Page 18 of The Surfer

6

RIPLEY

Waitingto meet Sandy and Cove’s dad is much, much more stressful than I’ve anticipated.

“We’ll sit at the back,” Sandy tells the waiter at the restaurant, Rockpool, on the main street of New Water. Sandy’s taken me to her cousin’s restaurant in order to meet her dad. The place is the biggest restaurant in town, serving seafood as its main specialty.

I follow the waiter as they take us to a booth in the back, Sandy’s favorite spot.

“It’s nice here,” I say as I look around the beachy décor of the restaurant. It’s late afternoon, only a few hours since I’ve landed from New York, and I’m still being amazed by everything in this country.

Sandy, seated, leans across the table towards me conspiratorially. “They have the best fish and chips here. You’ve got to try them.”

I haven’t realized how hungry I truly am. The last time I must’ve eaten was on the airplane, and that was crappy airline food. Some half-warm indigestible mac and cheese. I can’t wait for a proper restaurant meal.

“Fish and chips is literally my favorite meal in the whole wide world,” I reply to my best friend, taking a sip of the water the waiter has brought over.

Sandy chuckles to herself. “That’s funny.”

“What is?”

“Well, actually you probably won’t like this, but Cove’s favorite meal is fish and chips as well.”

I roll my eyes dramatically, causing Sandy to laugh again.

“Stop it, Ripley, stop making me laugh. You’re gonna make water come out my nose.”

She orders with the waiter for both of us. Two portions of Rockpool’s finest fish and chips.

We spend the next ten minutes chatting about our lives. Sandy talks about her job at the elite private school and the troubles she has there. The other teachers look down at her because of her wealth, they just simply can’t believe that she’s made it as a teacher on her own merits, without her father’s help or money. I reckon they’re jealous of her and Sandy thinks they’re just upset by new blood coming in. They just don’t like change, unable to deal with a new fresh face. Someone as young as Sandy working at the elite institution has somehow made them angry and resentful.

We also chat about my life and my dreams of becoming a nurse.

And we also talk about my life with Mom.

God, I’m already missing her so much. I wish she were here. I know Mom will absolutely love New Water. The quiet. The sunrise. The beautiful beaches. I know she would also love Sandy.

I really, really wished she were here to experience all this with me.

The food arrives on some very hot plates and it looks delicious. Fresh. Hot chips and battered fish done the Australian way.

“Straight from the ocean,” Sandy says to me with a wink.

But no matter how delectable the fish and chips appear; I can’t eat it. I can’t stomach it at all. I’m just too nervous about meeting Sandy and Cove’s dad. We’re here at the restaurant to meet him and yet my stomach is churning at the very thought of speaking to him. Mr Finn is a renowned man for his short fuse and forthright manner, and I’m scared about being at the receiving end of his famous frankness.

Every time the restaurant door opens and someone steps in, I twist my head around to check if it’s him. I’m on edge. Petrified. I need to calm down, but my jetlagged nerves aren’t helping at all.

Sandy, sensing my rising discomfort, reaches across the table and takes my hand gently. “It’s okay. It’s just dad. I’m here too and I can deal with him for you. Don’t worry about him.”

She always knows the right thing to say.

Her and Cove’s mom passed away a long time ago, just a year after Cove was born. We haven’t really talked about it except for one time over Skype when Sandy opened up to me about it, and about how she practically had to step up to be Cove’s mother because of it. I think it was pretty tough on her, and Cove. Just goes to show that even the richest of family’s can have their own hardships.

The restaurant door opens, I turn my head, and in steps Mr Finn himself.

He’s here.

Michael Finn is the epitome of a suave billionaire businessman in his late sixties. Slicked-back white hair. A flashing smile. Tanned skin. Athletic body in a tight expensive tailored suit. The man is a dictionary definition of a silver fox.