"Dude," Quinn began, wading into the water with his board floating atop the ocean. "I missed this so much, I don't think you even understand."
Sam sighed, his own longboard waxed and ready to go as he followed beside Quinn. The water bit at his waist- it was mid-autumn now and things were beginning to cool down. Not too much, it never got too cold in Cali, but chill. For Californian standards. "You say that every time we go out."
The Fisherman grinned at his surfing buddy. "And I'll probably say it until the day I die." Sam looked over at his friend, letting him get in front of him slightly. Quinn was still fit, even more so now, Sam noted. His back muscles were still strong, his shoulders still tan, as they had been when he rowed the boats everyday for nearly a year. He had scars too. They all had scars. Quinn didn't have many in comparison to Sam, but he definitely had some.
His hair looked blonde in the sunlight and he dove beneath the water, coming up and spraying water like some sort of whale. He shouted. "Woo! Last wave, okay?"
"Yeah, one more." Sam cracked a smile and followed suit, diving into the crystal water. He emerged and the waves crashed around him, splashing against his tan chest. "God," he sighed, looking up at the clouds, wind blowing through his hair. Wind! Waves! "I still can't believe it."
Quinn flashed his grin again. "You, my friend," he pointed at Sam, mounting his board as a wave began to build up. "say that every time we go out."
Together they paddled on their stomachs, waiting till the wave was nearly upon them and pulling them in, and they stood. It was such an in sync motion that they seemed to be tethered together. The velcro rubbed against their ankles the same way, they stood the same balanced pose. They were the old Sam Temple and Quinn Gaither. The surf brought them together in ways that no one would ever understand. They could read each other's postures when they surfed and they communicated in their grunts of effort, their grins flashed towards one another. Out here, they were the same person. Or just two really close dudes. Whatever.
They grinned and laughed and hollered as they rode the wave to the shore. Sand caked their hair and the salt sung on their tan skin. The sun shone on their shoulders and gleamed on the water droplets that clung to them. Quinn shook out his hair, grabbed his board, and ran to their towels. He checked his cell phone, and smiled.
Sam arched an eyebrow questioningly at him. "Brah, no secrets."
A nervous look crossed the Fisherman's face. He blushed. Or maybe he was just sun kissed. "Lana..." He mumbled, waving the phone like it was something he could just toss aside in a 'what-can-you-do?' kind of way.
"Oh," Sam began, grabbing his things. He checked his own phone. Astrid had left him a text saying she loved him. He smiled. "Are you guys still talking?"
Sam and Lana had talked, but only a bit. They talked through email, and even then it was just to check up on how things were holding. Last he heard, she was still just eating and sleeping and playing with Patrick. Same old.
Quinn shrugged. "We're friends, yeah." He sighed. "I keep trying to invite her to come visit us here but she said her parents are being tyrants. It's weird."
"What is?" Sam asked. He grabbed his wallet. He was sixteen now and had gotten his license. He really was School Bus Sam now. Legal.
"Having parents again. Six months back and I still expect to roll outta bed, go get my nets and tackle, and then go back to work and make my own decisions. But no. It's hard trying to adjust. Even after all this time, ya know?"
"Oh." Sam nodded. "Right. Yeah, definitely weird."
But the truth was, Sam didn't understand it. Well, he understood some of it. He understood the stagnant life style; he understood the no longer having purpose. But he was emancipated. He was legal. He didn't understand having to wait for choices to be made for you, not anymore.
Sam thought about his mom a lot, and his father. He wondered if they would have truly wanted him to be emancipated. He wondered if his dad hadn't died, the gaiaphage hadn't landed in Perdido Beach, would he and Caine have been the twins they were born to be? Would Caine be the David he was birthed to be? He thought about that a lot. Even after all this time.
"Hey!" Quinn broke him out of his revive. "We still up for Chinese on Tuesday with Dekka and Edilio?"
"Yeah, of course. 'Course we are." And with that, Sam watched as Quinn ran up to the parking lot where his mother waited patiently to take him back home.