Shannon was fidgeting and rocking her chair backwards and forwards, clunking it on the floor each time. Her feet were propped up against the railing and her jean shorts were bunching up around her upper thighs as she pushed back to rock the chair.
Rob was getting annoyed. He was deeply into the detailed engineering of the robotic elements of the design. Getting this part right was critical to the success of the project. Shannon's company, normally a mildly distracting diversion from the work, was not welcome at this time. Must be like having kids when they are becoming a pain in the butt, he thought.
He still didn't know why she hung out on his porch, even if they were neighbours. Tran Nui was a young adult playground and there were lots of them around. A random thought went through Rob's mind that there must be a beach somewhere in Vietnam specifically reserved for middle aged people. The youthfulness of the place was getting to him. The abundance of lithe tanned bodies was picturesque and he couldn't deny the visual appeal. It was just that being, on average, twice the age of most of the beach residents was making him feel like an alien from another planet.
Shawn, another engineer with the company, had suggested Tran Nui as a good place to work on designs after the contract was signed with the Chinese auto company and before they could begin work proper. Going back to Toronto was an option, however Rob took a good four days each way to get over the jet lag during which time his productivity cratered. The engineering firm that Rob was a partner in couldn't really afford the time for him to be nodding off by one thirty in the afternoon. Thinking back now, however, a recommendation for a quiet destination from a twenty something engineer was probably not the best advise. Generally, however the kids at the beach resort left him alone. He was the old guy they couldn't quite figure out why he was there.
Still, it was truly a beautiful place and for the most part he was in isolation which allowed him to get his work done. Except of course, now there was Shannon fidgeting on the porch of his hut. When she first arrived ten days ago she had glanced at him from her adjoining porch, grunted a perfunctory hi and then cleared out as fast as possible, striding quickly down the beach in the direction of the beach bar.
'Hi' was all he ever heard out of her when their paths crossed in the first few days. He was barely aware of her existence and he was certain that few of her thoughts were lost on him. All was good.
Further down the beach a bunch of young people were setting up a volleyball game. Not wanting to sound too obvious about his need to get her off of his front porch, Rob casually glanced over at the youthful tanned bodies and as gently as possible said to Shannon:
"Hey, looks like a game being set up. I bet they could use some more players," Rob glanced expectantly at her and then over to the net.
"Are you trying to get rid of me?" she snapped back, her eyes widening and flaring. This was followed be even more fidgeting. So much for the subtle approach he thought. Was he about to get a lesson in parenting that he never had the need for?
"um, no ... just thought it might be getting a bit boring sitting beside an older guy wrapped up in his um .... laptop," Rob awkwardly replied, somewhat taken aback by her irritability. What was up with her and why was she taking it out on him.
A feeling of tension settled over the porch. 'I could get this atmosphere in a conference room at the office. I don't need to travel halfway around the planet for this,' Rob thought. Never having had children he was at a loss as what to do or say next so he went back to design specs. Well sort of, his awareness of the icy atmosphere was throwing him off his game.
***
Earlier
The first time communication between Rob and Shannon went beyond a perfunctory 'hi' was five nights after she had arrived next door. The bar had been rocking that night. For a couple of hours , Joel, an Australian backpacker, had been lining up tequila shots on the table that Shannon had been sharing with him and two other Ozzie girls. Shannon had failed to notice that Amy and Ruth had stopped taking shots. She had missed their perplexed looks directed at her. She was too far gone at that point.
The two other girls had no idea how a five foot one girl could drink so much and still stand until they realized that Shannon couldn't. Shannon had previously ignored all drinking games during undergrad. That night, however, had been enchanting - with soft winds blowing through the open air bar, the sound of the waves crashing on the beach and her animated, lively Australian drinking mates made her forget her normal inhibitions. She became seriously, stupidly intoxicated.
Amy and Ruth, with sheepish help from Joel, walked, or more precisely dragged Shannon back to her porch, found her key in her purse and flopped her onto the bed. When she seemed to be deeply sleeping and out of immediate danger they quietly left.
Rob had heard the commotion of their arrival at about one in the morning. Kids, he groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. He tossed and turned for awhile, trying to get back to sleep when he heard Shannon's door slam back against the hinges then awkward noises as someone lurched out onto the sand. There was a moment of quiet and then the sound of violent retching reached him.
'Ooookaay,' he thought. He knew what that was all about, thankful that similar substance abuse was a distant memory of his past.
The vomiting continued for close to two minutes. He started to stir. At first, he tried pulling the pillow down more tightly over his ears but the volume of the retching was only slightly diminished.
Suddenly, he bolted upright in bed as his first aid skills and awareness kicked in. He presumed this was his neighbour and quite possibly he was the only person in range and conscious of her distress. Passing out and choking on vomit was a clear threat to someone as far gone as she apparently was.
Rob pulled himself awake, dragged on his cargo shorts and padded out on bare feet towards the sound of the retching. It was his neighbour and she was on her knees, her face in the dim moonlight was hanging over a puddle on the sand. She was wheezing and gasping.
"Hi, I'm your neighbour, Rob Mclean. I am trained in first aid. Would you like some help?" He had recently re-certified in basic and advanced first aid so was well aware of the drill.
"What's your name," he asked when he received no immediate reply to his offer of assistance. He wanted to hear her talk to confirm the ABC's of her health.
She gasped, "Sh..sh.. Shannon," before vomiting again, mostly dry heaves. Her words assured Rob that her airway, breathing and circulation were okay. He did some secondary assessment and when not seeing any obvious signs of bleeding or other issues he gently put his hand on her shoulder to try to start calming her down. The vomiting gradually abated and her breaths slowly normalized to soft open mouth gasps.
"I'm a fucking idiot," she quietly spoke while staring at the sand .
Rob thought, 'Hey, no doubt about that!' But he cut kids her age some slack remembering back to his own youth and the wretched stuff he had done to his body.
