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“Harrison Reid!”
“Red Last!”
Harrison shot up like a rocket to hug his best friend, wrapping his arms around her who laughed, hugging him back.
“It’s actual been ages, look at you you’re fucking tanned as hell.”
Harrison laughed, stepping back so I could get a good look at him. I was borderline a mother figure to him and I admit; I have a tendency to cluck over him the same way his mother had in New Zealand.
“Haha yeah, thanks.”
Harrison blushed, running a hand through his hair.
“You looking for Jake?”
“No, I came for a swim but I remembered you were on duty today and thought I’d better come see my third favourite guy.”
“Third?”
Behind us, Maxi burst out laughing but kept his eyes on the water. Harrison pouted, and I punched his shoulder.
“I’m gonna go find a spot; you’re coming over tomorrow for the barbecue right?”
“Yeah definitely, I’ll see you there.”
I waved, picking up my bag. As I disappeared out the door Maxi was still quietly chuckling, Harrison giving his shoulder a whack where he’d been sunburned the day before. Maxi cried out, the laughter stopping as he glared at his friend.
“Mate, dog act.”
A swim and a nap later, and I woke up to realise my wallet was gone. I frowned, checking over my backpack and the sand before I knew it was really gone. My heart sank, and with a quick search I found my phone, dialling Harrison’s number.
“Yeah Red? I can’t get you ice-cream, we’re busy-“
“-Hutts, someone took my wallet. I fell asleep for five minutes and it’s gone. I’ve looked all through my bag and all through the sand around me. It’s not here!”
“Woah woah okay, uh… hang on. You didn’t leave it here when you came to hug me?”
“No, it was in my bag. Hutts shit Jake’s gonna be so mad, it has all our bank cards, all our health insurance…”
“Calm down, I’ll radio him. If you want to get him he’s down at the South end watching backpacker’s.”
“I’m gonna stay here, maybe have another look.”
“Okay, if I hear anything I’ll call you back.”
Jake had just got back to the rhino from a rescue when I finally spotted him amongst the 30,000+ people on the beach that day. He was busy talking to the other lifeguard but when I cleared my throat his head shot up, nearly bumping on the buggy roof. His eyes met mine, and he frowned.
“Hey, Hutts told me. What can I do to help?”
“Not a lot. He said he’d call me if he heard anything.”
“Shit, that sucks. So your phone and wallet are gone?”
“And my opal card,” I frowned. Jake’s hands wrapped around my waist, slipping his longsleeve lifeguard shirt on over my body. He pressed a kiss to my cheek and I rested my head against his shoulder.
“I’ve got my car here, I’ll take you home if you want. Did you call the bank already?”
“Yeah… but Jake, some really important stuff was in there. I need that bag back.”
“I know… I’ll see what we can do, but I can’t promise anything.”
“I get that-“
“-excuse me? Are you a lifeguard?”
A man younger than us approached Jake and I stepped back to let him do his job- help people. He nodded, and the tourist almost crumbled.
“Someone- someone just took my bag. It had everything I need to get back home in it… I left it with friends but they fell asleep long enough for someone to take it. It had my passport in it, my card… everything.”
“Did you or your friends get a look at him?”
The man blurted everything he’d seen out, and before long Jake could radio a reasonably accurate description back to the boys in the tower. Hopefully Harrison and Maxi weren’t eating; no one could disturb their lunch break.
“Jake to central; I’ve just had a tourist come up to me and he gave me a solid description of the guy who took his bag. Could you get the cops down here while I take him through the crowds just in case this guy is still here?”
“Central to Jake; go ahead mate, Harrison’s coming down to watch the water.”
“Thanks Maxi.”
Jake turned to me, giving my hand a squeeze.
“Jump in the back. It might be the same guy that took yours earlier.”
“I didn’t even think of that. Let’s go.”
“See anything mate?” Jake called over the buzz of the buggy’s motor to the tourist in the seat next to him. The man shook his head and I felt just as deflated as he looked. The radio beeped to life and I listened when Maxi’s voice crackled through.
“Central to Jake, uhhhhhh I just had a fourteen year old girl in here who says she woke up to a guy trying to take her bag. She grabbed it, and the description she gave me matches your guy. She reckons Fucking Dickhead is on his way to the northern part of Bondi Junction, y’know with all the family-friendly cafés and stuff.”
“Jake to Central; you’re on a roll Maxi. Any chance the cops are there?”
“Just knocking on the door. I think we’ve got him, and it sounds like he could be kind of aggressive so it might be an idea to get Red back to your place.”
“Yeah, no worries mate. Did you let Hop know?”
“Hop is very unimpressed and since he’s already in street clothes he’s gonna head down to have a look. I’ll keep you updated.”
“Jake to Central; cheers, Maxi. I’ll drive Red home now. Harrison, how you goin’ down there?”
“Harrison to Jake; I’m all good, uhhhhhhh I can see Mouse coming down now so you’re good to go.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you guys there. See you in a bit.”
As we drove back to the carpark the guy sitting next to Jake straightened, pointing at a crowd of people.
“That’s him! There!”
Jake’s hand was on the call button of his radio before the guy could finish his sentence, holding it to his lips.
“Jake to central; Maxi, mate, I’ve got visual of him. Call Hop and tell him I’m making a citizen’s arrest. How far away are the cops?”
“Central to Jake; they’re coming down to North End now, hang on-“
“-Jake to central; don’t have time. I’m going.”
Jake tossed the radio to me, pulling the buggy to a stop. I reached for his hand but I wasn’t fast enough, and the tourist sat shell shocked. I watched as Jake took off toward the guy who matched the description, his feet darting across the scorching concrete. As he darted between people I noticed the suspect realised we were on to him, and as the other buggy pulled up I called out to Maxi and Hoppo.
“He’s making a run for it!”
Maxi kicked the Rhino into high gear and span 180 degrees, taking off to meet the suspect in case Jake couldn’t get to him in time.
The chance of that happening was unlikely; Jake was pretty fast when he wanted to be.
Even from the Rhino I could spot Jake in the crowd; he weaved through the crowd, chest heaving from the heat, and just when I thought he was going to give up he made a jump for it. He and the suspect fell to the ground and Jake was on top of him in a split second, holding his arms behind his back. The backpack the guy had been carrying had been tossed to the side and the second Rhino pulled up just in time for Hoppo to grab it. The crowd had miraculously parted so I could see everything unfolding and I observed Maxi opening the bag while Hoppo updated the cops. Even from a distance I could see my wallet- the one Jake got me for Christmas- and I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Oh, they’ve definitely got him.”
The door to the back of the cop car closed and the police locked it, turning to Jake, Maxi, Hoppo and I.
“You guys did a very stupid thing; however I think it paid off. You caught someone who was doing something that could have potentially left people without a way to get home and you did exactly what we would have done. Thanks for that, boys and ladies. I’ll update you guys when I can.”
Then the cops were gone, and it was just me, the lifeguards and the two swimmers who had gotten their stuff back thanks to Jake’s crazy stunt.
“Go home guys, I think you’ve earned it.”
Hoppo sounded exhausted, and neither Jake nor Maxi offered to stay. They quietly thanked Hoppo and Jake took my hand to walk me back to the tower. As we walked I wrapped said hand around his waist, giving his hip a squeeze.
“C’mon, let’s get home so you can get cleaned up.”
He had multiple grazes on one side of his body from where he’d landed, and I leaned up to kiss his cheek.
“Thanks, Jake. Seriously, that was awesome.”
“I love you,” he murmured, and my heart fluttered. We didn’t say that very often.
“Good thing I love you too.”
“Ow, fuckshitfuck.”
“C’mon Jake, you tore your ACL and you didn’t cry. What’s a bit of disinfectant compared to that?”
Jake fixed me with a glare, before he winced again.
“It’s different, Red. An ACL is like a deep ache, while this is a sharp burning around the area.”
“… Right.”
I put a cotton pad on the biggest gash, wrapping it with a bandage to keep it in place. After I secured the bandage I stood, cleaning up the medical supplies from our kitchen table.
“It’s a good thing I love you,” I called teasingly as I went back into the kitchen to put away the first aid kit. I heard Jake moving too, and before I knew it he was behind me, wrapping his rapidly bruising arms around my waist. His head buried into the crook of my neck, and he pressed a gentle kiss there.
“Thanks for cleaning me up.”
I squeezed the wrist that wasn’t bruised, spinning so I could kiss him.
“Of course. Gotta take care of you like you take care of me, right?”
And Jake smiled, nodding into the kiss.
“Deal.”