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“Well he’s not going to win her over sulking like that.”
“Oh God. You’re not going to give him advice, are you?”
I snort. “No, I’m not the guy who he’d want advice from about women, anyway.”
Yoshimi knows that the last woman I was in a relationship with, I found cheating on me. And it wasn’t the first time. So I can no longer trust my judgment about the types of women I’m interested in. I have a problem. If I’m interested in someone, they’re probably not for me.
So I’ve sworn them off all together.
Nevertheless, seeing Yoshimi’s kid all emo like that doesn’t sit right with me, so when we ride another wave in, I walk with my board up to the teenager.
“Kevin.”
His eyes widen and he looks surprised that the guy with resting scrooge face is acknowledging him.
“Yeah?” he says.
Okay. Maybe Yoshimi is right. Maybe I do have a rep as an asshole. Especially seeing as how I spend a fair amount of time around Kevin and he’s still scared of me.
“Yeah, buddy. You want to hit some waves? I heard you’re a goofy left-footed surfer like me.”
“Yeah. Yeah, sure!”
He jumps up and grabs his board and we head out.
I take Kevin out on the waves for almost an hour. I don’t ask him about the girl. There’s no reason to bring her up.
When you’re a teenager with heartbreak on the mind, the best thing for you is the surf. When you’ve got sunshine on your face and the salty spray of water all around you and you’ve got to focus your mind on catching the next wave, you can't think about anything else.
The past dissolves. It’s better than therapy.
“Dude, you crushed that last wave, that flip was killer!” I tell him after we’ve ridden a few waves in and I’ve given him some pointers.
I give the kid a high five and he smiles.
Yoshimi smiles, squatting in a yoga pose under a tree as we walk toward her.
“Mom, did you see that? Jaguar taught me how to do a flip and I did it!”
Kevin sees one of his friends and runs over to talk to him. I love how the kid calls me that. He rode once in my car and couldn’t stop.
“See? You’re capable of being kind,” she says to me. “You ought to try it more often. Doesn’t it feel good?”
I stare off into the distance. “You two are like family. It’s different.”
She gets out of her pose and puts her hand on her hips. We both turn toward the sunset.
“You’ve got to be nicer to the women you are interested in and not so angry.”
“I’m not angry,” I say through gritted teeth. “But I’m certainly not going on any dates.”
She rolls her eyes. “I set you up tonight. Did you really forget?”
I sigh. “Oh, that’s right. Do I have to?”
Yoshimi puts her hand on my shoulder. “It’s my former colleague’s daughter. She’s in town for that retreat. You already forgot.” She shakes her head.
I bite my lower lip and scan my brain. “Sorry, I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”
