First Day in the Caribbean - DiveShop 06

The water was murky, but he had dived in worse. He swam down, letting the current move him over the bottom, adjusting his depth so the bottom was just detectable. He swung the light right and left to make his search as wide as possible. Presently the bottom began to rise, and he figured he was approaching the point. He decided to search back toward the skiff a little farther out. He turned deeper and pulled himself up the safety line against the current. When the angle of the line got to about 45 degrees, he turned deeper again and drifted back downstream. Then still deeper and back upstream. Nothing. By now his tank was getting low, so he surfaced.

"Nothing yet. Should we try the other side of the point?"

Anthony agreed, so Rick clambered up the ladder hanging off the stern, and switched tanks while Anthony maneuvered the skiff to almost even with the point and slightly upstream. "Okay, most of your search'll be downstream from the point. Good luck."

They repeated the pre-dive equipment check and he re-entered the water.

He happened to look toward shore and figured he saw some damaged coral and scraped rocks on a rise at the very end of the point. He followed the bottom down. He was getting ready to turn around when he found a wide damaged stretch of sea bottom that trailed off out of sight and slightly toward shore. He was at the end of his line, so he drifted straight up. When he hit the surface, he waved and yelled to get Anthony's attention.

Anthony was watching, and immediately weighed anchor and drifted toward him. Rick pulled in the line to stay in approximately the same place. Anthony dropped the anchor and brought the boat to a halt about 20 feet from him. "Damage on the bottom. Might have something," and he went back down.

He followed the track of broken coral and scraped rocks. Almost immediately he saw what had to be a whip antenna. He felt thankful for his training—it was helping keep his heart rate under control and his breathing even. About at the end of the line he saw a large dark shape at the edge of visibility. It had to be the boat! He returned to the surface and signaled Anthony. "I think we found something!" he yelled. Pull about 30 feet closer!"

Anthony signaled a thumbs up, and Rick returned to the bottom.

The boat lay canted to one side, dents and scrape marks all over. The exposed side of the bow had been completely crushed in. The boat would have dived for the bottom and rolled over several times in the current before it stopped moving. Maybe rolled over and then dived, depending on the angle of the boat, the waves, and the wind. He could imagine the crew being thrown overboard immediately if they hadn't known what was about to happen. He swam toward the stern. Sure enough, the Lydivivi. Rick got a lump in his throat. He looked at his depth gauge. 40 feet.

"Could they have escaped?" He wondered. "Conceivably, but doubtful. But maybe. Too many variables to be sure either way." He attached a marker float to a railing and inflated it, then swam an inspection tour of the wreck. He looked inside through the hole in the hull and just made out the galley through the wreckage. The cover to the hold had come off (he hadn't seen it anywhere, so it had probably drifted farther downstream), the cockpit was crushed, but the companionway into the cabin was open enough to swim down, and the cabin looked empty. Behind the companionway, the door into the engine compartment was halfway open. He pried it farther open—and found a body, legs pointed toward him. In spite of himself, he sobbed. (Not a good idea because screwing up his face made his mask leak. He cleared it easily; mask leaks are a common nuisance while diving.) He drew a shaky breath, reached into the compartment, and pulled on the pant cuffs to extract the body. He wrestled the remains up the stairway and onto the deck. Marine scavengers had gone to work on the exposed parts, and he couldn't tell which man it was. He was able to recover the contents of a hip pocket, a wallet, but didn't attempt to read it. Time enough for that later. The current was pushing the body over the railing and he helped it over, then watched it drift away.

He headed for the surface. He had been down long enough to necessitate some decompression time, so the trip up took a while.

"That's it," he yelled.

Anthony let the boat drift some more so Rick didn't have to pull himself as far to climb in. "I figured, when I saw the marker. Any bodies?"

"One. Can't tell if it's Gus or Bill. Their boat, though."

Anthony sighed. I have an idea. "Let's cruise the shoreline and see if we find any signs of anyone washed ashore. Not that it's much of a shore. Mostly rocks."

When they were a hundred feet or so out, Rick suggested, "I'll check the bottom, you scan the shoreline," and he jumped in using snorkel, fins, and mask, and swam in to where he could just make out the bottom.

They had toured for about fifteen minutes when Anthony rapped on the hull of the skiff to get Rick's attention.

Rick looked up and Anthony pointed.

Rick headed that way and found the other fisherman. Gulls had pretty much removed the flesh from the head, the body seemed crushed, and crabs had exposed the skeleton at the extremities. He could see movement in the pant legs. Gritting his teeth to keep his gorge down, he found the wallet, then grabbed a pant leg and dragged the body into the water. When he got to the boat, the body was not in evidence. "Lost at sea, both of them," he muttered.

Anthony nodded. Both bodies would be completely gone in a week. Their condition would have made them a horrible memory if loved ones were to see them.

As they motored back to the terminal, Rick held out the wallets. "We know it's both of them," he said, looked at Anthony, then tossed them into the water.

Anthony didn't even nod, but he agreed. They rounded the point and headed north. It was a secret they would keep all their lives.

——————-

Karen and her parents had expected a lot of competition for seats, but the crowd was mostly relief workers arriving and islanders milling around ready to help pick up equipment and supplies. They were able to take the first plane out, and the airline apologized profusely for the inconvenience, as if the storm had been their fault. They even got to sit in first class. Two hours after they got to the airport, they were in the air.

Roy looked at his wife. "He seems to be a fine young man. Karen could do worse."

She replied, "Yes, but I hate all those tattoos! Whatever possessed him to get them?"

"Well," he said, "He has a polynesian background, and that's what they did then. And there. They'll be quite the attention-getter when he comes to visit Mobile, won't they?"

She rolled her eyes and hmmf'ed. " I don't know, but I'll try to get used to them. He does seem nice. And competent." She got a little gleam in her eye. "It might even be fun to shock the bridge club."

——————-

Karen was waiting for them when they got back. "They're gone!" she announced. "Then she sobered. "Any luck?"

Rick sighed. "It was their boat, all right. No bodies on the boat, though. We even searched the shoreline." It was the closest he would ever come to lying to her.

Anthony added, "Rick left a marker buoy attached to the boat so we can recover it if they want to. I don't see how anyone could have survived, but we should check with their families in case they managed to walk home. No one waved to us from the hillside or anything."

They loaded the diving equipment into the truck and Anthony drove them to the dive shop. Karen got in first, and she teased Anthony about having the shift lever between her legs. Anthony enjoyed every minute of it. Before they got to the store, Anthony suggested they go to Gus's place to talk to Lydia. "If they made it, that's where they'd go first."

The road was just clear enough to navigate up the hill. When they pulled into the driveway, Lydia met them at the doorway. "Come in. I don't think you're bringing good news," she said, a grim expression on her face.

They sat at the table. "Rick found the boat. We heard a rumor about a wreck south of the island, so we investigated. If they had gotten out alive, they would have come here. Judging from his description of the gash in the hull, they could easily have been thrown overboard." Neither Rick nor Anthony had to pretend to be sad. Karen was in tears.

Lydia looked down. "Well I'd prefer this to cancer." She looked up, a bit defiant. "But I'd really prefer to have him alive. Excuse me a moment," and she stepped into the bedroom.

They thought they could hear a muffled thumping, like the sound of a pillow being swung against furniture.

After a few minutes she returned. She had an unnoticed down feather in her hair. "Thank you. I think I'll be okay now." She smiled a sad little smile. "I don't envy you telling Vivian. She'll take it pretty hard."

They took their leave and headed back to town. Karen knew where Octavia lived, and the streets were clear enough that they were able to get to the house without trouble. They found Bill Jr. clearing the last of the debris in the fading light. He looked concerned when they all got out.

"uh-oh," he said.

Anthony nodded grimly. "Your mom and siblings home?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah. Come on in. I'll call everybody together."

They went inside and everyone went into the dining room. Vivian had been working on a piece of needlework, and she put it into a drawer, then joined everyone at the table.

Anthony spoke. "I'm afraid I have some bad news," he sighed. "We found Bill's boat. We think he and Gus were lost at sea during the storm. We checked with Lydia, and they haven't shown up at her place, so we think they're gone." He looked at everyone with mournful eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Rick could see disbelief in Vivian's eyes, so he added. "I found the wreck in about 40 feet of water. The entire starboard bow hull was gone. The boat would have thrown them into the water without warning, and they were too far out to make it to shore, and if they had, it was all rocks.

Vivian still looked skeptical, but she didn't argue. Octavia and Juno broke into tears. Bill Jr. looked grim. Tears streamed down Karen's face.

Vivian slowly got up and went into the livingroom. She turned on the TV and sat there, stone-faced.

Anthony and Rick got up and sighed. Anthony spoke. "We're sorry to be the bearers of such bad tidings. Let us know if there's anything we can do to help." The three quietly headed for the door and slipped out.

"This evening has been the worst day of my life," said Karen, her voice breaking a little.

"Certainly not a day for celebration," Rick agreed.

Anthony took them to the dive shop and they unloaded the gear. Karen noticed a box on the counter.

"What's this?" she asked. "I must have left the door unlocked." She opened the box to find it full of cookies. Laughing and crying at the same time, she passed the box around, and everyone had one. Just then the lights came on.

The two Italians came in, all cheery, carrying a bottle of wine. Until they saw how gloomy everyone was. "Whatsa matta? You guys look sad," said Giuseppe.

"We were gonna celebrate the lights," continued Dominic.

Karen gave a brief summary of the afternoon.

"Ah, then we don't celebrate, we mourn, and toast our lost friends."

So the five of them sat around the table, ate cookies, and toasted Bill and Gus.

Octavia turned up and plunked herself unceremoniously into Rick's just-vacated chair. "I gotta get out of the house. Mom's in a coma, Juno's crying in her bedroom, and Bill's roaming around aimlessly. Sign me up for nitrox training."

Karen handed her a paper cup of wine. "We've got the equipment; oxygen arrived the day after the grand opening. We don't have the class schedule figured out yet, though. Wanna get tutored? We can see how good a teacher Rick is." She grabbed a couple manuals from a shelf. "Memorize these. Learn to read the dive charts. Um. Come back, hm, Friday?" she looked at Rick, who nodded. We'll give you a discount because you're our beta testee.

Dominic had been staring at Octavia. Out of the blue he said to her, "Might you be willing to join me for dinner next week?"

Octavia looked at him askance. "Only if you're the dinner. She smiled wickedly. "Would you like to be boiled or broiled? "

Giuseppe swatted his brother's shoulder. Dominic flinched. "Can't you see she's not interested? We're lucky to be even invited to their party. So keep your hands off da merchandise, as they say in New York."

Dominic rubbed his shoulder and pretended to scowl. "Someday I'm gonna hit him back, but I gotta wait until he's asleep."

"Seems to me you clonked him the other morning when he was sleeping," Rick remarked, grinning.

"Yeah! Like that! I guess maybe we're even, eh?" he smiled at his brother.

Anthony rolled his eyes. "You guys are nuts. I think maybe it's time I headed for bed." He turned to Rick. "You plan to come in tomorrow? Or would you rather do more community service?"

Octavia intervened. "Um would it be community service if you two took me out to the wreck? Maybe I could find some personal effects."

Rick and Anthony looked at each other. Neither could come up with a good excuse not to do it. Anthony said, "why don't you come by around noon? That's when light will be best." No guarantees that we can go out, though."

Everyone decided it was time for bed so they all got up. Karen thanked the brothers profusely for the wine and the witty conversation, and apologized for Octavia. "She's actually a nice person; she just doesn't know how to say 'no' without shooting the person down. I think she's actually trying to be witty." She turned and wrinkled her nose at Octavia, who curtsied as if she had been praised.

The brothers nodded acknowledgement and took their leave. Rick told Anthony he'd be there in the morning as soon as he refilled the tanks.

Octavia spoke. "Rick, I want to thank you for searching and finding my dad," and she grabbed him and planted a big mushy kiss on him.

Rick was caught by surprise and flapped his arms but returned the kiss a little from reflex. Karen stood there open-mouthed.

Octavia released her victim and smiled at Karen. "That's all he'll ever get. He managed to say 'no' without shooting me down, but I can tell he's only interested in you. Not that I was trying to make time with him. I really am grateful."

Karen pretended to look at her suspiciously, but smiled. "If you could tell with a kiss like that, it must be true," and she smiled at Rick, who was standing there blinking.

He collected himself. "Um, you're welcome, but I'd have done it for anybody. And someday some guy's gonna be pretty lucky." He nodded and smiled.

Rick thought about offering to walk Octavia home, but decided that doing so would be impolitic. Then he had an idea. "Should we walk you home? Or maybe I can ask Dominic to do it," he trailed off hopefully.

Octavia snorted. "Yes you guys can walk me home. Poor Dominic would have a heart attack if I were nice to him."

So the three walked to Octavia's place, Karen in the middle, holding Rick's hand. Conversation was mostly Octavia sharing memories of her father, with Karen and Rick listening sympathetically. At the door, Octavia gave Karen a hug and kissed her cheek. "Thanks. Give him another thank-you kiss for me, will you?" She grinned and skipped into the house.

"It's late," Karen said on the way back, "why not spend the night in the store? That's where your mattress is at the moment."

"Well, my bedroll is in my apartment. Still dry, too, probably."

Karen heaved a great big sigh. "Then I suppose I'll have to bring my blanket upstairs and we'll just both have to use your mattress."

Rick said, "well, okay" in the most morose voice he could muster while smiling.

When they got to the dive shop, Karen sent him upstairs and she got the bed covers from her office/bedroom. She took a moment to freshen up a bit in the bathroom, then headed up. Rick was on the mattress, sound asleep. She heaved a genuine sigh, threw the cover over the mattress and climbed in next to him. She, too, was asleep in a few minutes.

Karen was still asleep when Rick awoke the next morning. He gently ran his fingers across her cheek and down across her breast then down her belly to her pussy, then down a leg. She took a deep breath. "That has to be the best way in the world to wake up." She stretched luxuriously. "Do it again." So he did, taking a little longer, circling her breasts and spending a little time on her pussy. "Somehow I know you're going to tell me we can't have sex now, and you're going to make me wait all day, you mean responsible man, you." She stuck out her lower lip.

"You must be a mind reader. But we can go have breakfast if maybe Anchovie's is open. Otherwise I can grab something later and you can clean out some of our emergency supplies."

Karen deliberately climbed over him to get out of the bed, making as much body contact as she could. Rick made a delighted "Hmm" as she moved over him. "I very nearly stopped while I was on top of you, but I didn't want to get shot down. I know we should get up and meet the day. See how responsible I am?"

"I'm glad you're so responsible, because I might have given into the temptation, then I'd have had a guilty conscience all day." He sat up and felt around for his shorts. She handed them to him. "Ah, what would I ever do without you?" he said as he pulled them on.

"Chase after Octavia? She offered.

"Nah, she's a good catch, but she'll be somebody else's catch." He watched her dress; she had waited while she watched him get his clothes on, then she gave him a nice show, including picking up her sports bra, looking at it, then tossing it away.

"Do I look presentable?" she asked, spinning around.

"Extremely. I'm surprised the neighbor boys didn't come after you!"

"They did, until you came along."

"Oh yeah, that's right."

"Let's eat!" She flipped a strap off her shoulder as they went down the stairs.

Anchovie's had just opened when they got there. They were the first people to walk in. Plywood that had covered the windows leaned against the front wall, and the street was cleared, but most of the sidewalk was piled with debris.

The cook and Octavia were the only staff on hand. Octavia looked cheerful and had on her usual white blouse with one too many buttons unbuttoned. "Momma Rita's isn't open yet so I got a good night's sleep. What'll you have?

"I forgot about you needing to be at Rita's," said Karen. "I'm glad you didn't have to work last night."

"So am I. Anyway, I recommend bacon, eggs, and hashbrowns. The cooler was cool enough that those haven't spoiled. Sausage is probably okay, too. Bread's all gone, so no toast. Oh, and Rick, I'll probably work late this morning depending on who shows up, but I should still be able to be there by noon."

Karen suggested that she fill the tanks and Rick go straight to work. He could use the truck again, probably, to come pick up the diving gear later. So that's what they did.

——————-

Anthony anchored the skiff a little way upstream of the marker float, and Rick and Octavia shrugged into their gear. Octavia looked at Anthony, "I'm surprised you let Rick dive alone yesterday. You're always supposed to dive with a buddy."

"Extenuating circumstances. Besides, the guy's a navy seal. Those New Zealanders are indestructible."

Octavia looked at Rick with new respect. "I knew you were experienced and an instructor and all that, but I didn't know you were dangerous, too. I'm impressed." Lest she be misunderstood, she added, "Karen's luckier than I thought!"

Rick shrugged modestly. "Mostly we did research and messed up drug deals. No combat."