Sarah wasn’t in a much happier mood the next few days. She was glum and uncommunicative, even for her, and Nanci worried no little amount about her friend. She managed to apply herself to her class work, and from what Nanci could tell it was going fairly well, but she was clearly not a happy camper. Nanci couldn’t blame her much.

There had been no word from her parents, not that Sarah had turned on her cell phone in case they might call. From what Nanci could tell, Sarah’s opinion was that the wound was too deep to heal.

A few days afterward Sarah did get a letter from her parents. It wasn’t very friendly, and there was no sign that her parents had any intention of healing anything with her. In the letter she was urged once again to reconsider going with them to Africa, or at least joining them for the summer, and there was also the suggestion that she reconsider getting together with Abraham Bowman. Needless to say, Sarah didn’t take either of the suggestions well, but at least she didn’t break down in tears or use swear words this time although what she said wasn’t very nice, to say the least.

But the letter did contain one positive thing: a key. Sarah’s parents had rented a storage locker in Huntington, and were putting her things into it. The locker was rented for two months, and after that she would have to make other arrangements, but that wasn’t enough to make Sarah feel any better. “I know what I have at what used to be home,” she said. “Most of it I don’t want to see again. There are a few things I’d like to keep, but I could probably get them in one suitcase. Most of what I really want I already have here.”

“It’s something,” Nanci pointed out.

“I suppose we ought to go over and see what’s there,” Sarah shrugged, “but let’s put it off until after they’ve gone. I don’t want to run the risk of running into them anytime soon and maybe ever again.”

“Suit yourself. We can do that.”

The problem of what Sarah was going to do for the summer was somewhat knottier, but Mrs. Ellison came to the rescue, at least a little bit. There was work that needed to be done around the place in the summer, cleaning, painting, mowing the lawn, and things like that, and she offered to trade room and board to have Sarah do them. It was not the perfect solution in a number of ways, a big one being that she was going to be close to stranded in Hickory Run without a car, but it might do if no one came up with a better idea.

They did briefly investigate the idea of summer classes at Black Mesa College. Nanci neither asked nor suggested it to Sarah, but it seemed likely that if she asked right she might be able to arrange for her to stay in her old room with Jon and Tanisha if she were willing to help out with Barbie and Billy. But the idea soon ran aground; Sarah was on scholarship from the conference to attend Hickory Run, but her scholarship wouldn’t apply at Black Mesa, and that made it much too expensive to consider.

Spring break was coming up; Nanci didn’t plan on doing much of anything other than hanging around Hickory Run, catching up on her nap time, and doing some more driving practice with Sarah. That now seemed more important than ever even though there was likely to be no car for her in the foreseeable future.

By the time the first of March had rolled around Sarah was getting back to normal, at least what normal was for her after the scene with her parents a week and a half before. They were sitting in Nanci’s room editing each others’ papers that were due in a class the next day when Nanci’s cell phone gave off its annoying electronic ring.

“Now, I wonder who that could be,” she said as she reached for the phone.

“It better not be my parents,” Sarah spat. “If it is, I’m not here.”

“OK,” Nanci replied as she flipped open the phone and turned it on. “Hi, it’s me,” she said. “May the Lord be with you.”

“Reverend Chladek, it’s Reverend Lackamp,” she heard Sarah’s father say. “Is Sarah there? I can’t get anything but voicemail on her cell phone.”

“What do you want to talk to her about?” It wasn’t a lie, but at least it was a diversion. She glanced over to the bed where Sarah was sitting with a frown on her face, shaking her head.

“I know she doesn’t believe it, but we’re still worried about her. After that unfortunate mix-up back at Christmas, I want her to know that we’ve arranged for Reverend Bowman to stop by next week so they can get together. I want her to be pleasant, and try to understand that he’s not that bad.”

“Reverend Bowman, huh?” Nanci said, noting the look of pure distaste on Sarah’s face. “Reverend Lackamp, I’m sure you know how Sarah feels about him. That’s about the last thing you should be asking of her right now.”

“I still think it would be the right thing for her to do. He could provide her with the guidance and support she needs if she’s not going to listen to us. Now, would you ask her to please be nice to him and consider what he has to say?”

Nanci glanced over at Sarah; she was pretty sure she couldn’t have heard her father’s words, but she was shaking her head wildly; she didn’t need any more information than that. Nanci thought quickly, then said, “Well, I’m sorry that it’s going to be a wasted trip for him, but Sarah and I are going to be in Florida for spring break.”

“Are you sure you have to do that? He’s flying in from where he’s studying Chinese in California, and he’s only going to be able to be there for a few days.”

“Oh, yes, I’m sure,” Nanci replied. “We’ve been planning this for a long time.” Perhaps as much as five seconds, she thought as she went on, “Back when I was at Black Mesa I never got a chance to go on spring break. All the kids there went to Mexico or something, but I had to stay home and watch Barbie and Billy. This could be my last chance, so we decided to take advantage of it. We have all the reservations we need made and everything.”

“Couldn’t you just leave her behind and go by yourself?”

“No, I wouldn’t want to do that,” Nanci grinned. She hadn’t actually told a lie yet, but there were a couple times it had been close. “It’s not as much fun to go by myself, and it wouldn’t be fair to Sarah, It’s not as if she’d actually agreed to a date with Reverend Bowman, just like the last time. It would have been nice if you’d spoken to her before you promised him but it’s not her fault. I’m sorry for Reverend Bowman, but maybe he can get his money back on his plane reservations.”

“She should really take the time to talk to him. He could be the answer to a lot of her problems.”

“I don’t think she’d agree with you, sir. From what I understand, she’s met the man and doesn’t like him. I really think you’re wasting your time trying to push him on her, and you’re already alienating her enough as it is abandoning her for your African mission despite your inviting her along when you know she doesn’t want to go back there. I’ll pass the message along, but if he shows up here he shouldn’t expect to find her waiting. Good luck in Africa and try to stay safe. I’m told that hippopotamuses look friendly but they can be pretty dangerous. I’ll see you sometime, sir.”

“Reverend Chladek . . .” was all she heard before she punched the cell phone off, and once again she turned it all the way off so he couldn’t call back.

“Abe Bowman again, huh?” Sarah shook her head, but now in obvious relief. “That man reminds me of a hippopotamus and his breath is even worse. What’s more, you were right about them being dangerous, and so is he.”

“I have to say that I didn’t think they’d given up on that yet,” Nanci said as she closed the cell phone and put it on the desk. “So I guess it’s not a surprise.”

“What was that about Florida?”

“It was the first thing I could think of,” Nanci smiled. “But I don’t think it’s all that bad an idea. Your father said this Bowman character was flying in from California while he’s on break, so if he does he’ll probably show up here to make sure we weren’t bull . . . uh, pulling his leg.”

“He was here when we were in Arizona so I wouldn’t put it past him,” Sarah agreed. “But Nanci, Florida? I don’t have much money and I can’t waste what little I have with no possibility of a paying job in the near future. I mean, I’m sure I’m not going to be getting any more money from my parents, not that they ever gave me much in the first place.”

“Yeah, that is a problem. It’s not like I’m exactly made of money either. I still have some cash from rafting last summer, but not tons of it. But at least if we’re in Florida Bowman won’t be able to find you here.”

“There is that to consider, isn’t there?”

“Well, we could go but whatever we’d do would have to be cheap,” Nanci shook her head. There was an idea flickering around in her mind, and it took a few seconds for it to gel. “Sarah, have you ever done any camping out?”

“Of course not. With my folks? You have to be kidding, unless you consider that the first eleven years of my life were mostly camping out. It was pretty much that primitive.”

“Are you willing to give it a try?”

“So I don’t have to deal with Bowman? I’d settle for sleeping under a bridge.”

“How about surfing? Have you ever wanted to try that?”

“Are you kidding? Me?”

“We’re still in first-time-for-everything mode, Sarah,” Nanci grinned. “And this time I’ll be right alongside you.”

“What are you thinking?”

“Long story, but the short way to tell it is that when Al was a kid, he and a buddy were into surfing big time. His buddy now runs a surf shop somewhere down in Florida. Crystal used to go down there just about every winter to see him and go surfing, and she’s always told me I ought to try it sometime. Anyway, this surf shop has a beach, and he usually lets his friends camp out back. He and his wife were on a river trip with us a few years ago, and they’re pretty cool people.”

“You seem to know a lot of pretty cool people.”

“It’s one of the things that comes with being a Colorado River boatman,” Nanci smiled. “Are you up for it?”

“Again, if it avoids Bowman, I’d settle for sleeping under a bridge.”

“Good. Let me see if I can get this set up. If this doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else.” She picked up the cell phone and turned it back on. This number didn’t take a lot of dialing; it was on autodial.

“Nanci, you really scare me sometimes,” Sarah shook her head. “I mean, the things you get me into.”

Nanci ignored her as she listened to the phone ringing. In a moment, she heard Crystal answer. “Hey, sis, what’s happening in Flag these days?”

“It’s March, so we’re now into raft maintenance and rigging,” her sister replied. She was the assistant manager of Canyon Tours – Al was the manager – and Nanci knew what the spring maintenance was all about. “To top it off, Bucky has the croup and he’s driving us nuts.”

“You knew that was going to happen when you decided to get pregnant,” Nanci smiled. “Are you still going to have another one right away?”

“Yes, but it’s probably going to be a couple more months before we get started. I don’t want to be that pregnant in the heat of the summer again if I can help it. So what’s on your mind, Reverend Chladek?”

“Hey, are you still in touch with Buddha and Giselle?”

“Yeah, Preach and I were giving some thought to sneaking down there toward the end of the month if we can get all the raft work corralled. We’re not going to be able to get away to do anything else this winter. Why, are you finally thinking about giving surfing a try?”

“If you can believe it, yes,” Nanci smiled. “I won’t go into the background, but Sarah and I think it would be best if we weren’t around here next week. Do you think he’d mind if we came down, got a few lessons, and maybe camped out in back of his place like you used to do?”

“If it’s you I don’t think he’d mind. I probably ought to call him up and grease the skids for you, though.”

“Could you do that please, Crystal? I mean, like right now?”

“You must really want to get out of there bad.”

“Yes, we do. I don’t want to get into the details but it’s a long story that involves more trouble Sarah has with her folks, so it would be best if we can hit the road Friday night, Saturday morning at the latest.”

“You’re not giving me much time, but let me try. I’ll give you a call back when I can get hold of him or tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“No, don’t call me back since I won’t have my phone on. I’ll call you back in an hour or so.”

“Let me grab my cell and call him right now, that way you won’t have to get off the line. I’d let you talk to Preach, but he’s busy trying to get Bucky to quit crying.”

It took close to ten minutes for Crystal to get back on the line; all that time Nanci could hear Crystal talking in the background, and Bucky making a fuss. Well, it went with the territory; she’d learned that with Barbie and Billy. “Buddha says it’s not only fine, he’d love to see you again. He remembers you pretty well from that trip we were on when Al and Mom got married.”

“OK, fine,” Nanci said. “Look, first thing in the morning, can you get together a package of camping gear and overnight it to Buddha? I think a tent, sleeping bags, foam pads, maybe that little alcohol stove you used to use sometimes.”

“Sure, I can do that, but overnighting it isn’t going to be cheap.”

“Charge it against my salary for next summer,” Nanci smiled.

“Hey, if you’re going to be surfing, you probably ought to have some wetsuits. It may be Florida, but the water gets chillier than you think down there this time of year. I learned that years ago.”

“Well, I know I can wear Mom’s wetsuit, I did it last year. Sarah ought to be able to fit into one of yours, so you can throw one in. Oh, while you’re at Mom’s, get in the second drawer of my dresser and get some of my swimsuits. Throw in anything else you think we might need.”

“I’ll think about it. I guess that maybe I’ll just raid some of the company’s spare stock. You’re going to have to ship it back from Buddha’s, but I don’t think you’ll have to overnight it.”

“All right, Crystal. That sounds like a plan. I knew I could depend on you, and I owe you one.”

“You owe me more than that, but I’m your big sister, so I guess I have to take care of you.”

There were a few more sentences exchanged before Nanci turned off the phone. “Well, all right,” she said, “I guess it’s going to be surfin’ safari for us.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t tell me you never heard of the Beach Boys.”

“Who are they?”

Nanci rolled her eyes. “Sarah, sometimes you amaze me at what you’ve missed growing up.”

“I know I’ve led a pretty sheltered life, but hanging around you is curing me of it pretty fast.”

After classes ended two days later, Nanci and Sarah threw a couple of bags each into the trunk of the Camry and hit the road.

When Nanci first came up with her spur-of-the-moment idea to take off to Florida, her thinking was limited to thinking that it was fairly close to Hickory Run, at least in comparison to driving to Flagstaff. She got that part of it only relatively correct – a little route checking online revealed that it was only half as far, but still a very long day’s drive. It wouldn’t be quite as bad as having to drive to Arizona back over the Christmas holidays would have been, since Sarah could now take some of the driving load, while Nanci knew she would still have to do the majority of the trip. At least she could expect to get a couple hours rest now and then, and still be moving ahead.

Since they were on a very tight budget they wanted to avoid having to pay for motel rooms. That meant that the plan was for them to drive as late as they could manage, then find a truck stop and cork off in the back lot for a few hours before proceeding onward.

It worked pretty well. Nanci managed to drive until sometime around two in the morning before she realized that neither of them were able to go farther, so they found a quiet spot at a truck stop and slept in the seats of the Camry until it started to get light. They got some breakfast at the truck stop, then got on the road again. In midmorning they got into Florida, and it already seemed a lot warmer than it had been at Hickory Run.

Crystal had given Nanci pretty good directions of how to find Buddha and Giselle’s place, and it turned out to be quite easy – the surfboards hanging on racks all around the place made it pretty clear they were there. It was a small, rather tattered building on the far side of the road from the ocean, where there were a handful of surfers out working the waves. Nanci pulled the Camry into the shell parking lot, to find Buddha and Giselle lounging at an awning-covered picnic table working on cups of coffee. “Well, we’re here,” Nanci smiled wanly at Sarah – she was still tired after a poor night of sleep and Sarah wasn’t much better off. “I guess now we get to turn into surfer girls.”

They opened the car doors and got out. “Well, look who’s here!” Buddha shouted at them. He was about Al’s age, rather more heavily set, with a deep tan. Giselle was a little younger, with long blonde hair and very tan skin deeply etched by years of Florida sunshine. “Giselle, I think a couple of lost divinity students have found us.”

“Nanci, it is good to see you again,” Giselle added in a voice slightly tinged with a French Canadien accent. Nanci recalled that Giselle had originally shown up for a two-week vacation well over thirty years before, and had never gone back to Montreal. “So Crystal finally talked you into coming down to try it out?”

“Something like that,” Nanci admitted. “First time for everything, and all that.”

“This has got to be Sarah, too,” Buddha laughed. “Crystal told us that the two of you would be here with confused looks on your faces. Are you eager to try out surfing?”

“I can’t say eager, but willing,” Sarah admitted. “We drove most of the night and didn’t get a lot of sleep.”

“Well, sit down on something that isn’t moving, take a load off, and relax. I take it you’ve never tried surfing?”

“Today is the first time I’ve ever seen the ocean, except for flying over it when I was eleven,” Sarah told him.

“Well, we’ll fix that. Nanci, how have things been going with you? I gotta admit that when I first met you, having you turn into a Methodist minister is just about the last thing I would have imagined.”

“You aren’t the first person to say that,” Nanci smiled. “It was just about the last thing I would have imagined back then, too. I hear it about as often as Crystal hears that marrying a minister is about the last thing they would have imagined her to do.”

“Life takes you in the most unexpected directions, doesn’t it?”

“It sure does. This time three days ago I’d never have believed we would be here, but then it seemed like a good idea.”

“Well, Giselle and I will do our best to turn you into surfers in the time we have to work with. The surf isn’t bad today, even for beginners, and it’s supposed to stay pretty good for the next few days. Your stuff got here this morning, a couple of big boxes. Crystal said you were going to camp out back, but we want the two of you to have dinner with us tonight. Giselle got some nice red snapper at the fish market this morning, and that ought to be pretty good.”

“Good, I’m glad the stuff showed up,” Nanci grinned. “We’d be a little stuck without it.”

“Oh, we’d have worked out something,” Buddha said. “Look, why don’t you go set up your tent, and then crash for a while to get those eyes of yours looking a little less red? Then Giselle or I can take you out and get you going on the basics, just for an hour or two. We’ll make surfers out of you before you know it.”

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