Shark Lover (20 page)

“Yes,
but it’s not just any old Thursday. Don’t you remember?” He asked looking at
his dad with curious eyes.

“Hmmmm
is it Fourth of July already? Boy the summer went fast this year.” He put his
reading glasses on top of his head leaving a mark in his curly brown hair. He
then set down his newspaper and went over to the sink to wash the ink off of
his hands.

“Dad,
it’s not Fourth of July!” Marc said anxiously.

“Well
then it must be your birthday Son. I knew all along. Do you want your present
now or later?” His dark brown eyes questioned his son.

“Now
Dad! I want it now. I have been waiting months for my birthday. I know you have
a really good surprise for me and I am ready for it now.” His voice rang with
anticipation.

“Alright.
Now close your eyes while I go get it. And make sure that you keep them closed.
It’s important so that you don’t ruin the surprise. Why don’t you count to
thirteen while I go pull it out?”

“Dad
this is really silly. I’m a teenager now. I don’t want to play silly games. I
just want to see my present.” Marc whined.

“Come
on Marc, do it. I promise it will be worth it. I’ll help you start and you
carry on. One….”

Fine
Dad, but I am only doing it because I really want to see what you got me.
Two…three…four…five.”

He
could hear his dad digging through the closet searching for his gift. He opened
his eyes slightly and stepped over to the right of the kitchen to get a peek of
what his dad was looking for.

“Marc,
no peeking! Now step back behind the wall, close your eyes and keep counting.”
His father yelled from the closet sounding muffled.

“I
am Dad!” he called back to him. “Six…seven…eight…nine…ten…eleven. Did you
almost find it?”

“Yep,
I have it. Finish the counting.” His father directed.

“Twelve…thirteen.
Okay Dad where is it?” He asked in annoyance.

“Surprise!!!!”
He yelled as he pulled a large surfboard with a big red bow wrapped around it out
from behind his back.

“Wow
Dad, this is awesome! It’s the board that I wanted since I was six years old.”
He screamed at the top of his lungs while jumping up and down. In an announcer
voice he said, “The Rip Curl 5 Speed, the only board for surfers who want to be
true pros.”

His
father chuckled at his impression. “I’m glad you like it Son. I had it
customized a few months ago.”

“Like
it? Are you kidding? I love it! I love it! I love it!” He seized the board
closer to him as he admired the paint. “Red is my favorite color and I love
this blue wave decal going down the middle. This is the best gift that I have
ever gotten.” He held his chin as he thought about that for a moment. “Yep,
definitely best gift I have ever gotten.”

“Really
the best gift you have ever gotten? What about that year when I drove three
hours to get that special wetsuit you wanted? Or what about when you were five
years old and I bought you that hamster that you just had to have? Or what
about…”

“Dad,
stop!” He laughed as he cut his father off. “Those were all great gifts too.
It’s just that I wanted this for such a long time and now that I finally have
it, it’s like a dream. I feel like any minute now I am going to wake up and
just bawl my eyes out because this is just a dream.”

“It’s
not a dream Son, this piece of surfing gold is yours to keep. Bring it here and
let me wax it before you use it so that the ride will be smoother.” He grabbed
the wax out of the kitchen drawer and took the board from his son’s grasp.

“Be
careful with it Dad. It’s so perfect. I don’t want anything to happen to it.”
He looked longingly over at his new gift as his father polished it. “It looks
even better from a distance.” He sighed. “I miss it.”

“Don’t
worry. I won’t hurt it Son. It misses you too.” He said with a smile. “Now go
get ready for surf camp. I’m sure all the kids will be impressed by your new
board. You will be the cool kid on the block.” He raised his eyebrows and made
a face.

Marc
giggled as he tried to look at his dad with a straight face. “Dad, you are such
a dork, but I love you. Thanks for the gift it was awesome.” He walked closer
to the stairs and started going up. “This was the best birthday yet.”

“I
love you more Son. And I am glad. It was a great day for me too. Even though it
wasn’t my birthday.” He said with a smirk.

“Dad,
you’re funny. I ’ma get dressed and take my board to camp. I can’t wait to see
how it rides in the water.” He ran up the stairs, thinking about how lucky he
was to have the board he always wanted. He looked back at his father in the
kitchen, polishing the board and thought to himself that he was even luckier to
have an incredible dad like him.

“It’s
really something else. I bet it’s a smooth ride in the water. I never surfed,
so I wouldn’t really know a good board from a bad one. But this board is
remarkable. There is something about it that draws me to it. I don’t know what
it is, but it just catches my eye for some reason,” She stated glancing down at
her toes and then looked back up at Marc directly in the eyes. “It’s great that
you and your dad were so close. I can tell that you really loved him.” Cathy
said as she intervened by stroking his neck slowly.

Marc
set the board down and moved closer into her touch. “It is a great board. I
haven’t rode it much, but the times that I did, it was amazing. It was smooth
and perfect. I haven’t rode it or even touched it really since my dad passed away
and yes we were close. We were just alike. I loved him very much.” He pulled
her into his arms as he sat down on the bed. “And I love you very much.” He
whispered in her ear.

“You
should ride it again. I think it would make your father proud.” She leaned it
to kiss him. “I love you more.”

“Maybe
I will this weekend. I might take it up to Stinson Beach. I haven’t rode there
since he died. You can come too if you want. It could be fun.” He said as he
poked her stomach.

“I
would love to. It would be my pleasure.” She said as he pulled her down into
the bed.

He
looked at the board as it sat next to his door. The last time he had surfed had
been with Tony and that had been so many years ago. He didn’t know if he was
really ready to try again or not, but with Cathy’s encouragement he truly
thought that he could do it. He tightened his grip around her as he held her
close to his body. He felt like he could lay like this with her forever. He
didn’t want to let go of her. Her hair was touching his neck and he could smell
the sweet scent of her. She smelled of fresh-kissed strawberries and perfume.
He kissed her neck lightly as he heard her murmur in pleasure.

“Do
that again.” She whispered softly as she lifted her hands up and drew him
closer to her body.

“I
will.” He whispered back and started kissing her all down her neck and to the
lower part of her chest where her heart lay beating faster and faster with each
touch.

“I
like that.” She said as she turned around and kissed him on the mouth with
passion as he still held her tightly in his arms.

“I
know you do,” He replied in-between kisses. “What about the steamed veggies? I
just finished cooking them for you. Are you hungry?”

“We
can always heat them back up again in a minute.” She pulled away from him and
looked him in the eye with a ravenous glair. By the look in her eyes, he knew
that there was no turning back now. Cathy always got what she wanted. “Come
closer to me.” She said as she pulled him back towards her and lifted up his
shirt. She started kissing his chest and vaulted on top of him to be in
control. Taking off his shirt, she started massaging his chest and his arms
with the palms of her hands. From his expression, she could tell that he liked
it and he wanted more.

He
held her snugly in his arms in the dim light after they had made love. The
blinds were closed and let in pickets of sunlight from the outside world that
he had forgotten existed. Restless and tired, he figured his thoughts would
have went away by now but he was still thinking about the red board that laid
by the door. Nothing could take away the significance of what that board meant
to him. It was more than a surfboard to him, it was the last piece that he had
of his dad’s life.

“Dad?”
He called down the stairs, starting the daily hunt for his father. Every
morning he never knew exactly where his father would be or where he would find
him. His father was a wonderer and never stayed in one place for long. “Mom?”
He wondered if his mom would still be home. He knew she usually didn’t go into the
vet’s office until later in the day. She always stayed home with him until he
went to school. He loved the lunches that she would pack for him. All of his
friends were always envious of his gourmet lunch foods. If his mom wasn’t a
veterinarian, she would have made an amazing cook.

“Marc?
Is that you dear?” She called back from what seemed to be the kitchen based on
the echo that Marc heard.

“Yes,
Mom it’s me. Have you seen Dad? Did he leave for the beach without me?” He
probed as he started walking down the stairs.

“Why
don’t you come down here and I’ll explain.”

He
walked right behind her as he said, “I already beat you to it, I’m here. Did
you pack my lunch yet Mom?”

“It’s
Saturday, Marc.” She said without glancing up from her cookbook.

“Oh
right.” He smacked his forehead with his hand. He didn’t know how he had gotten
the days mixed up. Lately all of his days seemed to be running together for
some reason. He couldn’t keep the school days straight from his days off, which
was unusual for a teen in school. All his friends never lost track of when the
weekend was. The weekend meant free time to surf for them. “What are you
cooking?”

“I’m
trying out this new recipe that I found in this cookbook your father gave me
for my birthday last year. It’s strawberry and cinnamon pancakes with a hint of
ginger.” She stirred the batter bowl with her whisk briskly.

“Mmmmm,
that sounds good.” He licked his chops as he felt his stomach growl. It was
just like his mother to experiment with new recipes. She was adventurous and
fearless when it came to food. She was often bored with recipes and was
continually trying out new ones. 

She
finished mixing the batter with the whisk and put a small portion into the
skillet. He could smell the sweet scent of strawberries mixed with cinnamon and
ginger as it lightly burned on the stove. Just the smell alone was making his
stomach want food even more. He hadn’t even realized how hungry he was until
his mom took the pancake off the skillet and put it onto a plate in front of his
face. He could see the steam flying off from it as sat right under his nose.
The aroma was too much, he took his fork and started digging in.

“Careful
there Marc, it’s really hot.” She warned him, interrupting his first bite of
deliciousness.

He
blew softly on the pancake before taking a quick bite. He figured it would be
cooled off by now, but boy was he wrong. He ended up spitting it out quickly
and reached for his orange juice, taking a huge gulp. He could feel his tongue
inside his mouth, it felt as if it was on fire. He drank more orange juice to
cool the burning sensation in his mouth, but the feeling wouldn’t go away.

His
mother gave him an “I-told-you-so” look as she looked at her son. “Are you okay
Marc?”

“It
was just a little hot, but it’s delicious Mom. Best pancake I ever had.” He
smiled while taking another bite of the pancake, now that it was cooler. His
mother was always right. It hadn’t taken him long to figure that out. When it
came to life, mothers just had a way of knowing best. He was grateful that the
pancake had finally cooled down and he could gobble it up as quickly as his
stomach instructed him to. His mother was a wonderful cook, no doubt about
that. “So Mom where’s Dad? I noticed that my surfboard is no longer in my room.
Did he leave without me? Usually he never leaves without me. I don’t understand
why he just didn’t come into my room and wake me up.”

“Well,
Marc let me explain for your father. You know he went to Stinson Beach right?”
She looked down at her hands and twiddled her fingers. Marc could tell by her
expression and her body language, that what she was about to say wouldn’t be
good news for him.

“Yes,
what’s wrong? Why can’t I come?” He questioned his mother as his expression
turned muddled.

“Well
there’s been a big problem there lately with sharks. Two people have already
been attacked this week. I told him not to go, but you know how your father is.
Whenever he sets his sights on something, he never gives up. I’m not even sure
why he would still go up there with some of his friends. I guess since most of
the shark attacks were earlier in the week, they figured it would be safe by
now. He didn’t wake you up because I didn’t want you to go with him. It’s too
dangerous. I tried to stop him from leaving, but nothing I said could make him
stay. He was dead-set on going.” She turned away as her face filled with regret
and some other emotion that Marc couldn’t figure out.