"Never mind. Too long to explain. Point is, just the other day she was online buying a doll for Cobe and she saw one that reminded her of it. Gave me a hard time all day."
"That was just a doll, this was..."
"Yeah, I know. You cheated on her. Dumb move."
"You mad at me?"
Sure, he was mad at Cam. Who wouldn't be mad at someone who had a baby with their sister and then cheated on her? Not to mention the fact Cam and Becky were living in the house with him, since it was legally half hers now. He'd been present when Cam came home with the hickey. He had seen his sister's face and the hurt that seized her when Cam finally confessed. "Cam, I like you. I really do. But you're kind of on your own here."
"C'mon, Scott. You're smart, you must know what she wants."
"What she wants? Jesus. I'm not old enough to be your father, Cam, but I am your brother-in-law, so let me give you some friendly advice. It's time to grow up."
"I am grown up. Dress myself and everything."
"You own anything besides rock t-shirts and sandals?"
"Don't forget the shorts. And underwear. Actually, scratch that, I'm commando today. I think I got some underwear in the trunk of my car, though."
"Quit joking around. You got a kid in there and he needs to be raised. He needs food and clothes and toys at Christmas. He needs someone to teach him how to surf when he gets older. Yeah, I thought that would get through to you. You could start by getting a real job."
"You expect me to suddenly become CEO of some company overnight. Shit, maybe this is for the best. She hates me anyway."
The grass had become a crispy yellow. Scott wished he could run the sprinkler, but he'd heard they were passing a water ban. If it didn't rain soon he might as well just pave the yard and put in a basketball court. He kicked at the burnt lawn as he thought about what to tell Cam. "She still loves you, you know. She misses you. Don't get me wrong, she's liable to kill you just the same, but I know she misses you because I can hear her crying at night. Considering that I have to be at the dig site so much, she could use help with the baby. So, I'm going to help you out, but do me a favor and don't say anything to her. Give me a couple days to talk to her. In the meantime..." He took a set of keys from his shorts pocket and handed them over. "There's a trailer set up at Basin Springs."
"That place where everybody rides their dirt bikes?"
"Yeah. I'm studying the ground sediment to see if it's an aquifer." Cameron looked lost, so he explained it as quickly as he could. "If there's water underground they're gonna put a pump in and see if they can irrigate the surrounding farms. This drought is killing everything. Anyway, you can stay in Trailer Three. That one's mine. Wait until night and then go by. Just be gone before six when the team shows up."
"Six?! In the morning?!"
"I'm trying to help you out here, Cam. Help me out, okay?"
Cam nodded and took the keys.
After he was gone, Scott looked at the sky. He'd never spoken to the sky before the accident, but he'd done it a few times since, each time feeling like he was dishonoring everything he believed about science and evolution. Thinking that maybe, just maybe, someone might be listening...he could see why his parents had made him go to church when he was younger. It was something to hold onto when there was nothing but pain. It didn't mean he bought into any of it, but he could understand its void-filling appeal more now than he did year ago. Still, science was truth, God was wishful thinking. Which is why he flushed with embarrassment as he began to speak. "Dad, she needs him. So any help you can give is appreciated. I know men like Cam, and some of them can learn. I think maybe he's realizing how much he needs her, too. And besides, I'm through changing diapers. I swear that baby waits for me to get near him so he can kill me with a Gerber's uppercut."
When he bent down to continue planting the succulents, he saw the glass of water he'd been drinking was almost empty. That was strange. Had he spilled some without noticing?
CHAPTER 4.
Cam found the series of trailers at the end of a dirt path that ran through Basin Springs. They were small and old, built sometime in the seventies, coated in desert dust. A single yellow bulb was strung up outside the door of Trailer Three. Right now it was attracting a family of winged insects large enough eat a dog. Inside the trailer was even worse. Jam-packed with geological equipment from the University, the only place to sit down was on a small cot at the back. At least Scott had had the good sense to put in a small fridge and old television set. Hopefully the bathroom had enough legroom for him to do any business that might come up.
Basin Springs was anything but a spring, having dried up back before the first world war. Now it was just a big flat plain of desert and rock with the occasional dead reptile littering the ground for decoration. Foothills rose around it, creating the actual walls of the basin, and providing a home for coyotes that, even now, were barking for food. It was a good half hour north of Escondido in the middle of nowhere and a few miles from the river.
He turned the television on and threw himself down on the bed, thinking about what Scott had said to him. He'd said he didn't want to act like Cam's dad but he sure as hell sounded like it. It was understandable to a degree, what with Rebecca and Scott's family having been killed in the car accident last year. Scott saw himself as the man of the house now, since he was the oldest. But Scott didn't have a baby or a wife so what did he really know about being an adult? All Scott did was play with rocks all day.
Besides, bartending wasn't such a bad job. He probably made just as much as Scott at the end of the day. How much could a rock scientist really make?
He found a beer in the fridge.
"Look at you, Scotty, keeping booze at work. Maybe you're not the geek I thought you were." He popped the cap and, realizing the bottle felt light, held it up in the glow of the television. "What is this, half drunk or something?"
The bottle's cap had been tight, but the beer inside was half gone. Could be Scott replaced the cap, or could be that the bottling plant had screwed up. Jeez, was he going to get a beer today that wasn't flat, sudsy or half gone? "Beggars can't be choosers." He drank it down. To his surprise, it wasn't flat.
On the television, a man on the news was talking about the drought. The map behind him showed California covered with a large graphic that said: 207 days. That must be how long it had been since it rained in the state. The map cut to a picture of the entire country and each state contained a number not far from California's. The weatherman said something about the drought affecting crops in the Midwest.
"Get to the surf report already, you toupee-wearing mongoloid."
The camera cut to the desk anchor and flashed a picture of the mayor in the upper right hand corner of the screen. "Mayor Coleman issued a water ban today. Anyone found watering the lawn, washing the car, filling the pool, or using water excessively during daylight hours will be fined. California is now the twelfth state to issue a water ban. In a related story, city officials are concerned that the reservoir has already dropped below a safe level. The city is currently investigating the possibility of piping in water from Washington..."
"Great," Cam said to the television. "Now what about a fucking swell? Tell me there's gonna be a swell."
The man said nothing about waves. Instead, they cut to a story about trees dying in the park.
Done with his beer, Cam flipped stations. There was no cable out here so he was limited to whatever the set could pick up with its antenna, which wasn't much. A lot of stations from Mexcio and the few local networks. He settled on a sitcom involving a low-income family that thought jokes about school recitals were funny. It reminded him of Becky and Cobe and he found his thoughts drifting back to Scott's words. Maybe it was time to move on from bartending. It's not like he had medical benefits or anything, which the baby damn well needed. The money from Becky's parent's death was bound to dry up soon, too (thank God her father had a premium life insurance plan). So much of his income depended on getting a good shift on a weekend, it wasn't very stable.
He dialed Joe on his cell phone. Joe picked up right away but didn't say anything.
"Hey, Joe."
"You back at home?"
"No, I'm in trailer in Basin Springs."
"You're kidding."
"I wish. And to make it worse, I'm stuck watching some show called Family Fruit."
"I love that show. The chick who plays the daughter is hot. Sometimes you can see her nipples through her shirt."
"You can see my nipples through my shirt and it never makes you horny."
"Yeah it does. Why do you think I go surfing with you? I was planning on slicing a vag in your taint so I could make you my woman."
"Gross."
Joe laughed.
Cam did too, then got pensive. "Seriously, your dad still looking for people to work?"
"Sure. You telling me you want to build fences now?"
"No. But I think I got a good chance of getting Becky back if I can get a job with benefits. Would he give 'em to me?"
"After three months, I think. There's a probationary period."
"Think you can talk to your dad?"
"I can talk to him. But if you flake out and go surfing or something, I'm gonna-"
"What? Kick me out of your place? Too late."
"Just be on time. I'll call him and tell him you're coming. Don't fuck off on this."
When Cameron was done talking to Joe, he dialed Becky. Scott picked up instead. He asked to talk to her but she wanted nothing to do with him. So he asked Scott to relay a message to her. "I've got an interview at SP Fence tomorrow. Tell Becky I'm changing. Oh, and you shouldn't put half finished beer in the fridge. It don't keep."
CHAPTER 5.
"All I'm saying is Cobe is going to need him around." Scott put the plates from their dinner in the sink while Rebecca removed Cobalt from his high chair. He laid the glasses on top of the plates, wondering why there had barely been enough milk for dinner; they'd just bought that gallon a couple days ago.
"No, what you're saying is that it's okay for men to cheat on women because we're too frail and need a big strong man around. Bullshit. He totally disrespected me, Scott."
The tap was worse than this afternoon; hardly any water was coming out now at all. If the dirty dishes sat out all night they'd have flies in the morning. "Shit, this faucet is really busted. Where was I? Oh...no, what I'm saying is, yes he screwed up, in a big way, but he wants to make good so, you know, maybe you start slow and-"
"Screwed up? He shoved his dick inside another girl. See what happened when he did that to me?" She held Cobalt up to make a point. The baby started crying once again, and Scott could see Becky sigh. Cobe had been crying ever since he'd woken up and found Cam gone.
"I know. He deserves a punch in the head. And I certainly don't condone his actions. But...just consider it," he said. "Maybe you could go to counseling. Hell, you could certainly use it to your advantage. He'll probably do anything you want if you let him back. And like I said, think about Cobe here, about him growing up in a broken home."
"You really sound like you're okay with what he did. Don't you care about me?"
Exasperated with the faucet, he walked over to her and took Cobalt from her arms. He kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, Beck. Believe me, I wouldn't say any of this if I thought Cam hadn't just made a stupid, stupid error. He loves you, I can see it in his eyes."
"That's very romantic," she said mockingly.
"Why don't you go rest and I'll sit with Cobe and watch Telletubies or something."
"Fine...the resting part, not the Cam part. Make him a bottle while you're at it. Use the bottled water in the fridge so he doesn't grow a third ear or something." With an evident moan of relief, Rebecca walked to her room and turned on her TV.
"Come with Uncle Scott," Scott said, walking to the kitchen with the baby, thinking how strange it sounded to be called Uncle. It made him feel old. He bent down with Cobalt in his arms and looked through the fridge for the gallon of water he'd bought yesterday. It was nearly empty, hardly enough for even half a bottle for the baby.
Strange.
It usually took three or four days for Becky to go through a gallon.
DAY 2.
CHAPTER 6.
Cam was up at six, thanks to the alarm on his cell phone, but the people from the University were already there. He could hear them talking outside the trailers, wondering whose car was parked near Trailer Three. What really caught his attention though was the guy saying something about bizarre stuff going on at the beach.
Was it a swell?
Joe's father wasn't expecting him until seven-thirty, so maybe he had time to hit the nearest break and check it out. He threw his clothes on so fast most of it went on backwards, and ran out of the trailer.
"Who are you?" asked a guy carrying some long poles over to where a small aquifer pump sat in the ground.
"I'm Cam, Scott's brother-in-law."
"Ah, the one who got caught cheating."
So, Cam thought, Scott was a gossip as much as a scientist. "I didn't get caught, I confessed. I do have a conscious, you know. Why the hell am I explaining this to you?"
"I don't know but I think your shorts are backwards."
"Is he here?"
"Scott? Not yet, said he was feeding the baby and then coming in."
There was little else that could make Cam feel as shitty as knowing someone else was taking care of his kid. He missed Cobe; the baby was a part of adulthood Cam was surprisingly happy about. "Tell him I was gone before you got here." The man nodded but Cam doubted his reliability. He got in his car, the surfboard still strapped to the roof, and headed west.
When he got to the beach, he could tell something was definitely going on, but it had nothing to do with a swell. Trucks from a handful of government agencies were parked in the lot, and men in Hazmat suits were running about carrying large drums. What the hell was going on? Someone spill chemicals into the water?
"Beach is closed," a man in a blue Parks and Recreation jacket told him when he got out of the car.
"What do you mean closed?"
"Well, you know when you go someplace and the doors are open and you go in. Imagine the opposite of that. If you're still confused, I can have someone explain it to you in a jail cell."
Cam spotted the police cars parked nearby; the cops were talking to some other surfers who were also looking toward the water. "Get a life," he told the guy, and left.
He drove south on the 5 for ten minutes and pulled off into a rest area overlooking the water. Several cars were already there, and people were taking video of the beach. When he got out, he saw what was causing such a stir. He drew in a sharp breath. Suddenly it felt like he was waking from a dream, still half asleep and trying to make sense of his surroundings. As understanding sank in, the hairs on the back of his neck rose.
The water had receded some quarter of a mile out to sea, as if the ocean were draining down a hole out in the middle somewhere. Dead fish and crabs littered the edge of the beach where the waves used to crash on the shore. Birds swooped in and scooped them up by the thousands. The water was eerily calm, barely moving at all.
A small path cut down the cliff to the sand below. People were walking down, drawn to the beach like magnets. There weren't any police or government agents milling around here, nor did he see them down below. He hurried to the path with an insatiable need to know what was going on burning inside him. A couple of times he almost fell as he descended but held on by grabbing the crabgrass. He was lucky it held him, as most of it was dead or dying. In fact, there was hardly anything green around at all.
On the beach, he couldn't believe his eyes. The sand, once covered with lapping waves, was littered with a million different kinds of crustaceans and marine plant life, all dead. They crunched under his sandals as he walked. A tall man with a bucket was walking out as far as the new water line, collecting oysters and mussels, most likely for dinner.
"What the hell is going on?" he asked himself, catching the attention of a nearby man in a bathing suit.