CHAPTER 5 - SURFER GIRL, BE HEALED
While the guys' video game tournament continued downstairs, Fin was still in the girls' room upstairs, now alone. Lo had left a few minutes earlier, promising to return after she went back to the hotel to run a small errand. In the meantime, Fin had laid down on her right side on her bed, curling up in a fetal position as her state of mind took a turn for the worse. She was shaking with fear as she lay in that position, playing in her mind what she worried she might deal with in the wake of her father's passing, and worried how she would deal with what she expected to face in the immediate future without him.
Usually, Fin faced any problems she had dealt with in the past head-on and with confidence, knowing that she would deal with those issues and get past them. This time, however, she was up against the most serious issue she ever had to face to date in her 16 years, and never in her young life had she felt as helpless, or as powerless, as she did right at that moment.
As Fin continued to lay curled up and shaking on her bed, Lo came back into the room and quietly closed the door behind her after finishing her errand at the hotel. Lo put down a scented candle she bought at the gift shop, one of the kinds of candles usually used at the hotel spa for aromatherapy purposes, on one corner of the nightstand between her bed and Fin's, then she struck a match and lit the candle with it. She then walked around to the other side of Fin's bed, bringing with her some bottled water she had also bought.
"Here, Fin," Lo said as she kneeled down at the side of the bed, offering her friend the bottle. "I got you some water in case you need it." When Fin did not respond right away, Lo raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" she asked out of concern.
"N-n-n-no," Fin stammered quietly, not really focusing on Lo. "N-n-not...okay."
A worried Lo then put her hand on Fin's left knee and realized that she was trembling. "Oh, Fin, you're shaking," she said. "You must really be in a bad spot over your dad."
"Don't...don't want...," Fin tried to speak while continuing to shake, still looking past Lo. "Don't...see me...like this..."
"Fin, listen to me," Lo said, lowering herself to Fin's eye level on the bed to look at her directly. "I understand you don't want anyone to see you're hurting over the loss of your dad. I know you want to be brave and tough around others and let them see you can handle anything you go up against. But this is just you and me here right now. You don't have to be tough around me like you are around everyone else." Acting out of compassion for Fin, Lo took the gentle approach as she spoke. "I'm here to help you if you'll let me. I want to help."
"I'm...a-afraid," Fin said, finally looking at Lo. "I...I can't...face it alone...," she continued, talking about dealing with her father's death. She then put her left hand on the edge of the bed. "Would you...help me?"
Understanding what Fin said about facing what lay ahead for her, Lo smiled and put her right hand on top of Fin's left. "I will," she said. "Give me a moment." She then stood back up and went over to get the pillows from both her bed and Emma's. "Sorry to steal your pillow, Em, I'll put it back later," she apologized as she tucked the pillows under her left arm, then she went to the room's closet and grabbed two more pillows from the top shelf. "Okay Fin, scoot over," she said to her friend as she placed the extra pillows against the headboard of Fin's bed.
"What...why?" a confused Fin asked.
Lo then kneeled back down beside Fin's bed, again making eye contact with her. "This is part of what I want to do to help," she said to Fin. "Let me sit and cuddle with you, if it'll help make you feel okay. I want you to feel better. That's what a friend would want for another when she feels sad."
Doing as Lo asked of her, Fin moved over to the other side of her bed, but otherwise did not uncurl from the fetal position she was in. Lo sat down on the bed and leaned back against the pillows propped in front of the headboard, then she checked to see how Fin was doing by placing her hand on Fin's left knee again. "You're still shaking," Lo noted as she felt her hand vibrate slightly, "but it's not as bad as it was before."
Knowing that Fin's family was clear across the country and that she had no relatives in Sunset Beach to be there for her in her time of need since Fin's grandmother returned to Halifax, Lo took it upon herself to act as a surrogate sister for her friend, to be there and comfort her. Taking it easy so as not to startle a still-scared Fin, Lo then moved her right hand over to Fin's left elbow and began to rub her left arm gently, moving back and forth between her elbow and her shoulder.
"I'm still...scared," Fin moaned meekly as she continued to tremble. "Don't know...what I'll do..."
"Shhh, it's okay, Fin," Lo said, keeping her voice soft and light to help calm and soothe Fin. "You don't have to worry about that now. Just come lay your head on my shoulder and relax." Fin, in spite of her state of mind at that point, managed to move herself enough in place so she could rest her head on Lo's left shoulder, allowing Lo to then move her left arm behind Fin's back so she could put her hand on the left side of Fin's waist for support.
"It's all right. I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere," Lo said softly as she cradled Fin in her arms and continued to gently rub the surfer girl's left arm. "You're safe here. Just relax and I'll help you feel better. I promise."
While she cuddled with and comforted Fin, Lo thought back to when she first met her future fellow groms following the end-of-school party she threw at the hotel which had led to her forced exile from the Ridgemount penthouse and her joining the hotel staff. Some of the gang, particularly Fin, had thought of Lo at first as a spoiled, pampered princess thanks to her initial choice to slack on the job or skip work to go shopping or to the spa while wanting to return to the penthouse. In due time though, Lo, thanks in part to Kelly's own change of attitude, was influenced to become a better person through her actions, which impressed Fin and the others and won their respect.
Since then, Lo came to regard Reef, Fin, Broseph and most of the staff (except for Bummer) as her friends through the adventures they shared together during the summer, including their common love of surfing. But now, thanks to the personal tragedy she saw Fin suffering through due to her father's death, Lo came to care deeply about Fin and her well-being. Seeing a chance to continue her redemption from her pre-party ways, Lo sought to help Fin heal her emotional wounds and help her through her time of mourning the loss of a loved one.
As Fin continued dealing with her mental anguish over her loss, she soon began to hear singing. Because she had focused internally on her suffering, the singing sounded distant to her at first, but her focus then began to turn toward the song when she noticed that a sweet-sounding voice was singing the wordless vocals. Brought back out of her shell, Fin looked and realized that the source of the song was Lo, who was using her beautiful singing voice with its high, haunting, light and ethereal notes to reach out to her friend, to ease her distress and to comfort and calm her.
Fin, who had kept her arms crossed over her chest with her hands on her shoulders while laying in the fetal position since Lo had first left on her errand and kept them crossed most of the time since then, then responded to Lo's singing by uncrossing her arms slowly and bringing her left arm over to put around Lo's waist as a sign of appreciation. Lo noticed this, but she continued singing another minute before she ended her song and looked to Fin. "How do you feel now, Fin?" she said softly with a smile.
"A...a little better," Fin replied in a low voice. After a brief pause, she asked Lo, "How do you know what to do for something like this?"
"My mom does the same thing for me sometimes when I feel really sad or depressed about something, cuddling with me and sometimes singing to me," Lo said. "It's always worked for me. When I saw what you were going through, I thought about what Mom would do for me and I wanted to try it here."
"Your mom must really love you and care about you enough to do that for you," Fin said.
"She does," Lo said, nodding. "I'll have to thank her for that next time I see her."
"You know something, Lo?" Fin said. "I have a feeling that when the time comes for you, you're going to make a really good mother yourself."
Lo was flattered and touched by what Fin told her. "Aww, thanks Fin," she said, smiling. "You want to know something else? I'm glad I was able to get through to you and bring you back around with my singing. I noticed it when you put your arm around my waist." When Fin blushed out of embarrassment, Lo noticed and giggled. "It's okay, Fin," she said reassuringly. "I understand you're not used to feeling vulnerable around anyone, but it's all right. You can be vulnerable with me, I won't give you a hard time about it. I know you're feeling that way now because of what happened to your dad."
"Thanks, Lo," Fin said, letting out a sigh of relief. "You're right though, your singing did get through to me while I was putting myself through hell earlier. Now I know it was a good thing to have you as a part of the Surfing Songbirds for the talent show, because your singing really does sound beautiful."
"Thank you, Fin," a flattered Lo said with another smile. "I know you're not the only one who thinks so, but I'm glad you do." Taking comfort in Lo's words and gestures to help make her feel better, a more relaxed Fin continued to cuddle with Lo, who was more than happy to do what she could for her friend as she continued to cradle her.
Down at the hotel pool in the meantime, Kelly had just finished swimming laps and emerged from the water to grab a towel and dry off at poolside, where David was towelling his hair dry near one of the sunloungers. Like Reef and the guys back at the staff house, Kelly and David had been elsewhere when Fin got her phone call from home, so neither of them were aware of the call or what happened to Fin after that.
"Man, that felt great," an enthused David said as he finished drying off his hair. "Always feel pumped up after a good swim."
"You're feeling a lot better now than I was up 'til a few minutes ago," Kelly said while she dried off.
"Why, what's up?" David asked.
"It's something that happened just after I got back from lunch break, after the water fight with Lo, Fin and the girls Lo was babysitting," Kelly explained. "You know when we were talking earlier about those two bratty boys with the bad parents, the Marvin family? You remember being there with me in the theatre lobby when I told them they were banned from returning to eat at the DR here because of the boys' behavior and because their parents refused to keep them under control, right?"
"Sure," David said, also recalling that moment. "It was your right to do so at your discretion because those boys were acting out of control here and at the movies. Their parents don't really strike me as model parent material either."
"Well, Bummer showed up in the DR after I got back to work and told me he found out about me banning the Marvins from there," Kelly said. "So he overruled me and lifted the ban on them, then he gave me a strike for banning them in the first place. Right after that, the Marvins came right back in and their twin terrors picked right up where they left off last time they were there, running wild and causing havoc while their parents carried on at their table like nothing was going on. Several guests left the DR in frustration not long after because of those Marvin boys."
"I don't get it," a puzzled David said. "What kind of hotel manager would allow things like that to go on at their hotel? And what kind of manager would penalize you for doing the right thing for other guests? I thought this Bummer guy was all about pleasing hotel guests."
"Not so much as he is about helping the hotel rake in as much money as possible, it seems," Kelly said. "The Marvins spend a lot of money at the hotel and Bummer wants to keep it that way, even if it means he alienates some of the other guests by not doing anything about the Marvin kids."
"Well, my money is as good at the hotel as the Marvins' money is," David pointed out. "If I see Bummer around next time I eat at the Pirate Ship, I'm going to have a word with him about those boys. If what you said about him always trying to please customers is true, then he'll have to listen to me as well and do something to rein in those kids. If not, then I'll have to go over his head and go straight to Mr. Ridgemount."
"Thanks, David," Kelly said with a relieved sigh. "I'm glad someone not working at the hotel is willing to stand up to Bummer and right a wrong."
"Gladly," David agreed. "But let's forget about Bummer and the Marvins for now. I've got that song I promised you earlier." Picking up his acoustic guitar, which was resting against his sunlounger, David began strumming on the instrument, then began to sing while a wistful Kelly watched and listened:
You walk in beauty like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in your aspect and your eyes.
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which Heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every auburn tress
Or softly lightens over your face,
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how clear their dwelling place.
And on that cheek, and over that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent.
When David finished the song, Kelly smiled and applauded politely, looking impressed with what she heard. "Oh, that sounded wonderful, David," she said. "I love it."
"I'm glad you feel that way," a pleased David said. "It's an old Lord Byron poem, but I wrote the music to fit to the words and changed a few of the words to play for you. I was working on it since after our first two dates and I finally finished it just before I came here last night." Putting his guitar down a moment, he added, "I know it's not really the same as writing an original song, but..."
Before David could finish his sentence, Kelly put the tip of her index finger to his mouth to silence him. "That's all right, David," she said with a smile. "The sentiment's there. I love it because that's the first time anyone's ever played a love song for me." Kelly then went to give David a big hug and said, "Thank you so much."
"You're more than welcome," David replied while putting his arms around Kelly as well. Slinging his guitar strap back over his shoulder with the guitar behind him, he then stood up with Kelly while keeping his right arm over her shoulders. "Ready for that beach walk?" he asked Kelly.
"Sure," Kelly replied, smiling while she put her left arm around David's waist. "And let's take that walk slow," she added as she and her boyfriend began strolling away from poolside. "I'm not in any hurry."
"With pleasure," David said, heading slowly toward the beach with Kelly as they checked out the sights and talked about whatever they felt like, both enjoying the moment.
Coming soon, Fin opens up to Lo some more as she tells her about her family's background. Plus, Reef meets his competition in the STOKE tournament final, and the entire gang learns about Fin's situation.
The song performed by David for Kelly in this chapter (as noted above) is adapted from the Lord Byron poem "She Walks in Beauty", which is in the public domain.