Step Into the Wind

by Bev Prescott

  Terry remained huddled as far from the nest as he could go. He must’ve sensed the danger in the invader’s presence because his calls to his parents became more frantic the closer the invader came.

  Alex twisted around in her kayak. “Come on, where are the parents? There!” She pointed.

  Zoe looked over her shoulder and saw one of the parents gliding fast above the shore. It landed on a tree across from the island. She lifted her binoculars to her eyes. “It’s the female.” She could tell the parents apart based on the differences in their sizes. The female was larger than the male. She glanced at the nest in time to see the invader climb over its edge. It spread its wings and screeched, a sound that suggested its defiant victory.

  Terry huddled in fear as his mother lifted off and flew toward the nest. Instead of entering it from the back, she went straight for the front where the invader faced. As she attempted to land, her wings tangled in the branches. The invader lunged at her, pulling her into the nest with it. The two raptors clawed at each other with their razor sharp talons and beaks.

  Zoe’s heart sank. If the invader couldn’t be stopped, or if it seriously injured or killed the mother, the entire eagle family would be doomed. “Don’t let him get the better of you,” she yelled, turning her hand palm up to squeeze Alex’s.

  The battle in the nest continued. Finally, the mother freed herself from the invader’s clutches. She flew off the back of the nest toward the opposite shore and disappeared in the trees.

  A tear slid down Alex’s cheek. “No,” she whispered.

  Zoe reached over and put her arm around Alex as best she could, considering they sat in separate kayaks. “Don’t give up on the mother yet.” Her hope was fading, but for Alex’s sake, she held onto it.

  Alex pointed. “She’s coming back.”

  Relief flooded Zoe as the mother tore along the shoreline back toward the island. The strength of the eagle’s flight betrayed no evidence of any crippling injuries. She flapped her wings again and again, picking up speed as she moved out over the lake, heading straight toward the back of the nest.

  The invader appeared oblivious to her approach. It faced the opposite direction, ripping and tearing at the stolen food. When about thirty feet from the nest, the mother tucked her wings in close and pointed her head straight. She was a missile locked on her target. She rammed full force into the invader’s back. It tumbled out of the nest and down into the tree branches. The mother clawed the edge of the nest and kept from going over the edge too.

  The invader somersaulted down the branches. It disappeared again in the thick brush below. The mother eagle stood tall in the nest and called to Terry. He scooted tentatively along the branch, back toward safety, and tucked himself close to her body.

  “She did it,” Alex yelled.

  Zoe’s relief was short lived.

  The invader flew out of the brush, back toward the nest. The mother launched into the air and met it in the sky. The two eagles locked talons high over the water and battled for dominance. Locked together in combat, they hurtled toward the lake.

  The mother managed to right herself. She was above the invader, driving it headfirst toward the water below. Almost ten feet from the surface, she let go, flapped her wings hard, and caught an updraft. The invader splashed down and sank. It popped back up and churned the water with its sodden wings. Finally, it managed to lift itself out and flew fast and far away from the lake.

  Zoe grinned. “I have a feeling it’s not coming back any time soon.”

  Alex clapped their hands. “Mama eagle rocks!” she said as her boat drifted away from Zoe’s.

  Zoe laughed, reached out, and took Alex’s outstretched hand. She pulled Alex’s kayak next to hers and put her arms around Alex, almost tipping over. She gave way to a fit of giggles. Suddenly the branches at the bottom of the tree started to move.

  “I’ll be damned,” Zoe said, stunned by what she realized was happening. “Our little Dac was paying attention to how the invader got into the nest without flying.” She pointed to a tangle of boughs bouncing under Dac’s weight as he clawed his way up one branch at a time toward the nest.

  Alex wiped tears from her eyes.

  “I hope those are tears of joy.”

  “They are, for Dac and for me. He managed to claw his way back up. There’s a lesson in that.”

  “Yeah, what is it?”

  “You asked me why it mattered whether my father ever apologizes so I can let go of my anger. Dac just showed me that maybe it doesn’t. Even though his parent chased the invader away, he had to climb the tree all on his own. Nothing his parent did or didn’t do would’ve mattered if he hadn’t.”

  Zoe rubbed Alex’s shoulder. “And he did it one step at a time.” She pointed to Dac, now sitting in the nest with his family. “Dac had lots of help along the way, but the biggest reason he’s still alive is because he wants to be.”

  Chapter 28

  Alex found the step stool next to the tool chest in the barn where her father said it would be.

  Zoe had insisted on having something to stand on behind the podium during her presentation to the camp about how birds fly. She was afraid the kids wouldn’t take her seriously if they realized she wasn’t much taller than they were. Alex smiled. Zoe was larger than life despite being so small in stature.

  When Alex slid the stool out of its resting place, she noticed the dark-brown leather of her brother’s prized possession—his baseball glove—on the back of the tool chest. She let go of the stool and reached for the glove. She could feel Jake near. The glove had been one of the last things he touched before he died.

  The barn door slid open. “Your dad said I’d find you in here.” Zoe paused. “Nice old glove. Did you play ball when you were a kid?”

  Alex ran her hand over the leather. “No, this belonged to Jake. He loved playing baseball.” Her eyes misted over. “Unfortunately, even that was taken from him by the kids who bullied him. They forced him to quit. If he was going to play, he’d have to endure their abuse. He couldn’t. It was too much.”

  “Where the heck were the adults when this was going on?” Zoe came into the barn.

  “Making excuses that kids will be kids. Looking the other way, or being too caught up in other things to see what was in front of them.”

  “We all do that to some extent.” Zoe came closer.

  “What’s that?” Alex asked.

  “Not see the obvious. We get so bogged down with what happened yesterday and what we’re going to do tomorrow that we forget to see or feel things in the moment. That’s where the obvious is.”

  Alex replaced the glove where she’d found it. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the tool cabinet. Several seconds ticked by. “Thank you, Zoe.”

  “For what?”

  “When I saw my brother’s glove, I could only think about how angry I am at my father for what happened all those years ago. But thinking about it here and now, I think I know why my father still keeps the glove with his tools. Maybe it’s his way of keeping Jake close because he misses him every bit as much as I do.”

  Zoe closed the distance between them. “I’m glad you’re finding a way to look at the world from a different place.”

  “I’m trying hard to see things in a forgiving way, like we talked about.” A lump caught in Alex’s throat. “Maybe my father and I share the same pain.” She bit her bottom lip. “There’s something else about this moment.” She tugged the bottom of Zoe’s T-shirt, pulling her even closer. Everything about Zoe felt like life. She noticed Zoe’s breathing getting heavy. “No matter how hard I fight it, the need to touch you overwhelms me. Right now, I don’t want to think about tomorrow and what might happen next. All I want is this moment.” She put her hands on Zoe’s hips. “Here, with you.”

  Zoe moved to Alex’s side, put her palms on the workbench, and lifted herself into a sitting position. “I want to be face-to-face with you.”

  Alex stood between Zoe’s l
egs. With Zoe on the bench, they were eye to eye, only inches apart. Riding on a building crest of desire, Alex put her hands on Zoe’s backside and slid her to the edge of the bench. “Are you still afraid of me?” she asked.

  “I want this moment too. I want whatever you’ll let me have.” Zoe glanced at Alex’s lips before leaning forward and kissing her.

  The kiss was gentle and sweet, like sunrise on a summer day. A whimper escaped Alex’s throat. She pushed closer to Zoe. Their tongues touched as she slipped a hand under Zoe’s T-shirt. She pulled back and looked into Zoe’s eyes.

  Zoe smiled and guided Alex’s hand to her breast. “You aren’t using me. You’re giving me what I want.”

  Alex felt Zoe’s nipple harden under her touch. She tried to ignore the sound of voices outside the barn.

  Zoe must’ve heard them too. She pulled Alex’s hand from under her shirt and rested their foreheads together. “It might not go over too well if a camper barges in and catches us.”

  “No.” Alex put her hands on either side of Zoe’s face, kissed her quickly, and moved away.

  Zoe hopped down and smoothed her T-shirt. Her face was flushed. “I should see if Patch and his handler have arrived. I’ll meet you in the main building. People are starting to gather outside under the tent for the presentation and puppy fashion show.” She took Alex’s hand on her way out, holding it until they exited the barn, when she let go to continue on her way.

  Alex called after her, “They’re going to love you.” I do too.

  “I hope so,” Zoe answered. “See you soon.”

  Zoe slipped her cell phone into her pocket. “That’s not good.”

  “What’s that?” Claire checked her watch. “Everyone’s ready for the show to start. Is there a problem?”

  Zoe glanced from Claire to Alex and Sally. “A major brush fire broke out not far from Lewiston. They had to close the highway because of smoke and the proximity of the fire, which has taken off and is merging with other, smaller fires. Sounds like it’s getting out of control. Rick had to take a detour. He and Patch are going to be late.”

  “That’s all right. We have you and the puppies.” Sally clapped her hands. “The show must go on.” She cocked her head. “You look a little pale. You’re not nervous, are you?”

  “Truthfully, I am. I was looking forward to Rick and Patch being the stars of the show.”

  “Honey, enough worry. There’s too much of that going around.” Sally winked at Alex. “We’re on a mission to do away with that sort of thing. Aren’t we?”

  Alex wanted to hug Zoe’s worries away but had concerns about what Claire would think. A question that her therapist asked recently played in her head. Why not test whether your fears are legitimate by doing the thing you think you’re afraid of? Besides, in this moment, giving Zoe a hug seemed the thing to do.

  She put her arms around Zoe. “You have nothing to be worried about. You’re amazing, and it’ll only take two seconds before everyone out there figures that out.”

  Zoe returned the hug. “You know how to talk a girl off the ledge.”

  Claire laughed. “We’re all going to have to go over to Hawk’s Leap some afternoon.” She patted Alex’s back. “No one was better at talking a kid off the ledge than Alex when it came to getting them to jump. I’m glad to see a little of that fearlessness again in her.”

  Daniel popped his head into the room. He looked long at Alex and Zoe in each other’s arms before his gaze fell on Claire and Sally. Alex couldn’t read his expression. For once, it didn’t matter if he thought less of her. Being in Zoe’s arms made her happy. To her surprise, he smiled at Zoe. “Time to get this show on the road. I’m going to announce you now.”

  Alex and the rest of the group followed him out of the main building and in front of the crowd of kids, parents, and counselors gathered under the big tent set up to shade them from the sun during the show. He picked up the microphone lying on the podium.

  “Good afternoon and thank you all for coming. We have a real treat for you. Zoe Kimball, a wildlife biologist we’ve been lucky enough to have stay with us this summer to look after our eagles on the island, is here to talk with us about how birds fly.” Daniel paused while the crowd clapped. “Let’s show Ms. Kimball how grateful we are for her time with a proper Camp Marcotte greeting.”

  The children rose to their feet, blew kisses at each other, and yelled, “Welcome to Camp Marcotte, where kids learn to love to play outside!”

  Alex grinned, in part because the greeting always made her laugh, but mostly because her father had suggested it for Zoe. She joined in with the kids and counselors when they continued, “You’ll always be a friend of Camp Marcotte.”

  In unison, everyone blew a kiss to Zoe.

  Zoe took the microphone from Alex’s father, who stepped away. “Wow, that was the nicest greeting ever. Thank you. Let me ask a question. Does anyone know how hummingbirds fly?”

  Whatever nervousness Zoe felt certainly didn’t show. The kids seemed mesmerized by her. Alex also noticed that Zoe never stepped behind the podium onto the step stool. She stayed in front of the crowd like she’d been doing this her whole life. Zoe was a natural and didn’t know it.

  A child in the back answered, “They flap their wings really fast. They come to my mom’s bird feeder all the time, and I see them.”

  “Have you ever seen a helicopter fly?” Zoe asked. “Hummingbirds are like that. With their short wings, they can hover by flapping forward and backward instead of up and down.” She moved her arms to show the crowd what she meant. “Did you know that hummingbirds go to sleep at night like they’re hibernating? They do that because it takes so much energy for them to fly fast like they do. They need to eat three times their weight in food every day.”

  A different child joined in the conversation. “That’s a lot of pizza.”

  Zoe laughed. “Yeah, you look like you weigh about eighty pounds. I wonder how many pizzas it takes to equal three hundred twenty pounds, which would be three times your weight.”

  “Maybe we’ll have to try to get that many pizzas before you kids leave here,” Daniel teased.

  The campers shouted their agreement with the idea. Seeing her father play to the crowd like old times tugged at Alex. This was the father who had loved her and Jake with all his heart when they were growing up. He was also the father she loved to her core. Now, she felt a bittersweet understanding of how much he loved this camp but couldn’t love his son and daughter as much. Despite the laughter in the crowd and the smile on his face, sadness threatened to pour out of her.

  “Be sure to invite me for the pizza,” Zoe said. “How about eagles… does anyone know how they fly?” The little girl she’d met on the beach a couple of weeks ago raised her hand. “Yes, Michelle. Can you tell us?”

  “They have really big wings that they flap up and down. But not as fast as a hummingbird,” Michelle answered.

  Alex noticed that the grin on Michelle’s face wasn’t nearly as wide as the one worn by the woman sitting next to her, whom she assumed must be her mother. She suspected it had been a big deal for her mother to make it since Michelle had mentioned that her mom worked two jobs.

  Seeing her beam with pride at her daughter and knowing Michelle had learned some valuable lessons about life during a few weeks at the camp reminded Alex of its importance. The camp meant the world to a mother on a limited income and a kid like Michelle, who’d had the opportunity to spend time in such a beautiful place. She proudly gave her father credit for making that experience happen for so many children.

  “That’s right. Good job.” Zoe smiled. “They do flap their wings but not forward and back like a hummingbird, nor as fast. They don’t have to. Because as Michelle told us, they have very long wings, and they use them to soar and glide. The hummingbird’s wings look more like oars. But an eagle’s wing is long and wide with slotted wingtips.” She held up a model of an eagle.

  Alex thought Zoe was doing a fine job of showing the
kids the parts of an eagle, even without Patch. The replica combined with Zoe’s explanation did the trick. She had the audience captured.

  Zoe pulled the model eagle’s wing out straight for the kids to see its shape and size. She set the model down on the table behind her. “Eagles flap their wings up and down to get momentum for flight, but they use the wind to go long distances without having to flap their wings constantly like a hummingbird. They can go lower in the sky by gliding on the wind without flapping their wings. Or they can soar higher by riding updrafts in the wind. All without moving their wings.”

  She paused and looked into the air. “You’re so lucky to see this.” She clapped her hands and pointed upward. “Look there, that’s one of the camp’s eaglets flying now. That’s Terry!”

  The eaglet soared above them. The crowd gasped in awe at their eaglet. Terry bobbled in a gust of wind, got his bearings, and flew off into the distance.

  “Did you see him practicing in the updrafts?” Zoe asked.

  A dark-haired little boy in front jumped to his feet. “What does updraft mean?”

  “The wind comes in different temperatures. The warm ones rise while the cooler ones stay close to the ground.” Zoe accompanied her words with hand gestures. “The updrafts are the warm winds rising. They can carry the eagles far because of the way the eagles’ wings are shaped. The eagle simply spreads its wings and lets warm air currents carry it high into the sky.”

  Again, Zoe pulled the model’s wing out for the kids to see. “Based on the shape of the wing, the layers of air above the wing flow faster than the ones below it. This difference in pressure lets the eagle be lifted by the wind. Pay attention in science class when your teacher tells you about Bernoulli’s Principle because that’s how eagles fly.” She pointed toward the back of the crowd. “Guess what? The star of our show has arrived.”