Dawn Patrol

They sat on the water in full wetsuits, only six feet apart, quiet in the calm of near-morning. The sky was the deep concrete gray before dawn and the lights from the oil rig could still be seen from shore. Alain had gotten up at 4:30 this morning, tossed his board in the pickup and drove the hour down to San Onofre. Jeter was already there to meet him, double-fisting cocoa and leaning against his beat-up corolla. His wetsuit was already half-way on and he wore a tattered sweatshirt over his chest. The cocoa was handed off and both men set to work dressing, pulling out boards, getting leashes ready, applying the last bits of wax.

They stood down near the high tide mark and Alain glanced over his shoulder, his hair whipping toward the sea. The windsock was pointing in a southerly direction.

"Decent off-shore wind today," he said.

"I know, right? The faces should hold up pretty well."

They continued to stand on the brink of eternity, watching the waves, gleaning their pattern and deciphering their code. When the set finished, they put arms in their suits, zipped the backs and plunged in, sliding the boards along the surface of the water. Jeter jumped on top of his board first and started paddling hard with both arms.

"Freaking cold."

"Haha."

Both boys now sat on their boards with hair matted against their scalps, waiting for the next set. It was these times, as much as the actual surfing, that brought them together. Alain put his hands in his armpits and pulled his elbows close to him. Jeter brought his legs up on the board knees nearly to his chest and huddled in anticipation. Both could see their breath.

They didn't need to wait long. As the sky turned purple, the new set arrived. "Incoming," Jeter muttered. He slid to the tail of his board, egg-beatering in the water spinning the behemoth 180 degrees. Alain followed suit in a similar action. They went flat out, beginning the slow paddle that picked up momentum as the wave approached. Adrenaline coursed through them as they were pulled up and away from land. With 2 more heavy strokes, Alain was the first to pop up and stand. "One," he called out.

Jeter cut next to him, smiling hard. It's going to be a great morning, he thought.