The Wave by Kristen Crusoe (smallest ebook reader txt) 📕

‘Did Carli make it back home?’ Rhys asked, taking a long, last sip of his coffee. The remnants of an omelet pushed aside as he leaned forward, elbows resting on a bright yellow place mat. His hair, once a rich brown, now flecked with gray and silver, fell boyishly over his forehead. He flicked it back with his free hand.

Feeling suddenly uneasy, the sirens, remembering, Sawyer stood up, jostling the table.

‘She said she was coming home but I don’t know for sure. She might have stayed in town at Meredith’s. I’ll check.’

Their daughter’s room was at the top of a flight of steep, narrow stairs. This old river house, built at the turn of the century, was impossible to heat in winter. Sawyer shivered and pulled her fleece robe tighter around her as she navigated the dim stairway and then the hall, to Carli’s room. Light filtered in through the skylight, revealing an empty, made up bed. Hesitating a moment, taking in the feminine patterns and colors, lilacs and yellows, fluffy pillows, taking up space along with stuffed animals, Sawyer felt a first tinge of concern. Brushing it away, she hurried back down the stairs.

‘I think she must be in town, not wanting to drive all the way out here after the party. She said it would be a late night, some kind of club initiation, you know, the dancers and their theatrics.’

She shrugged her shoulders as she said this, acting lighthearted, but inside she felt a burning sensation, like acid. She began busying herself with wiping down the long granite counter top with a sponge.

‘Did she call, text?’ Rhys asked, as he scrolled through his own phone, looking for any messages or missed calls.

‘No, but, that’s not too odd, she knows we go to bed early and she wouldn’t want to wake us.’ Her answer ended on a lilt, as though asking a question rather than giving a fact.

Needing to keep moving, Sawyer began picking up their dishes from the table, carrying them to the sink. She turned and leaned against the counter, her face showing her growing concern. She crossed her arms across her chest. The morning sunlight was beginning to shine through the white lace curtains, warming her back.

‘Even though we’ve told her over and over that we don’t mind. I’ll just wait a bit, too early to call her. I’m sure she’s sleeping. These kids she’s with now, they’re good kids. I don’t worry about them. Nothing like the ones from before,’ she said, turning around and looking out over the river, high now with the winter rains.

She didn’t want to alarm Rhys. Maybe he was doing the same for her? she considered. That was how it had been before, both of them pretending until it was too late. Or, almost too late. Carli had survived and so had they, as a family.

‘Sawyer, do these kids know about Carli?’ Rhys asked.

Sawyer turned her head, looking at him. Seeing fear displayed in his eyes, his mouth, a tight line, and shoulders, reaching up towards his ears, she trembled.

‘I don’t think so, but Carli’s so private. She doesn’t talk about it much to me, just seems to be happy and enjoying her life here. That’s all I care about.’ Sawyer replied, picking up a red checked towel from the dish drain beside the sink, and twisting it around and around in her hands.

‘I guess. I still worry about it. Kids can be so cruel,’ Rhys said, pushing away from the table. He walked over to the counter, standing next to Sawyer, looking out the window. ‘She’s OK, I would know it if she wasn’t, in here you know,’ he said, pointing to his heart.

The grassy bank leading down to the river was frosty. Leaves shimmered with dripping ice, creating a prism of rainbows as the sun crested the coastal range mountains to the east.

More sirens, different ones now. Their house was only a few miles from the beach, where accidents happened frequently, especially this time of year. Drownings as people underestimated the strength of the surf; sneaker waves washing sightseers off rocks, into the ocean; wrecks as people partied, smoked, drank and then tried to drive. The narrow, twisting roads, called the Seven Devils for good reason, could be treacherous.

They turned towards each other, bodies leaning together, as they had been doing for over twenty years. Sawyer looked up, smiled at him with a look of relief, that the sirens weren’t for them.

‘Yes, I know,’ she said, snuggling into his chest, wrapping her arms tighter around his body, enjoying his heat.

The sound of the Coast Guard helicopter’s big rotary blades captured their attention, their gazes returning to the window. Looking west, towards the ocean, they could see it making wide circles, over the shoreline.

‘Must be doing some training,’ Rhys said, gently releasing his arms from around Sawyer. ‘I’m going to get dressed, maybe get in some golf today. It’s supposed to warm up later. Want to come?’

‘No, I’ll stay here, wait for Carli. I want to hear all about her night. I’ll run into town, get something special for dinner. It’s her last free evening before school starts again,’ Sawyer answered, pushing her curly auburn hair back from her face. ‘Maybe I’ll go for a swim at the club. You go ahead, I’ll finish up here.’

As she began to rinse their dishes, her phone, laying on the counter, beeped a notification. Rhys’s echoed, the incessant noise shattering the morning’s peace, and their world.