Surf Sisters

by Laurine Croasdale

  ‘Thanks.’ Pink went back to digging with the stick.

  ‘Pink, I’m sorry we’ve fallen out but maybe if you come back to the house we can talk things over. There are some misunderstandings we need to clear up.’

  A mirthless laugh came from Pink as she considered the depth of misunderstandings between them. She dug harder and the stick snapped in two. Still not looking at her mother, she threw both parts onto the fire. ‘No.’

  ‘Mitch called today. He’s not going to be here until the night before the contest, I’m afraid.’

  Pink rested her chin on top of her knees. ‘Finally. If I’d known he was going to take so long I would’ve stayed home with him.’

  Christie sighed. ‘I’m sorry you haven’t had a good stay. I don’t like it when we argue either. Maybe we’re just too alike …’

  ‘No,’ Pink laughed, shaking her head decisively. ‘We are so not alike.’ Pink turned her body away from her mother. ‘Thanks for bringing the food.’

  ‘I know we both said things we didn’t really mean, Jasmine, but we need to talk about them.’

  ‘No, there’s nothing to talk about.’ Tears welled in Pink’s eyes and she struggled to hold them back. ‘You took my job away from me. Everything I love you take away. That was my job, they liked me. I was good at it and not once did you make the effort to come and see what I’d done. You never think I’m good at anything.’

  ‘That’s not true. I like the designs you do. You did a great job of the dance party.’ Pink didn’t respond and after a long silence Christie said, ‘I called Rod yesterday and asked for your job back.’

  ‘You did?’ Pink sat up, a hopeful tone to her voice. She scoured her mother’s face, searching for a trick, but couldn’t see one.

  ‘You were right. I might not like you working there but it’s your job. I shouldn’t have interfered.’ She smiled. ‘Rod said he hadn’t even thought about replacing you. He speaks very highly of you.’

  Pink smiled, turned back to the fire. ‘Are you going to tell me about Jack Finn? I want to know the truth. I need to hear you say that my dad is Dad.’ Pink ignored the tissue her mother offered and wiped her nose on her sleeve. ‘And I need to know if Marlee and I are sisters.’

  Christie sighed. ‘Mitch is most definitely your father and Marlee is definitely not your sister.’ Christie ran a hand through her hair. ‘How on earth did you jump to that conclusion in the first place? Do you really think I could let us all live with a lie like that? What kind of person do you think I am? That was such a hurtful thing for you to say, Jasmine.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Overwhelmed, Pink put her head down and cried, partly from relief, partly disappointment that she didn’t have a sister after all. She took her mother’s tissue this time, blowing her nose, dabbing the tears away. ‘So why do you hate Jack Finn so much?’

  ‘Jas, I’m still at a total loss as to why you’ve suddenly brought all this up. How did you know about this and how did you put two and two together and come up with a million?’

  ‘I found your photo album. The old green one from when you were a kid. There were dates on all the photos and one minute you were with Jack and the next with Dad. And it was the same year that Marlee and I were born.’

  Christie raised her eyebrows. ‘And so you thought …?’ Pink nodded. Christie shook her head. ‘You know, when I was a kid I was certain I’d been adopted. Maybe you and I at least have big imaginations in common.’

  Christie smiled, opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing, then settled herself more comfortably on the log. She leaned towards Pink, her hands laced tightly together, and spoke quietly, her words carefully chosen.

  ‘I met Jack Finn at a New Year’s Eve party and we were inseparable from that night on for the next two years. I was madly in love with him and I thought he loved me too. Jack had a recklessness about him that was so attractive. It was like we were on some wild ride together and neither of us thought it would end. We talked about getting married when I finished school but one night we went to a dance at the surf club and there was another girl there waiting for him. It turned out that she was his Queensland girlfriend. The one he stayed with on his trips up north. Not that I knew that, of course, until she turned up.’

  She arched her back, stretching a little before continuing. ‘It was like I’d ceased to exist and when I tried to talk to him he virtually ignored me. It was totally humiliating, being dumped like that, and even when I tried to see him afterwards, to clear things up, he avoided me. Later I heard that his girlfriend was pregnant so that explained a few things at least. It’s devastating when you think you know someone well only to discover that you don’t know them at all.’

  ‘So I was nearly Marlee?’ Pink said to herself.

  ‘No.’ Christie was emphatic. ‘You were never nearly anyone else but Jasmine. I never planned to get pregnant so soon after meeting Mitch, it just happened that way. He was so different to Jack – easygoing, secure and reliable – so when I fell pregnant with you I knew he’d look after us.’

  ‘Do you blame Marlee for losing Jack?’ Pink asked.

  ‘No. I don’t blame Marlee. But she does remind me of Jack.’ Christie smiled sadly. ‘I said at the time that I’d never forgive him for what he did but it’s only now, since you’ve brought it all back up again, that I realised I really haven’t. Over the last few days I’ve relived all those emotions I thought I’d forgotten.’

  Pink saw the hurt in her mother’s eyes. Impulsively, she put her arms around her mother and hugged her, then sat on the log next to her. ‘I’m sorry but I’m glad I know now.’

  Christie put her arm around her. ‘It’s fine. It finally made me let go of it once and for all and it’s made me appreciate everything that I have – you, Mitch, a great life. I wouldn’t have missed out on that for anything.’

  Pink smiled and peered into the basket. ‘Mmm, dates, my favourite.’ She offered the packet to her mother, then took three for herself. ‘You know how we’ve talked about me joining the business?’ she mumbled. ‘Well I’ve got a plan. Can I show you?’ Christie nodded and Pink lifted the tent flap and pulled out her sketchbook.

  In the two hours before lunch Pink attacked their campsite with gusto, transforming their accommodation. A No Vacancy sign hung from the top of the tent. The rope from the Island Breeze flag made a handy clothesline so the towels and wetsuits no longer fell into the dirt. The grate was stacked high with firewood, food was neatly packed into the basket and the sleeping bags were airing on top of the tent. Pink was flipping bacon rashers on a barbecue plate she’d dragged from another campsite and the smell made Tilly and Marlee run towards the fire.

  ‘Yum, thanks, Pink. You been to the supermarket?’ said Tilly, loading rashers onto her opened bread roll.

  ‘If you can call a tiny general store a supermarket!’ said Pink.

  ‘Mmmm, these are delicious.’ Marlee nudged Pink, pleased to see her friend back to normal. ‘I had the best sleep last night,’ she said. ‘Not only was I warm but the tent didn’t flap. That’s the first time since I got here.’

  Pink laughed and pointed to her pink hammer. ‘Knocked them all in yesterday. Mind you, they might not come out again.’

  ‘Wow, Pink,’ said Tilly, impressed. ‘You’re like the Swiss army knife for campsites. Whatever we need you’re there with a gadget or a solution. We should be renting you out.’

  Pink beamed. ‘Bit of commonsense and a few things I learned at the hardware store.’

  Marlee shut her eyes. ‘Piiiiink. I forgot! Your mum’s been asking about you. You have to go and talk to her.’

  ‘I did. We had a long talk this morning.’

  ‘You did?’ Marlee and Tilly said together.

  ‘Yep.’

  ‘Did you ask her about … you know?’ Marlee said hesitantly.

  ‘About your dad?’ Marlee nodded, eyes screwed shut, not sure if she wanted to know. ‘Jack’s not my dad,’ Pink smiled. ‘But I was a tiny bit disappointed. Not because M
itch is my dad. I am SO glad about that – no offence,’ she added quickly. ‘But I’ve always wanted a sister and it was nice to think that my wish might have come true.’ Pink rubbed her fingers over her eyes and sighed. ‘Mum asked me to go back to the house.’

  ‘So will you?’ Marlee felt a pang of anxiety. The fewer changes over the next few days the better but, more than that, Pink being there had really made a difference.

  ‘No. But we sorted heaps of things out. I understand her a bit more now.’ Pink gazed across the fields, the worry of the last few weeks gone. ‘I love it here. Really love it. I never thought I’d survive in a place where you can’t plug in a hair straightener! But there you go. It’s so peaceful and take a look at that.’ She held her hand out towards the white wildflowers now sprinkled through the yellow. ‘All this beauty and my friends.’

  ‘Yeah and a few hundred people for a contest,’ Tilly laughed. ‘Has Mitch arrived?’

  ‘Not until the night before the contest. He’s had to sort out all the online stuff and there were problems getting the film crew together.’

  Tilly yawned, checked her watch. ‘Don’t know about you two but I’m having a kip and then I’m meeting Fizz for a surf.’ She pulled her sleeping bag off the tent, rubbing it against her cheek. ‘Mmm, it’s so warm.’ Then she curled up under the trees. ‘I’m glad you sorted things out with your mum, Pink.’

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Three days before the contest Marlee jogged along a transformed beach. It was rigged out in its competition skirts with rows of flags flying Island Breeze colours. Tents were set up along the sand for contestants, and there was a raised platform for the cameraman who was to film the contest for the web. She ran over to the massive scoreboard, her heart skipping when she saw the contestants’ names were already up, and searched for Tilly and herself. She found Tilly first – an early heat on the first day. That’ll really suit her, Marlee thought, she’s been ripping in the early-morning conditions.

  Her eyes kept moving across the names, until she spotted M Finn with a W to indicate that she was a wildcard and, like Tilly, in a sudden death heat – lose and go home. When she glanced at the name alongside hers she froze. She read the name again, letter by letter. Georgie Starr. No, it couldn’t be. How bad was her luck that she’d be up against the best surfer in the world in her very first heat? After all her preparation it looked unlikely that she’d make it past the first round. Marlee walked away, returned to the scoreboard, crouched down, her fingers covering her mouth. In her mind she’d already started pulling down the tent.

  Marlee returned to the campsite, numb. First she delivered the news to Tilly. ‘Your heat’s on early. My heat’s at 1 pm. Against Georgie Starr.’ In the stunned silence that followed Marlee slumped onto the ground, recalling Georgie Starr’s effortless run to winning the World Cup last year. Of all the surfers on tour her style was the one that Marlee admired most.

  ‘She did this!’ Marlee was panicky, irrational, and her anger flared up. ‘Christie did it to make it as hard for me as she could.’

  ‘No. No, I don’t think so,’ Tilly said calmly. ‘This is a competition. Christie wouldn’t have had any say in the draw. You know that. Besides, you accepted the wildcard on the understanding that you’d be competing against one of the surfers on the World Tour.’

  ‘Yeah, but not the world champion! That’s a bit harsh,’ Pink said sympathetically.

  ‘Well what have you got to lose?’ Tilly turned to Marlee. ‘It’s a great learning curve for tactics and wave positioning if nothing else. She’s one of the best. You’ve never had that opportunity before.’ She put an arm around Marlee. ‘You might even take her out. That would be awesome.’

  Marlee smiled, unconvinced. Tilly was right. She had to think of it as a fantastic opportunity no matter what the outcome – but she’d really hoped she’d be in the competition longer than the wildcard round.

  Throughout the day Georgie Starr became Marlee’s shadow, constantly in her thoughts. It quickly became the talk of the camping ground and journalists at the beach sought her out for comment. Marlee withdrew, avoiding the well-wishers and advice-givers, her thoughts scrambled. She tossed and turned through the night, head fizzing until she dropped into an empty black sleep near dawn, waking when Tilly returned from her surf. By the time Marlee reached the water the line-up was so clogged she’d wait an hour to catch a couple of waves. Everything she’d done over the last few months had vanished and from the moment she saw the contest board the doubt buoys began to multiply in her stomach.

  Late the next morning, two days before the contest, Tilly and Pink paced outside their tent, arms crossed. ‘C’mon, Marlee, we want to show you something.’ When there was no response, Tilly tried again. ‘Marlee, I’m not going away until you come out of there.’ Finally, after a little rustling, Marlee emerged, eyes sunken from lack of sleep. She glanced from Pink to Tilly.

  ‘Whaaaaaat?’

  Without a word, Tilly and Pink each took an arm and walked Marlee briskly towards the beach.

  ‘You know what, Marlee?’ said Pink amiably. ‘It’s the same old pattern. Every time you get nervous you freeze up and stick your head in the sand.’

  ‘What’s the worst thing that can happen?’ Tilly asked.

  ‘I can lose,’ Marlee puffed. ‘I can make a total fool of myself in front of everyone watching on the beach, on TV, online across the entire WORLD. I can put off any potential sponsors forever.’ Then she added quietly. ‘And if I fail I lose my dream as well.’

  Frustrated, Tilly pulled Marlee’s arm to make her pick up her pace. ‘Losing one event doesn’t really mean you’ll lose your dream. And besides, everyone competing is taking the same risk as you. If you dwell on losing it’ll happen for sure. You need to focus on winning and what you learn along the way.’

  Pink, in the lead, quietly took them to the top of the dunes where they settled in a small groove of sand at the top. Marlee watched the waves, distracted and miserable, her leg jiggling until Tilly smacked it in frustration. ‘Pull yourself together, Marlee. You’ve let yourself get distracted by photographers, sponsors, competitors and locals. Pull your focus back. I’ve worked just as hard as you for this contest and at the moment all I’m worrying about is you. So please, make an effort for both of us.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Marlee sunk her chin into her cupped hands. ‘What do you want me to do?’

  Pink poured the fine white sand into one hand and then back again, and when she spoke she was calm and decisive. ‘What Tilly says is true, Marlee. Go back to square one. Get your focus back. Your heat’s fifth.’ She glanced at her watch. ‘About now, right?’ Marlee nodded, wondering where Pink was going with this. ‘Well take a good look out there.’ Pink pointed to the breaks along the beach. ‘Unless there’s a major storm, chances are the same conditions will be happening every day at this time. I’ve heard Georgie Starr can’t get here until the day of the comp so you already have an advantage. Use what you know and what you’ve learned over the last week. Surf. Eat. Sleep. It’s not too late. And what about that relaxation thing you did with Evelyn? What’s that like?’ Pink asked.

  When her routine fell apart Marlee had forgotten to do her relaxation. She felt surprised by that, realising how much it could’ve helped, and she was grateful to Pink for reminding her. ‘When I first started it was like seeing all your thoughts play like a cartoon on fast forward, but after a while it became smooth and beautiful, like watching a whole field of poppies bloom together.’

  ‘Well it definitely makes you calmer, even just talking about it,’ Pink said. ‘So do that too. It will all help.’

  Marlee looked at Pink afresh. She’d totally underestimated her in every way. Everything she’d said made sense, and if Marlee had been thinking clearly it would’ve been obvious. All those hours she’d spent watching the water and assessing the waves had flown out of her head. Nerves had drowned every shred of self-confidence, but Pink had grappled it back. ‘You’re right, Pink. Than
ks. How do you know all this stuff?’

  ‘I’ve heard it so many times from the coaches while I’ve been hanging around at the camps – guess it just sunk in. But mainly it’s commonsense – a trait I like to keep well hidden!’ She looked at Tilly then, to make sure she was included in the conversation. ‘Listen, I’ll feed you both, do the fire thing, be the door bitch – or the tent bitch, more like – and you two do nothing except get prepped. Get a routine happening, sleep lots, eat lots, watch the waves, take notes and don’t listen to anyone else. We’re sisters of sorts, we stick together.’

  Marlee didn’t know why but something had shifted and Pink had helped her do it. Pink put her arms around them both and they watched as the tide reached its peak.‘Check out that little right straight ahead,’ said Marlee. ‘It’s cookin’. Every time I come down here I find a wave I’ve never noticed before.’

  The bank that Marlee was referring to was throwing out better sets than the ones directly in front of the contest area. The wave doubled up so there was more height, more open wave area, meaning there was more opportunity for longer rides with better, higher turns. Marlee realised with a rush of excitement that if she sat a little wider than she had been, she’d be able to pick up some good waves.

  ‘Yeah, it’s easy to spot from up here but in the water it’s just a moving hump,’ said Tilly.

  ‘You’re right.’ Marlee searched around for a stick and pushed it into the sand near a tuft of grass. ‘There, that’ll help,’ she grinned.

  Over a late lunch they talked over the wave conditions, noting down tides, banks and timing, and as the sun began dipping towards the ocean, both girls practised catching as many waves as possible in the allocated heat time, concentrating on making maximum turns on each wave. Pink videoed them, taking notes in her book and offering encouragement and feedback on the way back to camp.