I laugh, nerves battling with a youthful anticipation. When I was young, I loved stuff like this. Amusement park thrills were among my favorites; it didn’t matter how fast, how high, or how terrifying. If the ride was there, I’d take it.
The water is growing even louder now. I lean to see around the bend, excitement welling in my chest.
Liam releases my hand. "Here, take hold of your stick with both hands and go just ahead of me so I can make sure you're safe. I'll stay close, but you don't want me and Bessie weighing you down. Don't tell her I said this, but she's getting a little fat."
I grin, take my stick with both hands, and focus on the glistening falls ahead. It does drop off, probably two to three feet, from the looks of what lies beyond, but I can't exactly be sure from this perspective. All I know is that the kids made it through just fine, so I'm going to enjoy it.
I get closer to the edge of the falls, where the water is white and foamy against my feet, alerting me of what's to come. I balance on the edge for just a moment, then use my stick to nudge myself, ever so gently, over the crucial edge.
The water does the rest, pulling me down with a great whoosh and earning a delighted squeal.
"That's my girl!” Liam belts out a yelp as he crashes down behind me. "Woo hoo, what a ride!"
My smile is as wide as my face. I can feel it. I shake my head to clear the droplets from my lashes and prepare for more of the same.
"Okay, Ash, get ready because we’re going to hit two more of those babies, back to back. We call it the double dip. You ready?"
Exhilaration shoots through me from head to water-drenched foot. My smile can't get any wider. "I'm ready, baby! Let's do it!"
I use the stick to push off, and ride on the crest of the crashing waves. Soon, I spot them, the two falls. This time, the fear is gone. I push off from the riverbed, propelling myself faster, and go speeding toward the first dip—splash—down the second dip—splash—and let out another squeal as water rushes in from every angle, leaving me drenched and delighted and giggling like a child.
It’s deeper here at the base, a fact I realize when my stick no longer reaches the bottom. Fortunately, the river isn’t moving much. It seems to slow in the wake of the dips, allowing me to easily spin around and watch for Liam as he approaches the falls himself.
“Nice job, Mama,” I hear Lucy say. At first, I think she’s ahead of me on the river, but it doesn’t take long for me to realize that the group is now standing along the edge; we’ve officially made it back to camp. This is where we get off.
“Go, Dad!” Cam calls.
“Woo hoo,” his nephew Parker hollers next. “Uncle Liam and Bessie are at the double dip!”
Liam, who always knew how to ham it up in front of a crowd, rises to the occasion. It’s his chance to perform, something I bet he did often to make his kids laugh when they were little.
I laugh, too, watching as he swings one arm wildly overhead like he's about to hogtie a rowdy buck. He clutches his beast around the neck, and I realize he’s abandoned his stick.
“Giddy up, Bessie, giddy up!" Even as he says it, I am urging myself away from the leafy twigs and branches, keeping my tube in the clear.
Liam lets out another yelp as he drops down one with a mighty splash. The group cheers in response as he’s thrust down the next fall where the water is deeper and the fall is greater, I realize from this point of view.
Maybe it’s just that he caught more air than I did; I’m not exactly sure. All I know is that a loud boom sounds when he lands. Suddenly, Bessie grows bigger, seeming to split open and turn in on itself, devouring its occupant whole. Liam is thrust beneath the splashing currents, leaving a view on the surface that looks like a massive belly button.
"Liam!” I gasp.
I don’t register what’s happening until the sight becomes oddly familiar. As in, the-video-clip-Lucy-showed-me familiar.
A loud rumble sounds like the deep belly of a beast. And suddenly, the scene of Liam landing plays out in reverse as he gets thrust up and out of the puckered spot on the surface with a jolt.
Liam scrambles to his feet and pats around the area before him, eyes wide and surprised. What’s left of Bessie shrivels in on itself, the lifeless corpse circling the spot like it’s headed down a drain. Liam circles in place as well, just missing it as he turns. At last, he stops and looks at me, alarmed.
"Where she’d go?"
I assume he's looking for Bessie at her full and glorious size—the prized pool floaty she was meant to be.
I pull a cringe face and point to the sad remains now floating downstream.
Liam throws his head back. "Dang it, Bessie, we were supposed to make it through this together."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Liam
