Chapter Six

Spencer was hunkered down in his workshop, putting the finishing touches on what he’d started referring to as Pierre. It didn’t seem right to call his new board Petie, but he also wanted to honor Petie in some way. So, he dubbed him the French counterpart, an homage of sorts. It sounded regal and classy. It had been six weeks since the day he’d started referring to as D-Day, for laughs. He figured if he didn’t laugh about it, he’d probably cry, and he wasn’t that kind of guy. Sure he was bummed about it. Big time. But he also wasn’t one of those people who held on to his anger. Life was too short for that nonsense.

Instead he focused his free time on finishing his replacement board. He figured he’d slap a big red bow on it for Christmas and give it to Nate as a sort of IOU for his own surfboard. It would be awhile till he’d need one anyhow, so this way everyone would be happy. He’d finished fiberglassing the top, was about to install the fin box, and after that a final sanding and finish, and it was ready for its inaugural run.

He thought about how far he’d come in less than two months. He never imagined he’d have the board done for his brother in time; but now, not only was his board-to-be almost done, he’d gotten some work done on the replacement board for Nate as well. It helped that he’d been able to get out of work pretty regularly and, well, minus his favorite board, he hadn’t been spending as much time in the water after work. Which meant he could devote some more time to crafting the boards. He started thinking about that blond chick who’d caused all the problems. He still felt bad for her—like he was a bit of a dick to the poor thing when she must’ve been hugely embarrassed after what she’d done.

In a way, he wished there was a chance for him to set the record straight, let her know it was okay. The other day, he’d pulled her check out from the kitchen drawer where he’d stuck it. He even gave a long, hard thought to calling her, but then thought better of it. He didn’t have time in his life to deal with that type of thing. Plus after having been in her presence for a brief time, he feared she’d be one of those weirdo glommers he’d never be able to shake. He wasn’t looking for another friend or a girlfriend, so it made the most sense to steer clear.

~*~

Spencer gave a tug on the zipper of his wet suit and braced himself for the brisk water. Not everyone was willing to go into the November-cold ocean to catch a wave, but he was hard-core, and besides, he had to test out Pierre. It was hard enough waiting for this day to arrive. He’d texted his buddy Noah Gunderson, a fellow surfer, to join him here.

“Haven’t seen you around lately,” Noah said as they paddled into deeper water. “I thought you’d found a new hobby.”

“I swear it gives me PTSD every time I have to explain it, but some idiot woman driver nailed Petie in the parking lot a couple of ago.”

“Nailed him?”

“Yeah, as in backed into him so hard he snapped in two.”

“Ouch.” Noah shook his hand as if it hurt.

“Tell me about it. I considered holding a funeral for him.”

“That would’ve been good. I betcha a ton of us would have shown up.” He laughed. “So, what’s up with this board? It looks a lot like Petie.”

“Yeah, well, it’s like getting a new dog after your last one keels over. It’s never going to be the same, but it’ll ultimately be okay.”

Noah laughed. “I guess I’ve never gotten so intimately attached to my surfboards before.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” Spence said. “I dunno why I became so proprietary about the thing. I guess it’s cause I grew up with everything handed to me on a silver platter. I never learned to value things much. When I learned how to make my own board, it gave me a sense of accomplishment I weirdly hadn’t experienced before.” He held up his finger as he started paddling hard to catch a wave. Noah was fast on his heels as they mounted their boards and rode the wave almost to the shore.

They plunked down on their boards to paddle out again. “I can respect that.” Noah nodded. “And I’m sorry about Petie. But it looks like this board is going to do fine.”

“It all comes out in the wash. Or so my nanny used to say to me.”

“Your nanny?”

Spence laughed, aiming his thumb at his chest. “Right? Hippie surfer dude me had a nanny.”

Noah shook his head. “Goes to show you there’s so much about a person you don’t know. I’d have pegged you for being raised by wolves.”

Spencer shook his head. “To be honest, I pretty much was. If it weren’t for my nanny, I’d have probably grown up to be a predatory, greedy bastard like my father.”

“Then here’s to that nanny. She seems to have done you well.” He tipped his head to him.

“Thanks, Noah. Yeah, my old man was all about worshipping at the altar of the almighty dollar.” Spencer frowned. “He even took down his long-time partner in a surprise business coup because he was tired of sharing in the profits. When my parents split up, he tried hard to smear my mother to ensure she didn’t see any of his cash. Lucky for her, she had a savvy lawyer, so she ended up fine, but not without the two of them duking it out in the cesspool for a good while. It was enough to send me packing. I wanted nothing to do with them or their lifestyle.”

“Looks like you achieved that goal.”

“Yeah, but it wasn’t without its fallout.” Spencer paddled fast to catch another wave, but it passed them both by too quickly. “I blew off college because my father was determined I was going to Yale the same way he did. No fucking way was I going to do that because he said I had to. I wanted to go to art school, but I never ended up doing it. Instead I loaded up my car and drove away from the family mansion in Connecticut. Never looked back.” He shrugged.

“I felt bad because my little brother Nate was left behind and had to deal with my asshole father. My mother was pretty upset, but I never saw her much anyhow—she was in the city by then, hobnobbing with the rich people in Manhattan. It wasn’t my scene.” He shook his head. “Oh, and I left my girlfriend behind as well. But that whole thing was her scene, so it wasn’t going to last anyhow. She even sided with my father and he paid her to try to talk me out of leaving. At that point, I told her ‘sayonara’ and I bailed.”

“And here I thought you were simply your average bicycle messenger. Who knew you had this sordid past?” They both laughed. “Let’s see. You’re not in touch with your folks. I know your brother was here working at the surf shop, so you two seem to be cool. And you never thought about reaching out to your old girlfriend to see if there was anything there?”

“I have no interest in dealing with girlfriends again for a while. When I decided to pull out of Connecticut, she took my dad’s side. It ticked me off. She couldn’t see how he was suffocating me so badly. Yet until then, I trusted that she was my ally.” He readied himself for the next wave. “It left me bitter and not up for a relationship where I was going to be betrayed again. I’m good with Tinder, thanks.”

Noah nodded. “Yeah, Tinder’s a little limiting in small towns like Verity Beach, but it’ll do in a pinch if you need to scratch that itch.”

“As far as I’m concerned, that’s all I need. Give me the perfect wave, my favorite board, and a hookup or two, and I’ll never need to rely on another woman again.”