Gold Coast by Nelson DeMille

Author:Nelson DeMille [DeMille, Nelson]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: General, Fiction, Detective and mystery stories
ISBN: 9780586070161
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2000-07-14T23:00:00+00:00

I could see that Edward was not in good shape. His skin was burning red, and his tongue was actually lolling around his mouth. His eyes had a faraway glazed look, and I suspected he was about to pass out from heat exhaustion. His arms and legs were wrapped around the pole in such a way that I didn't think the pole could get away from him but would take him with it if the fish gave a long, powerful lunge.

I wished in a way that he would pass out, or that the line would snap, or even that the shark would take him over the side; anything rather than his having to let go.

Carolyn said to him, 'Let it go, Edward. Let it go.'

He could not speak any longer, so he just shook his head.

I don't know what the natural outcome of this would have been, but Susan took matters into her own hands and cut the line with a knife.

Edward seemed not to understand what had happened for minute or so, then he sprawled out on the deck and cried.

We had to carry him below, and we put him in a bunk with wet towels. It was an hour before he could move his hands and arms.

We set sail for home. Edward was quiet and sullen for some time, then said to everyone, 'Thanks for helping out.'

Carolyn replied, 'We should have thrown you to the shark.'

'Shark?' I said. T thought he was fighting the dead chicken.'

Susan smiled and put her arm around her son. She said, 'You're as stubborn and pigheaded as your father.'

'Thank you,' said Edward.

We sailed into The Seawanhaka Corinthian late Monday afternoon, sunburned and exhausted. A boat is sort of a litmus test for relationships, the close quarters and solitude compelling people into either a warm bond or into mutiny and murder. As we tied the Paumanok up to its berth, the Sutlers were smiling at one another; the sea had worked its magic.

But you can't stay at sea forever, and most desert islands lack the facilities for a quick appendectomy. So we tie up our boats, and we "tie ourselves to our electronic lifelines, and we lead lives of noisy desperation.

I knew that the bond that the Sutlers had renewed on the Paumanok, while solid in most respects, had a serious fissure, a fault line if you will, which ran between husband and wife. The children were not holding us together, of course, but they did draw us together, at least while they were around. But that evening, as I sat by myself in my study, I realized that I wanted this summer to end; I wanted Carolyn and Edward back at school so that Susan and I could talk, could connect or disconnect.

On Friday, the four of us drove out to the Hamptons, and I listed our house with the realtors for a quick summer sale. Alas, the summer was already a few weeks old, and most of the Manhattan turkeys had already been plucked.

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