Swell (38 page)

The last exchange of the final was later heralded as two of the best waves ever ridden at Pipe and the most memorable display of sportsmanship surfing had ever seen. Jason and Cain had made history in more ways than one. The crowd surged into the water to greet the surfers when they paddled towards the sand. When the final hooter sounded, they were both hoisted onto the shoulders of their fans and carried onto the beach. When they reached land, both rides were awarded perfect tens by the judges. No lesser score was justifiable. It was a dead heat, the first ever in a Pipemasters final.

‘This is an unprecedented situation, ladies and gentlemen,’ said Rock, his voice breaking with the euphoria of what we had all just witnessed. ‘I’m not sure what will happen here. There may be a count back to all the scores awarded by every judge rather than just the average. I will let you know as soon as I know. Wow, this is incredible. We could have two winners for the first time ever here in Hawaii.’

The latter was already true. After everything they had overcome, Jason and Cain were both winners.

‘What happens now?’ Chuck squealed. ‘Does he win the title?’

‘I don’t know,’ I laughed giddily, ‘I’m confused.’

‘I don’t care,’ Ben laughed, throwing his arms around Izel, ‘this is the best day of my life.’

‘Mine too!’ Izel cheered and planted a kiss on Ben’s lips.

Their blushes made us all laugh.

Oli patted Ricky on the back and then shrieked when Chuck lifted him up and kissed him on his balding head. Oli wriggled and swore but I could tell he was enjoying the moment as much as the rest of us.

‘Oh my God, my toes moved!’ Wyatt suddenly shouted out.

I fell to my knees beside him in the sand.

‘You’re kidding, Wyatt, really?’

A grin spread across his handsome face.

‘No, I’m only joking but that sort of thing happens in the movies.’

I jabbed him playfully.

‘Gets you able-bodied folk every time,’ he winked. ‘Mind you, right now I feel like I could stand up out of this wheelchair and run over to hug Jason myself. Do it for me, Bailey.’

I nodded, stood up and began to walk across the sand towards the swarm of fans holding Jason aloft. He saw me and tapped their hands.

‘Let me down a second, guys,’ he said.

The crowd lowered him to the soft sand and parted to let me through. I beamed at Jason and he beamed back, his face sparkling with a mixture of water droplets and euphoria.

I opened my mouth to speak but Rock’s voice filled the air.

‘The count back changes nothing, ladies and gentlemen. The Pipemasters is a dead heat between Jason Cross and Cain Ohana. We have two worthy winners.’

I clasped a hand to my mouth. I knew what that meant.

‘And as a result Jason Cross is the new world champion by the smallest of margins, twelve points. Show your appreciation for the new world champion, record breaker and thirteen-times winner, JASON CROSS!’

I shrieked with laughter and covered my ears when the fans erupted with the force of a volcano. They jumped up and down and cheered and Jason and I were forced together.

‘You did it,’ I laughed, my body pressed up against his.

‘We did it,’ he laughed back and wrenched me off my feet into a hug.

I kissed him quickly and then let the spectators carry him away to join Cain on the podium. It was Jason’s moment, one to share with his fans around the world. We could celebrate later.

‘I want to dedicate this world title first to my best friend, Rory, who passed away at this beach so recently. His spirit was with me today. This is for you Rory.’ Jason stood in the centre of the podium and lifted the trophy towards the sky. ‘Secondly I want to thank my crew who make all this possible for me. I may be the one out there surfing but believe me a lot goes on behind the scenes to get me there.’

‘For shizzle,’ Chuck sniggered beside me.

‘My manager, Chuck who is a ball of energy and a great friend. My team manager, Oli, who…’

‘Is a pain in the goddamn ass,’ Chuck murmured while Oli strained to hear his praise.

‘My father who was the man who took me surfing in the first place. I would be nothing without you.’

Ricky bowed modestly, while on the podium Cain watched him with a curious intensity.

‘My young friends over there Iz, Ben and Wyatt who may think I inspire them but in truth they inspire me more than they will ever know.’

Izel was already crying with happiness.

‘And,’ Jason breathed, ‘my biographer, confidante, friend and rock, Bailey Brown, who came into my world a year ago and made it a better place. You have her to thank for me surfing today. It’s a long story and she will tell it much better than I can, believe me.’

Not used to such public praise, I swallowed the ball of emotion in my throat and nodded at Jason to say thank you while the crowd broke into enthusiastic applause.

‘Next,’ Jason turned to face Cain, ‘I want to thank Cain. You all know we have had feuds over the years and we have both been through ups and downs in our careers but if I had not had a surfer as incredible as Cain to compete against I would never have reached this level. His awesome ability made me have to dig deeper to beat him. We have both had a profound effect on each other and today, well today we learned to respect each other too.’

Cain smiled, which he rarely did in public and shook hands with Jason.

Jason paused and took a deep breath before he spoke again.

‘Finally I want to announce my retirement from competitive surfing.’

The crowd gasped and Chuck almost fell over.

‘I have competed for a long time and I have finally won the record thirteenth title. That is all I ever dreamed of and I want to thank all of you, my fans, for supporting me and being loyal to me for so long.’ He raised the cup to his chest and gently kissed it. ‘The reality is even better than the dream and I am so thankful for all of this. I won’t disappear completely but now’ – he glanced back at Cain – ‘now it’s Cain’s turn. He is the new generation and the man to beat and I wish him luck. Thank you and goodbye. For now.’

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

I made some calls. In just a matter of days I would be back home and it was about time I reconnected with my real family and my agent.

‘Twistan is in the earwy Monday morning meeting,’ said the receptionist, Lolly, which she unfortunately pronounced ‘Wowwy’.

I had already been on hold long enough for the soundtrack to complete a full circuit of a Patagonian panpipe CD.

Thankfully I was calling on Jason’s free phone or I may as well have been throwing dollar bills out of the window.

‘Who shall I say called?’

‘As I said, Lolly, I’m Bailey Brown, one of his authors,’ I said through gritted teeth.

‘Baiwey Bwown,’ she said.

I suspected the apparent pressed-lip concentration was actually focused on the application of nail varnish while balancing the telephone on her shoulder.

‘Is his assistant available, Lolly? I’m calling from Hawaii to let him know I have finished my book.’

Little Miss Brain Bypass failed to react to the triumphant news and put me on hold for a further infuriating panpipe rendition of
Greensleeves
, while she very likely filed her toenails and gave herself a spray tan in the Ladies.

‘Vewonica is in the earwy Monday morning meeting too I’m afwaid.’

If I were Lolly, I’d be afraid of my head floating off my shoulders like a helium balloon.

‘I could twy Audwey for you.’

‘Who’s Audwey? I mean Audrey.’

‘She’s Vewonica’s assistant.’

The assistant to my agent’s assistant. I did not realise how far down the pecking order I had slipped in a year. Out of sight, out of mind, out of favour, out on my ear. I kicked myself for not having kept Tristan up to date with my progress.

‘Don’t worry, Lolly, I will arrange a meeting with Tristan when I return to London with the manuscript. If you just let him know I called, thanks.’

‘No pwoblem. Now what was your name again?’

‘J.K. Rowling,’ I growled and hung up the phone.

My next call was to my mother. I had been thinking about her and my father almost daily since Rory died. My mother had lost her husband in the most painful and guilt-ridden way I could imagine. It was no wonder she was bitter. I had decided to try and rebuild our strained relationship when I got home.

‘Mother, it’s Bailey.’

‘Bailey, what are you calling so bloody early for? Where’s the fire?’

‘Sorry, Mother, I’m calling from Hawaii.’

‘My heart bleeds.’

I took a deep breath and pressed on.

‘I just wanted to call and let you know I will be home soon. I just finished my book.’

My mother sniffed.

‘I’ll shampoo the red carpet shall I?’

I sighed.

‘Is that Auntie Bailey? Is she a big, famous author now?’

‘Zac?’

Joanna took the phone. I doubted my mother put up much of a fight. She had never been one for recreational telephone use.

‘Mother had a small accident with a cigarette and a sofa,’ Joanna explained without even saying hello.

Her voice was heavy with weariness.

‘I was on the school run with Zac but we had to make a detour.’

A lump formed in my throat as Joanna ploughed on with the story. It was as if she were explaining the sorry tale to herself, trying to fathom the whole point of her having got out of bed that morning.

‘I’ve finished my book,’ I said eventually.

My reason for calling seemed irrelevant now.

‘Congratulations.’

‘So I will head home soon.’

‘Why on earth would you want to do that?’

‘To see you all. To meet my agent. To get back to normal.’

My voice trailed off.

‘You don’t sound thrilled at the prospect, Bailey.’

I could not pretend otherwise.

‘If you want my advice,’ Joanna said sadly, ‘stay as far away from here as possible.’

I was stunned by my sister’s candour when she was usually so sensible.

‘This is not “normal”, Bailey, this is just one way of living and if you can find a way of living where the sun shines and you find sand in your pockets and you have beautiful, happy friends, why not stay there? Don’t come back here because of guilt or misplaced loyalty. Live your life, Bailey. Don’t make the same mistake I did.’

I was speechless. A tear rolled down my cheek, which flowed into a river of tears when I heard Zac say he loved me in the background.

‘I love you both too,’ I said, masking a sob.

‘Send us a signed copy,’ said Joanna, adding with a soft laugh, ‘and get one of those handsome surfers to deliver it will you? I haven’t seen a six-pack in the flesh for years.’

I laughed. If I had had a dollar for every six-pack I had seen over the year I would have been a rich woman.

‘I have to go, Bailey. Mother is trying to light a cigarette on the gas fire. I hope we don’t see you soon if you have any sense.’

It was officially the strangest sibling conversation I had ever had.

‘
What are you doing?’ said Jason. ‘You’re missing the party.’

I looked up from my laptop and smiled at the boyish grin on his sun-kissed face. Despite the dramas of the day, Jason looked so happy and at peace with himself. His salty blond hair flopped over one eye. He blew it back and walked into the room. He was still wearing the fresh flower lei from the prize presentation and he was holding two flutes of champagne, one of which he handed to me.

‘Cheers,’ I said, clinking my glass against his and taking a sip.

‘Is it done?’

I nodded, words suddenly escaping me. Which was hardly surprising when I had just typed three thousand of them in one sitting.

‘Oh,’ he said quietly, the smile fading from his cheeks that were already tinged with a champagne induced glow, ‘that’s good I guess. Time to get this baby published, huh?’

‘Mmm,’ was all I could muster.

We both sat and stared at the laptop that contained the story of Jason’s life we would tell to the world.

‘So we’re done then?’ he said.

‘Yes we are.’

We looked at each other, a loaded silence between us.

‘You haven’t written “The End” yet,’ he said.

I lowered my champagne glass onto the bedside table and reached out for the keys but Jason clasped my wrist.

‘Wait a minute. What about the next chapter?’

‘There isn’t a next chapter. I’m done.’

Jason blinked.

‘There’s always another chapter.’

Jason pulled me up from the bed. The champagne fizzed on my tongue, matching the buzz I felt inside whenever we were alone together. Jason stopped at the bedroom door. The victory party was in full swing outside if the sounds of music, chattering voices and laughter were anything to go by. Wyatt was singing along to an acoustic guitar, his voice as clear as the champagne bubbles in my glass. Chuck’s voice boomed above them all of course as if he had a megaphone permanently stapled to his lips.

‘Let’s go out of the window.’

‘What? We’re not fifteen years old.’

Jason winked.

‘Then let’s pretend we are. Come on, I want to escape the party for a bit. I’ve had a long, hard, very confusing day.’

We climbed out of the ground floor window, giggling at our own immaturity. When my dress caught on the window latch, Jason unhooked it and lifted me gently to the ground. His eyes ran swiftly over my exposed flesh as he did so. I smiled and followed him through the palm trees and down onto the beach.

In the peacefulness that moonlight brings, one could have been forgiven for thinking an ocean as calm as the Mediterranean was lapping the beach but I would forever recognise the profound rumble of Pacific swells hitting offshore reefs. The ebullient waves were only visible by the dark shadow they formed in the distance, outlined with a crest of white foam. If the mythical white horses really existed, they were galloping as merrily by night as they had done by day.

I had bare feet and relished the sensation of my toes sinking into the fine sand. Joanna was right; I would never tire of finding sand in my pockets and in my shoes. My feet were naturally exfoliated and even my little toe sported an impressive tan. The sand beneath the surface was cool to the touch as we walked cordially along the shore.