Never Alone

Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

Our river guide was Sam. He was laughing as he stepped off the over-crowded bus full of tourists who were returning from their trip down the river. He wore faded swim shorts that looked to have got that way through wear and tear, not through some high-end fashion trend. His T-shirt was damp, and dark sunglasses covered his eyes. He looked older than the other tour guides, but just as at ease around them as they were around each other.

When he saw Dr. Crimm he came over to our group immediately. They hugged like friends who hadn't seen each other in a long time. "This is the new group?" he asked. He slid the sunglasses from his face up to the top of his head so we could see his eyes.

"This is them." Dr. Crimm turned to us and began introductions. "Marco, Ken, Damien, Shima, Aideen, and Koralee."

Sam shook each of our hands as he met us. He didn't look twice at Ken's wheelchair. I wasn't sure how it was going to work out that he'd be in a raft with a cast, but the doctor and Sam didn't seem concerned.

"Nice to meet everyone," Sam said. "I've been looking forward to taking you down the river. Let's go inside the shack and get everyone suited up." He led the way along the path to a wooden shack. Inside were racks and racks of life jackets, and a stockpile of river socks behind the counter that had to be checked out by a staff member.

Dr. Crimm helped us get fitted for the jackets and helmets. She knew which size to grab for herself and it was apparent she'd done this many times before. We put on our water socks and tucked our belongings into the lockers outside the gift shop.

Sam approached Ken. "Is your cast waterproof?" he asked.

"Yes. It takes a while to dry, though, so I don't think I'll purposely dunk it if that can be avoided." Ken looked down at his cast, tugging at the top of it where the padding had frayed.

"I won't tip you on purpose, but I can't promise we won't go in by accident," Sam teased. He reached behind Ken's chair and grabbed an oar. "Here, everyone is going to need one of these." He handed them one-by-one to Ken and had him pass them along until we were all equipped with our gear.

Shima was beginning to look healed on the outside. While there were still signs of her attempt at taking her life, they were healing much like I hoped her reasons for wanting to do it were fading, too. I put one arm around her and the other around Aideen.

"Are you girls ready?" I asked. "If anyone is going overboard, it isn't going to be us."

"Is that right?" Marco asked. He and Damien had been holding their oars like light sabers and battling it out as they waited for the bus to open its doors.

"That's right," Aideen answered. She wrapped her arm around my waist and rested her head on my shoulder. "Us girls are going to stick together. You boys are on your own."

"Fine," Ken said, "but don't cry to us when you need help getting back into the raft." He used his oar to swat at our feet and we laughed and untangled ourselves as we tried to dodge the paddle.

"Let's get on the bus." Sam motioned toward the open doors and we climbed inside. Ken left his wheelchair at the bench where the busses stopped and Damien and Marco helped support him as he climbed aboard without it. I watched the three of them from my seat in the back, in awe of how easily they'd learned to lean on each other.

The bus dropped us at a dirt ramp near a wide opening of the river. The other guides were going over safety procedures so we listened in and tried not to pay attention to Sam and Dr. Crimm catching up on each other's lives, off to the side of all the action. When it was time to climb in, everyone held the raft steady as Ken managed to get seated on the last row, close to Sam in case of an emergency. The rest of us hopped in one at a time, making sure to position our feet the way the guides had instructed.