17

THE WEATHER ON THE DAYS following the storm was sublime. The sun warmed the air of the beach while the wind and ocean seemed to sleep.

The big haystack of a rock was more impressive up close, John had to admit. And the face of which Elgin had spoken was indeed steep and menacing. The water lapped at its bottom and it looked like a slumbering beast.

Katy and Connie played near the water, running from the larger waves. John had carried Lorraine from the van in the parking lot down to a chair on the beach. He and Oliver sat on either side of her. Lisa, Elgin, and Greg Yount sat on a blanket. They ate sandwiches and drank lemonade.

“I told Ruth we’d be here,” John said. “She said she’d try to make it.”

“I hope she does,” said Lorraine. “I’ve got to be sure she’s properly warned. Give her the benefit of my years.”

“I suppose I wouldn’t want her at a disadvantage,” said John.

Oliver, staring at the water, said, “Someone’s got to be at a disadvantage. Better the woman than the man. Believe me, I know.”

“He does,” Lorraine agreed

John heard the slamming shut of a car door but didn’t turn to look. Oliver did.

“Well, she made it,” he said. “And, good Lord!”

John looked and swallowed hard as she saw Ruth trotting toward them, wearing a tank top and cut-off jeans. John had seen her legs before, but not like this, not with other people around. Good Lord was right. Her knapsack bounced on her back while her breasts danced in front. He didn’t know how to feel. Proud? Embarrassed? Certainly he was embarrassed. But how would he have felt if she was fat and ugly? He stood to greet her.

“Hi, Lorraine. Oliver,” she said, coming off her hug from John.

“Hello, Ruthie,” Lorraine said. John liked the way she said her name.

Elgin and Yount stood.

“Ruth,” John said, “I’d like you to meet my son, Elgin.” He indicated Lisa with an open hand. “My daughter-in-law, Lisa. And Greg Yancey.”

“That’s Yount,” said Yount.

“I’m very pleased to meet you,” Elgin said and offered a teasing grin to his father.

John felt comfortable with his son’s chaffing, even welcomed it. He didn’t like the way Yount looked at Ruth.

“Beautiful day, isn’t it?” Lisa said.

“Gorgeous,” said Ruth.

Katy waved from the water, smiling and yelling something, but she didn’t come out.

“Come, have my chair,” John said.

John sat on the sand beside her. Lisa looked over often.

“Some weather the other night,” Oliver said.

“Apparently,” Ruth said. “I seem to have missed it.”

Lorraine placed a hand on the young woman’s arm. “I’ve appointed myself your protector and it’s my duty to warn you about men like John and my husband.”

“Yes?”

“They’re sly. If you ask them a question, they will assume that you expect only a semblance of the truth. So, they’ll give you the exact truth to confuse you.”

“And how do I handle this?”

“Expect lies.”

“Let’s hit it,” Yount said loudly, slapping Elgin’s leg and getting up to trot toward the rock. Elgin followed.

“Here we go again,” Lisa said, gathering loose cups and napkins from the blanket and stowing them in a paper sack.

The two men splashed through the surf and began their assault on the steep face. Yount seemed the more confident of the pair as he climbed ahead. Elgin searched for and carefully checked each handhold. Katy and Connie came up the beach and sat on the blanket. They all watched the progress silently. Elgin began to stall halfway up, his movements becoming less certain. John stood and took a couple of steps forward. He felt hollow, as if something was about to happen. He wanted Elgin to ease over to the more manageable slope. It appeared Elgin was doing just that when some rock crumbled under Yount’s foot. Yount fell. Elgin caught him around the legs, and for a fraction of a second, it looked as if he had stopped him. But they both fell. Katy screamed in the chorus of gasps behind John.

“Greg,” breathed Lisa.

John ran to them. The water was just over knee-deep. John plowed into the surf, fell, and was up again. Oliver was behind him. They pulled Elgin and Yount up on the beach. Yount was holding his arm and moaning. Elgin was not conscious. Katy was crying and Connie was staring, motionless.

“Oliver, get the kids up there,” John said.

Lisa was trembling. She knelt beside Elgin.

John looked around and saw Lorraine sitting alone. His eyes followed Ruth’s back as she ran away toward the parking lot. Good girl. She was going to call for help.

John studied his son. There was a bad break in his leg. He put his hands gently on his hip bones. He suspected Elgin’s pelvis was broken also. He checked his eyes: shock. “The blanket!”

The way Yount had kicked his way out of the water pretty much assured John that little was wrong with him beyond his broken arm or clavicle.

Elgin’s breathing was good and his pulse regular. Oliver came with the blanket. Ruth was just returning from the lot and Lorraine was comforting Katy.

John heard Lisa crying and turned to her. She averted her eyes, looking first at Elgin, then at the ocean. The wind was picking up, the sea was rougher, and the tide was beginning to creep in. There was nothing to say and the silence was a bad one. John hoped he hadn’t done his son damage when pulling him to safety.

The paramedics arrived. They put Elgin on a board. John and a sheriff’s deputy helped them carry him to the ambulance. Yount walked some yards behind them, comforting Lisa. Katy clung to her mother’s side.

Lisa rode in the ambulance with the two injured. John said he’d bring the car and Katy to the hospital in Newport. He watched the flashing light move away and he remembered Lorraine and Oliver on the beach. He stepped to the edge of the parking lot and saw Ruth and Oliver trying to bring the older woman up the slope.

“I’ll give them a hand,” the deputy said. “You go on.”

“Thank you.”

“You okay to drive?” he asked as an afterthought. “I could take you.”

“I’m fine.” He hugged Katy to his leg. “Let’s go so we can be sure they make your daddy comfortable.”