Chapter 33 The Race
The Race
Laulima: cooperation, joint action; group of people working together; literally, “many hands”
Five days later
Minnow stood on the far end of the beach in front of the Kiawe, staring out at the satin blue water. Men in Speedos and women
in one-piece suits with goggles on their heads had begun to trickle down steadily, as the pre-race meeting neared. She had
walked down early from Hale Niuhi with the rising sun. Woody would be escorting the race with his friend, and had offered
to drop her off, but these early mornings were magic and her favorite time of day here. A few last stars were out and she
listened for their song.
Behind her, the kiawe trees gave off an earthy, nutty smell that would forever remind her of this trip. She inhaled deeply
as she stretched her shoulders, back and hamstrings. Open-water swim races had never been her thing, but she was looking forward
to just being out there in the water and swimming with no other purpose than to enjoy the ocean and finish the race. Not that
she was under any illusions of doing well, but the world was watching her, and she had to show them that she was not afraid.
Especially now.
“Excuse me, miss,” said a girl, maybe around eighteen. “Are you that shark expert?”
The question caught her off guard and part of her wanted to say no, but others would be bound to recognize her and she was
not in this for herself.
“Yes, I’m Dr. Gray.”
The girl had dark hair pulled tight in a bun and her skin was a beautiful golden brown. She looked strong in the way of a
swimmer or surfer. “I just wanted to thank you for taking a stand for the ocean,” she said, looking down at the sand as if
too shy to meet Minnow’s eyes. “I want to be a marine biologist and study sharks someday too.”
Minnow melted. “What’s your name?”
“Mahina. Hina, for short.”
Hearing her name was like a sucker punch.
“Well, Hina, we definitely could use more women like you in the field, so please look me up if you need anything. I would
be more than happy to help.”
“Really?”
“A hundred percent.”
“Good luck in the race,” Hina said, standing a little taller now.
“You too. I’m just in it to sightsee and prove to everyone that shark bites are flukes, not the norm.”
“The crowd seems thinner than last year, though. That’s a bummer.”
“Not surprising. How did you do in the swim last year?” Minnow asked.
Hina shrugged and smiled. “I came in first.”
Minnow gasped. “First in the whole thing?”
She nodded.
“You are a legend, Hina. Now I’m the one who’s impressed. I’ll wave when you pass me on your way back,” Minnow said.
“Insider tip—pay close attention to the current and move in or out, depending.”
“Thank you.”
Hina went off toward the crowd, and Minnow spotted Luke milling about, wearing a Speedo himself. He had not seen her yet and
he was clearly searching for someone. She watched him, feeling like the luckiest girl in the world that it was probably her
he was looking for. The moment their eyes met, he smiled. Minnow waved and he came over, leaning down and giving her a long,
slow kiss. She held on to his shoulders and let her mouth linger on his lightly sugared lips.
“You’ve been eating malasadas again, haven’t you?” she asked once they pulled apart.
He wiped his chin. “That obvious, huh?”
“Not the best pre-race meal.”
“I’m addicted, what can I say?”
“How many?”
“Just one.”
“Liar.”
He laughed. “Okay, three.”
Luke glanced beyond her and she turned to see a boat approaching. It was Woody and his captain friend Jay, but there were
two other men aboard who looked a lot like Nalu and Cliff. Twenty feet off the beach, the two jumped into the water and swam
ashore.
“What are you guys doing here?” Minnow asked when they walked up, dripping wet, Nalu also in a Speedo.
“Solidarity,” Cliff said.
“We figured we may as well join you in the race,” Nalu said with a shake of his hair.
“Been a while since I done a swim this long, but Woody said he’d rescue me if I need rescuing. Just don’t expect me to wear
those bikini bottoms. Ever,” Cliff said, nodding toward Luke and Nalu.
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Wear whatever you want. I’m just glad you’re both here.”
“And I fed Hina on the way here, so we’re good to go,” he said in all seriousness.
“Perfect.”
There was nothing to worry about.
Even with fewer entrants than in past years, the beach ended up rock to rock full of people. Everyone had a large number written
in black grease on the side of their thigh, and Minnow was number seventy-seven. Photographers had lined up on the rocky bluff,
setting up their large telephoto cameras. Minnow heard the word shark floating around a few times and shook her head. These guys were probably hoping someone would get bit, sending ratings through
the roof.
As she struggled to tuck her hair into her swim cap—something she hardly wore—she felt a tug on her arm. A tall, pale woman
with short blonde hair, a Panama hat and aviators stood next to her, smiling.
“Minnow,” the woman said.
There was something familiar about her. “Yes?”
The woman glanced around, then lifted her glasses for a second. “It’s me.”
Angela Crawford.
“Oh my gosh, I didn’t recognize you.”
Of course that was the point, and she felt stupid for saying it.
“I wanted to pretend I’m a normal person for a few hours and cheer you on. This is courageous of you. Everything you’ve done
these past few weeks has been so brave and inspiring. Can I be you when I grow up?”
Angela was wearing a long-sleeved white bohemian shirt, and it was impossible to tell she was missing part of her arm. And
with the large camera around her neck, she easily passed for a journalist there for a story.
Minnow grinned. “I’m glad you came. It must be nice to be out and about and in the fresh air. You’re looking stronger.”
“I still hurt everywhere, but less so. I also wanted to tell you some top-secret news. Can I trust you not to tell a soul?”
Minnow nodded.
“We’re meeting a Realtor tomorrow to look at a few houses in Koholā. I feel a strong connection to this place now, like I
lost my arm but gained perspective. Hard to explain, but I’d love to have you come visit when it all pans out and when I’m
healed up. What do you say?”
It was just a feeling, since she hardly knew this woman, but she liked her a lot.
“I would love to.”
Angela’s face broke into a thousand-watt smile. “Go. I know you have a swim to do. Who knows, maybe next year I’ll do it with
you,” she said with a wink.
They all lined up together, men and women starting at the same time. When the horn went off, they all rushed into the water
like newly hatched turtles.
The beginning was chaos. All bubbles and arms and legs, kicking and scratching to get ahead. A few people almost ran Minnow
over and she had to kick them away. She was in no big hurry, though, so she kept a steady pace and took an outside line like
Hina had suggested. Soon the pack thinned and there were a few swimmers up ahead, barely visible, and two behind her. Nalu
and Cliff. She knew because it was habit to check behind her regularly. The depth varied between thirty and fifty feet, and
she swam over coral fields and big ravines full of boulders and schools of fish.
In water this warm, she could swim forever if she had to. Luke had given her a few tips yesterday, suggesting more of a body
rotation and a lighter flutter kick. She was moving along, absorbed by the colors below and soaking up the winter sun on her
back. This would be her last long swim in the Hawaiian ocean and she wanted to savor every sun-dappled moment. Every now and
then she would dive down and listen to the whale song or get a closer look at an eel or octopus—or as Woody would say, puhi or he‘e.
With every stroke she could feel the presence of her father with her. A guide and guardian angel. And the water became as
nurturing as her mother’s womb. Minnow had this strange new awareness that humans really did live forever. She might be her
own soul, but both of her parents were in her. Not just their cells but their hearts and their voices and their stories. Their loves and their fears. The way they
saw things and felt things. She was them and they were her and there was no end to their love.
A while on, she poked her head up and finally spotted the turnaround buoy way in the distance. A giant red triangle floaty.
At that same moment two swimmers shot past her on the inside. It took a moment to register that it was Luke followed by Hina
in her strappy red one-piece suit. Minnow turned and watched their bubbles fade, letting Nalu and Cliff close in. Cliff came
up for air and got his bearings.
“Next time, I’m escorting,” he said, then put his head down and kicked away.
It wasn’t until they rounded the buoy that Minnow realized their little pack of three had grown to four. There was another
swimmer outside of them. She didn’t pay too much attention as they began the long swim back. As the sun climbed higher, the
ocean grew clearer and everything beneath the surface shone in Technicolor. Stroke after stroke, she swam. A moving meditation.
Scattered light. Shadows on the ocean floor.
You did it.
The voice was not her own. She glanced around.
Did what?
You smashed your darkest fear and found the truth.
A turtle rested on the ocean bottom.
And now what?
Stay.
My life is waiting for me back home. Everything I’ve worked for, everything I know.
It’s all one ocean.
The water had been scraping her bare of all that no longer served her. Every barnacle and crab and seaweed falling away, returning
to the source. Lungs almost empty, she came up and gulped in oxygen for a few moments. Nalu and Cliff kept going. Then she
felt a presence moving up behind her. She turned and saw someone right on her tail. He stopped when he got to her.
It was Luke.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Didn’t I see you swim past me like twenty minutes ago, in the lead?” she asked, confused.
“I’d rather swim with you.”
Her mask began to fog. “That was you outside of me this whole way?”
He nodded.
Minnow could have stayed in that moment for a long time, but instead she grabbed his hand, ducked under and pulled him along.
A few minutes later, they caught up to Nalu and Cliff, and the four of them swam along in a wide formation. Somewhere up ahead
a long submarine shadow swam before them. For all any of them could tell, it could have been a shadow or it could have been
a shark.
Except Minnow. She could hear the beating of a very large heart.
When they came to the beach, they walked out together. Her legs were jelly, the way they always were after a long and vigorous
swim. Cliff stumbled a few times and Luke and Nalu caught his arms and helped him keep upright. The warm sand felt good on
her feet, but she was almost sad to finish, wishing they had kept going all the way to Hale Niuhi.
The Shark House.