“Climb on. I’ve got you.”
The first swell lifts the board, and every muscle locks, but she doesn’t let go.
“When the wave comes, you’ll paddle with short strokes, keep your chin up. I’ll tell you when. Just remember …”
“Palms. Toes. Pop up,” I say.
“Good job.”
I climb on, and a wave rolls under me, lifting me off the surface. My fingers grip the edges as I’m carried away.
“Now,” Wendy says.
I go in the order we practiced and try to stand. The board slides under my feet, and I’m up for two seconds before falling off.
I go underwater.
It closes over my head, and everything disappears. The wind, the seagulls, Wendy’s voice—it’s replaced by a muffled pressure that wraps around my body. For seconds, the world is dark and heavy. My feet find the sand, and I stand. She already has the board and is moving toward me.
“Not too bad,” she says.
“That was terrible.”
“You stood for two seconds on your first try. That takes most people an hour.” She holds it. “Need a minute, or are you ready to go again?”
“Let’s do it.”
I follow her out, and we go deeper. This time, I make it three seconds.
“Again,” she tells me.
Salt burns my eyes when I come up. We work on this for another twenty minutes.
“You have to relax,” Wendy says. “You can’t control the ocean. It moves, and you move with it. My surf instructor used to tell me this quote about letting the waves teach you, not take you. It’s up here.” She points to her temple. “You have the strength to do this. Ride it to the shore.”
“Okay.”
We tread water beside each other. Her leg bumps mine, and her long eyelashes are wet with the sea.
She smiles, glancing behind us. “This is the last one. Make it count. Hop on.”
I do as she said, and she starts swimming.
“Paddle!”
With all my strength, I do. The wave lifts me.
“Pop up!” she hollers.
Palms. Toes. Pop up.
I stand, keeping my feet where my hands were, keeping my balance and body in the center of the board. I slide across the water, and it feels like glass. Wendy whoops and hollers, swimming toward me as the board skids to the sand. I step off, and she’s clapping. I can’t stop grinning because I don’t remember the last time I felt this good.
“You’re a natural,” she says.
“Yeah? Show me what you’ve got,” I say. “I want to see.”
“Hmm. I dunno. Men tend to fall in love with me after they see me kick ass on a board.”
