Chapter 3
"Oh, Rick, look at the dolphins!" Laurie called from their patio, gazing at the large pack of playful mammals just off shore.
Her husband grinned, she was so happy it was infectious. He had to come back here again, it was so peaceful and beautiful, it took all their cares away.
After the hectic two weeks that had just passed, Rick was just glad when Steve volunteered to fly them to the coast. "Listen, I have to go home to Ojai anyway before my assignment, it's no bother!"
To everyone's relief, the Matthews parole hearing had been canceled once the district's superior court judge refused to hear the case. Now Matthews had been sent back to prison and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Enjoying a rare Friday off, they had had a wonderful flight with Steve, then saw him go home to Jaime and Crystal. Picking up a rental, Rick drove Hwy 101 and was surprised at how fast they made it to Santa Barbara.
Finding the ancient little hotel only by carefully watching for the small exit sign, the two Simons were amazed to learn the behind the antique façade the inn was spacious and well appointed. Laurie squealed when she saw the large spa tub and his and hers robes laid out for them. A note on the patio side table indicated that dinner would be brought to their room at 7 pm with cocktails preceding their meal.
"Rick, my love, you thought of everything!" she told him, toasting him in front of the fireplace. "I did, didn't I?" he bragged, then taking her glass from her, pulled Laurie into his arms and kissed her.
Releasing her only when both were breathless, he added, "After all, I was smart enough to marry you, darlin'!" Caressing his face, Laurie returned, "and I'll never regret saying "I do", our family was born that very minute with all the happiness you've given me!"
Thinking back to those moments, Rick hated the thought of going home, but seeing Laurie's thrill at seeing the beautiful creatures, he decided to add one more touch to their weekend.
"Sweetheart, how about after breakfast tomorrow we take that dolphin watch trip; it's only for one hour and I think we have time." he asked, coming out to the patio and handing her an ice tea.
"Oh darling, that would be great, you think of everything!" she smiled, then kissed him. "Well, look at the inspiration I have!" he laughed.
Sunday morning dawned windy and cool, and Rick was grateful for the gas fireplace, which warmed up their room nicely. After a hot breakfast, Rick went to the lobby and got permission to leave their bags until after lunch. "Mr. Simon, we've enjoyed having you and Mrs. Simon, I hope you'll come again." the manager added.
"Yes, Mr. Peters, this is a very special place. I'd like to even have the same room for next year." he replied, at which the manager promptly opened the reservation book up and signed them up for the same weekend.
Pleased with himself, Rick went back to their room and found Laurie standing on the porch, watching for him.
"Miss me, huh?" he teased, putting his arms around her. "Yes, darling, when you're not around, it feels lonesome!" she sighed, then giggled when he nuzzled her neck. "Rick! I'm ticklish there!"
"Ah, now I can have my way with you, Mrs. Simon!" he snickered, then kissed her throat again, bringing forth peals of laughter.
"Rick, if you keep that up, we'll miss our cruise!" she gasped, winded from
laughing. Reluctantly, her husband gave her one last squeeze, then whispered, "I'm taking a rain check for tonight!"
"I'll hold you to it, Mr. Simon!" she replied, bussing his cheek, then helped pick up the last of their belongings.
Going to the pier where the harbor trips departed, Rick scanned the water and saw how choppy it was. Glancing at Laurie, he asked her, "Darlin', do you think you can handle these waves?"
"Yes, Rick, besides, I already took a seasick pill, it'll be ok!" she smiled. "It won't bother an old salt like you, will it?"
"Old salt? I'll show you who's old?", he mock threatened, picking her up and swinging her around.
Laughing, Laurie finally begged, "Uncle, Uncle!" and then as he set her down, told him, "here's your forfeit!" and kissed him.
"Sweetheart, you're paid in full!" Rick grinned, then took her arm as they prepared to board the small fishing-style boat.
As they settled into their seats, they were handed life jackets. Laurie joked with Rick about "3 hour cruises" then helped tie his preserver around him.
When he adjusted hers, she suddenly had a cold sensation, as if something was going to happen. Stiffening, she grabbed at her husband's arm. "Rick, something's wrong!" Startled, he glanced at her face, seeing she had gone pale. "Laurie, are you ok?" She nodded, then let out a deep breath.
"Sorry, darling, just had a cold feeling, like... it's nothing, just the damp probably!" she replied, squeezing his arm.
As the boat left the dock, Rick noticed there were only three other tourists, the tour guide, two ship hands and skipper. "Guess the weather scared everyone else away!" he joked to one of the crew.
"Nah, the captain decided to run an extra boat with it being summer and all, guess he won't do that again!" the helmsman smirked. Cocking his head at Laurie, he looked at Rick, "Haven't I seen her someplace before?"
"Well, yeah, my wife's an author. She's been on television a couple of times." he admitted. "Yeah, that's it, something called "Rainbird", my granddaughter read it to me." the seaman grinned. "She's good, I kinda liked what she had to say."
"Well, I think Laurie might like to hear from a fan; sweetheart?" Rick nudged his wife, who turned with a smile, then told her "this guy heard his granddaughter read Rainbird."
"Did you like it?" she asked, then beamed when he repeated what he had told Rick. "Thank you, I wrote it mainly for my son and daughter, but also for a couple of my friends."
"That's what I thought, I told my missus that you meant everyone to read it. Hey, wait a minute, don't touch that!" he interrupted to stride across the deck.
Glancing over to see him chewing out an apparently clueless man, Rick turned back to his wife only to see her trying to jerk her arm away from one of the tourists. "Hey, what do you think you're doing!" he said, then yelled "No!" as the man on the other side of her caught her off balance and pushed her over the side.
Enraged, he hollered "My wife's overboard!" then went for the two men. As he grabbed one, he didn't see the other come up behind him until he felt the blow to the back of his head, then he too was upended and fell into the water. Fortunately, the shock of the water revived him almost immediately, and sputtering, he came up for air. Looking around, he caught sight of Laurie's head bobbing some distance away, and the touring boat even further. From what he could tell, they were about 4 miles offshore. Yelling at the boat, he saw someone looking toward them, but no indication of coming back. Frantic, he turned in the direction of his wife.
"Laurie!, I'm coming, keep your head up!" he called, then started swimming toward her. "Rick! turn on your transmitter, quick!" she yelled back, catching sight of him. Pulling his arm out of the water, he adjusted the dial and saw it light. "Got it, sweetheart, they'll be able to find us now!" he called to her.
"Rick, the wind's picking up, I think we're being blown into the bay!" she replied, then screamed as a dark shape came near her. "Don't move, darlin', I'm coming!" he yelled, then a wave of water came from nowhere and pushed him even further away. Coughing and spitting, he pushed himself up from his floatation jacket, then realized she was nowhere in sight.
"No! Laurie!", he screamed her name, then scoured the water, not seeing her. Twisting the transmitter control, Rick started calling her, then changing channels, yelled "Mayday, Mayday, we're in the water off the Santa Barbara channel!" Once or twice he felt a mental image of Laurie, like she was dazed, calling out to him. Then he didn't hear anything and his heart sunk.
After what seemed like an hour, Rick felt something bump his legs, then he looked around him to see a group of dolphins. "I don't know if you guys understand people, but I need help!" Astonishingly, the largest of the mammals swam close to him, and he grabbed for him. Hanging on, he felt himself being pulled by first one then another of the dolphins.
"Laurie, please darlin', answer me, I've got some friends with me, I've got to find you! Please cry or scream or call out my name, anything!" Rick called. Abruptly he heard a voice, then recognized what sounded like a ship's engine. "Hey, I'm over here!" he hollered, blinking through the sudden glare on the water as the clouds parted.
Astonishingly, he saw a Coast Guard ship steaming his way, and he summoned the rest of his flagging strength to try to wave it down.
Blurred shapes came into view, then voices, "Easy mister, just take it easy!" Something was lowered into the water next to him, then arms pulled him up and onto a flat surface. Gasping and choking, he felt something being wrapped around him. "Please," he rasped, "my wife, she's still in the water, got to find her!" "We've got searchers looking, Simon, we'll do our best." a gravelly voice replied. Blinking, Rick saw a face come into view, then recognized him as a former commander from down in San Diego. "Captain James, is that you?" he managed.
"Yes, almost didn't recognize you, Rick!" the stern-faced seaman answered, then his face softened. "What happened out there, we got a report of you and your wife going overboard, then a mate on the tour boat broke ranks and told how you were attacked. The harbor police managed to corral a couple of ex-cons, but they're not talking."
Fighting for control, Rick told of seeing his wife being grabbed, then thrown over the side of the boat. "That's what the old ship hand we talked to said, then he saw you knocked overboard. He tried to get the boat to swing around, but the captain apparently was afraid of the two goons so he radioed in your approximate location then took off back to the port. Did you happen to notice your wife's position in the water the last time you caught sight of her?" James asked. "God, maybe 3 miles off land, I was only a few yards from her then a swell hit both of us. When I surfaced, I couldn't see her anywhere.
I heard her, well I mean I heard her voice on my transmitter, then she must have passed out or something. Maybe she's washed up on the shore already, I'd better try to reach her!" Rick started to sit up, then dizziness claimed him and he nearly passed out.
"Easy, Rick, we're almost to the port. I'll call in her last position and send a cruiser that direction right now. We'll take you straight to the hospital so you can get that bump looked at!" the captain ordered.
"No, you don't understand, I've got to find her, she's not a good swimmer, please!" Rick tried to argue, then realized everything was going around, then went black.
"Oh, Rick, look at the dolphins!" Laurie called from their patio, gazing at the large pack of playful mammals just off shore.
Her husband grinned, she was so happy it was infectious. He had to come back here again, it was so peaceful and beautiful, it took all their cares away.
After the hectic two weeks that had just passed, Rick was just glad when Steve volunteered to fly them to the coast. "Listen, I have to go home to Ojai anyway before my assignment, it's no bother!"
To everyone's relief, the Matthews parole hearing had been canceled once the district's superior court judge refused to hear the case. Now Matthews had been sent back to prison and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Enjoying a rare Friday off, they had had a wonderful flight with Steve, then saw him go home to Jaime and Crystal. Picking up a rental, Rick drove Hwy 101 and was surprised at how fast they made it to Santa Barbara.
Finding the ancient little hotel only by carefully watching for the small exit sign, the two Simons were amazed to learn the behind the antique façade the inn was spacious and well appointed. Laurie squealed when she saw the large spa tub and his and hers robes laid out for them. A note on the patio side table indicated that dinner would be brought to their room at 7 pm with cocktails preceding their meal.
"Rick, my love, you thought of everything!" she told him, toasting him in front of the fireplace. "I did, didn't I?" he bragged, then taking her glass from her, pulled Laurie into his arms and kissed her.
Releasing her only when both were breathless, he added, "After all, I was smart enough to marry you, darlin'!" Caressing his face, Laurie returned, "and I'll never regret saying "I do", our family was born that very minute with all the happiness you've given me!"
Thinking back to those moments, Rick hated the thought of going home, but seeing Laurie's thrill at seeing the beautiful creatures, he decided to add one more touch to their weekend.
"Sweetheart, how about after breakfast tomorrow we take that dolphin watch trip; it's only for one hour and I think we have time." he asked, coming out to the patio and handing her an ice tea.
"Oh darling, that would be great, you think of everything!" she smiled, then kissed him. "Well, look at the inspiration I have!" he laughed.
Sunday morning dawned windy and cool, and Rick was grateful for the gas fireplace, which warmed up their room nicely. After a hot breakfast, Rick went to the lobby and got permission to leave their bags until after lunch. "Mr. Simon, we've enjoyed having you and Mrs. Simon, I hope you'll come again." the manager added.
"Yes, Mr. Peters, this is a very special place. I'd like to even have the same room for next year." he replied, at which the manager promptly opened the reservation book up and signed them up for the same weekend.
Pleased with himself, Rick went back to their room and found Laurie standing on the porch, watching for him.
"Miss me, huh?" he teased, putting his arms around her. "Yes, darling, when you're not around, it feels lonesome!" she sighed, then giggled when he nuzzled her neck. "Rick! I'm ticklish there!"
"Ah, now I can have my way with you, Mrs. Simon!" he snickered, then kissed her throat again, bringing forth peals of laughter.
"Rick, if you keep that up, we'll miss our cruise!" she gasped, winded from
laughing. Reluctantly, her husband gave her one last squeeze, then whispered, "I'm taking a rain check for tonight!"
"I'll hold you to it, Mr. Simon!" she replied, bussing his cheek, then helped pick up the last of their belongings.
Going to the pier where the harbor trips departed, Rick scanned the water and saw how choppy it was. Glancing at Laurie, he asked her, "Darlin', do you think you can handle these waves?"
"Yes, Rick, besides, I already took a seasick pill, it'll be ok!" she smiled. "It won't bother an old salt like you, will it?"
"Old salt? I'll show you who's old?", he mock threatened, picking her up and swinging her around.
Laughing, Laurie finally begged, "Uncle, Uncle!" and then as he set her down, told him, "here's your forfeit!" and kissed him.
"Sweetheart, you're paid in full!" Rick grinned, then took her arm as they prepared to board the small fishing-style boat.
As they settled into their seats, they were handed life jackets. Laurie joked with Rick about "3 hour cruises" then helped tie his preserver around him.
When he adjusted hers, she suddenly had a cold sensation, as if something was going to happen. Stiffening, she grabbed at her husband's arm. "Rick, something's wrong!" Startled, he glanced at her face, seeing she had gone pale. "Laurie, are you ok?" She nodded, then let out a deep breath.
"Sorry, darling, just had a cold feeling, like... it's nothing, just the damp probably!" she replied, squeezing his arm.
As the boat left the dock, Rick noticed there were only three other tourists, the tour guide, two ship hands and skipper. "Guess the weather scared everyone else away!" he joked to one of the crew.
"Nah, the captain decided to run an extra boat with it being summer and all, guess he won't do that again!" the helmsman smirked. Cocking his head at Laurie, he looked at Rick, "Haven't I seen her someplace before?"
"Well, yeah, my wife's an author. She's been on television a couple of times." he admitted. "Yeah, that's it, something called "Rainbird", my granddaughter read it to me." the seaman grinned. "She's good, I kinda liked what she had to say."
"Well, I think Laurie might like to hear from a fan; sweetheart?" Rick nudged his wife, who turned with a smile, then told her "this guy heard his granddaughter read Rainbird."
"Did you like it?" she asked, then beamed when he repeated what he had told Rick. "Thank you, I wrote it mainly for my son and daughter, but also for a couple of my friends."
"That's what I thought, I told my missus that you meant everyone to read it. Hey, wait a minute, don't touch that!" he interrupted to stride across the deck.
Glancing over to see him chewing out an apparently clueless man, Rick turned back to his wife only to see her trying to jerk her arm away from one of the tourists. "Hey, what do you think you're doing!" he said, then yelled "No!" as the man on the other side of her caught her off balance and pushed her over the side.
Enraged, he hollered "My wife's overboard!" then went for the two men. As he grabbed one, he didn't see the other come up behind him until he felt the blow to the back of his head, then he too was upended and fell into the water. Fortunately, the shock of the water revived him almost immediately, and sputtering, he came up for air. Looking around, he caught sight of Laurie's head bobbing some distance away, and the touring boat even further. From what he could tell, they were about 4 miles offshore. Yelling at the boat, he saw someone looking toward them, but no indication of coming back. Frantic, he turned in the direction of his wife.
"Laurie!, I'm coming, keep your head up!" he called, then started swimming toward her. "Rick! turn on your transmitter, quick!" she yelled back, catching sight of him. Pulling his arm out of the water, he adjusted the dial and saw it light. "Got it, sweetheart, they'll be able to find us now!" he called to her.
"Rick, the wind's picking up, I think we're being blown into the bay!" she replied, then screamed as a dark shape came near her. "Don't move, darlin', I'm coming!" he yelled, then a wave of water came from nowhere and pushed him even further away. Coughing and spitting, he pushed himself up from his floatation jacket, then realized she was nowhere in sight.
"No! Laurie!", he screamed her name, then scoured the water, not seeing her. Twisting the transmitter control, Rick started calling her, then changing channels, yelled "Mayday, Mayday, we're in the water off the Santa Barbara channel!" Once or twice he felt a mental image of Laurie, like she was dazed, calling out to him. Then he didn't hear anything and his heart sunk.
After what seemed like an hour, Rick felt something bump his legs, then he looked around him to see a group of dolphins. "I don't know if you guys understand people, but I need help!" Astonishingly, the largest of the mammals swam close to him, and he grabbed for him. Hanging on, he felt himself being pulled by first one then another of the dolphins.
"Laurie, please darlin', answer me, I've got some friends with me, I've got to find you! Please cry or scream or call out my name, anything!" Rick called. Abruptly he heard a voice, then recognized what sounded like a ship's engine. "Hey, I'm over here!" he hollered, blinking through the sudden glare on the water as the clouds parted.
Astonishingly, he saw a Coast Guard ship steaming his way, and he summoned the rest of his flagging strength to try to wave it down.
Blurred shapes came into view, then voices, "Easy mister, just take it easy!" Something was lowered into the water next to him, then arms pulled him up and onto a flat surface. Gasping and choking, he felt something being wrapped around him. "Please," he rasped, "my wife, she's still in the water, got to find her!" "We've got searchers looking, Simon, we'll do our best." a gravelly voice replied. Blinking, Rick saw a face come into view, then recognized him as a former commander from down in San Diego. "Captain James, is that you?" he managed.
"Yes, almost didn't recognize you, Rick!" the stern-faced seaman answered, then his face softened. "What happened out there, we got a report of you and your wife going overboard, then a mate on the tour boat broke ranks and told how you were attacked. The harbor police managed to corral a couple of ex-cons, but they're not talking."
Fighting for control, Rick told of seeing his wife being grabbed, then thrown over the side of the boat. "That's what the old ship hand we talked to said, then he saw you knocked overboard. He tried to get the boat to swing around, but the captain apparently was afraid of the two goons so he radioed in your approximate location then took off back to the port. Did you happen to notice your wife's position in the water the last time you caught sight of her?" James asked. "God, maybe 3 miles off land, I was only a few yards from her then a swell hit both of us. When I surfaced, I couldn't see her anywhere.
I heard her, well I mean I heard her voice on my transmitter, then she must have passed out or something. Maybe she's washed up on the shore already, I'd better try to reach her!" Rick started to sit up, then dizziness claimed him and he nearly passed out.
"Easy, Rick, we're almost to the port. I'll call in her last position and send a cruiser that direction right now. We'll take you straight to the hospital so you can get that bump looked at!" the captain ordered.
"No, you don't understand, I've got to find her, she's not a good swimmer, please!" Rick tried to argue, then realized everything was going around, then went black.