A Place Beyond The Horizon

02. ALONE TOGETHER

For some reason he can't quite understand, Aidan finds himself tagging along behind Hardy to the beach. It's early morning, and Hardy's talking it up like he's personally invented surfing. Flint had just rolled over in his bed and told Hardy to fuck off.

"Feeling a bit dusty there, are ya?" Hardy says as they wait for the crossing light.

Aidan blinks, trying to work out what Hardy is asking.

"Too much of the grog last night?" Hardy continues.

"Yeah, maybe."

"I'm surprised. A unit such as yourself, I would have expected that would have just been par for the course."

Aidan shrugs. "I've been off drinking for a while. I guess I'm just out of practice."

They cross the road, but Hardy's looking at him. On the other side, he resumes the conversation.

"So, what did you stop for? Crook?"

"What?"

"Uh, ill?"

Aidan shakes his head, but Hardy's not done.

"What then?"

Aidan could say that he had just decided not to drink, but that feels like lying. He has the distinct impression that Hardy is just going to keep probing.

"Trying to get pregnant. We laid off alcohol."

To Aidan's surprise, Hardy's attitude changes.

"Oh, shit. Sorry. And I guess you're now here, right?"

The bluster has disappeared, and Hardy is genuinely concerned. Aidan looks out at the surf, but he can feel Hardy's attention on him.

"Yeah. It didn't work out."

"That's real shit, mate. Life is fucked, eh."

"I guess," Aidan replies, then changes the subject, "Where do we get boards?"

Hardy leads them down the beach to a van. They hire a couple of longboards after a brief discussion. Aidan has been on a board exactly twice, so Hardy has volunteered to give him tips. He picks the rip out and they launch into it, getting pulled quickly out to the back of the breakers, beyond the surf zone. Aidan watches the other surfers and feels out of place.

"Nah, it's all good," Hardy tells him, "We'll just sit here and keep out of the way of the local boys. We probably don't want those waves anyway. This is quieter."

Aidan paddles up next to him and sits up on the board, his feet dangling in the blue water.

"You look worried," Hardy comments.

"Just, uh, I feel like we're a long way out."

"It's all good. See that bloke on the beach in the red and yellow? Jetski'll come and pick you up if you get into trouble. Safe as houses," Hardy replies, then smirks, "Apart from the sharks."

"Sharks? Are you fucking...?"

"Hey, cool your jets. All good. Don't need to worry about the sharks."

"Well, now I am. Why are we safe?"

Hardy nods up the beach. "Tourists will protect us. Old Whitey will have a crack at them most likely. It's a numbers game."

"And what if the shark comes in further down the beach, like here?"

Hardy's already down and paddling, looking behind him as a wave begins to build.

"Then we're fucked," he calls, "You just better hope you paddle fast enough."