Close Out (15 page)

With no doubt who the one family member would be, Jillian went inside with the doctor while Kai and the others returned to their waiting room seats. Out of the corner of his eye, Kai watched Marta remove a small white ball of tissues from her bag and dab her eyes.

Bean shook his head. No one could talk for a moment. It had been too fricken close.

Kai nodded silently. He felt as if he'd been given a once-in-a-lifetime reprieve from bad luck. Maybe not everything had to go bad all the time. He nudged Bean with his elbow. “Can I use your phone?”

“Oh, right. Shauna.” Bean handed him the phone, and Kai went outside and called Ice
Cream. He wasn't surprised that Shauna answered on the first ring. Kai could hear music and voices in the background, as if the ice cream shop was crowded.

“Hello?” she asked anxiously.

“He's all right,” Kai said.

“Kai? Oh, God, thanks for calling.” Shauna sounded incredibly relieved. “What did they say?”

“He's conscious and breathing on his own.”

“Did you see him?”

“Maybe tomorrow.”

“That is such good news,” Shauna said. “I hope you feel better too.”

“Just really lucky and happy,” Kai said. “If it happened to me again I—” He caught himself and stopped.

“If what happened to you again?” Shauna asked.

“Nothing.”

For a moment there was silence on the phone. Kai imagined that Shauna was debating whether to push the question.

“It's really busy here now,” she said. “You coming back into town?”

“Yeah.”

“Promise you'll stop by?”

“Okay. See you soon.” Kai snapped the phone shut, went back into the emergency room waiting area.

Booger and Bean were talking quietly so Marta wouldn't hear. “You think Jillian'll ever let Spazzy surf again?”

“I think the real question is whether
we'll
ever let him surf again,” Bean replied in a whisper.

For the first time in hours, Kai felt a smile on his face. “Not alone. That's for sure.”

A little while later Jillian came back into the waiting room looking pale and drained, but strangely cheerful at the same time. Kai and his friends got to their feet.

“How is he?” Kai asked.

“Tired, like the doctor said. They gave him something to calm him down, so he was drowsy. But he actually sounded okay.”

“Did he say what happened?”

“He thinks he got a cramp in his leg, and then accidentally inhaled some water,” Jillian said. “He doesn't remember anything after that. The doctor said they couldn't believe how much water came out of him.”

“Not to mention a jellyfish or two,” Bean quipped.

“He wanted me to tell you that he's sorry,” Jillian said.

“For what?” Kai asked.

“For staying out when the rest of you went in. He said he knew he shouldn't have done it, and that the waves were no good anyway.”

“I guess it just shows how much he loves surfing,” Kai said.

“He also said something about wanting to enter another contest,” Jillian said. “Do you know what he was talking about?”

Kai, Bean, and Booger glanced at one another. Kai knew what they were all thinking. Two hours ago the kid practically drowned, and already he was talking about going back out.

“We can talk him out of it, if you want,” Kai offered.

“Thanks.” Jillian paused for a moment. “To tell you the truth, I can't even begin to think about that right now. First I have to make sure he's okay”

Outside, Jillian and Marta went to their car and drove home. Kai noticed that the wind had picked up, and swirling gusts blew papers and sandy dust around them. In the sky, dark
gray clouds were approaching quickly. The air had an unusual scent and felt as if it was lightly charged with electricity.

“Looks like the mother of all thunderstorms is coming,” Bean said as he, Kai, and Booger got back into the hearse. Bean was just about to start the car when his cell phone rang. He flipped it open and looked at the display and frowned. “No idea who this is,” he said as he brought the phone to his ear and answered. “Hello? … Oh, yeah … No, it's cool…. No, he's gonna be okay…. Yeah … Right … See ya later.”

Bean flipped the phone closed. “You'll never guess.”

Kai and Booger exchanged a puzzled look.

“Lucas,” Bean said. “He wanted to know about Spazzy.”

“How'd he get your cell phone number?” Booger asked.

“Called the funeral home and got it from my mom,” Bean said.

“Wow, I never would've expected that,” Booger said.

Bean drove out of the hospital parking lot. “Dudes, this is a day we won't forget for a while.”

“You're telling me,” said Kai.

“What do you guys want to do now?” Booger asked.

“I promised Shauna I'd stop by Ice Cream,” Kai said.

“Is it okay if I drop you off?” Bean asked. “I'd just as soon not be driving around when this storm hits.”

“No problem,” Kai said.

“I'll see you later?” Bean asked.

“If it's okay,” Kai said.

“Hey,
mi casa es su casa,
” Bean said.

“Is that like RSVP?” Booger asked.

Bean groaned.

Huge drops of water were starting to splat against the hearse's windshield when Bean dropped Kai off at Ice Cream. Kai could hear booms of thunder in the distance. The normally crowded Main Street was almost empty, and the few tourists and vacationers who were still out were scurrying for shelter.

Boom!
Kai was pushing through the doorway of Ice Cream when the sudden crack of thunder made him jump. The lights in the shop flickered. Inside, a woman eating an ice cream cone gasped loudly, and a couple of little kids began to cry. Outside, the rain began to roar
down in light gray sheets of liquid that made it almost impossible to see across the street.

Kai went up to the counter. On the other side, Shauna was struggling to get her ice cream scoop through a pail of dark chocolate ice cream. When she saw Kai, she stopped.

“What was it like at the hospital?”

“Scary until the doctor came out and said he was okay.”

“Thank God,” Shauna said again.

“Jillian said he's already talking about the Northeast Championship.”

Shauna shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I think there's something wrong with all of us.”

“If there is, I hope it's something good,” Kai said.

“Ahem.” A chubby man standing at the counter cleared his throat loudly.

“Your cone is coming, sir,” Shauna said with forced cheer, and started to dig through the chocolate again.

“You're going to have strong arms by the time summer's over,” Kai said.

“I keep wondering if it'll help my paddling,” Shauna said. She finished the chocolate cone. “Here you are, sir.”

The man paid for his cone. Thanks to the heavy rain, no new customers had entered the shop. “Your regular?” Shauna asked Kai.

“Uh, sure, thanks.”

Shauna turned away to dip the scoop in warm water. At that moment someone stopped under the awning outside Ice Cream to get out of the rain. It was Jade, in a rain-soaked white T-shirt that left nothing to the imagination. With one arm pressed against herself in an almost fruitless attempt at modesty, she peered through the window, saw Kai inside, and waved.

“Be right back,” Kai said to Shauna, and went out to join her under the awning.

“Looks like you got caught in the rain,” he said, using every ounce of willpower to keep his eyes from drifting where they weren't supposed to go.

“Just my luck,” said Jade. With her free hand she tried to fluff out her rain-flattened short black hair. “So I heard what happened. Is your friend okay?”

“Looks like it,” Kai said. “Thanks to the lifeguards and EMS.”

“That's good,” Jade said. “We've had surfers drown here before. Usually when they go out in storm surf and their leashes snap or they get
hit in the head by the board. It's such a nightmare. You just hate hearing about it.”

Kai nodded. The rain had let up slightly, but torrents of water coursed down the sides of the street and flooded the storm sewers.

“So you know that secret you wanted me to get Big Dave to reveal?” Jade asked.

“Yes?”

“He told me.”

“Wow, thanks, Jade. You don't know how much that means to me. And how much it's going to mean to a lot of other people too.”

“Wait a minute.” Jade suddenly stiffened. “I'm telling
you
. No one else. And if you tell anyone I said it, I'll say that's not true. Don't forget. It's not only Big Dave's job that would be on the line. It would be mine, too. And I
need
that job.”

Kai hadn't thought of that. “Okay, I understand.”

“So I don't have to be nice to Big Dave anymore, right?” Jade asked.

“Well, maybe just a little longer,” Kai said.

Jade made a face. “Why? He told us what you needed to know.”

“Yeah, but if I want to keep you out of it, then I have to find another way to prove it,” Kai
said. “Can you give me a day to figure it out?”

Jade frowned. “You know, I wouldn't do this for anyone else.”

“I'm just that irresistible, huh?”

“Don't kid yourself,” Jade said. “No one is
that
irresistible. This is the last favor, okay? I really can't stand dealing with him.”

“Gotcha.”

Jade looked him straight in the eye. “And I'm getting a little tired of not dealing with you. I thought I was going to see you a little more often.”

Kai swallowed slightly. “I hear you.”

The rain continued to ease. With one arm still across her chest, Jade peeked out from under the awning. “Time to scoot.” She gave him a quick kiss on the lips. “You owe me. Big-time.”

Jade jogged off down the sidewalk. Kai went back into Ice Cream. Shauna was down at the far end of the shop, polishing the glass display case. She had a frown on her face and didn't look up when he came in. Kai waited for a moment. There was no vanilla cone with Reese's Pieces anywhere in sight, and Shauna was clearly ignoring him.

Kai turned around and left. Sometimes dealing with women was just a little too complicated.

T
hat night the storm blew through. The next morning Kai and Bean slept later than usual. The sun was already up when they got to the beach. The offshore breeze was crisp and cool. There was no doubt about fall coming. Kai wished he had a shorty wet suit, not so much because of the water temperature—it was still a comfortable seventy-two degrees—but because of the chill in the air.

Lucas was already in the water on his board. Once again Everett was setting up his camcorder.

The waves were perfect and chest high, clear blue-green under the cloudless sky. Tall plumes of rainbow spray peeled off the crests
as they curled. You could have asked for a bigger day, but you couldn't have asked for a nicer one.

“Lucky you,” Bean said with a yawn as he and Kai walked down the beach, their boards under their arms.

“What do you mean?” Kai asked.

“I guess I don't envy the idea of getting up each morning and finding Lucas waiting to hound you on the waves.”

Kai shrugged. “It's only for the next few days. I'll survive.”

They joined Everett on the dry side of the tide mark.

“Hey, I heard Spazzy's gonna be okay,” Everett said. “That's great.”

“Yeah.”

“What a day, huh?” Everett asked.

“Wouldn't you rather be out there surfing?” Bean asked as he kneeled down and started to wax his board.

Everett shook his head. “I like surfing a lot, dude, but this is what I'm really into. Look at those waves. See how the breeze is holding the faces open just a second longer than usual? You see those faces and dream about what you can do on them with a board. I see those faces
and dream about the extra footage I'll be able to get.”

“You ever think about getting one of those waterproof cases, so you can shoot in the waves?” Kai asked.

“For sure,” Everett said. “That's next on the list. Just gotta save up the money.”

Bean finished waxing and picked up his board. “How's the jellyfish count?”

“Dropping,” Everett said.

“Cool.” He trotted toward the water.

Kai had purposely taken his time waxing this morning. Now that Bean was paddling out, he could speak to Everett alone. He had a special favor to ask him. Once Everett and Kai finished speaking, Kai paddled out and joined Lucas. As usual Bean was sitting farther outside on his long board.

“Anything new on your friend?” Lucas asked.

“Not since last night,” Kai said. “Good news is they're pretty sure he's going to be okay. But it was close.”

“Hard to believe,” Lucas said.

“What do you mean?” Kai asked.

“That it happened here,” Lucas said. “Who thinks of this as a dangerous break, you
know? Pipeline, sure. Maverick's, of course. But Screamers in Sun Haven? It's like a joke.”

Kai thought back to the night, a month ago, when he easily could have died in this very spot had it not been for Everett. Then again, he'd made an incredibly stupid mistake, surfing alone in big waves—at least for Sun Haven—and in the dark. “I guess we forget that it can happen almost anywhere.”

“Guess so,” Lucas said. He gestured into the distance, and Kai saw the dark lines of a new set approaching. “Ready?”

“Not quite,” Kai said. “I want to enjoy one ride before it becomes work.”

Lucas didn't reply. Kai spotted a promising wave and paddled over to catch it. He purposely took it early and out on the shoulder, did a lazy bottom turn, and then stayed in the face making nothing more than small adjustments and corrections to keep from outrunning the wave. Nothing showy. Nothing that would have earned a big score from any judge, but relaxing and enjoyable just the same. Long past the point where he should have kicked out, he stayed on the board, hopping it and fooling around, just because he didn't want the ride to end.