"Walk, Don't Run"

 

The sun was starting to set over the water to the west. I had hoped that I would be able to catch another wave, but these waves were too gnarly to ride in the dark. I hauled my board over to my woodie and strapped it on the roof.

As I finished, I noticed a young woman standing nearby. She was wearing one of those new swimsuits called a bikini, which didn’t cover much. Stringy blonde hair outlined her oval face, with a small nose and mouth and two beautiful blue eyes. She might be just a girl, maybe 16, the same age that my daughter would’ve been.

              She approached me cautiously. “I was watching you out there, Mister. You’re pretty good. Much better than the high school boys.”

              I squinted at her. “I started surfing before they were even born.”

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