing fun stuff. You should come.” I knocked away his hand that reached out to grab me.

I smiled. “I’ll think about it.”

Of course, I wouldn’t get to go to his church this year. I could just imagine the carnage, and cringed internally. Maybe the twins would enjoy going. It would be good for them to get out and meet more friends. They’ll be stuck here a lot longer than I will.

“Ah, come on, Sylv, ya gotta come. It would be even more fun if you were there.”

The Reverend put his hand on Danny’s arm. “Now, son, don’t badger Sylvia. She said she would think about it.” He turned to Sue. “We’ll make sure you have a calendar of events and if anything looks interesting, we’d love to have you come.”

“Thank you, Reverend, we appreciate that.” Sue had on her nicest smile.

“Well, it was very good to meet all of you.” He smiled at me before turning back to Dad and Sue. “I apologize, again, that it took me so long to get over to greet you.” He stood and the rest of us followed suit.

Danny reluctantly rose. “Do we have to go already?”

His father looked confused. “Yes, Danny, we have other stops to make and we don’t want to wear out our welcome.”

I moved out of the way as the Reverend guided his son by the shoulders to the front door.

Reverend Michaelson turned and shook Dad’s hand. “Once again, it was very good to meet you and welcome to Talkeetna.” He shook hands with everyone, and Danny followed his lead.

Mine was the last hand they shook after I opened the front door.

“Nice to finally meet you, I do hope you’ll join our youth group.”

Danny took my hand, but didn’t shake it as he looked intently into my eyes. “You have to come, Sylv.” He held my hand against his chest with both of his.

After an unsuccessful tug, I looked to his father for assistance. The good Reverend was quick to understand and helped pull my hand from Danny’s grasp.

“It’s time to go, son.”

Dragging his feet, Danny allowed his father to pull him out the door. On the porch his father put his arm securely around his shoulders and led him to their car.

I closed and locked the door. Throwing my body across it, I declared, “No more boys in the house.” I looked at Tim. “Brothers not included.”

They laughed and I forced a smile. I was serious, though. Less than five months to go and it had become far worse than I’d imagined it could get. And I have a very good imagination.

All my friends had invited me to their churches and I enjoyed the activities. I’d never joined one, but had felt like it a couple of times. My dad and Sue weren’t religious, so there was never a need to belong to any particular church. Gram said that when I was ready, I would know it and would know which congregation to join.

Now, Danny would be coming over to personally invite me to every activity and probably Sunday services as well. All of which I would have loved to have gone to. Each invitation would be a knife jammed into my chest. Something else I would have to give up.

Thoroughly depressed, I went to my room to listen to Three Dog Night. My favorite song had become “Eli’s Coming.” More and more, I stared at my Eli wall and played that song over and over. I was torturing myself, but just couldn’t stop. There was something special about him.

Why is it you always want what you can’t have?