I walked out back to find Josh waiting on the ATV as usual. He looked up and adjusted in his seat when I came through the door. "Hey," he said, pulling away after I sat down.
"Hey," I answered. That was the extent of our conversation except for Josh outlining what we would be working on the next few days in case the storm maintained its course toward the coast. I accepted the fact that at least he was being friendly, and for the next couple of hours we drove around picking up trash and any other lose debris on the beach. What amazed me was that based on the cloudless sunny skies and people scattered around, you would never know a large storm was possibly less than a week away. It felt like any other day.
As Josh and I made our way down the beach, we were flagged down by a distraught mother who had lost sight of her little girl. She was waving and screaming frantically, attracting the attention of several other people around her. Josh grabbed his walkie-talkie and quickly called the beach patrol office.
"How old is she?" Josh asked, running up to her.
"Three. She was playing in the sand while I put lotion on her baby brother, Mason," the woman cried, pointing to the toddler who was digging in the sand. "I looked away for a moment and she was gone," she choked out.
"Is it possible she went into the water?" Josh asked. His words made my heart sink as I took in the endless stretch of water.
"No! She knows she's not allowed anywhere near the water without my husband or me. She's just barely started swim lessons." Her face looked horror-struck at the idea.
Josh reached over and patted her arm. "I'm sure she's fine. She probably wandered off and got a little turned around. We'll find her. What's her name?"
"Jilly Ann. We call her Jillybean."
&
nbsp; Before Josh could jot her name down, the loud squeal of a blowing whistle from the nearby lifeguard stand caught our attention. Josh and I turned to see the lifeguard on duty scrambling down from his stand. Our eyes moved to the water just in time to see a small head bobbing just beyond the point where the waves were breaking. Without pause, Josh dropped his notepad on the sand and sprinted toward the water. He stripped off his shirt as he ran and dove into the incoming waves without breaking stride. The small head disappeared from sight as Josh hit the water. It was obvious he had superior swimming skills when he quickly overtook the other lifeguard who had been ahead of him. A large crowd gathered and watched with bated breath as the two lifeguards swam to the spot where the little girl had been struggling to stay afloat. The girl's sobbing mother stood beside me at the water's edge, clutching her son tightly in her arms.
We watched as Josh dove into the relentless incoming waves. A few onlooking bystanders dove into the water to help, but it was obvious they wouldn't catch up before it was too late. I felt my own tears begin to surface, watching the worried mother who could only wait helplessly for any sign of the lifeguards and her daughter. All my problems and dumb mistakes during the past few weeks seemed minuscule in a moment like this. Just when I was beginning to think Josh was never going to find her, he broke the surface of the water with the small child in his arms. He had reached a point where he could stand and began running toward the shore. The girl appeared to be unconscious, which made her mom sway with grief.
"My baby!" she yelled as she ran toward Josh, who had reached the sand.
"Ma'am, please stay back. Let me help her," Josh insisted, slightly out of breath. His firm control of the situation took me by surprise.
"Jillybean, wake up, please," her mother pleaded. I placed a comforting arm around her shoulder as she sobbed uncontrollably. Josh gently placed the young girl's lifeless body on the sand and began administering CPR. My stomach was in my throat as hot tears rolled down my cheeks. The other lifeguard kneeled beside her body to perform chest compressions while Josh breathed into her mouth. I could hear the faint sound of sirens in the background and I silently willed them to hurry. Some of the people around us pulled out their cellphones, recording what was happening. It seemed classless, and I wanted to slap the devices out of their hands.
Jilly Ann's mom sagged against me as Josh continued to breathe into the little girl's mouth. The sirens became louder, but it was clear Josh and the other lifeguard knew what they were doing. We all watched in awe as the girl finally coughed out a mouthful of water. She began to cry as a collective cheer erupted from the many onlookers. The mother scooped her daughter into her arms, rocking her two children back and forth.
Within minutes, we were joined by paramedics who jumped into action, checking Jilly Ann's condition. Judging by her continued wailing, she would be okay. Josh had saved her. No wonder he had judged me so harshly. In his eyes I was a party girl who gave no regard to those around me.
The paramedics carefully loaded Jilly Ann onto a stretcher. Her mom threw her arms around Josh, thanking him profusely. I expected him to act nonchalant or even uncomfortable, but he didn't seem to mind at all. It was like watching a movie where the hero saves the day.
"Great job, guys," the paramedics proclaimed, shaking hands with Josh and the other lifeguard before carrying Jilly Ann to the ambulance.
The crowd began to disperse once the ambulance left. Some of the patrols from the office showed up, including Josh's boss, Mitch, who clapped him on the back as he congratulated him on a job well done.
I stood on the outskirts, watching as Josh gave his account of the rescue to his coworkers. What he did was heroic, but you would never think that listening to him tell the story. There was no bragging or arrogance in his words. He had done his job, plain and simple. By the time Josh joined me a few minutes later, my feelings were a jumbled mess. I couldn't help smiling at him after everything I had witnessed that morning. It seemed petty to be holding a grudge. I was relieved when he returned the smile.
"I could use a break. Are you hungry?" he asked as we headed toward the ATV.
"Absolutely," I answered, accepting the tentative truce.
"How about burgers?' he added.
"Works for me."
He steered the vehicle off the sand toward the beach access entryway. Within minutes, he pulled into the parking lot of a fast food restaurant that Butch and Buttercup would rather have poked their eyes out than step foot in. I would never admit it to them, but since we'd moved to Florida, I'd grown quite partial to some of the restaurants on the beach.
We ordered our lunch separately before carrying our trays to a table by the window so we could keep an eye on his beach patrol vehicle. "How's the community service going?" Josh asked before taking a big bite of his burger.
"It's been relatively quiet and uneventful," I smirked, attempting to interject a little humor to break the ice.
"I bet," he said, looking down and taking another bite of his burger.
I took a bite of my own hamburger before giving a more legitimate answer. "It's actually not that bad," I answered, taking a long drink of my soda. "And this morning was the most scary, amazing moment of my life. You saved that little girl's life," I said, more than a little awestruck.