It’s now the day before the competition. Coincidentally, I have to go into the hospital for a checkup on my leg to be sure everything has healed properly. Sam accompanies me to the appointment. She’s been acting weird the whole day.
“What is your deal today?” I ask her.
“Nothing. Why?”
“I don’t know, it just seems like you’re up to something.”
“Just happy to be with you.”
I shrug. “Okay, Sam, whatever.”
The doctor is ready to see me as soon as we arrive. I guess that is just the treatment you get when you’re a famous surfer in Surf City USA. He’s quite pleased with the progress I had made. No doubt surfing for the last month has probably helped to strengthen my leg. It’s almost strong enough for me to surf the way I was used to—almost.
“Keep up the good work, Mick. You have made an almost miraculous recovery. I don’t think I need to see you anymore, so with that, I will wish you the best and say goodbye.”
“Thanks, doc. I would like to say I am going to miss you, but I will be glad to be out of hospitals for a while.”
Sam and I walk away from the doctor. I’m glad this is almost all behind me, and also glad my leg is now “doctor-approved.”
“One more thing, Mick,” the doctor says.
I turn to him. “Yeah?”
“Good luck.”
I smile. “Thanks, doc.”
As we walk away, Sam grabs at her stomach. “Oh, my God!”
“What’s wrong, Sam?”
“I don’t know, Mick. Something doesn’t feel right!”
“Is it the baby?”
“I think so.”
Looking at Sam, I notice water is dripping on the floor. The doctor comes over and puts her in a wheelchair. He grabs an orderly passing by.
“Take this woman to the maternity ward immediately.”
Chapter 27 Mick – False Evidence Appearing Real
Fear courses through my entire body. As we practically run to the department, where the look on Sam’s face is one of intense pain. I am scared, we could be losing this baby now. The doctor on duty immediately brings us in and conducts an examination.
“Let’s get you to an ultrasound machine. We need to see what’s going on.”
“Is everything okay?” Sam whimpers.
“We don’t have enough information yet. Time is of the essence.”
Tears begin to flow from Sam’s eyes as I hold her hand. Sam gets onto the bed with some difficulty as the technician puts jelly on her stomach. My feelings regarding having a child are all clarified in one simple moment. I was not sure just how much I wanted that child until I thought it would not be OK. As I watch the technician search for my unborn child, a flicker appears on the screen. It’s a heartbeat.
“That’s good, right, doctor?” I ask.
“Yes, that part is good. The concern is your water has broken.”
We wait for what seems like hours, but it must have only been a few minutes.
“Ah, there it is,” the doctor says at last.
“There what is?” Sam replies.
“It seems you have a gall stone.”
She frowns. “What?”
“Thankfully, these two things are not related. You have gall stones, which can cause tremendous abdominal pain. The liquid was not amniotic fluid—it was most likely urine. A reaction to the pain, or to the pregnancy and an inability to control your bladder. All good news, guys. Everything is okay here. Use Tylenol for the pain, these stones will pass.”
What an anticlimactic ending. Just like that the fear is over. What is left to be said? “Thank you, doctor.”
I am going to ensure that no ill ever comes to my child. All of my life comes into perspective in that one moment, and now I feel I have a purpose. I hug Sam and kiss her, and we share some tears of joy as we leave the hospital to prepare for the next day.
***
I awake early to prepare. This contest is a strange one, as it is a one-day competition. Kind of an “all or nothing” challenge. There’s a lot riding on this for me and my impending family. Sam and I make our way down to the beach.
“Good luck, Mick,” she tells me. “I know you will do great things.”
“I love you, Sam. Truly, I do.”
Just then, Jaime walks over with his prodigy. He makes a face. “Aww, how cute. Love. Are you ready to lose, Mick?”
“I am just here to surf. Nothing more, nothing less.”
“Are you going to use that old crappy board? Looks like its a hundred years old.”
“Yup.”
Jaime laughs. “You’ve changed, man. Doesn’t bother me. I have a nice place in my driveway picked out for my new car.”
“An asshole to the end, eh, Jaime?”
Jaime begins ranting and raving at me, but I have already walked away. The beach is packed as the announcers introduce all of the surfers on the beach. This is an invitational contest, so it’s a small field. The waves are big today, really big. I can feel a lump in my throat as I hop in the water to paddle out. Jaime’s prodigy, Blane, catches the first wave. He’s a really good surfer. I’m unsure I can compete with that, but I have no choice. The announcer calls out:
“That was a ten-point wave, with a total score of 9.79”
I paddle into the next wave, cutting back as hard as I can. This is a great one, should be a good score. Looking back, I see the tube creeping up on me. I duck down as the wave comes overhead and surrounds me. I stay in for as long as I can, then rocket out to the crowd, cheering and yelling.
“Welcome back, Mick! We’ve missed you,” the announcer said. “9.70”
Crap, just a little off the pace. I’m unable to match that wave or ride for the rest of the time limit, but it’s enough to get me to the finals. It was now a two-horse race and I am going to have to really bring it on to win this next heat. Never have I wanted to win so badly in my life.
Sam is cheering as I come out of the water.
“You were so good out there. I am so proud of you.”
“It wasn’t enough, Sam. It wasn’t enough.”
“Well, it’s not over yet. You can beat this kid.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the weasel again. “You don’t have it anymore Mick,” Jaime says.
“Go fuck yourself, Jaime. You are the biggest low-life on the planet. There is no loyalty in you. I was your client for ten years. I made you who you are, the least you can do is not be an asshole.”
“Mick, when will you learn? It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish. I will always win, because I have all of you working for me. You will run out of time, or energy, or just not be good anymore. That is where we drop you. In fact, I am kinda glad this all happened. It saves me from having to get rid of you on my own. You were pretty much washed up, anyway.”
I leap to my feet and throw an errant punch at Jaime, barely missing his face.
“See?” he laughs. “You’re too slow to even hit a guy like me. Goodbye… loser!”
I have to watch him saunter away with my pride in his hand. There is nothing I can do except beat that kid. He’s right, though—it really doesn’t matter where I started. If I don’t win, I’m finished. I look over to Sam as she puts her arms around me in an attempt at consolation. I have to win. I have to!
I paddle out to meet the kid for perhaps the most important competition of my life. When I get there, he begins to speak.
“Hey, Mick, I know this may not mean a lot, but I am a big fan. You’re what got me in the water in the first place, and I just wanted to say that it is a real honor to surf with you.”
“Thanks, kid. Good luck.”
In any other moment, those words would have felt better. Knowing how much I had to lose, they almost stung.
Looking out to the water I notice the waves have really shrunk in size, which should favor me with my longer board. I watch as Blane catches the first one. This kid is good—his kickback’s amazing. Then he does the
unthinkable: he catches air and lands it, off that tiny wave. Shit! I can’t do that anymore. The score comes out over the loudspeaker.
“9.0.”
Wow, low score. Why would they score him so low? My wave is next. It’s a decent wave that I’m able to ride relatively well. I throw in some old school tricks, which make the crowd hoot and holler.
“9.1.”
I’m ahead, but not by much. The kid rides the next wave expertly. He is such a clean, technical surfer. He’s definitely better than I am, in this state.
“9.5.”
Okay, it’s performance time for me. I ride my next few waves, unable to meet or match his score.
The horn blows. Five minutes left. I have maybe one more chance to beat him. On his next wave, Blane receives a 9.8, which is as high a score as I have ever achieved, even at my best. It seems all may be for naught. I can’t beat that score. I slump into my board and accepted defeat.
As I lift my head, I look to shore and see Sam standing there. Her belly has started to protrude with our unborn child. I guess I could give up, but why should I? That would be no way to teach a child how to live. The least I can do is try.
Looking back, I see as perfect a wave as I have seen all session. I paddle in, and it is a big, powerful, charging wave. I make a few nice cutbacks and ride into the pipe. I realize, at this point, I am going to have to do something magical to win. I am going to try and air my board. I don’t know if I have the strength, but this will be my only chance.
On my next kickback, I power my way down the wave, increasing my speed, then cut sharply to the top of the wave. My board comes up and off of the wave to the cheering of the crowd. For a moment, I am weightless above the wave, looking down. I am going to land this. I am going to land this and win the competition.
I come back down into the wave hard, but my bum leg betrays me. As I crash down into the water, I feel numb. I close my eyes and let the wave bounce me around, almost not wanting to resurface. I’ve just lost the competition and about every penny I didn’t have. I have disappointed Sam, myself, and now my unborn child. I sadly swim to the beach to the cheering of the crowd. Everyone pats me on the back, saying how incredible that was. This definitely puts a damper on the plan I had for Sam, but it will not stop me from doing it.
Blane comes up to me and shakes my hand.
“Amazing, Mick, just amazing. You are an inspiration to us all.”
“Thanks, kid, you’re good, really good. You earned that win.”
Sam is next. She comes up from behind, hugging and squeezing me.
“You’re the best, Mick. We will find a way, I promise.”
Her reassuring words are all I need to carry on. My life has changed so dramatically in the past few months that all I really want is to have a little bit of money, teach surfing, and have Sam at my side. Moments later. my happiness is broken by the appearance of Jaime.
“Too bad, kid. Looks like you’re all washed up.”
A loud voice calls through the crowd and people begin shuffling out of the way. “Step aside, please, step aside.” Emerging from the crowd are more than ten police officers.
“Jaime Redman?”
“Yes?”
“You are under arrest for grand theft and fraud.”
“What are you talking about? This must be a mistake.”
“We have been investigating you for quite some time. I assure you, there is no mistake.”
I watch, as does the crowd, quite shocked as they cart Jaime away. His ranting and raving continues until he’s put into the car. Later, I learn he’s defrauding his clients out of millions of dollars by stealing the money from trust funds and investments. I’m just one person in a long line of people Jaime scammed.
As the action settles, the TV cameras circle around to interview me. Now it’s my moment.
“Mick, what’s it like to be back surfing?”
I grin. “I can only answer that one way.” Pulling Sam in closely, I bend down on one knee and reach into my wetsuit where I had placed the ring.
“Sam, we have had our ups and downs this past year, but you have always been the one to see me through. You give me the strength and power to carry on the fight, day in and day out. Without you, my life is incomplete. Money will come and go, but our love is forever. Would you do me the honor of being my surf buddy for life?”
Tears well up in Sam’s eyes as she covers her mouth with her hands. Then she leans down and kisses me, whispering, “Yes.”
Chapter 28 Samantha - Tomorrow
Mick and I have just welcomed our first child into the world, Tobin Anderson, II. He is a beautiful baby boy, and though it is a little tough, sometimes, we make it through our days together. When I return from my maternity leave, I will continue to teach people how to love surfing.
Mick still teaches there sometimes, but he has taken on Blane as a client in his new business representing and protecting surfers. Several other surfers have come to him, asking him to represent them, so that occupies most of his day. Our life is now a simple one, by design. We live in a small house by the water and enjoy the sunsets together, the three of us.
Our love is strong and continues to grow every day, without love we are nothing.
Surge : A Stepbrother Romance Page 13