Page 14

Chapter Fourteen

JACK

T he ride had gone much smoother after my seat change. Robyn was a bright and smart seat partner. I noticed Pam giving her the cold shoulder as we piled our stuff on the moist ground. Robyn had offered her some of the sunblock she had readily available right there on her palm, but Pam shrugged it off and instead spent the next five minutes shuffling around in her belongings for her own bottle of sunblock. Norm had made it to the end of the journey without losing his breakfast. I was sure Ava appreciated that. I was also sure she regretted bringing him along as much as I regretted asking Pam to join us. In my defense, she was a last resort. No one else wanted the open spot.

Norm quickly wandered over to the shade of an acacia tree. He sat down and wiped his brow as if we’d already done the hike. If a bus trip tired him out, then I could only imagine him after a long, hot hike.

“Hello,” an elderly man with chalky gray hair and deep wrinkles waddled out of the rafting office on two very bowed legs. “My name is Matteo. We’re so glad you made it, and today is a perfect day for a glide down the river.” The river did look calm, glassy almost. While I wouldn’t have minded a bit of rapids to liven things up, this probably wasn’t the group for that. The younger generation, Gen Z, as they were called, tended to spend much more time doing things virtually rather than in live action. It would be interesting to watch them deep in nature where crawling things bit and flying things landed in your plate of beans.

The raft looked sturdy and big enough for ten people. But ten people with large packs seemed like a stretch.

“Oscar and Jamie will take your things downriver in the smaller raft. The eight of you will join me and Joe”—he pointed to the young man pulling life jackets and gear out of a shed—“and we’ll take you downriver to the biological station. From there, it’s about a two-hour hike to the campsite. I have some forms for you to sign, so we have all your contact information for emergencies.”

That got Norm’s attention. “I thought this was a quiet, easy trip down the river.” He wiped his brow again.

“Ah yes, of course it is at this time of year, but this isn’t the Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland.” He laughed heartily as he said it, and I was sure he said the exact same thing to all his rafting guests. “Anything can happen, so we’ll go over some rules and then we’ll put on our safety gear.”

Minutes later, after Matteo finished his long laundry list of rules with the final one—if you do fall out, don’t panic—Norm looked as if he still might lose that breakfast. Evan, the quiet, thoughtful member of the group, talked to him in a reassuring tone. His mention that if he didn’t get in the raft, he’d have to walk the extra miles sent Norm scurrying toward the pile of safety gear.

Ava and I picked up our vests and helmets last. I stared out at the incredibly calm river as I belted up my life jacket. “I could drop an inner tube in that water and just coast down to the station.”

Matteo heard me. He came closer, apparently already noticing that at least one of the group feared this whole trip. “There are a few stretches of rapids, but nothing to worry about. Now, if you want a fun ride, show up here in October, after the heavy rains. Then we’ll give you a run for your money.” He chuckled as he walked away.

I turned back to Ava. “Norm does know how to swim, right?”

“He assured me he did, but it wasn’t as if I could test his claim. He has a life vest on, and I can’t see him doing anything except folding himself into the bracing position for the whole trip.”

They were words she’d take back just an hour into the ride down the river.

The few rapid spots were no more than a tumble of rocks where the water rushed over at a faster pace. Otherwise, it was not much less predictable than the Disney ride that Matteo alluded to.

As we drifted into an area that was more like a serene lake than a river, everyone took out cameras to catch a shot of a sloth lazily climbing up the trunk of a tree on the riverbank. The dense jungle foliage crisscrossed the bank in thick, green ropes and then spilled into the water. There were so many birds in the trees along the river that it was hard to hear any distinct calls, and they added a rainbow of color to the otherwise dark green landscape.

The river had slowed enough that Matteo and Joe pulled out paddles. They offered them to any takers. I grabbed one, and Evan took the other.

“Hold on,” Robyn said. She looked at Matteo. “I just need a few more pictures.”

The photo session had even emboldened Norm. He’d unrolled from the bracing position about fifteen minutes into the ride. There was too much to see, even for him. Now he’d grown even bolder, leaning far over the edge of the raft to catch some pictures of a howler monkey sunning himself on a rock.

“I can’t believe it. A monkey, and I’m not at the zoo,” he said. Just then, the raft coasted into a dip. The boat swooped down and then popped up fast, causing Norm to drop his phone into the river. And since all of us thought we’d fall down dead without our phones, Norm reacted the way most people would. He lurched out over the edge of the raft in a futile attempt to grab it before it sank below the surface. In that instant, far more of Norman was outside the raft than inside it. Gravity reared her predictable head and pulled Norm head over heels into the water.

Pam and Robyn gasped, and Evan moved quickly into action at the side of the raft. Ava leaned over, too.

“He’ll be fine. We’re in calm waters,” Matteo said with a chuckle. “Not the first time we’ve had someone go overboard, and certainly not the last. Tell the young man just to swim to the side and then two of you can help pull him back inside.” The directions were simple, and panic in the raft was minimal; in fact, nonexistent. That was how calm the waters were around us. Outside the raft was another matter.

Ava and Evan reached their hands out, but rather than reach for their outstretched hands, Norm began to flap his arms wildly. As he created a big splash around him, the raft continued its journey downstream.

Ava leaned forward more. “Norm, kick your legs out and catch up.”

Norman was wearing a thick life jacket, but he was flailing around like a person with no safety gear drowning in the middle of a storm surge.

“Stop struggling and swim toward us,” Evan pleaded.

Norm was in full panic mode.

“You do know how to swim, don’t you?” Ava asked. “Just put your legs out behind you and kick.”

Norman ignored all requests.

“I believe he just answered your question,” I said. The raft kept moving away from him. “Do you want me to jump in after him?”

Ava groaned in irritation. “No, I’ll go.”

As she threw her leg over, Matteo tossed out an ominous warning in a very cheery tone. “Tell him to stop splashing, or he’ll wake up those crocs on the shore.”

All of us looked toward the shore. Matteo had not been exaggerating. There were at least three big ones, still as rocks, on the bank.

“My foot is stuck!” Norm screamed. “I’m stuck!”

Ava dropped into the water and swam over to Norman. Matteo and Joe worked to keep the raft from moving too far away, but we’d ended up in a current that badly wanted to move the raft along, and the river bottom was farther down than the paddles could reach. Evan and Ian picked up paddles to also work against the current. The boat started turning in circles, but at least we weren’t drifting farther away from the two people in the water.

Ava reached Norm. His panicked fist immediately swung out and smacked her face. “Damnit, Norm, just stop moving. The vest will hold you above the water.” She touched her face.

“Professor Lovely,” I called across the water. “Do you need help?”

“No, we’re fine. His shoe is caught on something. I’m going to have to take off my vest.”

“That’s against the rules,” Matteo said. “Have him kick off his shoe. He’ll have to leave it behind.”

Suddenly, it seemed there was a lot more adrenaline on the boat and in my body. “Seriously, Lo, I’m coming in.”

She waved off the notion. “We’ll be right there.”

Norm had stopped flailing, and we could hear him arguing with her about leaving his shoe behind.

“The crocs are moving,” Joe said calmly at the rear of the boat.

“Not surprising,” Matteo said. He looked at me. “They need to get back to the boat.”

I leaned over the side. “Ava, get his shoe off. Hurry.”

Norman grunted. “I tied it too tightly.

Robyn gasped. “The crocs are in the water.”

“They move slow on land, but they’re fast in water,” Matteo said.

They might have been moving fast, but the whole scene felt like a slow-motion horror flick. I jumped in and swam toward Ava and Norm. Ava was already taking off her life vest by the time I got there. She dove under for a few seconds and popped up with a gasp of air. “It’s untied. Pull him.”

I grabbed Norm by the vest and yanked him hard. Admittedly, there was probably just as much anger as angst behind the strength. “I’ve got him. Put your vest on.” I handed it back to Ava. “No time to tie it. We’ve got visitors.” I motioned toward the three slow wakes of water heading toward us.

I dragged a coughing, sputtering Norman to the raft. “Try closing your mouth,” I barked at him.

Robyn was keeping an eye on the crocs and giving us a play by play. Evan and Ian pulled him on board. “They’re only twenty yards out.”

I stayed in the water and waited to help Ava onto the raft. I swam behind her, circled my hands around her waist and lifted her up. She draped herself over the side of the raft and pulled her long legs in before spinning around and offering me her hand. Evan pitched in, and I was out of the water just as Robyn said, “So close I can see their eyes.”

Norman made quite the scene, panting and coughing and managing in between those two things to complain about losing his shoe. Then Ian reminded him that his phone was gone, too, and Norm curled up in a petulant ball and refused to talk to anyone.

I took my seat in the raft again. The sun was warm, and it wouldn’t take long to dry. Ava’s long black hair had come loose from its ponytail. It hung in black, inky strands over her shoulders. Our gazes met, and she nodded a thank you. I spent the next hour of the raft trip thinking about the level of panic I had reached, worried that something might have happened to her.