Free After the Storm by Jane Lythell Page B

Rob called back to them and there was the inevitable ‘ Ingles? ’ from the children and his reply ‘ Si, Ingles ’.
    At the end of the main street he spotted a bar and suggested they go in. He bought them cold beers and they carried them outside and sat on a wooden bench by the side of the bar. The wall was hot against their backs.
    ‘It was a tough two nights, wasn’t it?’ Rob said as he sampled the local brew.
    Anna stretched her arms above her head.
    ‘The night of the storm seemed to go on for ever.’
    ‘I can’t wait to get to Roatán though. It will all be worth it when we get there,’ Rob said.
    Kim nodded her agreement but said nothing.
    A while later Owen found them seated outside the bar. He put his arm around Kim and she said at once:
    ‘You must buy batteries for the GPS today.’
    ‘Sure,’ Owen said dropping his arm.
    Rob had noticed that she’d been quiet all day, had said very little as they drank their beers and her voice sounded tense now. They set off back to the shoreline to find a place to eat.
    ‘Let’s see if I can find one of my favourite dishes,’ Owen said.
    ‘What is it?’ Anna asked.
    ‘Raw conch with lime juice and hot pepper sauce…’
    ‘You can eat conch?’
    ‘It’s delicious. You must try it.’
    They found a restaurant not far from the beach which had a large verandah covered with a thatched roof. They sat at a table outside and Owen ordered his raw conch dish and the others chose the conch stew. They drank rum with fresh pineapple juice and looked out from the verandah to the beach below. The sea was as calm as a millpond.
    ‘You see how quickly things can change at sea,’ Owen said.
    ‘It was so sudden,’ Anna said.
    ‘It was, but we were never in any real danger. We’ll moor here tonight and set off at sunrise. We have at least two full days of sailing before we get to Roatán.’
    After they had eaten Kim and Owen headed for the general store in the village and Anna and Rob ambled along the beach until they found a secluded spot near the edge of the sea. They swam lazily in the warm clear water. Later they stretched out on the sand side by side with their legs in the sun and their faces shaded by a mature palm tree.
    ‘This is more like it,’ Rob said.
    ‘I’ll teach you a relaxation exercise I know,’ Anna said.
    She started to speak slowly and sonorously as her teacher had done:
    ‘Close your eyes and feel your body sinking into the sand. Your legs are getting heavy and are sinking into the ground. Your back is heavy and…’
    He chuckled at her affected voice.
    ‘Where did you learn this?’
    ‘Shh, no talking… at my yoga class…’
    ‘Your arms are getting heavy, your shoulders and neck are getting heavy, your head is getting heavy. You are letting go completely. The ground is supporting you completely. Now listen to the sounds around you. Just lie and listen.’
    Rob lay and listened. He could hear the whisper of the sea as it spread itself onto the sand. The palm trees were making all kinds of noises. He could hear them crackle, rustle, creak and sigh. And there was a clicking noise as a single dry palm frond hit the trunk of their tree. There was the faintest sound of scurrying as some insect or crab scuttled over the hot sand. There was the sound of their breathing. Anna could feel herself relaxing into the moment. Her fears had melted away. They both fell into a delicious, much-needed sleep.
    Owen rowed Kim back to the boat and she carried the fresh vegetables and fish down to the galley. He followed her down there and put the new batteries into the GPS. He turned it on and it worked.
    ‘GPS is back up,’ he said.
    She said nothing in response.
    ‘Are you OK, Kimbo?’
    ‘That storm got to me,’ she said in a tight voice.
    ‘It would take a bigger storm than that to knock us down.’
    ‘I’m not sure I agree.’
    ‘You’re on edge, I can see that.’
    ‘Anna thought we were done for. She looked out of her mind with