Far Country (22 page)

           
“I see,” Deborah replied, although it was clear to Steve that she was still
trying to figure out where their paths may have crossed.

           
“Beth is also active with Navy Relief and is helping with Vacation Bible School
this year,” Steve continued, convinced that Deborah was simply looking for a
reason to find something to dislike about Beth.

Deborah
nodded distractedly, and Steve had a mental image of Deborah rummaging through
multiple file cabinets in search of a lost file.  Then suddenly, her eyes
lit up.  “Navy Relief!” She whispered, her eyes widening.  She gave
Beth a strange look out of the corner of her eye, but Beth, busy shoeing a
horsefly off of her plate, did not see.

           
“I guess you must be a pretty busy lady,” Deborah said loud enough for Beth to
hear.  

           
Beth nodded.  “Seldom bored.  I hate sitting around.”

           
“So it would seem,” Deborah said with a strange look in her eyes. 
Abruptly, she turned to Steve.  “So, how much longer until your doctor
releases you to come back to work?” She demanded.

           
Steve shrugged noncommittally. “I go back for an assessment next week.
Hopefully, he will have some answers for me then.” He ground his teeth for the
first time in months. Until an hour ago, he had been confident of what the
doctor would recommend, but now…?.

           
“I know you can’t wait to be pronounced fit for service again,” Beth piped up,
recalling him to the moment, “but I’m going to hate losing you as a diving
partner.”

Steve balanced another cold can
of soda nonchalantly on his throbbing knee.  “Me too,” he assured
her.  “I still love the mountains, but ever since you talked me into
diving lessons, I’m actually going to hate leaving here for the first time in
years.”

           
He turned to Chuck.  “You’d love diving, Chuck.  It’s like a
different world, when you go over the side and swim down so deep you lose the
sunlight!  All you have is a diving lamp, and there are all kinds of fish
and plants. Then suddenly, this ghost ship looms up before you…” Steve shook
his head, at a loss as to how to adequately describe the feeling. “It’s just
incredible,” he finished lamely.

           
Chuck shook his head firmly.  “No diving for me,” he answered
firmly.  “Ghost ships would be fine, but I have no intentions of getting
buddy-buddy with the local sharks.”

           
Steve grinned.  “It’s not such a big deal,” he argued.  “We don’t
bother them, and they don’t bother us. There hasn’t been a shark attack out
there on the wrecks for years!” He finished.

           
“You mean, not
yet
.” Chuck amended firmly.

           
“Really, Chuck,” Beth chimed in. “Steve is right!.  The local shark
population really aren't dangerous. They are so used to divers around the
wrecks, that they barely acknowledge our presence. The big bad sharks don't
really hang out around wrecks.  Divers here seldom have problems.”

           
“Seldom is still not ‘never’” Chuck replied seriously.

           
“True, but – “

           
Chuck cut her off. “It’s no good!” He told her sharply, and his friends stared
at him in surprise. They had never heard easy going Chuck get so agitated!
“Sharks DO attack humans every year and I’ve no intention of being mistaken for
a seal sandwich. I am quite content to work on my tan right here on the sand!”

           
Steve looked at his friend, thunderstruck. “Do you mean that you never even
went in the ocean at all today?” He demanded.

           
“Nope. Not even a big toe,” Chuck confirmed.

           
“You do realize that hundreds more people die each year from skin cancer than
from shark bites?” Beth pointed out with a touch of irony.

           
“I didn’t say it made sense!” He replied defensively.  He took a deep
breath.  “When I was a kid I read those stories about World War II sailors
being picked off by sharks while they were just floating out there helpless.”
Chuck looked slightly nauseous as he seemed to recall some of the gory details,
and then his voice and face hardened as he continued. “That made up my
mind.  If I can’t see what’s swimming under me, I’m not going in the
water.” He took a bite of cheese cake and was quiet for a moment chewing more
with determination than enjoyment.

           
“But Chuck…” Beth said one more time, trying to sound reasonable.

           
Chuck cut her off abruptly. “What can I say? Everyone drinks his own
poison.  Me, I’ll take my chances with the sun.”

           
Beth took in Chuck’s muscular build and perfectly browned physique, and she had
to admit to herself that his particular brand of poison looked pretty darn good
on him!

           
As if he was aware of her thoughts, Chuck yawned hugely and stretched, showing
off his well defined biceps and a perfect six pack. Beth suddenly realized that
she was staring, and worse, that he was watching her with an amused glint in
his cobalt blue eyes.

           
Flustered and slightly embarrassed to be caught in the act of checking out one
of Steve’s friends, Beth quickly looked down at her watch. “I need to be going
soon,” she announced briskly.  “I was able to pick up an afternoon
charter, and we'll be leaving at three.”

           
Beth stood and brushed sand off of her dress, and deliberately stooped in front
of Chuck to pick up her sandals. She smiled slightly as she saw Chuck’s eyes
taking in her own handsome figure.  Feeling somewhat mollified by his
appreciation, she finally straightened up slowly. “Keep the leftovers,” she
told them.  “Steve can drop the basket off to me later.  It was a
pleasure meeting all of you!”  With a small wave, Beth walked off toward
the parking lot without a backward glance.

           
Steve watched her go with a mixture of confusion and disappointment.  She
had barely said good bye to him, and her interest in Chuck had been all too
obvious. It was true they weren’t actually dating, but he had thought that she
had at least been interested in something more than a casual friendship. Today
had been an eye opener for him.

           
“So what did you think?” He asked into the silence that seemed to be lingering
on unnaturally after Beth’s departure.

           
“You’ve got your work cut out for you, amigo,” Chuck said, still watching her
progress back to the parking lot. “She’s hot, though, and she definitely can
pack a picnic basket,” he added, stuffing a last bite of creamy cold cheesecake
in his mouth.

           
“Busy girl. Glad she’s found time to attend church,” Pete said, his gaze
wandering back to Deborah.

           
“Is that all you can say?” Steve asked in irritation. He winced as he tried to
bend his knee.  The day at the beach was not ending very well.

           
Pete looked startled. “Well, Chuck is right of course – she is…cute,” he added
glancing sideways at Deborah. Then he shrugged.  “I don’t know. Could be
you just caught me on a bad day,” he said, with a bemused smile. He took
Deborah's hand in his as if to illustrate his point.  “My mind’s been
distracted.”

           
Steve looked from Pete to Chuck, shaking his head. “You think she’s trouble,
and  you’re glad that she’s in church,” he growled peevishly. “It’s not
exactly a ringing endorsement.”

           
Pete cleared his throat and glanced around uncomfortably.  “I don’t know,
Steve.  We just met her, after all.”

           
Steve was surprised.  This was not the response he’d been expecting when
he had asked Beth to join them today.  He turned to Deborah, who had not
spoken since Beth had left.

           
“So what did you decide was wrong with her?” He asked.

           
Deborah didn’t answer at once.  “I’d rather not say,” she said at
last.  “It might be nothing.”

           
Steve looked at her shrewdly. “You’ve remembered where you met her before,
haven’t you?”

           
“Maybe,” she admitted slowly.

           
Her evasiveness only irritated him more.  “What do you remember?” He
challenged her. “What could be so bad that you won’t tell me?”

           
Deborah remained tightlipped.  “I can’t be sure it was her. I’d rather not
say anything.”

           
Steve couldn’t let it go.  “Are you sure you remembered something? He
asked nastily. “Or are you just jealous that I met someone else, so you won’t
say anything good about her, regardless?  What’s the matter? You can move
on, but I can’t?”

           
Deborah looked as if she had been slapped.

           
“That’s enough!” Pete cut in, his voice tight.  He glared at Steve.

           
“Yeah, man,” Chuck agreed heatedly.  “That was way out of line.”

           
It had been out of line, Steve realized.  He had seldom seen Pete so angry
and even Chuck, usually mellow and easy going, looked at him in disgust. With
an effort, Steve regained his temper.

           
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, although he knew he didn’t look terribly repentant.
He flexed his leg in discomfort, and felt confused and depressed.

           
Deborah did not respond to his apology, but knelt and began gathering the
leftovers into the nearly empty basket.  Pete looked at his watch, but
found that the salt water had gotten into the mechanism, and the LCD screen
blinked meaninglessly.

“It’s getting late,” he
grumbled, deciding that the time didn’t really matter. “We need to be getting
back soon.”  He stood and scooped up some towels and lotion.

           
Gritting his teeth, Steve prepared to try and stand up, but found a hand
extended to him. He looked up. “Take it,” Chuck advised.  “No need to do
any more damage today.” He allowed Chuck to help pull him to his feet. 
“Thanks,” he mumbled.  Now the throbbing in his knee seemed to have spread
to his head. How had he let such a beautiful morning disintegrate into this
uncomfortable and unhappy afternoon?

           
They drove home in near silence. “You’ll all want to shower before you head
back,” Steve advised them. “Five hours of driving with salt water on your skin
and sand in your bathing suit can get itchy.”

           
From the stony silence that followed, he was rather glad that he was driving
the car. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been surprised if they had simply pushed
him from the vehicle in front of the house, and sped away! Well, it wouldn’t be
the first time his careless behavior would have destroyed a friendship, he
thought darkly.  He supposed it was too late now to ask for forgiveness;
and worse, he wasn’t sure if he was capable of groveling.  He had groveled
before David, begging him to forgive him, and it had gotten him nowhere. 
He couldn’t do that again…

           
Woodenly, he handed out towels and directed Chuck and Pete to his bedroom to
shower and change.  He took Deborah to his mother’s room.  The
silence as they walked down the hall was unnerving. Never, no matter how ill
tempered he’d been in the past, had Deborah simply ignored him.

           
He opened the door, and she walked past him without even looking at him. 
Steve’s gut twisted inside of him.  “I am sorry!” He rasped in a strangled
voice.  “I had no right…”

           
“None,” she agreed flatly.

           
Dejectedly, he slowly closed the door, but at the last moment she called him
back.

           
“Steve.”

           
He opened the door and looked at her warily.  He would deserve any tirade
she chose to launch at him, and he prepared himself to accept the worst without
complaint.

           
She stared at him a moment, and Steve thought he saw tears glistening in her
eyes.  “I want you to know that I have forgiven you, I am just not sure
how long it will be before I can act like it.”

           
Steve nodded. “Thank you,” he said sincerely.  “And I want you to know
that you and Pete,” he hesitated a second searching for the words. “Well, he’s
the better choice,” Steve finished.  “I am glad for the both of you.” He
closed the door, feeling overwhelmingly relieved. This, he knew was mercy. It
was more than he deserved. Deborah was so far beyond him. Pete was going to be
greatly blessed by this woman.

           
Steve returned to the kitchen and gingerly propped his leg on a chair, an ice
pack draped over his knee. What a relief to finally get it propped up and layer
on the ice!  A few minutes later, Chuck wandered into the kitchen, his
curly hair was plastered smoothly against his scalp.

           
Steve smiled tentatively. “You could almost pass for a marine with your hair
combed back like that,” he observed.

           
Chuck shook his head, spraying Steve with water droplets. “Illusion shattered,”
he grunted absently, opening the refrigerator and snagging a chicken leg from
last night’s dinner. “I bet,” he mused between bites, “I’m the sort of guy that
gives drill sergeants nightmares.”  He pulled out a pitcher of tea and
selected a glass from the drain rack. “Want any?” He asked Steve holding up the
cup.