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Rescue 112 4 October I turned from my spot against the rail and turned to face Jack, aghast at his behavior. "Jack! That was Colin!" "I'm aware of who it was since I answered your phone." "I'm in no mood right now for your sarcasm Jack, so drop the 'tude! What's wrong? Why did he call?" "I really don't know or care!" "Seems to be your modis operandi these days." I walked over to him and roughly grabbed my cell from his hand. "Give me that!" Jack had settled himself into the deck chairs and killed the rest of the champagne while I was brooding. He reluctantly surrendered my phone, that he had retrieved from the beach bag. "We're in the middle of something here, Hilly. We have things we need to discuss. Colin and his "emergency" will have to wait." "Is that what he said, Jack, there's some kind of emergency?!" "Babe, this is Colin we're talking about. It's nothing, I'm sure. It's probably just his typical predicament. Diane's mad at him and he wants you to bail him out." "He hasn't asked that of me in a long time Jack, you know this. And besides, I really don't think there's anything further to discuss now, is there? You're mind is made up! You're going back to school! And while you get to play at being eighteen again it's up to me to keep hearth and home together. That's about the size of it, isn't it Jack!" It was now my turn for sarcasm. Jack, for his part, leaned back in the chair and pulled his cap over his face. I turned away from him and dialed Colin's mobile. "Colin, it's Hilly." The utter relief I heard in his voice made my stomach lurch. Jack was wrong, so very wrong. Even before Colin began to explain the predicament he and Diane were in my instincts told me there'd be nothing "typical" about it. "Oh God! Oh my God!! Andre... Andre.... um... mes amis... my friends... need help! My frantic gestures and terrified voice not only got our captain's attention, but Jack's as well. "Babe?" "Colin and Di are stranded, Jack! It was an emergency, you bastard!" "Hilly... sorry... I." Andre decided that Jack's apology could wait for a time as he called over from the helm. "Madame, calm yourself. What is the trouble?" I rushed over to him, voice and knees both shaky. "My friends are stranded over at Mont St. Michel." "Mon Dieu! Were they not aware of the tide?" "I'm sure they were! Well... maybe not. I'm not sure what happened, but the upshot here is we need to rescue them!" "Madame that is the business of the Gendarmerie Navale!" "Who?" "They are our Coast Guard. I will radio them about your friends."
"Wait! No! We need
to go! My friends would be... uh...embarrassed." How could I discreetly, yet clearly, make Andre understand that a very public rescue, cause that's exactly what it'd be, was the last thing Diane and Colin needed? I knew they'd rather wait it out for low tide than have this little mess get splashed across every tabloid rag from hither to yon. "See Andre, there's circumstances that would make calling the authorities a problem." That did not come out in the way I intended. Andre's initial look of concern turned immediately to suspicious. "What circumstances would that be, Madame?" The news that Colin and Diane were truly in serious trouble made Jack put aside his own petty concerns for the moment and he had been standing behind me the whole time I was speaking with Andre. I felt him put a hand on my shoulder. "Babe, let me." I got out of the way so he could talk to Andre directly. I'm not sure what he said or how he said it, maybe it was a mano e mano thing, but at the conversation's end Andre was wearing a knowing smile and barking orders to Jack to hoist the sails. As I strapped on my life vest, and hunkered down for a wild ride, I phoned Colin to let him know we were on our way and to keep "treading water." I was nervous since it was nearing twilight and we still had to get back to St. Malo. But between Andre's expert sailing and Jack having enough knowledge to know the difference between a mast and a jib, we reached them in fairly good time. I could see them as we neared our target, sitting together on the lower wall near the open water. Andre could only get in so close in order to prevent any damage to his vessel. We would have to employ the use of a dinghy to complete the rescue and Jack volunteered to go and collect our stranded friends. I admonished him not to give Colin and Diane a hard time, but he pretended not to hear me as he fired up the motor and headed out. I was grateful to be doing something instead of waiting for Hilly to gut me like a fish. She had ample equipment on board the sailboat and the English Channel at her disposal. And after she pled her case, I was sure, our captain's sympathy. After all, Hilly made her living presenting convincing arguments; I wouldn't have stood a chance. Hopefully, after we got Diane and Colin out of harm's way, I'd be able to smooth things over with her and to explain why I never told her of my plans until now. Since I was never in these waters, I was unsure of how close I could get as well. The very last thing I needed at this juncture was to further infuriate Hilly by failing in this rescue attempt. I maneuvered to about thirty feet away from them, dropped anchor and tossed the life preservers their way. They were gonna get wet, no doubt, but this beat any of the alternatives. Hilly had wisely sent some towels along with me and I handed them out to a now shivering Colin and Diane. "How in the hell did you two manage this one?!?" Both Colin and Diane cleared their throats and then the briefest of twinkles flickered in their eyes. That gave me my answer. Colin, however, tried to deflect that assumption. "Sorry mate, just lost track of the time." "You two are just un - fucking- believable." My last statement caused Diane to choke and bury her face into the towel, I was sure, to suppress a giggle. "It wasn't on purpose, Jack. We'd been walking around that rock island for hours and were exhausted, you see? So we had a lie down." "Think it's funny, Di? Do you? Our captain was all set to call out the damn French Coast Guard! Now wouldn't that make a lovely chat show story? Your asses are lucky that Hilly and I convinced him otherwise." I left the two of them to let that sink in, hoisted the anchor and opened the motor to full. Those few minutes were enough to let Di come around. "Sorry Jack, really! I'm going to call Hilly and tell her we're on our way back." "So it's waterproof?" "Is what waterproof?" "Your cell phone! That little dip you and Colin took probably fried them." Simultaneously they pulled their phones from their respective pockets. The screens had that eerie, weird, multi-colored glow that only a water-logged LCD screen can supply. Colin sat mesmerized by the wreckage that was his mobile. "Fuck me!" I know Hilly told me to be nice and I know right now I should implicitly comply with whatever Hilly wants. I know... I know! But... "Well Dude, it seems you have been." Colin looked at me stony and silent. "In more ways than one!" |
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