For some reason, her weak answer doesn’t have me convinced. I remembered her fear of heights on the Tower Bridge, but thought being here on solid ground, far from the cliff's edge would be different.
“What’s that land over there? An island?” she asks as she stares across the English Channel, doing a nice job distracting herself.
“That’s actually France.”
She turns to me, surprised, and the grip she has on my hand slackens. I’m relieved that, at least for the moment, her anxiety has eased.
“Really?”
“Yes. You can’t always see it, but it’s a nice clear day, so there it is.” It’s a truly beautiful day, and the wind off the sea makes it nearly cool enough for a jacket.
“How far is it?”
“Hmm … something like twenty miles? Perhaps more, I’m not certain. There’s a sign over there.” I point to a sign on the fence, and I take a step toward it. Ivy doesn’t budge. I look at her and find her staring at something over my shoulder. I turn and find three teenagers over the fence, nearing the edge.
“Why are they doing that? What if one of them trips? Or even has a powerful sneeze? What if one of them is secretly mad—”
“Hey.” I turn and take her other hand. “None of that is going to happen.”
She has tears in her eyes. “You don’t know that. It could definitely happen.” Her eyes, which had been on mine, turn back to the teens. “We have to get them to come back.”
Ivy looks as if she is trying to move, then instead looks up at me. “Will you go closer to them? Still behind the fence. Maybe take off your glasses and hat so they recognize you. They’ll want to come away from the edge.”
I want to say something to her about the wisdom of me taking off my glasses near a cliff, but I refrain. “Okay, sure. You want to wait here?”
She nods and as I’m stepping away, I let go of her hand, or at least I try to. I look back at our hands, then up at Ivy.
“I guess I’m coming,” she says with an anxious and apologetic smile. I’m about to tell her something about not worrying or how sorry I am that I brought her here, knowing how bad the tower bridge was for her. Instead, she continues, “Let’s get a move on. There are lives to save.”
I lead Ivy slowly along the fence until we’re as close to the teens as we can get without crossing. I take off my glasses and hat, then look at Ivy. “I’m afraid of calling out and startling them.”
“See? Even you think anything could happen.” She stands slightly behind me, both arms wrapped around my arm. I swear I feel her heart pounding against my tricep.
I’m contemplating how to get their attention when one of them looks in our direction. I wave, then wave him toward us. He takes a couple of steps toward us, then recognition lights his face, and he calls for his friends.
“Alexander Henry,” the guy I waved at exclaims, in what I believe is a German accent, as he approaches. I notice Ivy relaxing her grip on my arm with each step they take closer.
“Hey, guys. I thought I’d say hi because my friend and I werea little worried about you all being so close to the edge.” I turn to Ivy and she’s looking up at me with the sweetest smile I’ve seen from her yet. I don’t want to look away, but one of the teens speaks.
“Ah. We’d have been fine. But I’m glad you waved. Really cool to meet you.”
“And,” a girl speaks up, “you care enough to hope we don’t die. That’s awesome.”
I’m about to open my mouth to tell them that while I do care, this was all Ivy, when Ivy speaks. “That’s just who he is. He cares.”
I look down at her with a teasing smile and lightly elbow her, which just sends her whole body backwards since she’s still holding on to me. It shouldn't have been a problem, but apparently her feet get tangled and despite her hold on my arm, she starts to fall. I turn and get my other arm behind her in the nick of time.
“See? Anything can happen. I’m glad we weren’t close to the edge,” she calls to the group from where her cheek is pressed against my chest. They don’t respond, and I don't know what their faces are doing because I’m too busy enjoying this moment with Ivy in my arms.
She steps out of my hold. “You guys want a picture with Alex?”
“We’d love that,” the girl responds. “Would you mind takingit?”
They climb over the fence and take several photos with me. Ivy seems to have forgotten where we are until the teens leave and the cliff’s edge is once again in the forefront of her vision.
“There’s a nature reserve where you can see the cliffs from below. Would you like to do that? I would have taken you there in the first place, but—”
“It’s totally fine. We saved at least one life today.”
