Something Right Behind Her Read Online Free PDF

bent down
and put his hands on his knees, so he was level with Eve. “If you want to go
in, I’ll take you as far as you want to go, ok?” He was super-serious, as if he
knew something we didn’t. Eve nodded weakly, more like just tipping her head to
the left, and he strapped the torpedo thing across his body, and picked her up.
She couldn’t hold onto him, so he placed her arms close to her sides and held
her like an infant, legs dangling.
    The ends of her
hair caught the sunlight and lay in golden wisps on Bob’s shoulder. I was
shocked by how small she looked in Bob’s arms, how her arms were like a
child’s. It made my throat feel tight, the sight of her being carried like
that, with her hair the only part of her that moved.
    Bob carried Eve
into the water until he was almost up to his chest. They somehow made it
through the break, and he was swimming her over the tops of the waves. Her hair
was wet, and slicked back away from her face. At one point, she went under a
large, gentle wave and Bob held her close to his chest. It was like the water
was made for Eve that day, with those glassy waves, and clear almost Caribbean-looking
ocean.
    “I didn’t think
he’d take her under,” Doug said. “I mean holy shit!” I turned to look at him,
and I could see that, beneath his sunglasses, his eyes were moist. I reached
for his hand, and he took mine. “Jesus fucking Christ, Andy, Jesus fucking
Christ,” was all he said, and I knew he was no longer just talking about Eve
being in the water, or us watching her. It was one of those moments, when
everything becomes real.
    When Bob placed
Eve back in her chair, she began to shiver, and I went and got some dry towels.
When I got back, her lips were turning kind of blue, but you could see that she
was calm. She searched out Bob’s gaze with her good eye. ‘Thanks,” she said.
“That was beautiful. The water was so clear, I could see the bottom. I could
see the crabs, and there were bluefish, I think. I didn’t realize there was so
much down there!” She chuckled as if her faith in the Jersey Shore had been
restored by the sight of a few crabs, as if the point of being carried out
there in Bob’s capable arms had been to see some marine life. Clearly, she was
invigorated. “People are always saying the water is so dirty down here. They’ve
been saying the same things since we were kids – that the oceans are
dying, but I don’t think they are. Not anymore.” She looked at Bob for
confirmation.
    “No,” he said,
and his voice sort of thickened at that point, “Nope, as far as I can tell,
they’re coming back.” He sounded casual, but convincing. Then he stood up and
shook hands with Doug again. We all stared after him as he walked away, climbed
into his chair, and assumed his watchful pose. Eve got kind of a mischievous
look in her eye then, and at first I thought she’d say something mocking, like
she didn’t buy Bob’s heroic act. But then I realized it wasn’t Bob she thought
could be toyed with. It was the disease that had already claimed so much of her
that she seemed to be mocking. It was like by going in the water, under the
green-blue waves, she had cheated it, finally. She had taken something back
from the ALS, from the disease that had, so far, always won.

 
 
    We spent a
couple more hours on the beach, then had to begin the whole wheelchair and
packing up routine again. “I’ll go get us a pizza,” Doug said. I told him to go
to Rocco’s, the place down the boardwalk that sold beach crap, and had
surprisingly decent pizza. I was a little annoyed that he didn’t suggest that
we all stroll down there. It was like he wanted to get away from us all of a
sudden, like he was just the older brother, and we were a burden on him.
    I let Eve chill
out in her chair in front of the house, and did all the clean up and stuff that
I knew my Mom would ask about. After Doug got back, we sat out front at the
patio table and ate our pizza, and I poured