Swimming out to our father, Mam battled against the waves pushing against her, not stopping until she reached my father.
Taking the lifeless boy from his arms, she treaded water, giving my father a chance to regather some strength.
And then, by some miraculous intervention, they managed to work together to bring my oldest friend’s lifeless body back to the boat.
“He’s dead,” Sadhbh continued to wail, collapsing in a heap on the floor in Keith’s arms. “They’re all dead.”
I couldn’t concentrate on her, though.
Not when my entire focus was on my mother as I waited for the instructions to come.
“Hugh,” Mam said, as she clung to the side of the boat, breathing hard from the effort it was taking to stay afloat in these conditions.
Handing off Gibs to my father once more, she looked up at me from the depths of the water and said, “I need you to hold your friend.” Her eyes were pleading when she added, “I need you to use all your strength and hold him for me, okay? Whatever you do, don’t let go.”
“I won’t,” I promised through tears, as I leaned over the side and grabbed Gibsie’s shoulders. I tried to heave him over, but he weighed so much more than normal that I couldn’t.
“I’ve got you, Hugh,” Claire cried, wrapping her limbs around my legs. “I won’t let go.”
“Don’t let go,” Dad ordered as he heaved himself out of the water and onto the boat. “Good lad.”
“I won’t.” I hissed through my teeth from the effort it was taking to hold on, especially with the current pulling and the waves crashing over him. But if the ocean wanted Gerard Gibson, then it was going to have to take my arms with him because I would never let go of him.
Scrambling to where I was dangling over the side, Dad grabbed the back of Gibsie’s shirt and helped me heave him onto the boat.
“Gerard!” Sadhbh screamed, scrambling toward him on her hands and knees, while my father collapsed in a heap from exhaustion. “Oh, baby, breathe.” Trailing her hands all over his lifeless body, Sadhbh started pushing and shoving at his chest, desperate to make his heart start beating again.
But it wasn’t beating.
And he wasn’t breathing.
He wasn’t even the right color.
He was a grayish-blue color.
He was dead.
I knew it.
Ignoring the madness around me, I retrained my attention back on my mother, who was still in the water. Leaning over the side, I reached out both hands to help her back onto the deck. “My brave boy,” she panted when she was safely back on the boat. I wasn’t sure if it was the ocean water in her eyes or tears, but she gave me the saddest smile and brushed my cheek with her icy-cold fingers before rushing to Gibsie.
“Breathe,” Sadhbh continued to scream, pushing on Gibsie’s chest, while my father blew into his mouth.
“Come on, kid, breathe.”
It wasn’t working.
“Come on, son, come back to me.”
It didn’t seem to make a difference.
“Breathe, Gibs. Breathe, lad!”
He wouldn’tbreathe.
“Move aside,” I heard my mother instruct as she knelt in front of my lifeless friend and began to resuscitate him. The proper way. Because my mam was smart like that. She always knew what to do.
Whatever hope Gibs had was in my mother’s hands now.
