They’d run out of protein bars yesterday and Drew’s stomach ached, he was worried it might implode on itself. Copeland’s leg was far worse, showing sure signs of infection. A fever could set in and then what? Without modern miracles of medicine, or even access to healing things in nature, they’d be screwed. He’d developed a very real worry that they’d become a real life tragedy. All the while, Copeland remained confident about their impending rescue.
He’d spent countless hours trying to free them from the rocks, but it was to no avail.
She lay on the ground, twirling a twig between her fingertips. “Porter will find us,” she said with confidence.
“It’s been like two days,” Drew replied. He didn’t want to tell her the harsh truth. If Porter didn’t make with finding them soon… they didn’t have water.
“He’ll find us,” she said. “I know it.”
Drew raised a brow, humoring her. “Twin telepathy?”
“It exists,” she said. “How else do you think twins finish each other’s sentences? My brother will find us. I know he will.”
“Wes might find us first,” Drew said, “specifically to wring my neck. I told him I’d be home last night to help him. I’m sure he’s noticed that I’m not there by now.”
“Help him with what?”
He shrugged. “No idea. Didn’t ask. I just told him I’d be there and now I’m not.”
“I’m glad you’re here, with me.”
‘Me too,’ would be a small lie. He wanted to be back at his campsite, or better yet, home but on the flip side of that token, he was happy Copeland wasn’t alone. The thought of her missing made his stomach knot for far different reasons than hunger.
He was about to tell her that he was glad too, when he heard something.
Copeland’s eyes went wide. She’d heard it too. “Did you hear that?”
He brought his pointer finger to his mouth. “Shh,” he said. He strained to hear the muffled voice from outside.
“This way. Over here!”
Copeland’s body jackknifed upward from her spot on the floor so she sat straight up. “That’s Porter! Porter!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. “Porter!”
“Copeland,” the voice said.
“Porter!” she repeated.
“Hang on, we’re coming to get you.”
It took at least another hour before a crack small enough to crawl through revealed the outside to them. Drew handed her out first, yelling at her brother to watch her broken leg. When he tucked himself through, the sunlight burned his eyes. A boulder, the same size as his truck sat to the side with ropes around it attached to a bobcat.
It was no wonder he couldn’t move it.
Copeland’s mother threw her arms around him, like she was his own mom, tears evident in her eyes. “You’re both okay.”
Copeland leaned on her brother and her father and spoke matter-of-factly, “I almost drowned. I did drown, actually. He revived me. He saved me.”
Her mother squeezed him tighter.
What Copeland, her family, nobody except him knew was the Copeland had saved him just the same.
***
He hated hospitals. They were sterile, impersonal and cold. She had come to L.A., but it was under less than ideal circumstances. Her family remained at the lodge, able to book an extra week, which was the timeline given by the good doctors at L.A.’s finest hospital for Copeland’s eventual release.
He’d gone home and relayed the story to Keaton and Wes who both agreed it was a crazy tale for Drew’s back pocket. When Drew tried to apologize for missing Wes’s big plan, Wes shook his head in disbelief and told him not to be ridiculous. That he was grateful nothing worse had happened.
The entire experience kept Drew awake at night, rerunning itself in his head like a terrible TV show. The thought of what could have happened; chilled him, haunting every waking thought. If anything, it gave him a greater appreciation for life than the one he already possessed and made him realize that if something was important to him, he needed to act on it.
She was important, so there he was, standing outside the doors to her hospital room, gift bag in hand.
“Want me to go in with you?” Wes offered.
Drew shook his head. “Nah, s’okay.”
“I’ll be across the street getting something to eat,” Wes said, pointing to a diner.
“I won’t be too long.”
Copeland was laid up in bed, her leg slung upwards in some barbaric looking contraption.
As she saw him enter the room, a smile played across her lips. “I always hoped a handsome stranger would come to see me.”
Drew stuck his thumb behind him with a sly grin. “You want me to go and find that guy?”
She looked him up and down, giving him the smile he couldn’t erase from his mind. “No, you’ll do just fine.”
Drew visited her every day. She saw him more often than her own parents. Sure, he lived closer to here than the lodge was but still, it’s not like their hotel was a million miles away. Didn’t matter though. The person she wanted to see the most stood in front of her.
She gestured to the bag in his hands. “What’s that?”
He gave a non-committal shrug. “It is a bag.”
“Ha ha,” she said. “What’s in the bag? Is it a present?”
“Maybe,” he said.
“For me?”
“Possibly.”
She pressed her lips together. “So what do I need to do to get it?”
He slid one of the bedside chairs out far enough to get a good look at her before sitting down next to her. “Tell you what, I will ask a question and you answer. If you give good answers, you’ll get good presents.”
She clasped her hands underneath her chin. “I love this game! I love presents,” she said, reaching out to touch his arm. “Although you being here is enough, the fact that you come bearing gifts is heart-warming.”
He smiled.
“What is the first question?”
“First question,” he said. “Do you have any news about when you’ll be free? Like specifically?”
“Next Wednesday,” she said, “but I have to take crutches home so I’m technically not free. No tai chi for me.”
“No doubt.” Drew reached into the bag and handed her a piece of paper.
She took it, flipping it over to examine it. It was a one-way ticket for travel anywhere in North America good for a full year from today’s date.
“I want you to stay here with me. We can do anything you want to do. That,” he nodded to the ticket, “is for your piece of mind that you can leave whenever you want and nothing, least of all me, will hold you back.”
He was incredible. “Thank you, Drew.” She leaned toward him, mouth ready for a kiss while she waited for his lips to brush across hers. He did, but stopped mid-kiss to pause and for a moment and she could feel his mouth turn upwards.
He kept his forehead pressed against hers. “Are you ready for your next question?”
“Ready,” she said, “fire away.”
“Are you willing to wear shoes?”
“What? Are you kidding? No.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” she folded her arms over her chest and glared. “I fell off a cliff and nearly died. Shoes are bad luck.”
“Shoes that are ten sizes too big for you are bad luck. I mean if you have a pair that fits.”
“No,” she said again. “They’re uncomfortable.”
Drew shook his head. “That’s unfortunate.”
“The fact that I don’t like shoes is hardly unfortunate,” she said. “Some might even say it’s wise.”
“Ask me why it’s unfortunate,” he directed.
She stuck out her tongue.
“Ask me,” he repeated.
“Why is it unfortunate?”
“Because we’re going on tour,” he said. “In a month or two and I thought if you liked Huntington Beach, you might like to see parts of the world with me, you know, go exploring in Brazil, eating in Italy, getting lost in London. We aren’t booked for any venues yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
What? He wanted her to travel with him? She allowed the rolodex of possible destinations flip through her brain and briefly imagined all the things she could do with Drew at her side.
“So let me ask you again,” he said. “Are you willing to wear shoes?”
She nodded.
Drew pulled out a pair of strange looking runners. “I found these things online. They are made entirely of yoga mat material.”
Copeland made a face. “Come again?”
“Yoga mat material,” he said. “They come with a money back guarantee that you will find them comfortable.”
“You got me yoga mat shoes?”
“I did.”
“You’re a keeper.”
Drew chuckled. “Lastly,” he said, “and this is probably the most important question.”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“I have something in this bag for you, something you might really love.”
“Ooh! What is it?”
Drew held up a pointer finger, indicating she should wait.
“But you only get it if you can answer one more thing.”
“Make with the question,” she said. “The wait is killing me.”
Drew looked up at the ceiling before swinging his eyes back to her. “It’s less like a question and more like a promise.”
“I promise,” she said even though she had no idea what she was promising.
“You haven’t heard what I am going to say.”
God. This was worse than waiting for Santa Claus to come on Christmas Eve when she as a child.
“Spit it out,” she gestured to her leg with her hands, “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Not without your yoga mat shoes.”
“Drew!”
He was smiling, enjoying this far too much.
“I want to promise that if I give you something I know you’ll really love, that you’ll remember to stop every once in a while and live life.”
“I fell off a cliff,” she said. “That’s pretty zesty.”
“You’re a smartass,” he said. “Promise me.”
“I promise.”
Drew reached into the bag and retrieved a camera unlike any she had ever seen. It was high-end to the extreme. If her old camera was a Lamborghini, this one was a Bugatti. She could never afford it on her own. Not in a million years.
“I think maybe you’d be the perfect person to take pictures of our tour. It’ll be a paying gig of course…”
Her mouth dropped and her eyes were wide as dinner plates, she was sure.
“Oh my God.”
Drew continued. “Keaton picked it, I told him it had to be a Leica and had to shoot film.” He handed it to her.
“It’s a Leica R9.”
“Sounds like a car,” he remarked. “Anyway, Keaton says it shoots film and digital. So your memories will always be safe.”
The smile on her face had to be a mile wide. “You know something I learned, Drew?”
“What’s that?”
“You’re right,” she said, pointing to her heart. “The memories that matter most are here, next to you.”
He was pleased with her statement. “Can I rent that spot for a while?”
“As long as you want,” she said. “It’s yours as long as you want to stay there.”
“Forever sounds good,” Drew said, “But we can start with right now.”
Copeland smiled, glad that she’d managed to salvage a few rolls of film, including the one that would always have her favorite picture of Drew, the first time she saw him.