by Sandra Kitt
“Sounds like great fun,” Eva murmured skeptically.
“I wish I could ride one,” Diane said wistfully, turning back to rest her chin on the side of the boat, once more peering out to sea.
At that point Eva wondered how much Adam Maxwell actually allowed his daughter to get involved with or participate in his daily trips to gather research materials. She looked back at him once more, suddenly wishing she knew and understood more about the man and what it was that seemed to make him so special in Diane’s eyes. He sat at the tiller with one hand casually moving the gear. One tautly muscled leg was braced against the side of the ship, while his free hand held a jib line. He looked supremely in control, totally confident in himself.
A sudden gusty wind picked up, and the small ship bent with the force of it. Eva’s stomach heaved with the change, and she grabbed for something to keep her balance. Diane gleefully went with the motion and landed rather heavily against Eva’s chest. Instinctively Eva’s arms went out to steady the child. Diane’s one side bun, still loose and wild, blew into Eva’s face. She reached into her tote, took out a comb, and then went about setting Diane’s hair to rights.
Diane sat still for the ministrations to her hair, as she’d no doubt do for her own mother. She was unaware of the emotions washing over Eva, as the soft body of the little girl rested against her own. Her adroit fingers gathered, combed, twisted, and reknotted Diane’s hair into place. It had been a very long time since she’d done something like this. Eva felt a bittersweet pain in her heart, an ache in her arms to gather Diane against her and hold her.
Eva’s chin quivered and her eyes misted over, and just when she was sure she’d reached the limits of her control, Diane moved away, her attention caught by something else out on the fantastic blue waters, the flat horizon periodically interrupted with the outcroppings of small islands.
Maxwell shifted the direction of the sails, and the ship swung into a small circular bay. The craft began to slow with the loss of wind, and Maxwell began lowering sails and tying them down. The bay was deserted of other people, and there wasn’t much of a beach. But it was charming and secluded. There was a reef very close to shore, and the water seemed to be generally shallow. With the excitement of having arrived somewhere, Diane began to squirm and run around the deck until a sharp word from her father brought her up short.
Maxwell happened to catch Eva’s eye only to be glared at angrily. He raised a dark brow at her censuring look and went back to putting things into the launch. Then he signaled for Diane and Eva to climb down into the small boat. When they reached the beach, Maxwell deposited them and what appeared to be a thermal tote.
“There’s some fruit juice and a conch salad inside…”
Diane pulled off her life vest and dumped it onto the floor of the launch. Eva reached to do the same and found Adam in front of her, brushing her hands away to unstrap and remove the vest himself.
“I’m taking the launch out to that point…” He gestured in the vague direction of one end of the open bay. “I have some algae and sea grass to collect. It should take about an hour…”
Eva smiled at him reassuringly. “We’ll be fine. I’ll just sit on the sand and read for a while. Diane can swim or explore.”
“You can go swimming, too.”
“I’m afraid I don’t swim very well.” Eva grinned ruefully, remembering her brother’s futile attempts to teach her, even though she wasn’t afraid of the water. Maxwell studied her speculatively for a moment, murmured, “Ummmmm,” and scratched his fingertips idly through the covering of hair on his chest. Eva’s eyes were drawn to the motion.
“In any case, the water isn’t very deep here. I don’t think you’ll get into trouble,” he said sarcastically. Eva stiffened, wondering if he was being patronizing. There was a noisy splash behind them. They turned to see that Diane had already begun to entertain herself.
“Diane is a good swimmer. Just don’t let her go out too far.”
“Of course not,” Eva agreed, irritated with him again.
He turned away. “I’ll see you in a while.”
“Be careful,” Eva said after him, without thinking, and before she could stop herself. It had been as natural as saying hello or good-bye. Adam stopped in his movements of getting into the launch again to look at her. Eva turned from his quizzical stare, lifted the tote, and moved it farther into the cool shelter of the shrubbery. Behind her she could hear the starting of the launch motor and the boat proceeding slowly to the spot Maxwell had pointed out. Sitting in the shade, Eva squinted with curiosity into the distance to watch as Diane’s father dipped a pail repeatedly into the water, hoisted it aboard to make selections, and emptied the rest back into the sea. At one point he put on a face mask and fins and went over the side to dive deep beneath the surface. He stayed down longer than Eva imagined it was possible to do. She was not at all conscious of the breath she held or the clenching of her fists as she waited for him to surface. When he did, she relaxed and turned her attention to Diane.
Diane looked as though she was having a great deal of fun, and Eva wished that she could enjoy the cool clear water as well. She walked into the edge of the water up to her knees, while Diane dove, swam, somersaulted, and generally showed off for her amused audience. Eva soon suggested lunch and together they sat drinking bottled orange juice and eating salad.
It was almost two hours before Maxwell returned. He declined lunch but quickly went through two bottles of the juice. Then he began to sort and divide his samples. Diane knelt next to him in obvious curiosity. As she put away the extra salad, Eva watched father and daughter as they sat so close to each other in the sand. Diane had her father’s coloring and, for that matter, much of his facial structure. Eva could begin to see the resemblance in the mouth particularly, the nose, and the jaw. Diane was going to be very pretty in five or six years’ time. Eva wondered how much the little girl also resembled her mother.
“How many times do I have to tell you not to touch that?” Adam’s voice broke into Eva’s speculations. Her eyes cleared, and she focused on an annoyed Adam and a pouting, frustrated Diane.
Eva moved closer to them in the sand. Maxwell looked up at her. Eva smiled at Diane and looked back to Adam. “I’m like Diane. I’m very curious, too.” She paused to let her comment take hold.
“What is all this stuff?” She waved a hand over Adam’s open sea chest and its mixture of seaweeds and shells. “Maybe you can explain so Diane and I can understand?”
She was not prepared for his jaw suddenly tensing in what looked to be anger. Eva could only guess that he didn’t appreciate her interference or the interruptions. He turned, however, back to Diane and frowned.
“Do you really want to know about all this?” he asked skeptically.
“Oh, yes!” Diane breathed.
Maxwell looked at Eva and quirked a brow. But then he did start to explain what he had taken from the blue waters of the bay. Eva sat back, watching. When it was apparent that Diane was not at all bored by her father’s talk of turtle grass, sandy bottoms, and plankton, Maxwell identified all the things she was pointing to. Adam warmed to his subject and didn’t notice for a full fifteen minutes that only Diane was asking questions. He looked up finally at Eva, but she was sitting with her legs gracefully tucked under her, watching the growing animation on Diane’s face.
“Daddy, what’s this?” Diane asked, fearlessly lifting a piece of delicate-looking growth that resembled a leaf but was stiffer, harder, and lilac in color.
“That’s a fan coral.”
“It’s really pretty,” Diane exclaimed.
“This is just a small piece that was broken off. The larger ones are even nicer.”
“How come you didn’t get a bigger piece then?”
“Because I don’t want to break off a healthy piece of coral. All the reef waters around these islands are protected by law. You’re not supposed to take sea life out of it.”
Diane frowned. “But you do.�
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Adam pursed his lips at her logic. “Well…yeah, you’re right. But I study it all so I can help keep it the way it is. Or make it better. I don’t take just for the sake of taking. That would be wrong.”
Diane thought about that. “My teacher said that studying the sea is important.”
“She’s right,” Adam agreed, impressed that Diane remembered.
“She says that people po…pol…”
“Pollute,” Adam supplied.
“Yeah…polluting the water and killing all the fish and plants. Is that true?”
“I’m afraid so, Diane. But we’re also studying the sea for new sources of food and energy…”
Diane wrinkled her nose. “I don’t really like fish very much to eat, but I think it would be fun to study them,” she decided.
Adam looked hard at his daughter. Diane, unaware of his contemplation, carefully lifted a starfish from a shallow dish of water. The deeply textured golden brown surface of the sea creature was hard and stiff to the touch.
“What are you going to do with this?” Diane asked.
“Well…starfish are pretty, but they’re also a nuisance. They compete with other fish for food at the bottom of the sea. I want to see how a starfish can be used either for food or maybe in some other way.”
Diane examined the underside, Adam showing a growing admiration at his daughter’s lack of squeamishness at handling the unfamiliar creature and her interest.
“Be careful! If we don’t hurt it, I can return it to the sea later.” Diane slowly replaced the starfish in its dish. Growing curious herself, Eva pointed to a green shiny plant and asked Adam what he hoped to learn from it. He began to explain the research being done on the seaweed. This man loves his work, Eva realized. She was captivated by the gentle, caring way in which he handled the collected sea life in front of him. She wondered if he was ever so kind to people. Maxwell suddenly sat back on his heels.
“Anyway…enough biology for the day.” Some of his animation disappeared, but at least, Eva thought, she’d found there was more to him than just the hard, cold outer shell.
“Daddy…” Diane began hesitantly. Maxwell turned his light brown eyes to gaze at Diane.
“Well?” he prompted.
“Remember you said that sometime you’d show me how to snorkel? Could we do it now?” she asked.
Eva could see the refusal forming on his mouth, his head beginning to shake negatively.
“That does sound like fun,” Eva contributed. Maxwell turned rather stony eyes to her. Eva merely smiled mischievously. “Then you can help your father in his research. Be an assistant.”
“Could I?” Diane asked, wide-eyed. Maxwell was beginning to look uncomfortable and also as though he was regretting having Eva along.
Well, that’s just too bad, Eva decided. He has a lifetime with his daughter, and he’d better learn to understand her. Eva grinned in amusement at his indecision.
Adam looked at his daughter’s breathless, eager expression and stood up in the sand, towering over them both. “Okay…” he agreed slowly and turned a hard triumphant look to Eva. “And you’re coming, too,” he added.
Eva’s eyes flew open and her mouth dropped in stunned surprise while Diane was busy hopping all over the place in joy.
“But…” Eva began.
“I’ll get the masks and fins,” Maxwell said, enjoying having turned the tables on her. He dug around in the launch and came up with an armful of ominous-looking black rubber objects.
Diane stood eagerly, waiting for Maxwell to give her equipment and looking up at her father with so much love that Eva’s heart jumped in her chest at the adoration. But her feelings of support for Diane did nothing to release the nervous tension inside her. She chewed on her bottom lip.
“Maxwell…” she began in what she hoped was a calm, persuasive voice. “I don’t swim. Remember?”
He frowned impatiently at her, his square jaw jutting stubbornly. “Can you float with your face in the water?”
Eva nodded suspiciously.
“Good! That’s all you need to know,” he said in a deep, amused voice and thrust three strange-looking objects at her. Eva grabbed them and opened her mouth to say something more in protest, but Maxwell ignored her, picking up his own things and heading for the edge of the water.
“Come on, Eva!” Diane commanded anxiously, half afraid that her father would still change his mind.
Feeling her stomach knot, Eva walked slowly behind Diane into the water and again up to her knees. Maxwell attached his hose to the side of his face mask. Using his own saliva to clean the clear glass of the mask, he then quickly rinsed it in the salty aqua water. He then placed the tight elastic band around his head, making a wide indentation in his soft tightly curled hair, the mask resting for the moment on his forehead. Diane watched, imitating him, and Maxwell murmured to her as he helped adjust the tightness of the band. He turned to Eva and stopped cold. He raised a sardonic brow, and a chuckle rumbled deep in his chest.
“Don’t you think you’d better take that off first?” he asked, pointing to her. Eva looked down at her cover-up. She inadvertently grabbed the neckline closed.
Adam saw her hesitation, perhaps even recognized it for what it was. But he was firm and unsympathetic. “You have to take it off.”
Eva put her gear down and with stiff fingers untied the ribbon closures. She turned her back to Maxwell as she slipped the cover-up off her shoulders and tossed it onto the sand. A wave of warm blood infused her cheeks, and she felt suddenly as though she had the most unattractive body in the world with all her worst points outlined. Only after she’d retrieved her things did Eva dare to raise her eyes to Maxwell’s steady gaze. She couldn’t begin to interpret what she saw. Curiosity. Surprise. A kind of sparkle in his eyes. Admiration? She only knew his jaw suddenly twitched and his eyes seemed dark and veiled. He stood looking at her so seductively, so long, that Eva came very close to giving him back his things, rescuing her cover-up, and, despite Diane, absolutely refusing to go.
But in a low voice he began explaining to both her and Diane how to wear the mask and the fins. He explained that all they had to do was keep the open end of the air hose above the water and breathe fairly slowly through the mouthpiece. Then he showed them what to do if water got into the air hose or if it filled the mask.
“Now…I’ll stay between you and hold on to you. If you have any trouble, squeeze my hand. Okay? I won’t go into water so deep that you won’t be able to stand up. Are you ready?”
“I’m ready,” Diane said, already moving into the water until it was up to her neck.
So far as Eva was concerned, Adam still had not said anything to make her feel any better. But he took her hand firmly in his own and began to move into the water. Eva gripped as if her life depended on it. She followed suit as Maxwell and Diane put their mouthpieces in. Diane took her father’s outstretched hand, and slowly Maxwell fell forward into a prone position, bringing his daughter and Eva down with him.
Eva clutched convulsively on Maxwell’s hand. Suddenly her face was in the water and she could see the sandy bottom of the sea. Her feet floated up behind her, and she seemed held up and buoyed by the water. She was breathing heavily and feeling odd, light-headed. It seemed as if so much air was filling her lungs and taking so long to go out. She realized she was breathing too deeply and unnaturally. She forced herself to slow down.
She had given no thought to her hair and could feel the water all around, making the straight short strands feather out into the sea. And all other considerations were ignored as Eva allowed her initial panic to subside, and she realized she was actually looking under the sea at the wonderful world it presented. It was so clear that it was like not being underwater at all, except for the strange and colorful array of fish and plants, the rock and coral formation. Automatically Eva began to gently kick her feet and found that the slow movements would propel her forward in the water.
She couldn’t believe
that she, Eva Duncan, was actually doing this. It seemed unreal, a fantasy. She, who couldn’t swim, was watching the underwater of the Caribbean Sea move magically past her.
Maxwell occasionally turned his head in her direction but continued to hold her hand and to take the lead in directing them. He moved toward a low crop of dead coral covered with black, round, spindle-type objects. Eva saw one particularly large fish, which made her nervous, circling around them for a while. But Maxwell showed no signs of concern, so she tried not to either.
Eva lost track of time and reality, lost all sense of the past. This was new, and it made her new. She had dared to venture forth into the unknown and she loved it. She was suddenly very grateful that Maxwell hadn’t given her an out from this experience. It was beyond description.
It seemed as if they had only just started, when Eva realized that Maxwell was slowly heading back into shore. He stood up and pulled them both to their feet.
“I don’t believe this!” Eva exclaimed, breathless. “That was…really something!” She brushed the wet hair from her forehead. “I’ve never seen such pretty fish. Maxwell, there was one big one…”
“Barracuda,” he responded, pushing his mask to his forehead.
“Bar—barracuda,” Eva said weakly. In her mind and limited knowledge of such things, barracudas were grouped with man-eating sharks.
“For the most part, they just leave you alone,” Maxwell explained. “But they don’t like anyone or anything messing around their territory. He was just following to make sure we were just…passing through.”
Diane lifted her face mask, her disappointment clear. “Ah, Daddy, can’t we do it just a little longer?”
“I think that’s enough for today,” he stated, bending to remove his fins.
“Please!” Diane begged. “I can do it by myself. It was easy.”
“Diane…” Maxwell began in a warning voice. Eva watched the exchange anxiously.