by Josh Karnes
Chapter 3
Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico
The Grady crew straggled in for breakfast and coffee at the palapa beach bar that the resort uses for snacks and quick meals during the day, just inches from the white sand beach and amazing Caribbean waters.
Eli began handing his phone over to his father, “So dad. Last night Mark was surfing his phone and found this. It’s called El Pliegue, which means something like, ‘the crease’. It’s sort of like an elongated sinkhole in the ocean, nearly a mile long and over 700 feet deep in one spot. It’s just off the coast of an uninhabited island right past Culebra. The water is nearly crystal clear here, but you see in that picture in ‘the crease’ it’s a midnight blue, nearly black. Supposed to be one of the best places to dive in the world.”
James took in the image of a deep blue blur that appeared like a giant parenthesis in the middle of the crystal turquoise sea with a pristine beach of a tiny island just in the background. In the picture was a dive boat and you could see a few divers in the water. It did look fascinating.
“Culebra, eh? That’s the other island, right? How far is that?”
“It’s about 30 miles to ‘the crease’ from here. There’s a tour that leaves from the north side of Vieques.”
Melissa interrupted, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on a minute here. What exactly is it that you boys are planning?”
“You wanna go take a look at this thing, son? Look into the abyss? Does it look into you? That sort of thing?”
“No, dad. We want to go on the diving tour.”
“No. Way. Forget it. There is no way I am sending you boys out on some boat to the middle of nowhere to go SCUBA diving into some abyss!” said Melissa.
Mark pled their case, “Mom, look. It’s totally safe. All of us have our diving certification since we took the classes last year in Clear Lake, and Eli’s been diving like a thousand times, since he was twelve. The water is crystal clear. It’s dark in the sinkhole and it's bright up top. It’s impossible to get disoriented or lost. Plus, this is a group diving tour. They will have professional guides that do this every day. I mean, look at this place. These people know diving! And there will be like thirty people on the tour. If thirty random tourists can pull this off, we definitely can.”
Eli cut in, “They say this is maybe the greatest place to dive in the world. We shouldn’t miss this chance when we are this close.”
“James, tell them,” Melissa commanded.
Now. Here’s a moment of truth. Who is really the boss of this family? Shouldn’t James start by standing up to Melissa? And wouldn’t he win back some of his boys’ admiration if he was on their side?
“Alright, look. Your mother and I don’t have a diving certification. You would have to do this on your own. Eli, are you up to taking responsibility for your brothers? Mark, will you promise not to leave Joseph behind? Can I trust you guys to do this?”
“James!”
“Come on, honey! Eli is a grown man. We have to stop telling him what to do sometime. If he says we can trust him with his brothers on a tourist diving trip, then we can trust him.”
“Dad. This is the chance of a lifetime. I promise you I will keep Mark and Joey in my sight at all times. Hey, it’s just a couple of hours on a boat, an hour in the water checking out this colossal sinkhole, then a couple of hours back on the boat. We’ll be back by dinner time.”
“Alright, alright,” James said. “Okay. When does this tour leave?”
“Equipment check, safety instructions and sign-up is at nine thirty at the marina. Boat leaves at ten. They serve lunch on the boat when they get to the crease and we anchor for a couple of hours, then head back at three. We should be back at the hotel by five at the latest.”
“I don’t know about this, James. That’s all day. There’s no cell phone service out in the middle of the ocean. What if something goes wrong?”
“Mom. Nothing is going to go wrong. It’s no different than diving back home. Well, it’s different because it’s way better. The water here is mint. It’s like diving heaven,” Mark said.
James made the final call. “Alright guys. We had better hustle if we are going to make it over to the marina in time to sign you up.”
“Sweet!” hollered Joey.
Melissa didn’t look convinced. James consoled, “Look, honey. These are responsible kids. Eli has been watching out for his brothers since they were infants. Let’s let them have some time to do brother stuff. We can go into town and walk around, mix with the locals, maybe do a little shopping…”
“Alright. I don’t like it, but I trust you boys,” Melissa made a point not to look at James. But you don't trust me, James thought.
After equipment checks, safety briefing, safety waivers signed and astronomical fees paid, James and Melissa watched as dozens of sunburned suburban looking tourists loaded onto a pair of dive boats and then puttered off from the marina. Lord, bring my boys back to me safely, Melissa prayed silently.