The Day I Met You

Two hours later Sally and I had searched every place we could think of that didn’t involve a beach or water. We couldn’t find Jamie anywhere. I felt so guilty for yelling at her. It wasn’t her fault. I had an accident that could have happened to anyone, and that accident haunted my every thought since it happened.

“Drop me off, and go check the beach. I have to start cleaning and getting ready to open tonight,” I said to the windshield, but Sally knew I was talking to her.

Half an hour later we were sitting in front of the bar. There were at least thirty people sitting on the curb waiting outside. I scanned the faces of the crowd; I saw Deegan, but that was the only person I recognized. “What’s going on,” I questioned.

“I texted Uncle Danny earlier from your phone, told him where the spare key was, and said it was urgent. These are probably fans,” Sally informed me.

“Danny is not here!” I got out of her car and started towards the stairs. The people on the curb looked at me expectantly. I shrugged.

Sally followed me upstairs with Deegan behind her. This time the people outside my apartment stayed outside. I grabbed my door knob and surprisingly it was unlocked. I looked at Sally and she shrugged. “You should go look for Jay,” I said. Deegan just stared at us.

“What’s your problem,” Sally hissed as she walked by him.

“There are a few questions I want some answers to. I mean, we meet this crazy cool girl at X Games, she’s a hot bartender, then she’s Danny Way’s fake niece, and she’s fucking psycho.” He stated in a harsh tone.

“I don’t answer to anyone. You don’t know me, and you don’t even have a damn right to be in this apartment. Who invited you,” I yelled.

“Reylyn,” someone called from the kitchen. I looked at Sally in shock.

“Jamie,” I questioned as I walked towards the kitchen, but no one answered. “Jamie?”

“Surprise,” she screamed as I walked through the door. She was standing beside none other than Danny way.

I didn’t hesitate to hug Jamie before running to hug one of the best men in the world. Words could never come close to describing how much Danny meant to me. He bought me my first skateboard; he taught me everything I needed to know on land before he introduced me to surfing. It is a very safe bet to say that I automatically began crying when I hugged him.

“Rey, baby, don’t cry,” he chuckled as he stroked my back.

“Fuck, it’s Danny Way,” Deegan yelled as he stared wide eyed.

“I told you that’s Uncle Danny,” Sally laughed. She looked at Jamie and smiled. “Thanks for letting him in.”

“You two,” I sobbed, “Had this all planned out?” The smiled and nodded their responses. “You bitches,” I sobbed before laughing at myself.

“Is she bi-polar now too?” Danny questioned.

“No, just beach-a-phobic. She’s afraid of anything that has anything to do with ‘the accident’” Jamie reported with air quotation around the accident.

“I could help, but it’ll probably kill you first,” Danny laughed. I half glared at him.

“That’s not a funny joke.”

“Come stay with me for a while. Ride the megaramp enjoy the island,” he offered with his famous grin that no one could refuse.

“The G.O.A.T. is going to be there for a little while. Pastrana agreed to come out, you remember him,” Danny coaxed.

“I do miss Ricky,” I sighed before laughing. “Remember that time Pastrana and I dared each other to ride off the end of that pier. Him and his 199 bike and me and that banged up board we bolted wheels on.”

“You floated out to sea and he sank like a rock,” Danny laughed.

“We were supposed to rig his bike to a board to see if he could ride a real wave as good as those dirt waves…” I trailed off.

“Sal and Jay can come. Bring some friends I have half the island practically,” he tried again. “You can even sleep on the ramp in one section if you want. Remember you always wanted a room so you could see the stars?”

“Yeah,” I agreed, “Because life was written in the stars.”

“I have a skylight,” he laughed as he shrugged his shoulders.

I stepped away from him for a moment as I thought. An island would be nothing but beach and ocean, that was not my deal, but I would be with family. There were good memories with Uncle Danny. I felt something wrap around my waist. “Remember, I always liked you. You are that really awesome chick from the Games that should take me to go hang out with Danny way?” Deegan whispered in my ears.

“Can I borrow your cellphone, Danny?” I batted my eyelashes like I used to for him. He laughed and handed me his phone.

“Why?” he asked as I dialed.

“We are so rigging Travis’s bike this time,” I laughed, “and I want to ask Ricky if I can spend a few days with him too.”

“Hey, you need to call…” Danny trialed off as I started talking into the phone.

“Daddy, it’s Reylyn.” Danny smiled.



My dad’s voice was amazing. I didn’t speak to him while I was packing. Not a single word passed as I was walking out of the door. Six years without speaking to the only real family I had in the world was not something I should have done. I talked to my father for at least two hours while Danny cooked dinner, Jamie and Sally cleaned the bar, and Deegan fanboyed over all the people I knew.

I told my father I was going to Kauai with Danny for a while, before heading to Ricky’s Ranch. I would probably stay with the Pastrana family a few days since Travis’s parents loved me. Dad told me that he would see me when I got home because he was hired to shoot the L.A. Surf Competition. I knew he was still taking photos because I collected most of the surf magazines his name appeared in.

“Who else do you know,” Deegan asked as I hung up the phone.

“You ever heard of the Z-Boys?” Danny asked.

“Yeah, that’s the Zephyr Competition Team that turned skating into a sport,” he answered.

“I used to get free surfboards from one of those guys, did I,” I butted into the conversation.

“Alva. You remember those boards? You were barely into surfing when he gave you those little surfboards to learn on because he thought you were cute trying to be like your mom.” Danny laughed.

“She was incredible, who wouldn’t want to be like her,” I sighed. Danny squeezed my shoulder lightly.

“Yeah she was.”

“What happened to her,” Deegan asked.

“That’s a long story for another time. Who wants a burger?”

“Warm the cheese on mine while I go check on the girls,” I asked.

“Melt, Rey. It’s melt the cheese,” Danny laughed.

“I was never one to say things the right way, Uncle Danny,” I yelled in my little girl voice.

I walked out of my apartment to see thirty people still sitting on the curb. The shock that astounded me was the fact that I knew one of them. Those eyes that never seemed to escape my dreadful imagination sat on a bench with a brace around his left ankle and a crutch leaning beside him.

“Hey,” Kyle Loza said in a shy tone.

“Hey,” I answered.

I stared at him for a moment before I turned to go into the bar. I let out the breath I noticed I was holding. The bar was perfect, Jamie was behind the counter wiping glasses, and Sally was sweeping. “Thanks, guys.” I sighed.

“Oh it was already like this when we got here. We just decided to give it a once over,” Jamie said as she wiped a clean glass.

“What?”

“Hey, where does Reylyn keep the…” Jessie trailed off as he came out of the back, “extra, um, keg for the tap?”

“Beside the ice bucket, the beer stays colder that way,” I informed him as I glanced around.

“Did you clean for me,” I asked without thinking.

“Yeah,” Jessie smiled. I felt my heart flutter with happiness. I turned to leave the bar to get back to dinner, and my heart fell right back into that heartbreakingly deep pit filled with the color of Kyle’s eyes.

“You guys want a burger,” I asked as I gained the nerve to walk outside again.

“Yes,” all three of them said in unison. I raised an eyebrow at Jessie.

“That is if I’m invited,” he laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“Danny made enough to feed everyone on the street,” I laughed, “Come eat with us.” He nodded.

We walked outside together. I could feel Loza’s eyes on my back as I walked beside Jessie, but I couldn’t figure out why he would stare at me. He had a perfectly beautiful wife, who cared a lot about him, but he was watching me. I shrugged it off before eating my dinner with family and friends. World would probably be a different story.