Hope is Rising

2. Crashing Waves

"Hi, Stephanie, how are you?" I was greeted by my uncle's voice on the phone.

My uncle and I have always had a good relationship. He was more like a parent, rather than an uncle. He lived about fifteen minutes from my house and worked at a Naval base near my home in the San Francisco Bay Area. When I was younger, he always joked that when I was older he could find a guy there for me. Maybe someday that could come true.

"I'm fine," I lied, "how are you?"

I was expecting him to tell me some type of bad news at any moment.

"I'm actually doing great," he said. "How is your job going?"

"Not so well actually. I lost my job working for Mrs. Jones today," I replied sadly.

"Oh Stephanie, I'm so sorry. I know how much that job meant to you."

He stayed silent for a minute.

"Could I call you back in a little while?" my uncle asked me.

We agreed and he called me a little while later. He told me he had some great news, "I know of a job opening at the Naval base. They are looking for someone with your credentials to help them with computer programming--it's right up your alley."

"Wow! Really? This could work out really well! When can I interview?" I asked him.

"What about next Monday?" he asked.

"That would be great!" I replied.

We talked more before he needed to go eat dinner with my aunt.

I immediately told Kate of the news. Maybe life wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

I slept soundly, even after the rough previous events of the week.

The next weekend, in order to take my mind off of everything, Kate decided that we should go surfing, one of our favorite things to do. Tons of girls in California tried to surf just for the attention of the guys. Kate and I? We weren't like that. We had been surfing together ever since ten-something years ago when we met at the beach by our homes. And then, we recognized each other on the first day of elementary school. We were really close friends from then on. There was never a dull moment with Kate.

I wore a navy blue top with white shorts and pulled my hair up in a messy bun. This beach was pretty crowded for being a Sunday. We pulled up in Kate's bright blue jeep, as Karmin's song Too Many Fish came on the radio. Although I still felt betrayed, I hoped I could just forget about Carter and hopefully be able to move on.

The surfing conditions were perfect. The wind was blowing, and it was slightly cooler than normal which was great surfing weather. Kate and I surfed for fun: we weren't extremely competitive, but we weren't that bad at it either. We both had won some smaller regional tournaments in the past.

"Ready to go?" Kate asked me as we got the boards out of the back of her jeep. We usually went surfing about twice a week.

"Yep! I'm really glad we could get down here today; it's the perfect weather," I said as we began to walk toward the water. As I said that comment, I began to see clouds rolling in from the sea. We would at least have an hour or so before it would possibly rain. It was still considerably sunny though.

Kate and I put a blanket down in the sand and put up our umbrella. We walked to the waves with our boards and paddled out to the deeper water.

Since the wind really picked up from the coming storm, it was a great day to be outside. After a swell of waves, Kate caught a nice set wave and had ridden it pretty far in. She had stayed on the beach to wait for me. The storm was beginning to get really close, and the sky was getting much darker. I was still waiting in pretty deep water, when I saw a massive set wave looming on the horizon. I was having second thoughts about taking it, but I figured that I couldn't escape now. As it approached, I had perfect timing. Kate was watching and cheering for me on the beach. I rode the whitewater back to shore and walked over to Kate who was so excited for my feat.

"Steph, that was so awesome!" she said hugging me. "That's more like the regional tournament winning wave that we are used to seeing!"

"That was amazing." I heard two voices from behind me. I turned around to find two really tan and fit guys looking at Kate and me. Not to mention they weren't bad looking.

"Oh, thanks," I said as I felt my cheeks getting hot. Thankfully, I was too sunburned to tell that I was blushing.

"I'm Matt and this is Dylan," the guy with blonde hair said. I assumed the guy with golden brown hair would be Dylan.

"Hey, I'm Kate and this is Stephanie," Kate told them.

Just then, the wind began to blow really hard and we felt rain drops.

We all ran toward our umbrella and took cover. It began to pour.

We got to know Dylan and Matt really well. I guess that's what happens when you're all crouched under one umbrella in the pouring rain.

"You know, you look slightly familiar," I said to Dylan.

"Did you go to South Creek High School?" He asked me. "I recognize you too. Back then, I did look slightly different. I was more of a nerd," he said looking down at his feet.

Sure enough, we both went to the same high school.

"So do you surf a lot?" Dylan asked us as he talked over the pounding rain.

"Yes, Kate and I both started surfing when we were about 8 and we have always loved it since then," I told him. "What about you?"

"We started surfing when we moved to California when we were kids. We're brothers," Matt told Kate and me.

Matt and Kate had started their own little conversation, so I decided to ask Dylan a few questions.

"So what are you doing for a living?" I asked Dylan.

"I work at the Naval base not too far from here," he said. I was stunned.

"Do you mean the one in the San Francisco Bay Area?" I asked him.

"Yeah, it's really a nice place to work," he told me.

"Really? My uncle works there," I replied. "I'm actually interviewing for a job there on Monday."

"That's great! Maybe when you come, I can show you around," he offered.

After about 20 minutes of talking with them, the rain began to let up a little bit.

"We probably should start heading back, Dylan," Matt said.

"If you ever need any help, let me know," Dylan added.

We exchanged numbers in case I needed any help for the interview.

Both Matt and Dylan seemed authentic. As Kate was driving us home, she told me all about Matt. I was amazed at how much she could find out in just such a short time. I told her about how Dylan works at the Naval Base where I have the job interview.

As I got home and opened my apartment, I felt better about my situation. I was still getting over Carter, but it was nice to see Dylan again. Not to mention we may be working at the same place.

Just as I was sitting on the couch, I got a text. It was from Carter.

A/N: Hey again! Glad you decided to keep reading! :) What do you think so far? Hopefully Steph can get back on her feet again; that is, if Carter will stop trying to pull her down. I'd love to hear your opinions in the comments below and to vote if you'd like too. Smile, you are beautiful! ❤Elizabeth