“Hold steady,” I said. “Don’t make any sudden movements.”
“If I could, I’d lean over and kiss you.”
“Please don’t make this weird.”
We both let out a slow breath and paddled forward, our boards drifting shakily toward the others.
Cal looked over, beaming. “You did it!”
“Of course we did,” Mrs. Mulroney said proudly. “We’re unstoppable. We just happen to complain a lot in the process.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. My board pitched precariously, and I’ve never stopped laughing so fast in all my life.
Slowly, we got the rhythm of it while Kimo paddled between us, spreading the love and shouting bursts of encouragement like a shirtless life coach in board shorts.
“Paddle from your soul, not your shoulders!” he told Mrs. Mulroney.
“Surrender to the balance,” he said to Rashida.
“Loosen up, Matt” he told me. “Your butt cheeks are tighter than a clamshell cultivating a pearl.”
“Feel thekai, don’t fight what feels natural!” he said to Angus, who giggled again.
Kimo suddenly glanced to his left, eyes narrowing.
“Mr. Banks?” he called. “Hey—don’t go out too far! Stay with the group!”
But Mr. Banks was already paddling serenely away from us, his board cutting across the shimmering water like a man on a mission.
“I’m heading off on a new adventure!” he declared, raising his paddle like a flag. “The sea is calling me! There’s nothing waiting for me back on shore!”
That’s when Tutu Makani stood up.
No hesitation. No wobble. Just straight to her feet like a queen rising from her throne.
“Yes, there is, Basil,” she called, her voice strong and clear across the water. “I’m right here!”
Mr. Banks paused.
He turned slowly, blinking at the shore. And then—just likethat—his face lit up. The kind of glow you don’t fake. The kind of recognition that sinks into your bones.
“Oh, my love,” he called, utterly sincere. “There you are. I’m coming back to you. How could I ever leave you?”
He started paddling back, slow and sure, eyes fixed on her like she was the lighthouse guiding him home.
And yes—once again—I caught the look on Angus’s face.
He was pouting.
Subtly. Quietly. But definitely pouting.
The sun was warm, the water gentle, and for the first time in days, everyone looked lighter. Rashida had stretched out flat on her board, floating with her eyes closed like she was at a spa. Angus kept falling in and laughing louder every time.
Even Cal had loosened up, paddling with that smooth, infuriating ease of his. It annoyed me, how effortless things came to him. But the truth was, half the things that annoyed me about Cal were the same things that made me love him so.
There we all were, doing something new, something fun, something together… and Kimo had been right.
Wedidneed the ocean.
