CHAPTER 7 - THE CLASH
The newest chapter is up as Reef attempts to smooth things over with Fin and explain why he couldn't approach her to console her last chapter (ReeFin fans, take heart! I think you'll enjoy this. :D ). What happens later when Bummer makes the mistake of not believing Fin's story is the reason I gave this chapter its name.
Warning: Some intense dialogue from Fin, including a bit of coarse language, near chapter's end.
The next morning, Reef emerged from the staff locker room, ready to go to work teaching surfing to hotel guests, when he spotted Fin nearby, dressed in her yellow and purple maid's uniform, about to head to the elevators to go clean guest rooms again after her day off. Sprinting for the elevators, Reef ran toward Fin, calling "Hey Fin, wait up!"
Fin turned her head to see who was calling her, then scowled when she saw Reef running to her. "What do you want?" she said curtly, not feeling much like dealing with Reef that morning.
"I just wanted to talk to you," Reef said as soon as he stopped beside Fin.
"Well, I don't feel like talking to you," Fin said with her arms crossed.
"It's about last night and what Lo said," Reef explained. "I wanted to be supportive of you..."
"No kidding," Fin interrupted sarcastically. "Yeah, you were reeeal supportive alright. I saw you standing away from the rest of the gang while I was talking to them."
"Fin, that's not..." Reef started to speak.
"What were you planning to do, tease me about what happened?" Fin interrupted again. "Were you gonna use my father's death as an excuse to get some more digs in on me like you usually do? If so, then you can keep your so-called 'support'! I don't need..."
"Fin, will you..."
"And what are you even doing here, anyway?" Fin cut in for a third time. "How come you're not out teaching those bikini babes you like so much how to 'rip up the waves' instead of being here wasting your time with me? If you got no real reason to be supportive of me after what I've been through..."
"You see, Fin?" Reef then interrupted back, needing to get a word in edgewise. "This is exactly why I kept my distance last night while everyone else was there for you. I try to give you a sympathetic ear and you jump to conclusions and assume that I'm gonna tease you or rib you. That's exactly what I was worried would happen, so that's why I gave you your space then."
"Reef..." Fin tried to say.
"Fin, just shut up for a minute and let me say something!" Reef said, making Fin's mouth drop open in surprise and leaving her speechless for a moment. "Look, I realize you were hurt about what happened to your dad Friday night. I heard every word you said to the gang about what your mom told you and what you went through afterward.
"What I'm trying to say is that I really am sorry for what happened," Reef continued. "I know I tease you about a lot of things, but the death of someone you love is not one of those things. You're going through a rough time right now and I totally understand that. I'd never bug someone about losing a parent, or a grandparent, or a best friend 'cause that's not how I am."
Fin was stunned momentarily by what Reef told her. "Oh...wow," she said, realizing she had been mistaken about him in that instance. "You really feel that way?"
"Sure as I'm standing here," Reef said. "I just want to say I'm really sorry about you losing your dad. I know just how you feel about it."
"Ah," Fin said with a nod. "So you know how I feel, huh? Did your dad die too?" After a brief-but-awkward pause, she added, "I'm only asking because I know your mom was the only one of your folks who came here to see you a few weeks ago. If it's awkward for you to talk about it..."
"No, no, that's not it," Reef said. "Actually, Pop's not dead, he and Moms got divorced when I was 10 and he moved up north to Yellowknife to get work there. I still see Pops from time to time when he comes back to Muskoka to visit though."
"Oh, okay," Fin said, now understanding what Reef meant. After another pause, she then said apologetically, "Reef, I'm sorry about jumping down your throat earlier and assuming things when I shouldn't have. You wanted to offer your sympathies and I was a total cow to you in response. You didn't deserve that from me."
"That's okay," Reef said. "You had your suspicions and I didn't help matters much by ribbing you before. But as long as you and me are okay, that's what counts." After Reef and Fin took a moment to look at each other and smile, Fin made her move first and went over to hug Reef, then the two wrapped their arms around each other and held onto that hug for a few moments.
Over at the Pirate Ship, Lo and Emma were discreetly watching at the restaurant's entrance while Fin and Reef were talking. "Ooohh, I knew something was up between those two," Lo said with a mile-wide grin on her face. "Do you think they're going to kiss?"
"I don't know," Emma said while trying to lip-read what Reef and Fin were saying to each other. "They were arguing at first, but it's settled down since then. I sure wish I knew what they were talking about."
As Lo and Emma continued to watch, Kelly came up behind them. "Okay you two, what's going on?" the dining lounge's head waitress and manager asked out of curiosity.
Lo turned her head to find Kelly standing behind her and Emma. "You gotta see this," Lo said, pointing her thumb toward the lobby. "I think we're going to get a little action between Fin and Reef over there."
Kelly then joined Lo and Emma to watch as the exchange between Reef and Fin continued. When the three Pirate Ship waitresses saw the moment where Reef and Fin stopped talking long enough to look at each other and then hug, Emma and Lo turned from the entrance and began squealing happily and bouncing in place while Kelly raised an eyebrow and smirked at her employees' girlish display of enthusiasm. "That was sooo sweet!" Lo exclaimed.
"Too bad they didn't kiss, but the hug was the next best thing," Emma said.
"Okay, you've both seen the Reef and Fin Show," Kelly told Emma and Lo as she shooed them away from the entrance. "Now let's get back to work." As they returned to their order rounds, Lo and Emma looked at each other and giggled while remembering what they saw Fin and Reef do moments before.
Back in the lobby while she and Reef continued hugging, Fin heard her iPhone begin to ring in the pocket of her maid's apron. "Oh great, now what?" she grumbled as she reached into the pocket to take out her phone. She checked out the phone's display screen and discovered it was a text message from her sister Sam, which read:
Fin
Dad's funeral goes Thurs. 1 PM.
B here by Wed. C U then.
Sam
Reef had a look at the text with Fin when it appeared. "Oh, so your dad's funeral's gonna be this week, huh?" he said.
"That's how it looks," Fin said. "The trick to this now is how to convince Bummer to let me take a few days off to fly back home, attend the funeral and then come back here to finish out the summer. After what happened a few weeks ago, I'm not so sure Bummer's going to believe me about my dad."
"Yeah, but that was a different sitch," Reef said. "What's happening now, that's the real thing. How can Bummer refuse to let you go back when you've really had a death in the family?"
Fin thought about it a moment. "Good point," she replied, agreeing about what Reef said. "What could it hurt to try..."
Before Fin could finish, Bummer then walked up to Fin and Reef. "Okay, you two," the day manager said, interrupting their conversation. "Am I paying you to stand around and make water cooler talk?"
"Uhh...is that a trick question?" Reef asked rhetorically with a raised eyebrow.
"Can it, Reef!" Bummer replied. "You need to get out to the beach and do what your job description says, teaching our guests how to surf! And Fin," he added as he turned to her, "those guest room toilets don't clean themselves, so get your cleaning cart and get cracking! And by the way, I hope you enjoyed your day off yesterday because that's the last one you're getting until the end of the tourist season on Labor Day!"
As Bummer walked away and Reef took off for the beach, Fin thought again about Reef's words and figured it would not hurt to at least go and ask her boss for time off to attend her father's funeral. Turning from the elevators, Fin sprinted back toward Bummer, calling "Hey Baumer, wait up! I need to ask you something!"
"What do you want now?" Bummer asked when he turned around and saw Fin coming.
"It's something really important," Fin said, figuring she would simply cut to the chase. "I need a few days off this week."
"What for?" Bummer said, his suspicion about Fin's request now piqued.
"It's a family emergency," Fin explained. "My dad was killed in a car accident yesterday and I need to go back home for his funeral."
"Oh, really?" Bummer said in a sarcastic tone. "Well, if it's that important to you, then I'll give you your time off - on one condition."
Fin did not like where Bummer was going. "W-what's that?" she asked.
"Produce a corpse," Bummer told Fin.
"What?" Fin said, shocked at Bummer's demand.
"You heard what I said," Bummer stated. "I remember last month when you used the fake 'death in the family' excuse then to get out of work so you could go surfing with Reef, Broseph and Johnny. So if what you're saying really is true, then you'll do the same thing I asked of you then - show me your old man's corpse and I'll let you go, otherwise I'll just assume you're trying to slack off and go surfing again on company time."
Fin was stunned and aghast at what Bummer asked of her, and she also felt some anger at the level of mistrust he was showing her in light of what she had been through. "How can you even ask me something like..." she attempted to protest, but Bummer cut her off.
"That's my word on the issue," Bummer said. "Prove to me your old man's really dead and you'll get your time off, or no dice! Now get to work!" The hotel manager then walked off and headed to the hotel pool entrance, leaving Fin with her mouth hanging open in shocked silence at his callous attitude toward her situation.
Despite Bummer's denial of her request for time off, Fin was determined to get her leave so she could go home for her father's funeral. On Monday, she tried three times to ask Bummer, who shot down her request all three times and gave her a strike on her third try for making the request. On Tuesday, Bummer stayed in his office most of the day, with strict orders not to be disturbed unless Mr. Ridgemount called, specifically to avoid Fin.
On late Wednesday afternoon, Fin was coming from the staff locker rooms after changing the apron of her maid outfit when she ran into Johnny in the lobby. "Hey Johnny, I'm glad I found you first," she said. "I finally got just what I need to convince Bummer to let me go back home for my dad's funeral."
"Okay, let's see what you got," Johnny said, curious to see what Fin had.
Fin then took out a newspaper clipping from her apron pocket to show Johnny. "Grandma phoned me on Sunday and told me she'd send me a clipping of Dad's obituary with the funeral details from the paper back home by express mail as soon as it was published," she explained. "The obituary was printed in Monday's paper and I got it when the mail came just before lunch today. When Bummer sees this, he's gonna have to let me have my time off."
"He's not easy to convince," Johnny said, "so let's hope it works for you this time."
"Sure hope so too," Fin agreed with a nervous laugh. Just then, she spotted Bummer walking through the lobby and she began running toward him. "Hey Baumer, hold on a minute!" she called.
Bummer rolled his eyes as soon as he saw Fin. "If it's another request for time off, my answer's still no," he said while crossing his arms.
"But I have something here that'll prove what I've been telling you is true," Fin said, handing Bummer the obituary to look at. "I got it in the mail today from back home in Halifax." While Bummer studied the obituary, Fin added, "I'm getting desperate here. I have to be back home by early tomorrow morning local time and the last seaplane to Victoria tonight so I can catch a flight home leaves in about an hour and a half. That's why I need you to say yes and sign off on my time off right now."
"Hmm," Bummer said to himself as he read the obituary over, but as he reached the end, his ingrained mistrust of the groms kicked in. "Nice try Fin, but I'm not convinced," he said, still believing that Fin was only making up the death in her family. "I think you had this printed up in one of those joke newspapers that lets anybody put in phony articles to fool people. Too bad for you, but I'm not letting you cut work to get extra surfing in."
To make matters worse, Bummer then crumpled up the obituary and threw it over his shoulder as he spoke, causing Fin's mouth to drop open in horrified shock as a "What the hell?" look crossed her face and her right eye began to twitch. Adding insult to injury, Bummer then said, "And by the way, that's Strike Two for you! Now unless you want to try for Strike Three and a trip to the unemployment line, GET BACK TO WORK!", pointing toward the elevators as he yelled his order at Fin.
As Bummer turned and walked away toward the front desk, Fin's arms dropped to her sides and she clenched her fists while her stunned look was replaced by one of outright anger. Infuriated by the disrespect and lack of trust her boss showed her regarding her personal tragedy, she stood up straight while firmly uttering one word: "No!"
Fin's defiant statement caught Bummer's attention. "What was that?" he said tersely as he turned and marched back toward the blonde surfer girl.
"You heard me," a scowling Fin said as she turned her head to see Bummer coming. "I said no!"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Bummer said, stopping in front of Fin. "Now do as I told you and get back to work, or I'll..."
"You'll do what?" Fin snapped angrily at Bummer as she spun around to face him. "Fire me? Give me another strike? Take away my right to surf when I'm off-duty? Give me unpaid overtime as punishment? WHAT?"
Bummer was momentarily taken aback by Fin's comments. "Hey, dial it down a notch or two," he said, trying to defuse the tense situation. "What's your problem, anyway?"
"What's my problem?" Fin, now feeling enraged, said to Bummer in a low, menacing tone, making the hotel manager regret what he said to her as soon as he said it. "What's my problem?" she repeated, her voice rising as she felt her face flushing red with anger and her fists clenched again. "Let me ask you something, Bummer... What the bloody hell IS YOUR DAMAGE?" Fin's sudden, explosive verbal tirade against Bummer began to draw attention from around the lobby as people stopped in their tracks to see what was happening. Lo and Emma, who were on duty in the Pirate Ship, stopped for a moment and ran to the restaurant entrance to see Fin's tongue-lashing of Bummer, and Johnny watched the incident from the front desk.
"I told you, and told you, and told you time and again over the last few days that my father was killed in a car accident last week," Fin said loudly to Bummer, "and all I wanted was a few days off so I could go home for his funeral! But nooooo, you didn't want to believe me and give me that time off, even after I showed you proof that he was dead with his obituary - which was far more proof than you deserved to get!"
"Fin, take it easy, you're causing a scene here..." a visibly embarrassed Bummer tried to interrupt.
"SHUT UP! I'm not finished!" Fin screamed, feeling her eyes begin to water as she pointed her index finger at Bummer. "Denying me my right to go back home and grieve for my dead father is just the tip of the iceberg with you! Since early this summer, you've been nothing but a pain-in-the-ass tyrant to the staff! You stick us in a roach-infested rathole for a place to stay! You give us crappy food to eat most of the time! You work us like slaves seven days a week and never give us time off! You let bratty kids run wild in the hotel and do what they like to us! You threaten to fire us for inexcusable reasons! You try to deny us our right to surf and enjoy what little time off we do get! You try to cheat us on our pay! And worst of all, you have no regard for our safety or our well-being!"
Lo and Emma continued to watch from a distance as they heard Fin keep verbally roasting Bummer over the coals while the manager, who could feel all eyes in the lobby on him, stammered as he tried to explain himself.
"Don't, okay? Just DON'T!" Fin yelled at Bummer again. "Don't even TRY to excuse what you've done to me and my friends! You're damn lucky I'm restraining myself with you, and that's more than you bloody well deserve!" Fin then began furiously untying her apron. "I've had it with the staff house, I've had it with this job, and I've had it with YOU, you cheap bastard!" she screamed again, throwing her apron into Bummer's face for punctuation. With that, Fin then ran out of the lobby toward the staff house, crying bitterly the whole way there.
Out of concern for Fin, Lo and Emma then started sprinting toward the door leading out to the hotel pool area which Fin had gone through, stopping only long enough to give Bummer dirty looks before they went on their way. "Hey, where do you two think you're going?" Bummer called after the girls. "You're not off-duty yet! Turn around and get back..."
"Uh...no, okay boss?" Johnny interrupted with a shake of his head, now stepping in to settle things down himself. "Just...no. She's been through too much as it is."
Bummer then looked around and saw hotel guests in the lobby still staring at him following Fin's tirade. "Well, what're you all looking at?" he said to them in exasperation. "The show's over, now go about what you were doing!" After a brief pause, he then started toward the hotel pool entrance.
"Wait, where are you going?" Johnny asked, wondering what Bummer had in mind.
"If Fin McCloud thinks that little temper tantrum of hers will give her what she wants," Bummer stated, "she's got another thing coming!" As he watched his boss walk through the door, Johnny, who figured Bummer still thought Fin was only making up her father's death as an excuse to cut work and go surfing, feared that what the manager had in mind next would only make things worse. Realizing he had to act fast for Fin's sake, Johnny then ran through the hotel pool entrance himself and out to the staff house.
Ooohh, this may well be Bummer's lowest point yet while dealing with the groms, particularly Fin. Kicking a girl while she's already down? Not cool, Bummer. Watch what happens next when he pushes his luck one step too far in the eyes of Lo and her friends.