“Tip to me?”
I look down. “Keep your shoes on. Stay low and do the coffee cup stance to help you navigate the board. When you popup, I’ll move to your left flank and stay with you.”
He looks at me for a good ten seconds then nods once.
Jordan asks, “Why the shoes?”
“For me, so the brace won’t slip on the board. For Alder, he’s new to this and won’t know how to hold the board with his feet. He’s light and probably hasn’t been skiing or boarding.” I shrug.
He turns to Citiali. “Shoes or not.”
“I surf, so no. New to it, I would wear them for the same reasons LP should. Second time I’d lose the shoes; your feet will do the gripping naturally. First run is to learn how to pop up.”
Jordan loses the shoes; Stella keeps them on. Silva and Barber are on the wall and I see Moss at the end of it watching the stairway.
I paddle, noting how Alder mimics me before he moves up to my right side. I slow and paddle until he’s up, the LP is like the Charlie’s Angel and pops up on his second try without looking back. I push and stay on his left flank hearing his little giggle.
Stella and Jordan are up on the other side of the pool. “Boss Hud, picture to my Web.” Alder acting younger is cute.
“They had pictures in the brochure, from the front, it looked like.” Cruises have pictures for everything, like Disney. I’ll buy his for him. His Web is like his dad or older brother. Tats says he’s still like a kid with stuff like that. It is cute.
He turns toward me while his board is facing forward and it looks like he walks off the board more than falls. I dive right for him and lift him up, so glad I stayed close.
“I lifeguard certify.” He doesn’t sputter or even look like he was holding his breath.
I look up, then back at him. “I didn’t get a bio on you, I think even if I did, I’d pull you out. Why’d you walk off the board?”
“I go ask where picture…” He looks at the top of the wall where Security moved to see that he’s okay. “Boss Moss, ABSZ IT get drone for picture, I surf.”
Moss puts a thumb up and pulls his phone.
I shake my head. “Just get a drone here for all of them and the workings of the wave pool so he can build one.” He’s got a body cam on and Asa sent pics of the surf pool to Citiali, but I leave it alone.
Moss nods like he needs the direction. Silva pulls his phone out. Whatever.
Fuckin’ kids and seconds.
Chapter Six
Two days
Cruise ship
Hud
“Why are we staying longer?” I clench my jaw so nothing else spills out. We were leaving this afternoon. I haven’t been doing laps because I don’t have my flipper here but that is not coming out of my mouth. I’m walking fine and, at this point, therapy is maintenance but it’s part of my days like riding.
Her eye roll is predictable but I focus on her annoyance more than the crystal blue color that looks more striking when her hair is down like last night for the musical. “The Purser told Alder the passengers aren’t paying attention to the splashy robots anymore. He set a meet for the afternoon on Lido to walk the deck with the Hotel GM and tonight a dinner meet in the dining room with the captain.”
Great. “Which one do you want?”
She doesn’t look happy. “Alder has me in the dining room, you got the Lido, it will end your shift.” The Pacific gets a look as she talks.
I think she’s sick of the ship and ask, “Done with the ship?” That gets her eyes on mine. I’m not telling her I am.
“Yeah. Asa is being transported in. I hoped to be going back with him. I was never enamored with being on a cruise, once I did the activities, I was done. Flying or driving is my thing. Being transported was always temporary and never more than two or three days on ships and once a submarine.” The nuclear sub, I bet.
I smile at that. “Aurora got bored too?”
