I introduced Shay to Anita, clarifying she’s my cousin and Sugar’s daughter, since Sugar is part of the Donald Gaskins story. We give her a tour of the shop and I suggest we sit in the office for the interview.
“I was hoping maybe you’d take me on a tour.”
“Around Ocean Beach?”
“We can walk around and talk—I’ve never been here before.”
I take in her outfit. No. Apparently not.
“Sure, we can do that.”
I tell Anita I’ll be back a little later and we leave the shop. I pull my sunglasses off my head and cover my eyes. It’s super bright today.
“What do you want to see first?” I ask.
“How about the ocean?”
“You’ve got it.”
We walk down the block, past Hullabaloo to the corner. We cross over the street that’s much more crowded now that summer has officially begun. The public beach parking is packed and the strip of ocean by the pier is crowded. We walk over to the boardwalk and then to the pavilion, feeling relief from the heat of the day.
“This is really quaint,” Shay says, taking it all in. “So, if I understand your history correctly, you came here for the first time last year.”
“Yep.” I led her past the concession stand and down the wide planks of wood that jut into the ocean.
“So your mother spent her childhood summers down here, but stopped coming after the attack by Gaskins.”
“Yes. The whole thing was traumatizing—she withdrew from the family. It took her a long time to decide to return.”
“And what did it feel like, realizing you had family and a darker history down here?”
The warm breeze slaps my cheeks and my hair flies behind me. Shay looks out of place in her fancy clothes amongst the fishermen and tourists, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
“At first it was overwhelming but then everything slowly clicked into place. I understood her better—even before learning about Gaskins. I spent months helping her research, talking to victims and their families. I got to know her family—myfamily—and it put everything in tighter perspective.”
We get about midway down the pier and she stops, looking over the edge. “What’s going on down there?”
The right side of the pier is never quite as crowded as the left because it’s further from the parking lot. A few yards away is a group at the edge of the water. It’s mostly kids standing in the shallows, with large surfboards next to them. They’ve all got their attention focused on their instructor. He’s got my attention too.
Whit’s wearing a white Surf School T-shirt and red shorts, only accentuating his tan. We can’t hear him but he speaks animatedly. The kids are enthralled, well, all but one, and as he has them hop on their boards on the sand, practicing a few moves before they hit the water, one little girl doesn’t move.
Whit moves to her and crouches on one knee, speaking to her intently. I have no idea what he says but it works, and a moment later she’s joined the rest of the group.
“That guy’s got the touch,” Shay says, ready to move on.
“With kids?” I ask, a little flabbergasted by what I’d seen. Whit’s sweet to Sibley but not like Justin. I’ve never seen him so engaged.
“Anyone who can talk a kid down is impressive. I’ve got three at home—they can be little nightmares sometimes.”
I glance back over my shoulder and see that he’s now waist-deep in the water. “I don’t think talking to kids is Whit’s gift. I think it’s simply being in and near the water. It’s his happy place.”
“You know him?” she asks, suddenly interested.
“He’s a friend of the family.”
Her eyes slide down to the water and then back to me. We continue walking and I continue talking and before long, we’re back at the store. Anita has already locked up. Wow, we spoke for that long?
“Thanks for meeting with me today.” She flips through a small pad she’s been using to take notes. “We still have a fair amount to cover. I’m dying to know why you decided to comealong last year on this trip, what made you interested in working with your mother on this case in particular?” She looks at her watch. “I’ve got to check in to my rental, but I thought maybe we could go on a drive tomorrow. See some of the locations from the interviews in your mom’s book.”
