“Who is the most important person in your life right at this moment, Joe?” Marty sat back and stared out at the fishing boats closing in on the harbour.
“Me,” Joe replied. “Are you surprised by that?”
Marty shook his head. “Joe, that’s why your life is always so complicated. You’re losing the message here. It’s staring you in the face.”
“What are you talking about?” Joe asked brazenly.
“If you don’t think about yourself so much, leave a bit of time for other people, life becomes a real joy. You begin to see things, things you never knew existed.”
“Like what?”
“Like other people’s love for you. Like the happiness you bring them which they return.”
Joe threw his hands up in the air. “You’ve lost me.”
“Let me explain something to you. I have a son who’s a few years older than you. You might as well be him, Joe. You’re cheeky and you’re stubborn. You won’t take advice. All my life I tried to fill that boy’s head with some decent attitude. All I got for it was abuse. He called me every name under the sun. I should have thrown him out of the house, but I couldn’t because I loved him. He was my own flesh and blood. I kept asking God to change him. I kept hoping I would wake up some morning and he would be different. He was the coldest, most hurtful person I knew. I kept blaming myself for the way he turned out. I told myself I must have done something wrong when he was a young kid and this was the result. I felt I was responsible for his cruel, greedy, narrow outlook on life. It took something awful for that to change.”
Marty stopped talking. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. He muttered something and started to shake his head.
Joe moved up a couple of inches, watching the old man. “Don’t stop now, Marty. What happened?”
Marty looked up. He fixed his gaze on a spot out at sea. “Out there. He asked if he could come out on the boat with me early one morning. He had a day off school. I told his mother I’d look after him. Everything was going well. We were about three miles offshore. The water was getting very choppy. He was complaining about feeling unwell. I told him to stand up at the front of the boat. Keep your eyes focused on the horizon, I told him. It’ll settle your head. He was away standing up at the front. He thought he knew everything. He knew nothing about the sea. I always told him we had to show respect for the sea. It’s far more powerful than we are, bigger and stronger. It can decide whether to let us live, or …”
Marty didn’t finish what he was saying. He just brought his hands up to his face.
“What happened?” Joe asked, in a well-mannered way.
“Just as we banked over a sharp crest, a gust of wind blew him hard. He tripped on some fishing net on the bottom of the boat. He lost his balance and went over the side, right over the bow of the boat. I was out of the wheelhouse in a couple of seconds. I roared to the lads to throw the engines into reverse. It was only when I looked over the side that I realised how rough the sea was. Force four, maybe five. I jumped in close on the spot I reckoned he’d fallen in. I couldn’t see him for ages. The water was crippling cold. I couldn’t swim against the current. All the time I felt myself being sucked under. Then I saw him. He was down about fifteen feet. I took a deep breath and dived, hoping and praying I might reach him before my lungs exploded. It was inky black. I could barely see my hands.”
Marty wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Did you reach him?” Joe asked.
“Yes, thank God. It seemed to take ages. Seconds were like minutes. I felt like I’d been under the water for half an hour. All the time I was thinking of how much he was praying that I’d seen him going over. I knew he would be trying to call my name. Once I actually shouted his name, losing all the air I’d been trying to hold on to. I felt like I was choking to death, all the air sucked out of me.”
“Was he OK?”
“Yes. The three lads on the boat pulled him back in. One of them had jumped in after me. He was OK after a few minutes. He had just swallowed a lot of water.” Marty cleared his throat. “It’s strange. I can see how much he has changed as a result of what happened to him that morning. And it shouldn’t have to take something as awful as that to make you realise that life is here to be shared.”
“Oh yes, I see him every day. He lives in a town a few miles up the road from here. He’s married now with a couple of boys of his own. He’s a lot different these days. He knows the pain of loss. He’s had his own fair share of hardships that he’s had to learn to deal with on his own. And you know, Joe, there’s nothing like an emergency to make you realise who’s important to you and, more importantly, who you love.”
Marty left it at that.