A WHISPER OF ETERNIT

Page 111



Tracywas keenly aware of the damp sand squishing between her toes, of the heat of the sun shining down on her head and back, of the smell of the ocean, the cry of the gulls soaring overhead. A sailboat drifted offshore.A half-dozen teenage boys were surfing, showing off for the bikini-clad girls who were pretending to be indifferent but were watching every move the boys made. An elderly man with a metal detector was walking toward them, his gaze intent upon the ground. A pair of middle-aged women sat beneath a huge umbrella; one was reading a book, the other was working a crossword puzzle. Further down the beach, a couple of kids were making sand castles while their mothers looked on.

Ordinary people doing ordinary things.Was she ready to give all that up?
"Tracy?"Bryan grabbed her arm when she started past the tower. "Hey,Tracy , we're here." "What? Oh, sorry. I guess my mind wandered."

"You okay? You look… well, like you're gonna cry." She forced a smile. "No, I'm fine."

He regarded her for a moment,then scrambled up the ladder. When he reached the top, he turned and waited for her, offering her his hand when she reached the top.

Stepping into the tower, he pulled a pair of sodas out of a cooler and handed her one. "Thanks." She popped the top and took a long drink, then sat down.
Bryansat beside her.

"So, have you made any rescues lately?"Tracy asked. "Three today."

"Really?"

He nodded."Some old guy who swam out too far.A teenage girl who got caught in a riptide and nearly took me down with her.And a woman who panicked when the waves knocked her down.Seems she couldn't swim."

Tracylifted her can to him in a salute."My hero."

Bryan's cheeks turned pink. "Yeah, well…" He shrugged. "It's not brain surgery, but it's still saving lives."
"Life is precious, isn't it? Would you want to live forever, if you could?"

"Sure, if I could stay young. Who wouldn't?"

"Would you really? Part of what makes life precious is the knowledge that it doesn't lastforever, that it could be over in the blink of an eye. Every day, every minute, is a gift. It should never be wasted, never be perverted. We're here for such a short time, we should cherish every moment we have."

He stared at her. " Geez, what brought that on?"