Dani walked slowly across the wide stretch of minimally undulating beach that morning. Her head down in contemplative gaze at the details of the sand having been washed once more on the outgoing tide. She carried her favorite short board cradled against her side. It was a soft morning, as the fog lifted slowly. Her wet suit warmed her against the cool of the morning breeze. She had deliberately left the front zipper low to her waist as it allowed cool niblets of air to surround her taut breasts. She had done this for years as she knew there would be few, if any, here this break of dawn to penetrate her privacy. She felt the graded cliffs to her back and right. It almost gave her the impression that this was a womb, but not quite, for she could see the beach stretch out to the south as far as the horizon. She knew that if she picked up a wave here she could, on a good day, have a ride of a thousand yards or more. She loved the efficiency of that idea. Long rides were time to think as her body reacted instinctively to the needs of the changing wave.

Looking up now, she saw the three to four foot swells that she knew would be here. That was why she was here. The radio had reported a large storm 800 mi east of Hawaii and Dani knew there would be perfect swells on the Cali coast this morn. She marveled at the idea that there was but a gentle breeze here, hardly enough to toss her blonde hair about her head. She thought, for a second, about the ideas of chaos that she had heard in class A flip of a butterfly wing in China could, through the endless complexity of nature, turn to the perfect storm in the mid Pacific and ultimately give to her the blessing of this morning’s waves.

As she walked she could hear her retainer strap scraping along the sand pulled along by its attachment to her leg. The approaching ocean was her bliss she realized as she first stepped into the shallow water. The water deepened with a chill initially which soon gave way to reassurance as the water folded over her body. She had never told anyone this, but her connection to the ocean was intense, almost sexual, as if she were wrapped in the arms of her lover. She paddled out slowly as she thought about this idea. She had two lovers already and now there was this third lover confessing her adoration for her so blatantly. The sea had been a love and her lover ever since the formation of her mind. It provided beauty and security in her life. It was always there. The sea was a presence to be recognized early when one lived on the coast. It greeted every day and she had come to love its many faces. The calm days of gentle swells, the storms that hit the coast, the sunsets so magnificent that one could never forget. She loved the  smell that was always there like  salt, vegetation and sea life mixed to one grand pot pourri.

Shelly had come to her life about three years ago and now she seemed so comfortable. Bright, capable, joyous and always fun, Dani loved her so much she had pledged to live her life for and with no other. They had a home two blocks inland from the coast and thus both lived the life of the beach constantly. Shelly’s tanned body was so alluring for Dani that she used to blush terribly when she thought of all the things that Shelly had wanted her to do to her, but no longer. It was clear to all now that Dani and Shelly were lovers. They were hopeless to hide it from the world, for each time they gazed at each other the love between them could not be concealed. She had become used to the idea that she loved a woman and not a man. She did not hate men but she could not help the fact that they had always been so disappointing for her. Their coarseness, all their urgent needs and most of all, their self - centeredness was the final straw. Shelly was none of that. Refined in movement and in mind she always gave more than she received. Her needs once unmasked were most intense but never demanding. She enjoyed Shelly's slow massages and lovely sexual preludes to their intimacies. Most of all she was never disappointing.  She was always fascinating as her mind seemed to have infinite recesses in which to find ideas and images that were astonishing.

She saw the approaching wave out of the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she began to paddle quickly and caught the wave with an expertise that demonstrated plainly her mastery of this world of surf, wind and motion. Standing now, she was in the motion that gave her mind the peace it so desired. There were other motions she loved such as the sway of skis cutting the snow at high altitude or the rhythm of her body in ballet. All good she thought but not as good as the motion of her body riding on the curves of mother ocean. Using skills long ingrained in her brain, she was able once again turned to thoughts of her life and this new lover she had met so recently. Jampu she calls herself.

Secretly Dani thought her name was beautiful but some how could never bring herself to tell her so. She was trying to understand this Jampu and her willingness to confess her adoration for Dani. Should not she wait until she knew her better?   Jampu had said that she knew of her affection for Dani immediately upon seeing her picture. Ridiculous she decided, but checked herself in mid thought when she remembered that the same thing had happened to her when she saw Shelly for the first time. She wanted to be angry with Jampu for disturbing the stability of her life with Shelly but could not do so once she realized that adoration is not contrived but arises from the spontaneity of life itself.  She wondered if a fluttering butterfly could create love in a human like it created storms over the ocean.   Really, what are the chances that this should happen to any one of them.  Now her relationship had become triangular with a burgeoning of possibilities.   Triangles are more complex she observed. Could the love of three create joy or would jealousy ensue.  The vows of love, she thought, did not include sorrow.

Jampu promised that she would never be indiscreet. Somehow she trusted her to that and realized that though dominant in mind,  Jampu, in this instance, would not ever take.  She would always receive from Dani and Shelly if she understood clearly that was their desire. She sensed that Jampu had much to give but, only at the clear invitation of Dani. She understood that Jampu was completely prepared to love her from afar. Yet she also sensed in Jampu’s eyes the sadness that such denial would bring. Now Dani thought, it was clearly up to her. How should she respond? Pretend that Jampu was only a friend. Should she be a lover for Dani, for Shelly, for both, or neither.

A thousand yards of thought trailed off as the wave dissipated and Dani slide down into the water once again. Paddling back for yet another wave she considered that perhaps this new wave of life called Jampu, might amplify her happiness of the ocean and Shelly. Time was moving  along it's path of seconds as she raced, with heart pounding just a little, to catch the next wave in her life.