Revival (Johanna's story with Luke Hemmings)

Chapter 31

31.
The water is cold. We wade out with the boards and I have one hand out on top of it and the other wrapped across my chest, not that that really achieves much. Thankfully I found I still fitted into a wetsuit that was in a box in the garage and hadn't seen the light of day for many years. Luke is a few steps ahead to my right, and he looks back and raises his eyebrows as a wave rolls in, raising the water level to above his waist.

"Your idea Jo ...originally" he says as the wave reaches me and I lift my free arm higher shuddering.

He jumps onto the board and starts to paddle it out with his hands now and I follow suit. The boards are a bit longer and more buoyant than regular surfboards so we are floating mostly out of the water once we get on, but it's really cold on the arms initially, with them having been spared from immersion before.

We get out to a position just back from where most of the waves seem to be breaking and turn to face the shore again. The old man remains on the log and I can just see his hand up over his eyes as he looks out this way. His dog is flopped down in front of him in the grass. I scan across to Luke's car. Jess seems to have laid down in some longer grass under the tree that I tied her to. I think I can just make out her head and ears sticking up. I could hear her whimpering as we were walking away and out into the waves. Not that she would have wanted to follow if she could - she really doesn't like water getting above her belly.

Luke looks behind and then paddles off on a swell, but it quickly fades beneath him and he turns back. I have several goes trying to get myself into the right place on the board for a few following waves. I seem to be too far back and the front of the board angles up, so I drop from the back of the wave as it starts to break. I wriggle forward as we both eye a larger swell rolling in cleanly, and set off. I finally get picked up by the wave, but as it starts to break I quickly realise I am too far forward. The nose digs in and I am launched off and then under the wave.

Surging noises fill my ears and there is just whiteness around me as the wave rolls over the top. I instinctively bring my hands up to my head, ready for if the board crashes into me. It doesn't, but I feel a yank on my ankle from the rope just before I reach the surface again. I cough and splutter having had saltwater fill my nose, and am grateful that the waves aren't particularly close together. I have time to recover and get back on the board before anything much else is coming at me.

Luke obviously had much more success on that wave as he has been carried quite close in to shore again. He starts paddling back out as I am still getting my breath back.

"Did you get dunked?" he grins as he approaches, then looks more caring, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine" I respond, though my confidence is definitely diminished.

It gradually returns over the next hour or so that we spend in the waves. It is an amazing feeling when you get it right and are picked up and carried in by the force of the water beneath you. I don't have any desire to push beyond the stability I have on my hands and knees. Luke attempts a couple of stands, but it is either right at the end when the wave has pretty much died, or he tips off the side fairly quickly. He returns after one of these runs and paddles right over to me. The ocean seems to have suddenly stilled and there is nothing much rolling in for now.

"Uh, I told you I was crap" he sighs.

"You did pretty good that time."

He screws his face up and then looks in to shore, "The old guy's gone."

"Yeah, he went into that white cottage before" I tell him and then look around. "The view is so beautiful with these hills - can you imagine waking up to it every morning?"