Safe Harbour

by Danielle Steel

  Matt made a loop in the rope, and took it with him when he dove in, and instinctively the boy grabbed on to him and clung to him, and almost drowned Matt as he fought to get the rope around the boy. He managed to get behind him somehow, as the boy flailed his arms weakly, and Ophélie watched the grim scene. It seemed to take forever to get the rope under his arms, and for Matt to drag him back toward the boat. She could see then how powerful Matt was, it was an inhuman effort he was making, and when he approached the boat with the boy, he shouted to her, and she understood. He threw the end of the rope back up to her, and miraculously she caught it, and attached it to the winch. She knew what she had to do. The only question now was if she could do it and save them both. It took five attempts and she was beginning to panic as the rope held finally, and the winch brought the boy slowly up. He barely had the strength to hang on, but it didn't matter, the rope was holding him under his arms, and she caught him as he spilled nearly lifelessly onto the deck. He was barely conscious and shaking violently, as she looked back at Matt, got the rope from around the boy, and threw it to Matt.

  Despite the movement of the water, he caught it effortlessly, and the winch hauled him up. It seemed a miracle that they had both managed to get out of the water and into the boat. And as Matt assessed the situation, he decided it would be faster to sail. The wind had turned and come up powerfully, and he thought he could get to shore faster under sail. He put the sails back up, while she got a blanket from the cabin and covered the boy, as he looked at her with dying eyes. She knew that look, and had seen it twice on Chad when he'd attempted suicide. But with every ounce of her being, she vowed to save this child. He'd obviously gone out on a surfboard and been swept away, on a riptide probably, and gone out so far there was no hope of his getting back. Only a miracle had brought them to just the right spot at just the right time. And Matt looked intent as he sailed toward shore, and after a moment he shouted to her that there was a bottle of brandy in the cabin, and told her to give some to the boy. But Ophélie was quick to shake her head, and he didn't understand. He told her again, thinking she hadn't heard him. Not knowing what else to do, she got under the blanket with the trembling boy and held him close to her, hoping that her own body warmth might help keep him alive until they got to shore. Matt pointed to the tiller then and went inside to the radio. He reached the Coast Guard in less time than he had hoped, and told them that he had a major medical emergency onboard, and was heading to land. He believed he would get back to shore before they could reach him, and asked them to have paramedics waiting for him on shore, or to try and catch up with him by boat if they could.

  They were halfway back when the wind began to die down, and he took down the sails again and started the engine back up. It was a straight shot back to the beach by then, and land was in plain sight, as Matt looked intent, and kept glancing at Ophélie with the boy in her arms. He had been unconscious for the last twenty minutes and looked nearly dead. Ophélie's face was white.

  “Are you okay?” he shouted at her, and she nodded, but it was an all-too-familiar scene for her, and reminded her excruciatingly of Chad. All she wanted now was to save this boy, so his mother would never have to live all that she had. “How is he?”

  “Still alive.” She had him pressed against her, and she was soaking wet underneath the blanket, but she didn't care or notice. The sun was beating down on them, and their lazy pleasure sail had become a race against death.

  “Why didn't you give him the brandy?” Matt asked, trying to force the engine to go faster. He had never pushed the boat this hard, nor had to, but she hadn't let him down yet.

  “It would have killed him,” she said, looking frantic, he was so limp and cold in her arms, but she could still feel the slightest pulse. He wasn't gone yet. “It would have pulled all his circulation to his extremities, he needs the blood in his trunk, for his heart.” Despite the fact that his limbs now felt like ice, but whatever circulation he still had was where he needed it most.

  “Thank God you knew that,” Matt said, as he prayed silently to get the boy back in time. They were nearly at the mouth of the lagoon by then. They were only minutes away from help, and as they came out of the ocean into the lagoon, they could hear sirens and see lights at the end of the beach nearest to them. Without hesitating, Matt pulled the boat up to a stranger's dock. There were people gathered, watching, as half a dozen paramedics jumped onboard and Ophélie rolled back and struggled to her feet on the deck. She was sobbing as she watched them check him and then take him on a gurney, as one of the paramedics looked back at her and held a thumb of victory in the air with a smile. He was still alive. She was shaking violently as Matt took a step across the deck to her and held her in his arms. She was sobbing as he did and two men off a fire truck stepped gingerly onboard.

  “You saved that kid's life,” the senior officer said with admiration. “Did anyone get his name?” All Ophélie could do was shake her head, as Matt explained to them what had happened and they took down a report, and congratulated them again. It was another half-hour before the fire trucks left, and Matt put the engine on again, and motored slowly toward his dock. Ophélie was too shaken to even speak, and she sat next to him trembling, as he kept an arm firmly around her shoulders.

  “I'm sorry, Ophélie.” He knew without effort what it must have reminded her of, and done to her. “I just thought we'd have a nice sail.”

  “We did. We saved his life, and his mother's heart.” If he lived. No one could be sure yet, but at least he had a chance. He had none whatsoever out where they found him, clinging to his board, which they had abandoned. Matt hadn't wanted to waste time trying to get it onboard.

  They were both exhausted when they tied up the Nessie II, put everything away, locked the cabin, and left the boat. He still needed to hose down the deck to get the salt off her, but he would have to come back later. By the time it was all over, they'd been out for five hours. She barely had the strength to walk when they left the dock, and Matt drove her back to her house. But neither of them was prepared for what they found there. Pip was sobbing on her bed, and Amy looked distraught as she tried to comfort her. She had watched them sail away, and when they didn't come back in an hour or two, Pip was convinced that the worst had happened and the boat had sunk or her mother had drowned. She was inconsolable when Ophélie walked into her room and Matt stood looking aghast from the doorway.

  “It's okay, Pip… it's okay… I'm back…” Ophélie cooed gently, horrified to find her in this condition, and suddenly feeling guilty for ever having left her. Everything had turned out so differently than expected, but a life had been saved. It appeared to be destiny that they had gone out that day on Matt's boat.

  “You said you'd be back in an hour!” she shouted at her mother as she turned to look at her with eyes filled with accusation and terror. Just as Ophélie had been distraught over the sight of the dying boy who reminded her of Chad, Pip's own fears had convinced her that she had lost her mother.

  “I'm so sorry…I didn't know… something happened.”

  “Did the boat turn over?” Pip looked even more frightened, as Matt walked into the room and joined them, and Amy discreetly left. She had run out of things to say to reassure Pip hours before, and she had never been as grateful as she was to see the child's mother appear.

  “No, the boat didn't capsize,” Ophélie said gently, as she held Pip close to her. It was just what she needed. Words were no longer enough. “And I wore a life vest, just like I promised.”

  “Me too,” Matt said, not sure whether he was welcome, or an intruder in the scene between mother and anguished child.

  “We found a boy in the water far out from shore, on a surfboard, and Matt saved him.” Pip's eyes grew wide when she told her.

  “We both did,” Matt corrected. “Your mom was terrific.” Thinking back on it now, he was even more impressed than he had been when it happened. She had been calm and efficient and effective. He couldn't have saved the boy withou
t her help.

  They told Pip all about what had happened, and Ophélie managed to marshal her forces to reassure her. And a little while later, while they all sipped hot tea, Matt called the hospital, and they told him that the boy's condition was serious, but stable for the moment. He wouldn't be out of the woods for a while, but it looked like he might make it, and his family was with him at Marin General. There were tears in Matt's eyes when he told them, and Ophélie closed her eyes for a long moment. All she could think of was the tragedy that had been averted, and she was deeply grateful for it. A woman she would never know had been spared tragedy and heartbreak. Ophélie was thankful they had been able to save the boy.

  By the time Matt left an hour later, Pip had calmed down considerably, but she said she never wanted her mother to go sailing again, ever. It was obvious to all concerned how traumatic the afternoon had been for Pip, without even knowing what had happened. She said she had heard the sirens go past the house, on their way to the spit at land's end, and she had been convinced then her mother and Matt were dead. It had been a hideous day for her, and Matt apologized again to both of them for their respective traumas. It hadn't been easy for him either, and Ophélie knew with perfect clarity how easy it would have been for Matt to drown while attempting to save the boy in the water. They might have both died, and she would have been able to do nothing to help him. It had been a narrow escape from tragedy, too narrow for anyone's comfort. And shortly after Matt got home, he called her.

  “How is she?” he asked, sounding concerned and exhausted. He had gone back to hose off the boat, and could barely lift his arms to do it, and then he had gone home and soaked in a hot tub for an hour. He hadn't even realized till then how cold he was, or how badly shaken.

  “She's fine now,” Ophélie said calmly. She had taken a hot bath too, and she felt better, though she was every bit as tired as he was. “I guess I'm not the only one around here who worries more than I used to.” For Pip, the fear of losing her mother had become her worst nightmare, and she knew better than anyone how easily it could happen. She would never feel entirely safe again. In an important sense, the innocence of her childhood had ended ten months before.

  “You were amazing,” Matt said gently.

  “So were you,” she said, still in awe of what he'd done, and the determination with which he'd done it. He hadn't hesitated for a moment to risk his life for the unknown boy.

  “If I'm ever planning to fall overboard, I'm going to take you with me,” he said admiringly. “And thank God you knew about the brandy, I'd have killed him. I'd have poured it right down his throat.”

  “A lot of first aid, and a little pre-med, or I wouldn't have known either. It turned out fine, that's all that matters.” It was their teamwork that had saved him in the end.

  Matt called to check on him again later that night, and then called Ophélie to tell her the boy was doing well, and by the next morning he was in satisfactory condition, and his parents had called both Matt and Ophélie to thank them profusely for their heroic act. They were horrified by what had happened, and his mother had sobbed when she thanked Ophélie. She had no idea how well Ophélie knew the tragedy that had been averted. Better than she did.

  The newspapers carried an account of it, which Pip read to her mother over breakfast. And then she looked at Ophélie with huge eyes that pierced her mother's like knives.

  “Promise you won't ever do anything like that again.…I can't…I couldn't…if you…” She couldn't finish, and Ophélie's eyes filled with tears as she looked at her and nodded.

  “I promise. I couldn't live without you either,” she said softly. She folded the newspaper then, and gave Pip a hug, and a moment later the child walked out to the deck, and sat down next to Mousse, lost in her own thoughts, and staring out at the ocean in silence. The day before had been too terrifying to even think of. Ophélie stood in the living room, crying softly as she watched her, and said a silent prayer of thanks that everything had turned out as it had.

  11

  MATT TOOK PIP AND OPHÉLIE TO DINNER ON THEIR last night in Safe Harbour. They had all recovered from the trauma of saving the boy by then, and all three of them looked relaxed. He had gone home from the hospital the day before and had called Ophélie and Matt to thank them himself. Ophélie had been right in guessing how it had happened. He had been swept away for miles by the tide.

  They went to the Lobster Pot in town again for dinner, and they had a nice time. But for most of the evening, Pip looked sad. She hated saying good-bye to her friend. She and her mother had packed their bags that afternoon, and they were going home the next morning. Pip had a few things to do at home before starting school.

  “It's going to be awfully quiet around here without you two,” Matt said pleasantly as they finished dessert. Most of the summer residents were leaving that weekend. The next day was Labor Day. And Pip was starting school on Tuesday.

  “We're going to rent a house here again next year,” Pip said firmly. She had already extracted a promise from her mother, although Ophélie thought that the following summer they should go back to France again, at least for a few weeks. But she liked the idea of renting at Safe Harbour again too, and if possible the same house, or another. The one they had worked well for them, although it had been too small for others. But it suited them.

  “I can check the market for you if you like, as things come up. I'm here anyway. In case you want something bigger next year.”

  “I think we like the one we had,” she said, smiling at him. “If they rent it to us again. I'm not sure they're crazy about letting us bring Mousse.” But he hadn't done any damage fortunately. He was very well behaved. All he did was shed. And there was a cleaning service coming to scrub the place the next day. But she and Pip were fairly neat.

  “I'll be expecting to see lots of drawings when I come into the city to visit. And don't forget the fatherdaughter dance,” he reminded Pip, and she grinned. She loved the fact that he remembered it, and she actually believed he would come. Her own father never had. He had to work. She had brought her brother once. And a friend of Andrea's another time. Ted hated events at their schools, and he and her mother had argued about it. They had argued about a lot of things, although her mother didn't like to be reminded of it now. But it was true anyway, whether she admitted it or not. But Pip was convinced Matt would keep his word about the dance, and even make it fun for her.

  “You'll have to wear a tie,” Pip said cautiously, hoping that wouldn't make him change his mind, and he smiled.

  “I think I might have one dragging around somewhere. It's probably holding back my curtains.” In fact, he had many of them, he just didn't have a lot of occasions to wear them anymore, although he could have if he wanted to. But he didn't. The only things he did in the city were visit his dentist, or see his banker or attorney. But he had every intention of visiting Ophélie and Pip. They were important to him. And after the drama he and Ophélie had shared earlier that week, he felt closer than ever to her.

  He took them back to the house, and Ophélie invited him in for a glass of wine. And he accepted with pleasure. She poured a glass of red wine for him, as Pip went to put on her pajamas. He liked the domesticity of it, and asked Ophélie if she wanted him to light a fire. The evenings were cool, as they always were, and despite the hot September days, the nights already smelled of autumn.

  “That would be nice,” she said about the fire, as Pip came out to kiss them both goodnight, and promised to call him soon. He had already given her his number. And Ophélie had it too, in case Pip lost it. He gave Pip a hug then, and bent down to light the fire, as Mousse watched him, and he realized he would even miss the dog. He had forgotten what it was like to have the accoutrements of a family around him, and he hated to admit even to himself how much he liked it.

  The fire was already blazing by the time she came back from tucking Pip in. It was a tradition she had revived over the last few weeks. And as she sat looking into the fire, she
realized how much had changed in the three months since they'd been there. She felt almost human, although she still missed her son and husband. But the pain of their absence was a little more bearable than it had been three months earlier. Time did make a difference, albeit a small one.

  “You're looking very serious,” he said, as he sat down next to her and took a sip of the wine she had poured him. It was the last of the bottle he had brought her. She wasn't much of a drinker, particularly for a French woman.

  “I was just thinking how much better I feel than I did when I got here. It's done us both good. Pip seems happier too. In great part, thanks to you. You've made her summer.” She smiled gratefully at him.

  “She's made mine too. And so have you. We all need friends. Sometimes I forget that.”

  “You lead a solitary life out here, Matt,” she said, and he nodded. For the past ten years it had been what he wanted. But now, for the first time in years, it seemed lonely to him.

  “It's good for my work, or something like that. At least that's what I tell myself. And it's close enough to the city. I can always go in if I want to.” And he would now, to see them, but he was startled to realize that, in spite of its proximity, it was over a year since he'd been there. The time just slipped away sometimes, while you weren't looking, as did the years.