The Tour

thirty-four / after the storm

I brushed my hair behind my ear and wiped the sweat onto my knee-length dress. Sarah sat down next to me and squeezed my arm as we waited for Kyrsten and Conner to arrive. They were in charge of both the male and female surfers who were sponsored by Rip Curl, and I had arranged a meeting with them after I talked to Sarah.

A knock sounded at the door and Connor poked his head in. "Mind if we come in?"
I nodded and he and Kyrsten took a seat across from me. "Sorry about the loss this morning, River. How can we help you?" Kyrsten asked.

"Um, I wanted to make you aware of an issue. And I promise that I'm not lying or exaggerating." Conner glanced at Sarah before nodding for me to continue. I gave them the description of everything that had happened that afternoon. Both of them had serious expressions on their face and Kyrsten took notes as she listened.

"I'm so sorry that this happened to you, River. Thank you for coming to us so quickly. Are you sure that you don't want to press legal charges right now?" She asked once I had finished.

"I think that right now I would rather not bring that much attention to it. If you could do something just to inform him that he was wrong and to punish him somehow though, I would appreciate it. I want him to know that there are consequences, but I don't want it to be a public affair," I muttered, still unsure if this would work out. It wasn't like legal action is not necessary in many situations, but I didn't want to deal with it. That, and even though it was wrong I believed that he would change if he was punished for it.

Kyrsten nodded. "If you ever want to press legal charges, you can do so at any time. He has also obviously broken our sexual harassment policy, so this will be punished. Enzo will probably at least be scratched from the next event, if not more. We will also make sure that he isn't scheduled at advertising and publicity events with you, and we will enforce that he keep his distance from you."

I nodded and thanked them both. They informed me that they would be going to talk to Enzo and his management and left after shaking my hand. I turned to Sarah, who had been sitting silently the whole time. "Am I wrong to not press charges?"

She pursed her lips. "I think that in many cases people should pay for their crimes through the law. Women, and men, should know that they are being taken seriously and the law can be used to accomplish justice. However, it is ultimately your decision. And even though what he did is completely inexcusable, if you decide that you don't want him arrested, that's your call. You can report it at any time."

My fingers twisted together as I thought it over. "Okay, I think I'll go to sleep now."

Sarah wrapped her arms around me and held me tightly for a minute. "I'm proud of you, River. You've been so strong today. I'll be up in an hour or two, but sleep well."

I retreated to the room and texted Will to let him know that I would call him tomorrow. Immediately after the text said delivered, I crashed.

△△△

Message from Coach John: Meet me on the beach at six.

The vibration from my phone woke me up at five thirty in the morning. I groaned, debated cancelling, and rolled out of bed to get changed. One banana, a surfboard selection, and a couple of steps later I was on the beach, looking for Coach John.

"Hey, you," a voice called from behind me. Coach John spread his arms out wide and engulfed me in his large frame. "They told me that you wanted me to know."

"Yeah, I did," I muttered into his arm.

"I'm very glad that you're okay, please let me know if you need anything. But for now, you have sprints to run before we get in the water. You need to be in tip-top shape before I let you go back home and hang out with your boyfriend," he laughed and patted me on the back, gesturing to lines that he had drawn in the sand.

I smiled at the opportunity to get in the zone and ignore everything else. Coach John sent me to warm up and do my injury prevention exercises before he ran me through the sprinting gauntlet. Sweat turned my hair a shade darker, and it was good that the sun was just rising because any sunscreen would have dripped off a long time ago.

Just when my legs were starting to shake to the point where I wondered if they would continue to hold me up, Coach John signaled for me to follow him into the water. "I'm not sure if my legs are strong enough to pop up right now," I called to him.

"At least you'll get your arm workout in paddling after me," he shouted back. Sure enough he was already ten yards ahead of me.

For an older guy, he could still float effortlessly over the waves. "That was sick," I said once he was back in the lineup after going up the face of the wave and skating across the top of the already broken surface.

He grinned and nodded. "Floaters are the next thing on the agenda for you to refine. I've seen you do them, but I think that you could better incorporate them during your heats. Judges like to see variety."
"Don't get me started on the judges today, but I agree."

"Okay, really charge on a few more waves and we'll call it a day. I want to watch the competition together today to work on your mental game, and then we'll have one more session tomorrow morning and evaluate your film after. Then you can head back to the island," John outlined.

"Sounds like a plan, Stan," I joked. Will's game was the day after tomorrow, so I would be getting home just in time to catch it.

"This next one's you, no daydreaming River," Coach prodded.

I saluted him and took off down the wave, managing one brief floater to appease him. 

I would like to make it known that I am in no way encouraging not going to the police or law enforcement if anyone wrongs you in any way. Unfortunately, I know that this is a very necessary step in the vast majority of situations. River is not a perfect character and this is the decision that she made during this period of her (fictional) life. Please understand that this is not behavior that I suggest, I hope that if you are ever in this situation you make the best decision for your peace of mind. 

I'm writing this note on Christmas, and although many of you might not fully agree with me, I figured I would share a little more about what I've been thinking about. I watched The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe tonight and was reminded of how God sent Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins while we were all broken people. I have sinned plenty, and the idea that Jesus died for me because he loved me, with all of my mess, is more amazing than I can even describe. I hope that this offers you some hope this Christmas. And even if you don't agree with my religious views, know that you are loved more than you can ever imagine. 

Love, l.