by Emily King
While the coffee brewed, Sarah took a couple of eggs and a leftover potato out of the refrigerator. She began grating the potato for hash browns. What if the phone started ringing here like it had at Amy’s condo? Hopefully it wouldn’t. The phone number was under Fiona’s name, not Sarah’s, so maybe the reporters wouldn’t know to try calling here. They were resourceful, though, and worked fast. Amy had said her landline number was unlisted, but they had been able to call her the very morning after the rescue.
The phone rang, startling Sarah. The reporters were even more resourceful than she had imagined if they were already able to figure out she was at Fiona’s number. She wasn’t against granting them an interview about the rescue since she was proud of Amy and thought that she deserved the publicity, but she wasn’t going to answer the calls if Amy didn’t particularly want the attention.
She checked the phone’s caller ID display in case it wasn’t a reporter. Oh—it was Justin. Why was he calling so early and on the landline? Maybe he’d already tried her cell phone. Sarah set down the partially grated potato, wiped her hands, and picked up the phone. “Hello?”
“So,” Justin answered, “I’m sitting here looking at my e-edition of the South Coast Beach Tribune, and who do I read about but you and your superhero girlfriend! All I’ve done so far on my summer vacation is watch movies, and here you are rescuing a little boy!”
“Oh, the rescue is in today’s paper?” Sarah asked. She still needed to retrieve her copy of the paper from the driveway. If the story had made it into today’s paper, hopefully she wouldn’t need to worry about reporters calling.
“Yeah, the story is on the front page,” he said. “The rescue sounds pretty amazing.”
“It was,” she said. “It was all Amy, but I did what I could to help.” She told him some of the details.
“I’m not sure I would have been able to keep it together during all of that,” he said.
“Yeah, it was hard to stay calm. The whole thing was really stressful, to say the least. Does the article say if the boy is all right? They carted him away in the ambulance for evaluation. Other than being cold and frightened, he seemed fine, but we didn’t know if he suffered any lasting injuries from his fall.”
“The article says he’s fine. It says he was evaluated at SCB Hospital and then released.”
“That’s wonderful news,” she said. They spoke a little longer. After ending the call, she put on a robe and went outside to get the paper.
She sat at the table to read the article. It was a little surreal to read about herself and Amy in an article like this, but it was a nice story and seemed to get the details of the rescue right. Especially nice were the quotes from Peter and other members of lifeguard management, all of whom had flattering things to say about Amy. Sarah got out her cell phone and texted Amy about the article.
Amy came in from reading the Sunday paper on her balcony to refill her coffee mug. Her phone chimed with a notification. It was a text from Sarah: An article about my girlfriend is on the front page of today’s paper!
Amy grinned. She texted back: What a coincidence—an article about my girlfriend is on the front page of today’s paper, too!
Her phone rang while she still held it in her hand and she looked at the display, thinking it must be Sarah deciding to call this time with her reply, but it was Aurora.
Aurora had likely seen the article, too. Their parents as well. What did they all think? She wasn’t sure she wanted to find out. For all she knew, they would demand that she quit her lifeguard job now that they realized what it sometimes entailed. She debated whether to ignore the call but figured that Aurora would just call back later if she didn’t pick up. “Hello?”
“Amy! The newspaper says you saved someone’s life!”
“Well—”
“That’s incredible! Why didn’t you tell any of us?”
Amy didn’t bother answering that. Surely, Aurora knew that everyone’s lack of interest in her new job had dampened her enthusiasm for talking about her activities with them.
“Were you waiting until brunch to say something about it?” Aurora persisted.
Amy snorted. That was hardly the reason, and Aurora must know it. “I’m not coming to brunch.”
“You already missed brunch last week. Are you still mad?”
Amy sighed. “Last week was Memorial Day weekend. I was working.” Why couldn’t any of her family remember that she now often worked weekends, not to mention holidays?
“You’re not still mad, then?”
“Yes, I’m still mad! Why wouldn’t I be? Dad and the rest of you think my job is to ‘hang out’ at the beach.”
“That was just a misunderstanding.”
“No, I understood very clearly.”
“I think Dad was just upset. I think he feels a little rejected that you want to sell your dealership.”
“Funny—rejected is how I’ve been feeling,” Amy said. “And anyway, how rejected can he feel about it? It’s not as though the dealerships were a family legacy we were expected to carry on. Neither you nor I have kids, after all. Someone else will eventually take over your dealership, too.”
“Yeah, but the business is still his baby.”
“Exactly. It’s his baby. I have my own hopes and dreams.”
Aurora was quiet for a moment. “Don’t you miss your dealership at all?”
“No, I really don’t. I love being a lifeguard. I should have done it sooner.”
Aurora paused again. “Then I’ll do what I can to help you find a buyer for your dealership if you still want to sell it.”
She could hardly believe her ears. Maybe she had finally gotten through to a member of her family. “Yes—that would be great! I could use everyone’s help to find a buyer. I put ads in the trade journals, but they won’t be out until the next issues. I also listed the dealership on a couple of websites.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Aurora said. “Speaking of which, why weren’t you quoted in that article in the paper today?”
“What?” Amy asked.
“Didn’t the reporter try to contact you?”
“Yes, but I thought I would just let the department handle it.”
“Well, you should reconsider. Give the reporter a call, and let him do a story on you. Tell him about owning a car dealership that you’re trying to sell, so you can keep being a lifeguard.”
“Oh,” Amy said. “That’s a good idea. I guess I should do that. Thanks, Aurora.”
“And get the rest of us Bergens who are trying to sell cars some publicity, too.”
Amy snorted again. “Now that’s the Aurora I know,” she teased—though she wasn’t entirely joking. She should have known that part of Aurora’s motivation for calling was to find a way to horn in on Amy’s publicity, but she’d let it slide since her sister appeared to be coming around to her side.
“Ha, ha,” Aurora teased her back. “So who’s this girlfriend the article mentioned? Are you going to bring her to brunch? You are coming to brunch now, right?”
“I’ll think about coming to brunch. But as for Sarah, I really like her and I’m not sure I want to subject her to brunch while selling my dealership is still a source of discord at the table. The last thing I need is for the Bergen family brunches to scare her off.”
Not long after Amy finished the phone call with Aurora, her mother and father called. She had similar conversations with them. It was a start. She got dressed and drove over for brunch.
Chapter Fourteen
Sarah closed her laptop with a frustrated snap and sagged in her chair at her kitchen table. It had been a month and a half since the rescue and people were still posting and commenting all over social media on pictures of Amy in her bra and underwear. Bystanders with cameras and cell phones had captured her in photos and video that night, and some of the posts had gone viral. Although many of the photos and videos were not very clear because of the dim light at the time, Amy’s fit, lingerie-clad body could
still be seen as the object of beauty that it was, especially as she stood preparing to jump into the water.
Sarah wanted to think that people were posting and viewing the videos on the websites only to see a difficult and daring rescue performed, but the comments on the websites told her that the majority of viewers were interested in Amy herself and not in a platonic way. According to the counts on the various sites, the videos had been viewed thousands of times, which meant thousands of pairs of hungry eyes had feasted on the images of her girlfriend in her lingerie.
Amy’s recent interview on a popular daytime television talk show that taped in Hollywood would probably prolong the circulation of the photos and videos even more. The interviews she had given earlier in local and regional newspapers and on the local evening news had certainly had that effect.
Sarah kept reminding herself that the media attention was actually a good thing because Amy was using it to create more awareness that her dealership was for sale. But what the media attention was also doing was attracting groupies to Amy. Sarah had heard some of the X-rated messages they left on Amy’s answering machine. She wished she could unhear them. Determined groupies were competition no one in a relationship needed and Sarah was doing her best not to worry that Amy would be tempted by any of it.
Amy professed to be averse to lifeguard groupies or uniform chasers, but ever since she had decided to cooperate with reporters and other members of the media after the rescue, she had been rather busy on her days off and even during some of her evenings. On the Sundays she wasn’t scheduled to work, she was busy with those family brunches that Sarah wondered if she would be inviting her to anytime soon.
Sarah trusted her, but with their recent lack of time together it was hard not to let her imagination run away with thoughts of her and other women. The fact that her own schedule was completely open, now that school was out for the summer, made Amy’s lack of availability even more noticeable.
Abruptly, Sarah stood up from the kitchen table. She was going to take matters into her own hands and visit Amy at work today with a picnic lunch. Amy had to have time for lunch.
Sarah pedaled her bicycle in the direction of SCB Lifeguard Headquarters, first stopping at the Vietnamese food truck to collect an assortment of food which she loaded into her backpack to take for the meal with Amy. Much of the junior lifeguard program took place on the section of beach in front of headquarters, so Sarah hoped she would find Amy there. Pulling up in front of the beige stucco and stone building, she hopped off her bike and locked it to the building’s crowded rack. The building was two stories tall and looked something like a larger version of the lifeguard towers on the beach, with its angled walls, prominent eaves, and large windows.
Sarah surveyed the section of beach in front of the building, looking for Amy. The beach was full of kids wearing red swim trunks or red swimsuits in the bright sunshine and there were a handful of adults among them wearing red and white colored lifeguard clothing. The kids’ attention was on a small stage set up on the sand where some instruction appeared to be taking place. She didn’t want to disrupt anything, but she needed to get a little closer if she was going to be able to spot Amy amidst the crowd of similarly dressed people. She started down to the beach with her backpack of food.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” a male voice called out. “The public isn’t allowed in this area right now.”
Sarah stopped, preparing to explain herself to the man she assumed was a lifeguard since he was wearing red shorts and a white polo shirt with the SCB lifeguard emblem.
“It’s okay, John,” another male voice called out. “She’s with me.”
Sarah turned to see Peter approaching and smiled. “Hi, Peter.”
“Hi. Here to see Amy?”
Before she could reply, the man named John snorted. “Isn’t everyone?” he muttered and walked away.
She frowned. What was his problem? She looked at Peter, who was also frowning as he watched John’s retreating form.
“Would you wait just a moment?” Peter touched Sarah’s shoulder before walking swiftly after John. He caught up to him and began speaking in low tones. John looked chastened. Peter ended the conversation and walked back to Sarah. “I’m sorry about that. His comment was uncalled for. I didn’t want to let it slide.”
“What did he mean, anyway?”
Peter looked a little uncomfortable and didn’t immediately answer.
“Oh—did he think I was with the media?”
“No…”
“What did he mean that everyone is here to see Amy, then?”
Peter sighed. “Well, there have been a certain number of…fans coming by.”
“Groupies, you mean.”
“Yes. John thought you were one of them.”
Sarah hadn’t realized people were coming to Amy’s workplace. Why hadn’t Amy mentioned this was happening? Justin’s warnings about secrets suddenly surfaced in her mind, filling her with worry. “John seemed kind of resentful. Is it because the groupies are causing trouble, or is it because other lifeguards are feeling jealous of Amy?”
“No, I don’t think any of them are jealous, not for the most part. Some who don’t know her might be, but I think most understand that she’s only courting the media attention to try to sell her dealership.”
“I’m sure it’s easy for her coworkers to get the wrong idea,” Sarah said, “but she’s given a lot of credit to the entire lifeguard team in the interviews and I know she would hate for anyone to be jealous.”
“Yes, the publicity has been great for the department. Everyone here knows that, but there are always a few who will be envious.”
“She’s lucky to have a good friend like you in the department. I know you’re part of the reason she got back into lifeguarding, so you must be very proud of her.”
“I am,” he said. “I’m very glad she’s here. Did you know that the little boy she rescued told me he wants to be a lifeguard when he grows up?”
“Wow, that’s great. Maybe when he’s old enough, he can do the junior lifeguard program.”
Peter smiled. “That’s what I told him.”
“So…I notice you didn’t answer the part about whether the groupies have been causing trouble,” she said gently. “Does that mean they have been?”
“They’ve eased up for the most part, but for a while there, they were bothersome. Only a few leave lingerie and notes anymore.”
“What! They leave lingerie and notes?” Sarah felt sick. Why hadn’t Amy told her any of this?
“Yeah, midnight blue lingerie like in the rescue photos.”
Sarah’s worries must have shown on her face, because Peter added, “But don’t worry about it. Everything is beginning to quiet down, just like we thought it would.”
Sarah took a breath. Maybe that’s why Amy hadn’t told her—because she thought the lingerie-leaving groupies were just a temporary situation. Or at least Sarah hoped that was why she hadn’t said anything about it. Amy wouldn’t cheat on her…would she?
Peter gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. “Hey, it’s okay. I didn’t mean to stress you out.”
“No, no, it’s fine. You’re right—things can only start to quiet down after being so hectic. That’s why I came by today. I thought it would be good to join her for lunch.”
He nodded. “Sure, the lunch break is coming up soon. But before that, you might like to see Amy teach the kids the stingray shuffle.”
“The what?” Sarah asked. She was still worrying about the lingerie and the notes.
“Just watch,” he said with a smile. He gestured to the small stage as Amy jogged up the few steps from the side of the platform and then strode to the middle to stand before the audience of kids. The kids quieted. They obviously knew and respected Amy. Sarah drank in Amy’s fit, toned body as she held stage.
Amy picked up the microphone. “One of the things we want to teach you today is a dance,” she said with a smile. “It’s a nice little dance and very si
mple. I think you’ll like it.”
The kids in the audience murmured curiously, and her smile broadened.
“I bet you didn’t think you would be learning to dance in the junior lifeguard program, did you?”
Kids laughed and gave answers of “Uh-uh.”
“Well, this is not just any dance. It’s a special dance.” She paused, and the crowd leaned forward in anticipation. “We call this dance the stingray shuffle.”
The kids repeated the phrase “stingray shuffle” in a curious murmur.
“Who remembers what a stingray is from our trip to the aquarium the other day?”
Kids called out answers. “That’s right,” Amy said, repeating and summarizing their answers. “And what do you think might happen if someone wading into the ocean stepped on a stingray that happened to be resting there in the shallow water?”
“They might get hurt from a sting!” the kids called.
“Yes. Getting stung really hurts and can be serious depending on how severe the reaction is or the health of the person who gets stung.” Amy described some possible problems and complications. “That’s why it’s important that everyone learn the stingray shuffle. Doing the stingray shuffle will usually make the stingrays swim away. It’s especially important to do on hot days like today when the ocean is warmer, because that’s when the stingrays can be most plentiful near the shore.” Amy put her hands on her hips and surveyed the crowd. “Are you ready to do the stingray shuffle?”
“Yeah!”
“Then let’s shuffle! Everybody stand up!”
The kids stood up.
“The stingray shuffle goes like this,” Amy said. She made a show of doing a silly shuffling movement, not fully lifting her feet, but rather scraping them around, as she moved on the stage. “That’s all there is too it. Now you try.”
The kids shuffled, laughing.
“That’s great! Easy, right?” Amy shuffled some more, still holding stage.
After the kids seemed to have gotten their fill of shuffling, Amy spoke into the microphone again. “Now, the stingray shuffle only works if all the people on the beach remember to do it, so let’s talk about first aid in case someone does get stung. Lifeguards have a first aid bag for stingray stings.” Amy held a bag up for the kids to see and then described soaking the sting in very warm water and other first aid measures to take. Wrapping up the session, she exited the stage.
