All Summer Long: A Novel Part 16

"Oh, screw both of you and my hair too," Olivia said and swam out a distance. Then she threw herself on her back to float. Olivia was a strong if infrequent swimmer, but floating just seemed to be a better idea.

If Nick and Roni were still teasing her, she couldn't hear them because the water covering her ears created a vacuum, a lovely silent vacuum. She was suspended by salt, floating along for the longest time, looking up at the clouds moving overhead. And she felt good, really good. It didn't matter then that the IRS and the State of New York were interested in her. Who cared about money? Well, she did, because they needed it sort of desperately. But maybe Maritza was going to save them with another house to decorate. This was the ultimate state of blissful therapy. Yes! When she was worried, she thought, I'll just come down to this beach and float right here in the water! What could be more relaxing? Maybe this was what Maritza meant when she compared a visit with her to a walk on the beach. She felt better too! She marveled at how absolutely wonderful it was, so she just continued to drift, ignoring the world. All she could hear was the low rumble of an engine in the distance. Then, out of nowhere, she felt something nudge her. Was it a shark? She jumped, frightened only to realize that the water she was in was way over her head. To her complete horror, she was in the channel! Panic set in. She began to spin around frantically, looking around for Nick and Roni. They were on the beach, tiny dots in the distance, waving to her. Something nudged her again and Nick jumped in the water and began swimming toward her. Then he stopped and went back. She was too far out. Then there was the deafening blast of a horn, a foghorn. But there was no fog. But there was a container ship rounding the bend and entering the channel. It would run her over if she couldn't get away fast enough. The undertow was increasing and Olivia was being dragged farther out by it. Something nudged her again, and it kept coming back and pushing her toward the sh.o.r.e. But it was still a long way to safety. The ship was coming toward her, moving at a brisk clip, and the weight of it naturally caused a powerful dispersal of the water. If Olivia couldn't manage to get back to the shallows, she was in real danger. She knew this instinctively and something-she didn't know what-kept pushing her, giving her a boost, propelling her ahead, yards at a time. Maybe she was having surges of adrenaline. She swam on, fighting the undertow. The ship grew closer. Finally, just as she was so exhausted and almost ready to accept the fact that she might not make it, she felt something huge, a body underneath her and she grabbed it, throwing her arms around it. It might have been a shark. She didn't know or care. All she knew was that it was taking her toward Nick and it was her only chance to make it. Her face was in the water and it seemed then as though she was swallowing the ocean through her nose and mouth. Was she drowning? Suddenly this thing, this beast she had her arms around, began to roll its body in the surf, trying to shake her off.

"Let go!"

She heard this again and again and wasn't sure if the words were meant for her or not. Who was calling her?

"Let go!" She recognized Nick and Roni's voices, pleading with her. "Olivia! Let go!"

She let go, and whatever it was that had brought her to safety swam away. She tried to stand but collapsed in water that was less than three feet deep.

The next thing she remembered, something was pushing on her chest hard enough to crack her ribs and she expelled salt water in a great gush.

"Ms. Ritchie? Ms. Ritchie?" The voice, a pleasant male voice, seemed to be coming from very far away.

"Ms. Ritchie? Come on, now. Open your eyes. You're all right."

She looked up into the eyes of a young off-duty paramedic who just happened to be there on the beach, line fishing. He had seen the whole episode unfold and jumped in to help. She began to cough and cough, and to her embarra.s.sment, her chest convulsed again and she heaved even more water onto the beach. She continued to cough.

"Thank G.o.d! Thank you, sir!" Nick said. "How can we ever repay you?"

"Oh, G.o.d! Thank G.o.d!" Roni said. "Olivia, let me help you sit up."

The paramedic said, "No need. I was glad to help. You folks ought to try swimming away from the channel, down in that direction. You'll live longer."

"Thank you. We will."

The man walked away from them and back to his fishing lines, which were planted in the hard-packed wet sand.

"You scared the h.e.l.l out of us, Olivia!" Roni said, and burst into tears.

"What are you crying about?" Olivia's voice was raspy and hoa.r.s.e. "I'm the one who almost drowned." She coughed a few more times and then took a deep breath.

"Oh, my darling girl!" Nick knelt in the sand and put his arms around her. "If I had lost you, I don't know, I couldn't have lived."

"Yeah, and I'd spend the rest of my life making tuna sandwiches at Smilers Delicatessen on Third Avenue!"

This was a very dramatic statement from Nick and a typical piece of sa.s.s from Roni, but even in her present mental state, returning to life from an actual near death experience, Olivia rolled her eyes.

"Oh, for G.o.d's sake, Nick. Yes, you would. You'd live. I'm just fine," Olivia said adding, "Help me stand up, please. And, Roni? You can't work at Smilers. You're Italian American." Nick pulled her to a standing position and she ran her hand through her hair, which at this point resembled dreadlocks. "I must look like holy h.e.l.l."

Nick handed Olivia his shirt and she wiped her face with it.

"Actually, for a girl saved by dolphins, you look pretty good!" Roni said.

"What do you mean?" Olivia said.

"Look!" Roni said.

Olivia turned to face the ocean and the area where Roni pointed. A pod of bottlenose dolphins, probably eight or ten of them, were rising up and diving back under the sea in their traditional arcs, but they seemed to be unusually close to sh.o.r.e. And maybe it was their collective imagination, but Nick, Roni, and even Olivia would've sworn in a court of law that the dolphins were doing everything they could to capture their attention. Olivia stepped closer to the edge of the water and waved at them. One of them breached into midair, looked at her, and made a repet.i.tive thrilling chirp. Then he swam backward on his tail, staring at her.

"That dolphin is looking straight at me. Am I supposed to answer this fellow?" Olivia said.

"I would. He might be the very one who saved you." Nick called out and waved to the dolphin. "Thank you! Thank you very much!"

"It's just plain bad manners not to say thank you to the dolphin," Roni said. "Wait, I can't believe I just said that."

"Sweet Baby Jesus, I'm here for twenty-four hours and I'm talking to the animals!"

"Dr. Dolittle, I presume?" Roni said, and giggled. "Unbelievable."

"Signs and wonders, sweetheart," Nick said. "What did I tell you?"

Olivia looked at Nick. He wasn't kidding. Then she looked back out to where the dolphins were still horsing around, seemingly waiting for some recognition from her. It was surreal, but maybe there was some actual bona fide magic in the Lowcountry. And something had brought her close to the sh.o.r.e. That part was absolutely true. Strange but true. She admitted that much to herself.

"You can't make this stuff up," Nick said.

"Thank you!" she called out, waving her arms, and thought, Boy, am I glad they weren't sharks. "Thank you!"

There was a lot of chirping and calling from the dolphins. Then they dove under the waves and swam out of sight.

Nick, Roni, and Olivia stood at the edge of the tide's high-water mark for what seemed like a really long time. Each of them was lost in thought, trying to rationally process what had just happened. They looked around for the fisherman. He was nowhere to be seen.

"That fisherman saved my life too!" Olivia said.

"You and about a billion other Christians," Nick said.

"Oh, come on, Nick! You don't really believe . . ."

"Do you?" Roni said.

"I've told you this so many times," he said solemnly. "This island and the whole Lowcountry is a place unto itself."

"Oh, come on, Nick," Roni said. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"Only that you'll notice things that happen here that are otherwise completely inexplicable. Even irrational. Now, maybe these phenomena happen everywhere, and maybe you just notice them here. I don't know."

"You mean like that invisible hand that pulls you back when you're about to step off a curb and get hit by a bus?" Roni said. "I've heard stories like that."

"Exactly! It's not your time to go," Nick said to Olivia and pointed at Roni. "That's exactly what I mean."

"I don't even know what to say except that I am one grateful woman to be alive."

"Do you really feel all right?" Roni asked.

"Perfectly fine, except for the part where I had an actual conversation with a dolphin, which I did. And the other part where I bodysurfed almost to the beach on the back of one. And, by the way, there's a lot of power in their snouts. I'll bet I'm going to bruise like a peach from where I got pushed along."

"We can ice the spots. My mother put ice on everything. And in everything. Especially vodka."

"Hmmm. Speaking of adult beverages," Nick said, "I think a good Cab and a thick steak might help us put this situation in perspective. Anyone care to go to dinner? Let's go somewhere special."

"I agree. It's not every day that . . . well, you know," Roni said.

"My hair may never be the same," Olivia said and added, "And I won't either. Who would believe this?"

"I'm going to google dolphin rescues," Roni said.

They went back up to the house, had their showers, and started getting dressed. She studied her body in front of the full-length mirror. There were deep red blotches on her hips and ribs but no bruises so far. Olivia slipped on a long linen sundress and sandals and simply braided her long wet hair.

"I'll find a salon tomorrow," she said to Nick. "I'm not going to let something insignificant like my hair stand in the way of our c.o.c.ktail hour. It takes forever to dry it, as you know."

Truly, Olivia did have enough hair for two women.

"You look beautiful," Nick said.

"Thanks, sweetheart. And you smell delicious. Let's find Roni and get out of here."

Soon they were in Olivia and Nick's rental car and headed to Halls Chophouse downtown. They put Roni's luggage in the back.

"So, you can use this while you're here," Olivia said. "It's fun to drive."

"Thanks!" Roni said.

"We can Uber home," Nick said. "Then we don't have to take two cars."

"Uber is a verb now," Roni said, and smiled.

"And then we can have two martinis," Olivia said. "I think we earned them."

"You can have mine," Roni said. "Two martinis would send me to Betty Ford."

"I always forget you're a cheap date," Olivia said.

"You don't drink at all?" Nick said. Nick was suspicious of total sobriety.

"My mother drank enough for both of us. Maybe I'll sip on a gla.s.s of champagne."

"You mean, you have no indulgences?" Nick said.

"Ice cream and gelato," Roni said.

"Well, thank goodness! I feel much better," Nick said. "There's a parking spot!"

Parking was at a premium downtown because there were roughly ten times more people than there were places to leave your car. Once inside the restaurant, they were led to a table upstairs.

"I'd like to see the wine list," Nick said.

They ordered vodka martinis and champagne and were perusing the ten-pound leather menu.

"Very good, sir," the waiter said. He stepped away and returned with a ten-pound wine list.

"Good thing I got some cardio this afternoon," Nick mumbled, hoisting the leather-bound list to a level where he could read it.

Of course, after the drama of the day, no one could make a decision about what to order until a sizzling bone-in rib eye steak with onion rings pa.s.sed their table.

"That's what I'm having," Olivia said, and her eyes grew large. "I know it's a mortal sin on a plate, but it smells so darn good."

"Yes, it does," Nick said. "I'll have the same thing."

"I don't want to be odd person out, so I'll have the same thing too."

The waiter took their orders and Nick chose a 2009 Beringer Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon to drink with their meals and asked for another gla.s.s of champagne for Roni.

Scarcely three minutes pa.s.sed until the waiter returned with their c.o.c.ktails while they recounted the afternoon.

"Cheers!" Nick said. "To our health!"

"Cheers!" Roni said, lifting her flute. "To life!"

"And longevity! And by the way, folks, I can never eat fish again," Olivia said, taking a sip.

"My heavens, Olivia, you can't say that!" Nick said, fishing out an olive. "Fresh fish and sh.e.l.lfish are the backbone and pride of Lowcountry cuisine!"

"I know how she feels, Nick. How can she be sure she's not eating one of Danny's friends?" Roni said.

"Danny?" Nick said.

"Danny the Dolphin," Roni said. "I named him."

"I see," Nick said. "Well, in this culture we don't eat dolphins, and they only hang out with each other."

"Oh," Roni said.

"Like, birds of a feather . . . ?" Olivia said.

"Yes." Nick stared at Roni and was quiet for a moment. "You know, Roni, there is a world of research that's being done trying to measure the apt.i.tude of dolphins and to decode their language and so forth. They are highly intelligent, as we have known for some time. And there is no doubt in my mind that a dolphin saved Olivia's life this afternoon. I feel like maybe we should do something to honor that."

"Like what?" Olivia said.

"Maybe we should eat what they eat. I happen to know they eat fish and sh.e.l.lfish. They have teeth, you know," Nick said. "They belong to the same family as the pilot whales and the orcas."

"How do you know this stuff?" Roni said. "I thought you taught history."

"I did. But I looked it up on my smartphone while you ladies were getting dressed tonight." Nick said. "What a world we live in today! Anyway, if they eat fish, we can eat fish without an ounce of guilt. Besides, our Lord caught fish."

"Okay," Olivia said. "I'll eat seafood, but not tonight, and it might be a while before I go swimming again."

"Nonsense. We can and will go swimming where that nice young man recommended." Nick said. "Was it luck that put a CPR worker on the beach fifty feet from us?"