Surf Break: Coogan's Break Series, #3

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After what feels like hours behind the wheel, I round the headland and Coogan’s Break reveals itself. Force of habit has me checking out the surf, my practiced eye picking out the change in breaks with a cursory glance.

Despite not having lived here in years, and my folks having moved north to be near my grandparents, this place still feels like home. While it’s increased in size over the years, the place still has a small-town vibe. One that the mayor apparently hates, much to the amusement of the locals who think he’s got an over-inflated sense of self-importance.

Rather than continue into town, I pull off the road, allowing the cars banked up behind me to pass. The van isn’t the fastest vehicle and overtaking on the narrow road south of town is never a good idea. If anyone tried, chances are they’d end up at the bottom of the cliff that skirts the seaward side of the road.

The engine eventually shudders to a ragged stop. While the van isn’t the greatest thing on wheels, it is home. It’s also all that I can afford on my current earnings. With my hip bothering me more and more of late, my winnings this season are down a worrying amount.

It takes a second for my ears to adjust to the relative quiet, with the engine a noisy beast at the best of times. Thanks to the long drive north from Baja, she’s complaining more than ever. It’s something I’ll have to deal with when, and if, I can put enough money aside.

Damn it, the constant money worries are messing with my head. It’s the last thing I need when facing the sort of competition I’ll be up against later in the week.

Hang in there, girl. I pat the engine cover before continuing. Just another week and I’ll get someone to look at you. Despite having learned a lot about engines over the years, whatever the hell it is that’s making that noise is way beyond me.

After a couple of steadying breaths, I pick up on the waves crashing on the rocks below. This coupled with the ozone-laced air whipping in through the open window, and the sense of homecoming is overwhelming.

With my seatbelt flicked to one side, I grab the binoculars from the center console and clamber out. It takes a moment to get all the sensation back in my legs. While I can put some of this down to hours of sitting on an uncomfortable bench seat, that’s not all of it.

My hip isn’t only affecting my ability to win surf comps. If I catch my reflection in a shop window, I see my dad in how I walk. Despite loving my old man, I’m not in a hurry to become him, at least not in the next couple of years.

With the binoculars up to my eyes, I have a closer look at the surf. It’s hardly recognizable from the last time I was here. That big storm must have really chewed up the ocean floor for the surf breaks to have changed as much as they have.

This is part of the reason I’m in town early. If I’ve got a hope in hell of taking out one of the major longboard prizes, I need to get to reacquaint myself with the waves.

The binoculars still up to my eyes, I sweep across the beach to check out the town. Hah, who am I fooling? I’m not just looking at the town; I’m looking at something in particular, one shop, and a reminder of a carefree youth.

Aside from that, my memories of the town are fairly tragic. I’d hated school, with my grades testimony to what appeared to be a sterling lack of effort.

In reality, it was all down to a little secret I’d kept well-hidden and that I still have to deal with every day. It’s yet another reason the pain in my hip bothers me.

Thanks to the trouble I have filling in forms; the only work I can land in the off season is laboring on construction sites. Hard manual labor. The sort that’ll be impossible if I’m hobbling around like an old man.

On spotting a familiar face through the large plate-glass window of the Surf Shack, I break into a wide grin. What’s Chloe doing behind the counter? I thought she worked at the library, the perfect job for someone who loved reading as much as she used to. Despite no longer living here, I keep up-to-date with events through mates I’m still in touch with.

After putting the binoculars away, I haul myself into the driver’s seat. I wonder if being next to her will have the