A Moment of Green in the Grey Afternoon...

I kept looking out the window, today, as I worked. There's a big plate glass window there at the cafe/bakery. You can see everyone walking by, the courtyard across the street. James, who lives in a ARC group home down the street, comes in now and then. He tries to help us by greeting customers and by restocking things. Today he is much louder than usual. I worry that he is driving customers away, because he is mildly retarded, and very, shall we say, in your face. One woman, sitting at the counter, sighs, "This was supposed to be a relaxing getaway weekend..." as James is loudly trying to engage them in conversation. I placate her with wassail, which she is cooing over, and we joke around. Her husband is a good sport about it all, and says he loves this little cafe, is smiling at me happily, despite James. It is slow today, and I am hoping Sherry will let me leave early, because every now and then I look out the plate glass window, and I notice. The wind looks almost dead. Maybe the waves will be good. Sherry goes to deliver a wedding cake. I am in charge. Luckily business is dead, too. But, uh-oh. Here comes James again. He sits at the counter, humming happily as he eats his strawberry frozen yogurt. He starts asking me questions. Where do I live? Do I live alone? I try to divert the conversation. Then, luckily, Sherry comes back, and she says I can leave. I am chewing my nails as I walk to the car. I can't get home fast enough, to my surfboard, to the beach. I'm going out no matter what, I am telling Andy on my cell phone. I just can't take it any more. He is stuck at home, painting the master bedroom, and he has painted two walls the wrong color, he says. You're screwed, Andy. Oh, well. He got the glassy part of the other day that I missed, so I don't feel too sorry for him. I call Karen, but there is no answer. Fast forward to Crossovers. A fog has settled over the beach. It's a murky grey. I don't care, I am going surfing. No one is even out. I race through the soft sand. Free at last. I jump in, and the water is cold. I get stuck in the impact zone, and feel my energy field draining. This is what you get, I say, for not paddling out every chance you get for exercise. I suffer through it, and get outside. At first, I think it sucks. It is just wave after wave, but peaky and all over the place. I realize I will have to be in just the right spot to get a good one. I catch a couple and it feels so good. Three guys paddle out, but soon are sucked way down the beach. It is a grey winter's day. I am alone again. But then, the sun comes out. The water becomes a nice shade of green. I catch one, a good one, and I ride it way inside. My board feels so loose, like I can put it anywhere I want. I love this surfboard. And, it is at this moment that ... I love everything.