Page 401 of Seasons of Love
We got to the big rock where the wooden stairs started fairly easily. Sam ran up to get their car as close to the stairs as possible so Stacey didn’t have to walk far.
“Fuuuck, motherfucking shit-balls…” Stacey shouted as she squeezed my hand with more strength than any human being should have.
She held her belly and breathed hard. Carlos helped lean her against another rock until the contractions stopped.
“Baby, you can do this. You’re a badass surfer, and now you’re gonna be a badass mom,” Carlos said, holding Stacey’s face with his hands.
She nodded, showing some of her fierceness, despite the small tear that ran down her cheek.
“Come on, beautiful, let’s get you up there,” I said, holding out my hand.
Stacey took it, and with Carlos’ help, she walked up the wooden steps.
“What’s taking you so long?” Sam shouted from the top. “I got places to be, you know. It’s not every day your niece is born.”
Stacey chuckled and mumbled under her breath about it being a boy.
I was about to make a joke about her naming the baby after me when the ground shook again.
Carlos pulled Stacey to him, but I was still on the rock. The rock moved, taking me with it. Everything was too quick. I slipped off onto another rock, grazing my arm on the way down.
Like the first two tremors, this one was over quickly, but it was far more devastating because now I was midway through the cliff on a rock I wasn’t sure was stable and too far away to reach the stairs.
“Griff,” Stacey called.
“Go, please go, you need to get to the hospital,” I shouted back.
“Are you hurt?” Carlos asked.
“No, I’m good. You go up. You need to get Stacey to the hospital. You can call someone to help me on the way.”
I saw how torn Carlos was between his instinct to protect his wife and unborn child and leaving someone behind.
“Carlos, go. If there’s another tremor, the stairs might not make it,” I said.
The intention was to scare him into action, but as I said it, I realized it could really happen.
Please go quickly. Please.
I didn’t take my eyes off them until I saw they were at the top with Sam.
“I’ve called for help,” Sam shouted down.
“Griffin is a wonderful name,” I shouted back and then laughed when I heard Stacey say, “No chance.”
When they were out of sight, I turned around to assess the situation.
Fuck.
The last tremor had displaced all the rocks that made the path down to the beach. With the sun disappearing on the horizon, it would be stupid to make my way down to the beach. I’d probably be better off staying where I was and waiting until someone could throw me a rope or something to get me up to the stairs.
At least I hadn’t been alone at the beach. Sam had asked for help, so it was only a matter of time until someone came.
A chill ran through me. What had the impact of the earthquakes been in town? Was everyone okay? Was anything damaged?
Mal. Jake. Did they make it out before the earthquakes?
Unlike my grandmother, who was a woman of faith, I rarely prayed, but this was an occasion that called for it because I couldn’t think of anything else I could do while I was stuck here.
