When we took a break, taking turns to dive deep into the sparkling water, I decided to dig a bit more into her life.
‘So, tell me aboutLa Vague d’Or,’ I said. ‘What happened last year?’
‘I came fourth, by half a point. So I did not qualify for sponsorship last year. That’s it,’ Delphine said.
‘Oh, OK,’ I said, wondering if she would elaborate. I’d seen her surf – there was no way that there were three people better than her. She looked at me like she was deciding whether or not to share. Then she sighed.
‘One of the competitors was the daughter of the judge. The points went in her favour. But I cannot use that as an excuse for my whole life. I just need to train harder,’ Delphine said. I respected that. How she was trying to move on from a ready-made explanation as to why she didn’t make it.
‘No bullshit,’ I said.
And Delphine smiled. I don’t know why she didn’t smile more, because her whole face lit up. ‘Exactement,’ she replied, ‘no bullshit,’ and splashed me from her board. ‘You keeptraining like this and you will definitely be ready forLa Vague d’Or.’
‘You really think so?’
‘I know it. Really.’ Delphine rolled her eyes and splashed me again, and my chest almost burst with pride. Coming from Delphine, this was huge. ‘Why else do you think I would be training you for the qualifier?’
‘La Vague D’Or… it’s in September?’ I asked.
‘Yes.’ Delphine nodded.
‘I mean, I’m supposed to be leaving soon, but …’ I said, thinking about the possibility.
‘But? You are eighteen,non?’ Delphine offered.
‘Ouais,’ I replied.
‘You can make your own decision,’ Delphine said, like it was simple. ‘But think about it. I think you will qualify. You are a natural.’ Then she paddled hard towards the shore and caught another wave, leaving me floating in salted bliss, imagining competing in a surf competition. Me?
I surfed another few waves then followed Delphine out of the water and we sat down, exhausted, on the sand.
‘I will see you back here later? Five p.m.? For strength work. And there is a barbecue tonight, at South Cove. You should come. All the hopefuls forLa Vague d’Orwill be there. And all the hope-less too.’ Delphine grinned, and I laughed in shock at her telling a joke.
‘I will come … but will Antoine be there?’
Delphine shrugged. ‘Bien sûr.But I will cover for you. If you are serious about this?’ She looked me in the eye as I squeezed salt water from my hair on to the sand.
‘I’m serious,’ I said without hesitation.
‘Bon.I will see you later. In the meantime, I need you to eat properly. Real food, a lot of protein.’
‘I remember. From swimming.’ I thought back to all the spaghetti, the Greek yoghurt, the eggs, the smoothies.
Delphine nodded briefly. ‘Good.’
‘Why are you doing this for me?’ I asked, genuinely curious. ‘Because I nearly drowned?’
Delphine exhaled. ‘Ahnon, all surfers will have a scary experience.’
‘Then why?’ I pushed.
‘Your sister,’ she said, before pulling the rash vest over her head.
‘My sister?’ I repeated. Confused.
‘I have a cousin withla paralysie cérébrale. It is much more severe than Rue. It impressed me. How you are with her. How you do not treat her differently. It can be hard. And I understand that there is a difficult balance, so that you might not want to shine too brightly. A guilt maybe? I am not sure, but I have felt it too. And when someone saw potential in me, they trained me and let me focus on myself even though I had been raised to always put family first.’
‘I didn’t know –’
