Present: Day Five at Sea
“Watch her head,” I tell Beth when I get to the bottom of the steps, holding Gigi’s lower legs between my arms.
My words are too late. The floor dips when Beth steps onto the top stair. I wince at the sound of Gigi’s head smacking against the companionway wall.
“You got her?” I step backward, keeping hold of Gigi’s long legs as Beth descends the rest of the steps with her arms hooked beneath Gigi’s armpits.
“Yeah,” Beth grunts.
Despite being pudgy in high school, Beth is now much fitter than I am. She started working out regularly after graduation, and unlike me, she never stopped.
Once everyone accepted there was nothing more we could do for Gigi, Emma and Adam went to reattach the boom vang and bring down the rest of the mainsail, tasking Beth and me with untangling the storm jib. But first, Beth and I had argued over what to do with Gigi’s body.
When Beth reaches the cabin floor, I pivot so she can carry Gigi headfirst into Gigi’s stateroom.
“This is going to be even harder if we have to carry her body back up,” I say, already regretting our decision.
“It just doesn’t seem right to stuff her into the bench seats or a compartment on deck.”
“I know.” I lay Gigi’s lower half onto her bed as Beth lays her head to rest on her pillow.
Beth wipes a bead of sweat from her brow.
“But we may not have a choice if she starts to smell.” I already warned Beth about how quickly Gigi’s body would decompose, which was why I thought we should stow her somewhere on deck.
“We’ll be back to the mainland or rescued by then.” Beth tears her watery gaze from Gigi.
I don’t share Beth’s optimism, but I don’t see any point in saying so.
I glance at Gigi’s corpse. Noting my lack of emotion, I worry that something is wrong with me. As a nurse, I’m used to compartmentalizing while I do my job. But this is different. I feel numb, in disbelief that our childhood friend is dead.
“Wait,” I say when Beth backs away from the bed. “Let’s tuck her in so she doesn’t roll off.”
Beth exhales before nodding.
“I’ll turn Gigi on her side while you adjust the bedding.” It’s not my first time moving a dead body, although this is much more difficult than dealing with a stranger. But Beth is visibly more shaken than I am.
“Let’s switch places.” I slide past Beth. When I turn Gigi onto her side, I’m finally hit by a wave of emotion. I tear my eyes away from her pale, lifeless face and try to stay focused on the task of properly storing her body rather than thinking about my beautiful childhood friend being gone.
I see a bulge in the zipped pocket of Gigi’s sweatshirt. I look at Beth as she reaches over and unzips the pocket, taking something out. “Palmer.” She stands, opening what looks like a man’s wallet.
I inhale sharply, recognizing the man’s face on the driver’s license photo. The man in the photo is unmistakably Adam except that his hair is red, not brown.
“His name’s not Adam,” Beth says, staring at the ID. “It’s Russell.”
I flick my gaze to the name, sucking in a breath.
“Russell Vance,” I read aloud.
“He’s Courtney’s older brother.” Beth taps her finger on the license photo.
“No, he can’t be. It has to be a coincidence. Vance is a common name, and ...”
“Palmer, look at him.”
I do, but I’ve already realized she’s right. None of us had seen Courtney’s older brother since we were in grade school. He was seven years older and had been deployed in Iraq through our middle school and high school years. I recall his hair being a matching shade of red to Courtney’s, just as it was in his license photo. He must’ve dyed it brown so we wouldn’t recognize him. But now that I look at him, I can see it. He even has Courtney’s eyes. “You’re right.” I cover my mouth with my hand.
“Courtney got the idea for us to go on that rafting trip from him, remember? I saw an old family photo of him in Courtney’s parents’ house once. I thought he looked familiar, too, after you said so, but I couldn’t place it until now.”
