Author's Notes: Hi, readers. Here's chapter four of "Ride the Wind." I'm glad it took just six days to get out. I added some dialogue between a teen couple Randolph sees going past his boat in chapter two. I felt it needed a little something else. Stay tuned for chapter five.

XXXXX

Chapter 4: Out on the Water

The Nastelane was going at a slow yet steady speed more an hour later. Jesse's harmonica song played on the hydrophone. He had put it into the tape player forty minutes into the trip. It was too high for the passengers to hear, but it was perfect for Willy and would eventually lure him to the boat. Randolph kept his eye on the water as he steered. Jesse looked through binoculars. Nadine and Rae played Go Fish while sitting close to the stern. They were on their third game.

"You see anything, Jess?" Randolph asked.

"Nope," Jesse answered and sighed quietly. "The water is as still as it can be." He removed the binoculars from his eyes.

"I remember that prank Drew played on you. She gave you binoculars that had black paint on them," Randolph said.

"I remember. I didn't even know it until her boss took a picture of us with her and another researcher. She said it brought out my eyes," Jesse said, laughing cheerfully.

Randolph smiled. "You got revenge on her, though."

"I sure did. Even better was that it was during Max's birth," Jesse commented proudly.

"You want to try that prank on Rae or Nadine?" Randolph joked, nudging the young man in the arm. "I bet they'd look good with black rings around their eyes."

"Maybe later," Jesse said uninterestingly.

"Aw! You're no fun!" Randolph responded in mock anger.

"Hey, you're not changing my mind," Jesse warned, pointing his finger at him. Randolph ruffled his hair. "If you touch my hair again, I'll tie your hands behind your back and take over steering."

"That'd be nice. I could use a break," Randolph responded. "Better yet, you can put me in the cabin, so I can have a snooze." He chuckled.

"I'll join you. Then either Rae or Nadine would have to steer," Jesse said and wiggled his eyebrows.

"I know," Randolph said, nodding slowly. "At least they're good drivers. Imagine if they weren't."

Jesse expressed a bit of nervousness. "I don't even want to think about that."

Randolph raised his eyebrows. Jesse placed the binoculars on the panel. He clasped his hands together. He twirled his thumbs around. He let out a small sigh.

"It feels like only yesterday when I first met you, Randolph. Perry and I broke into Northwest Adventure Park and vandalized it. He told me cops were there and that I should run. They chased me into the stands and caught me. One of them restrained me. I saw a flashlight shining in my eyes and looked up to see you," Jesse muttered.

"I can never forget the look in your eyes," Randolph whispered sadly, as he remembered that fateful day. "They had so much anger in them. I couldn't help but wonder what you had been through." He emitted a quiet, sad sigh.

"Many of my foster parents didn't give a damn about me. They just saw me as a paycheck. They were either very controlling or let me do whatever I wanted. I liked my freedom when I could do what I wanted, but I wanted parents who would love me unconditionally. I wanted a place I could call home," Jesse said with a frown.

"You found it with Glen and Annie," Randolph said.

"Thank God for those two," Jesse whispered in relief and choked back a sob. "They were so kind and supportive to me. I treated them with hostility, but they refused to give up on me." He wiped a tear from his eye. He took a slow yet deep breath. "They were determined to be the parents that my own were unable to be. I finally accepted them when they agreed to help Rae and us to get Willy to the ocean. Elvis accepted them too after Willy saved my life. We even started calling them Mom and Dad."

"You're lucky to have a brother, Jesse. Nadine, Rae, and I wished we had siblings while we were growing up. Unfortunately, all of our parents weren't able to carry another child to term. They weren't interested in adopting children at all," Randolph whispered and sighed heavily.

"Just a week after Mom and Dad adopted Elvis, they told us they were unable to have children because she was barren from multiple miscarriages. They became foster parents in hopes of adopting children," Jesse explained. He felt so bad for Glen and Annie over their inability to have their own children. He thought it was unfair people who had no problem having them didn't care about them, but those who wanted to couldn't.

"Now, you're about to become a father," Randolph reminded him.

"Though I'm looking forward to that, I admit I am a little nervous," Jesse said, his body becoming a little tense. "My and Nadine's parents have told us what will happen, but we don't know what to expect. Kids don't come with manuals."

"They sure don't," Randolph agreed. "Just do the best you can. That's all you can do."

"I can tell you one thing. Nadine and I won't hover over our child. We refuse to control his or her every move," Jesse declared fiercely.

"Good for you," Randolph said proudly. He hated that many parents hovered over their children due to the media's constant airing of kidnappings and murders. He believed they were stifling their independence, though he understood they wanted to keep them safe. "Just promise me one thing. Don't let your child play with super glue. That stuff is difficult to deal with."

"I won't," Jesse promised.

The men looked toward the water. They could see Canada geese flying in a V-formation in the distance. They thought it was neat the birds flew that way. They loved imagining themselves as geese flying with others in a flock. They believed it'd be wonderful to soar through the sky without a care in the world. Of course, they knew it would always be a fantasy. They still considered them to be amongst the most beautiful birds in the world, though.

"I was so angry at my birth mom for ditching me and having another kid. I couldn't understand how she could do that. I even cursed her. When Elvis told me that she loved me, I found it in my heart to forgive her," Jesse whispered and sniffled softly. He and Randolph glanced at each other. "I felt bad for cursing her. Not a day goes by that I don't think of her and my birth dad."

"They would be so proud of how far you've come. I have no doubt they will be smiling down at you when your baby is born," Randolph said comfortingly.

"Thanks," Jesse responded, starting to feel better.

"You're welcome," Randolph replied with a nod. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need help with the baby. You know I'm not that far away."

"Okay," Jesse said. "Thanks."

Randolph winked at his friend, and they returned their attention to the water. He peered out of the corner of his eye at him. He smiled mischievously. He trailed his fingers up Jesse's back and slapped him upside the head. Jesse gazed at him in mock annoyance.

"You just had to do that, didn't you?" Jesse asked.

"Yes, I did," Randolph responded and smirked widely. "There's nothing better than giving you a slap upside the head."

"How about I give one to you?" Jesse said and gave him a slap upside the head. Randolph retaliated with another to his. They alternated back and forth for twenty seconds. They shared a laugh.

"Imagine if Willy's flipper was a hand. It'd be so large that he'd knock us down if he tried to hit us," Randolph said in amazement.

"No doubt about that," Jesse agreed. "The bones in a cetacean's flippers do resemble fingers. It'd be funny if cetaceans shook hands with each other."

"Yep. Unfortunately, that'll never happen. They have to use parts of their bodies to examine each other and unknown objects," Randolph added.

"They also use them to exert dominance over each other. This is especially true for toothed whales in regards to their teeth. Risso's dolphins are notorious for having rake marks. Some of them have so many that they are almost white!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Mm-hmm," Randolph commented. "They are still beautiful dolphins, though."

Jesse raised his eyebrows. "Of course, their beauty can never compare to the orca."

Randolph winked at him. "Yep."

The men turned back toward the water. They watched gulls fly toward the horizon and listened to their cries.

00000

Nadine and Rae were immersed in their fourth game of Go Fish fifteen minutes later. Rae moved her cards around while whispering inaudible words. She looked toward Nadine, who had a determined expression on her face. Jesse and Randolph talked about the time that Willy, Nikki, Max, and Isabella spit water on both of them.

"You got any fives, Nadine?" Rae wondered.

"Nope, Rae. Go fish," Nadine answered. She watched her draw a card from the deck and nestle it amongst hers. She cupped her chin in her hand, appearing to be deep in thought. An idea clicked in her head. "You got any threes?"

Rae groaned in frustration while touching the top of her head. "Oh, man. I really don't want to give my threes up!"

Nadine held out her hand with seriousness in her eyes. "Come on, Rae. Don't be a card hog."

Rae frowned and handed her two threes over to her friend, who laid them and hers down in front of her. Nadine smiled happily and placed her hands on her sides. She sat up tall and proud.

"I win again!" Nadine announced.

"I don't understand. I almost always win four games of Go Fish in a row," Rae muttered dejectedly.

"I guess today is my lucky day," Nadine suggested as she gathered the cards.

"Maybe," Rae murmured and cleared her throat. "I can see why this game is called Go Fish. The piles of cards are the ocean or pool. The cards are the fish. They must go in the water." She imitated the sound of splashing.

"I learned lying about the contents of a person's hand are difficult to prevent," Nadine pointed out. "I understand why they lie. They don't want to give up cards when they are so close to forming a pile."

"You want to use these cards as bait to catch some real fish?" Rae asked. She formed her hands in the shape of a fishing rod. She pretended to reel in a fish she had caught. She leaned back a bit.

"I prefer using worms to catch fish," Nadine squealed and patted the cards to straighten them out. "Besides, fish can't read or count."

"Of course not," Rae commented and giggled very sweetly. "I was just messing with you."

Nadine finished straightening the cards and put them aside. Rae reached into her pocket and pulled out her cellphone. She looked it over, her eyes filled with awe.

"I never thought I'd ever have a cellphone," Rae said and laughed quietly.

"Neither did I," Nadine said and grabbed her cellphone from her pocket. "Jesse always jokes about how old we're getting since we have these things. He's right. It doesn't seem so long ago when we had just ordinary phones. We couldn't take them anywhere."

"But we can take these wherever we go," Rae said and smiled warmly. "They're perfect for calling someone when you find you don't have a spare after getting a flat tire."

"You can also call your loved ones to warn them of oncoming tornadoes if your home phone goes out," Nadine added.

Rae bit her lip nervously. "That reminds me of the scene where the phone went dead in Night of the Twisters. Dan looked quite scared when that happened. He realized he had no way of reaching anyone he knew." She swallowed hard.

"That's one of Jesse's favorite movies. We watch it all the time. It has no curse words whatsoever. The only violence is the tornadoes," Nadine commented.

"The Super Tuesday tornado outbreak from last year is the worst one we've had since 1985. The only F5 tornado in Pennsylvania's history occurred in 1985," Rae said seriously.

"I've seen footage of that tornado on YouTube. It's incredible!" Nadine exclaimed.

"Yeah. It's amazing that people have survived such a destructive force of nature," Rae whispered.

Nadine nodded in agreement. "So true."

"I hope I never get caught in a tornado," Rae said, her body trembling. "That'd be one of the scariest experiences I'd ever have."

"The same goes for me," Nadine responded, becoming a little tense. "It'd be even creepier if I had to give birth during one."

Rae formed a sympathetic expression on her face. She remembered watching a documentary about weather survival stories. She saw one story that featured a woman who went into labor and gave birth during a tornado. That scared her to no end, but she was relieved the mother and her newborn came through just fine. She hoped never to see another story like that again. Of course, she could never be sure.

The women returned their cellphones to their pockets. Nadine laid her hands on her stomach. The baby kicked against them, which made her smile. Her smile grew wider when it repeated its action twice. Rae furrowed her brow and let out a small laugh. She moved her head from side to side. This stretched her neck. She snorted.

"You're very lucky to have such a small baby bump. My mom was out to here when she was pregnant with me," Rae said, holding her hands away from her stomach in a circle.

"Everyone knows no two pregnant women are the same. On top of that, a woman who has strong abs doesn't push out. She pushes back and up. I thank the exercises I've been doing for keeping my belly small," Nadine replied, patting her stomach three times with both hands.

"My mom exercised while pregnant, but she found it rather tricky," Rae whispered in sympathy. "She started having problems at the beginning of the third trimester. She had to be put on bed rest."

"I have no doubt having to lay around irritated her," Nadine commented.

Rae emitted a light chuckle. "It sure did. She had bad mood swings too. She occasionally threw things at my dad."

"I know how she feels. During one bad mood swing, I threw an apple at Jesse and hit him in the head," Nadine mumbled guiltily. "I apologized profusely. He told me it was okay. I still felt ashamed, though."

"Look on the bright side. He didn't walk out on you like some men do when their pregnant women are having bad mood swings," Rae pointed out.

Nadine sighed in much relief at that. "Thank God."

"Though I'll be here for just two more months, you're welcome to call me if you need help with the baby. I'm not far away," Rae said.

"All right," Nadine answered and smiled warmly. "Thanks."

Rae gave her friend a thumbs-up. Nadine got herself into a squatting position and stood up slowly. She placed her hands on her back. Rae rose to her feet with a light grunt. They headed to the bow.

"The biggest downside to pregnancy is that it's so difficult to stand up and squat down to get something off the floor," Nadine grumbled, looking annoyed.

"That's especially true if the woman's stomach is very big," Rae said and crossed her arms.

"I wonder if my stomach will get very big with the next baby," Nadine commented and became tense. She didn't want that to happen at all. Of course, she knew that it might.

"Relax, Nadine. You and Jesse won't be having another baby for a long time," Rae assured. "Just focus on this baby. Once you get pregnant with the next one, then you can worry about it."

"Okay," Nadine responded. They focused their attention on the water. They watched a gull skim its beak along the surface and scoop up fish. It flew away quickly before another one could spot it.