Dawn's confession.
It was normal for me to wake at first light and today was no exception, despite what happened in the early hours of the morning. I rolled out of the bunkroom, had a piss and then stood in front of the big windows that overlooked the deck and the bay beyond. Even though the sun wasn't up yet, I could see that the swell had dropped considerably but the shoulder to head high waves were still quite surfable.
I'd lost my favorite board the day before during the rescue, but still had my back-up. It was an experimental twin finned creation from my shaper that I had only ridden once before. It was going to take a bit of getting used to as I was just your average small wave surfer but excelled in big surf. These waves looked like the perfect size.
I had something else I needed to do before I hit the surf. Returning to the bunk room I stripped the sheets from my bed. Sure enough, there were lots of 'maps of Australia' as my brothers would call them. Cum stains from last night's activities. I threw them in the laundry washing machine, grabbed some Muesli out of the van and sat on the deck watching waves roll into the bay.
The sun was up as I trotted along the beach heading for the track along the point. There were a few morning walkers but I had eyes on the waves as I passed a girl and her dog.
"Good morning, Tim." It was Dawn.
"Oh hi... Dawn at Dawn." I smiled, noticing her eyes flicking up and down me. "And who is this?"
"Nea...he's Mum's dog. Well, he's supposed to be Mum's dog but spends most of his time with me."
I don't know what sort of a dog Nea was, obviously some sort of medium sized cross breed. Brown and white patches with rusty colored ears and feet. "Hi Nea." I squatted down and held out my hand. He looked at Dawn then slowly made his way to my hand where he sat down.
"What's a Nea?" I started scratching his head and ears.
"Mum's idea. Do you have Neapolitan ice cream in New Zealand. Chocolate strawberry and vanilla."
I laughed. "Okay, I get it."
"He doesn't normally take to strangers, seems to like you. Beautiful morning isn't it. This is my favorite time of day when the sun hits the sea. Sunrise for peace and harmony and sunsets for fire and brimstone."
"Sounds like Shakespeare. I was hoping I'd catch up with you." Dawn was wearing shorts and a T shirt. There was still a bit of a chill in the air and she obviously wasn't wearing a bra as her nipples were evident. She probably noticed me glance at them. Her legs and arms were tanned. "Umm...I've got a favor to ask. I was wondering Dawn if you'd consider going to a party with me. Jono's 21
st
tomorrow night. It's just that I won't know anyone there, and if you came, at least there would be someone to talk to, other than Jono that is, and I'm picking he might be a bit under the weather by then. It was nice talking with you last night."
Dawn seemed a bit flustered. "Umm...I'm not very good socially...I guess I could, but on one condition, If I don't like it, promise me we can leave."
"Done. But the same goes for me, it may be me who wants to leave. I'll pick you up at seven if that suits."
"Okay... Tim, can I ask you a question... what is it about surfing that makes you so passionate about it. I'm still half asleep and here you are running along the beach with a smile on your face looking at the waves?"
"Wow...that's a bit of a leading question; every surfer I know has probably tried to figure that out. For me it's a bit spiritual."
"How do you mean spiritual?"
"You can't describe the feeling of riding a wave to someone. They've got to experience it themselves to understand what it's like to be riding natures pure energy. At the risk of sounding a bit of a nutter, I look on the ocean as being a conscious entity. What do you see when you look at the bay today?"
She looked out and thought about it for a few moments. "Umm... the waves are smooth and glassy, and the way they are coming into the bay it's almost like they are being made by a machine; they are evenly spaced and when they break, they are all breaking the same way."
"That's pretty good. To me Tangaroa is saying come and have a play. I've put on my best dress today so let's party."
"Who's Tangirower?"
"Tangaroa. The Maori god of the ocean. He or she and I like to think of her as a she, even though it's a male name, is the same as Maui if you were in Hawaii, Poseidon or Neptune. I guess the Aboriginals have a name for him or her but I've only ever heard Aussies call the ocean Huey. Yesterday she was angry and wanted to show who is the boss. Something along the lines of 'come and have a go if you dare, but watch out I'm in a bad mood.' Today she's a bit contrite and apologetic. She's showing how well she can behave."
"Holy hell Tim. That's deep. So, you honestly believe that?"
I laughed. "Well, she's always looked after me. I say a Karakia every time I enter the water."
"What is that?"
"It's like a prayer of respect in Maori asking her if it's okay for me to enter her house. I do the same if I go fishing."
Dawn looked a little stunned. For once she managed to hold my eyes while thinking. Perhaps she was wondering if I was having her on. "Umm...I guess you better go and play then, instead of having me stand here asking you deep questions. Maybe I'll look at my paintings a bit different now. I've never thought of the ocean like that."
"Cool. Don't forget, seven tomorrow night." I gave Nea a final pat on the head, smiled at Dawn and trotted off towards the rocks.
There were a few others surfing today. We sort of lined up taking turns at catching waves, but there were plenty of them, so the vibe in the water was good. This board was different to anything I'd ridden before and after a couple of waves I started to get the hang of it. It turned in big flat curves unlike others with single fins that required leaning into turns with a combination of rail and fin.
At the risk of sounding vain again, I was ripping, and those around me took note of it. A couple of guys wanted to know all about the board so I swapped with them and they each had a go on it. They were ecstatic with how it performed and eventually followed me in to the beach and up to the van where I gave them the 'McRoy' order forms for their own boards.
Back at the clubhouse after washing off the salt, I wandered into the kitchen to say hello to Lorna and Katie.
"Morning girls."
"Oh hello." Lorna and Katie were doing a pile of dishes. I gave each of them a bit of a hug. Katie got a bit embarrassed and flustered.
"Have you had breakfast Tim and I want to know what you got up to last night. You were supposed to come home with me you know. Did you forget?" Lorna flicked a tea towel at my arm.
"Aw hell. I knew I was supposed to do something, clean forgot and yes, I had some Muesli thanks Lorna.
"Muesli...that's chook food. Bacon sausages and eggs coming your way mister. Well...come on, what did you get up to last night?"
"Early night for me, I was shot."
"Oh, I must have been mistaken then. It must have been some other guy with long hair I saw leaving with Dawn Francis as I was pulling out of the carpark."
I laughed. "Yeah...I walked Dawn home."
"She's a nice girl. Don't think much of some of her friends though." Lorna was putting food on the grill so I took her discarded tea towel and helped Katie by drying dishes. Katie was a bit taken back.
"Dishwasher won't go. It's a real pain. Have to wait for Roger to get someone in to fix it. He's at a council meeting."
The big stainless-steel washer had no power light showing, so I went over and checked the electrical cabinet on the wall. One of the circuit breakers had popped. Two seconds later after re-setting it, the control panel on the washer lit up.
"Bloody genius." said Lorna. "Extra sausage for you mate."
I was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with the rest of my day so decided to go for a walk into the town which meant walking back along the beach in the opposite direction from Dawn's house.
There was a walkway on the beach side of the road. A group of a half dozen guys were standing around their cars at an old pavilion type building on stilts jutting out onto the sand. It was obviously derelict and looked like it might have been an old surf club or maybe surf watch tower. As I got closer, I recognized a couple of them had surfed with me that morning. They all eyed me up as I approached.
"Howsit boys?" One of them, sort of smiled.
"Your one of the guys who saved Mrs. Dawson's arse aren't you? Saw you on the beach yesterday. That's a weird looking board you were riding today. Went alright though." The speaker was a dark-haired guy with a bit of a moustache and like the rest, his hair was slightly longish but nothing like mine.
"Thanks mate, different alright, that's the first time I've given it a decent go."
"Are you a pro?"
"What do you mean."
"You know, a professional surfer. You're pretty good."
I laughed. "Nah mate. Got a sponsor for boards but I don't think that counts. If you want to try out the twin fin, I'm staying at the surf club for a day or two. You're welcome to give it a shot."
"Seriously mate. Might do that. Hey how come the cops don't give shit about your hair, they give us grief all the time?"
"Yeah, well it seems as though I've got a bit of a pass on that meantime. You fellas on a lunch break?"
