“Well, since this is your first wreck, you should buddy up with Wes and I’ll buddy up with your dad. How’s that sound?” Chloe asked her.
“Really? But isn’t this like a second honeymoon for you guys? I don’t want to split you up,” Darlene told her.
Chloe smiled. “It is like a second honeymoon, but you won’t be splitting us up. We’re still all on the same dive, just switching partners for a few minutes. I mean, if your dad won’t mind.”
“What about Wes?”
“Wes loves showing newer divers the ropes. And it’s a wreck. I’m sure we go right along the side and through something like a main highway, but still, I’ve had friends get lost in wrecks and panic for a minute or two, so...”
“So, if anyone wants me to go off in a different direction—”
“Wes will deck them,” Chloe said, grinning.
“Can you deck someone in the water?” Darlene asked, laughing. “Deck him on a deck. I guess that works. That’s sweet.”
“Make sure your dad doesn’t mind.”
Darlene turned to talk to her father. Bryan leaned forward and looked around his daughter and grinned at Chloe. “A lovely new lady for a partner—even if she is married. Sure. Seriously, it will be great for Darlene to have someone as incredibly experienced as Wes!”
Eventually, the motor stopped. The anchor was tossed, and everyone was assigned and fit into their air tanks and only when he saw that all twelve of his people were ready did Percy head to the little rear platform. “One by one, when you’re all in the water, we go down! Down, down, down!”
Percy was good at what he did. He had a sense of humor and could tell a good story, but he was also deadly serious when checking his divers out before heading to the platform himself. He was, in fact, far more determined to check on each individual, each piece of equipment than Chloe had seen a dive master manage to do before. Of course, this was all part of the luxury yacht experience, and she had no doubt that while she believed with her whole heart that the company did think of their passengers’ enjoyment and safety above all, they might have been smart enough to be aware of liability, as well.
Percy fit the bill well, as did Sammy, the captain and even young Buddy, who had helped people meticulously.
They were soon all in the water, and the water was asbeautiful as the day. Sometimes, in Chloe’s mind, the water—especially water that led to deep water—could be chilly, even on a warm day. But this water seemed to be in sync with everything else that had gone on so far.
“Tallyho!” Percy called. “Stick with your buddy! Any problems, I’m right in front and Sammy will be behind. No wandering off, my friends. This isn’t a mobster movie—we’re not leaving anyone to sleep with the fishes!”
With a grin, he set his mouthpiece in place and went under.
They had ended up treading water near Percy while everyone entered, and Wes gave Chloe a nod.
It wouldn’t hurt to have the girl they worried about be right behind their diving guide.
“Darlene, let’s follow the guy who knows the place!” Wes said.
She nodded.
The two went down; Chloe and Bryan followed.
And it was beautiful, truly beautiful. They were led first by some of the spectacular coral reefs, places where colorful tropical fish darted in and out of the little holes in the rocks. They didn’t encounter anything remotely dangerous as they started out.
Chloe had always loved diving, loved the soothing sound of her own breath through the tubes, the feel of the water, the easy glide she made through it with the slightest movement of her flippers, the strange, peaceful quiet. And for a few moments, she let herself feel the enchantment of their movements and the aquatic world around them.
But she didn’t forget that things had happened on this cruise, and being in the water—even a mere thirty feet down—could be dangerous.
Their party seemed to stop in unison as the great hull of the medieval ship came into view. It was something to see:surreal, a little bit magical, very much like something out of a storybook.
At the head of his crowd, Percy made a movement with his hands, indicating that the party should follow him along the hull. People fell in line and did so.
Chloe noted that Celia and Jeff were right behind her and Bryan, and that while Daniel was diving with Gina, his brother, his usual partner, was doubled up with another younger woman who had apparently been on her own for the excursion. Both sets of partners were behind another married couple they had briefly met and seen about the ship. Another couple, who appeared to be father and son, brought up the rear, followed by the ever-vigilant Sammy.
It was fascinating to see the giant hull of the medieval wreck—albeit with a massive gash along the side—in the water. It naturally made her wonder about the people who had gone down with it in the storm. She could only imagine the fear of such a situation, trapped with no recourse by the mercilessness that could be nature.
And so strange to think about on a day such as this one! Not a worrisome creature in sight, just all kinds of quick-moving and beautifully colored tropical fish, rushing in and out of the coral rock and all around them.
The first part of the dive was about twenty minutes; it ended with the tour around and through the wreck.
