Epilogue
“Are you ready for this?” Mac asked, standing at the back of the boat next to Barry.
They both had on scuba gear, ready to get into the sea, but she was giving him one last chance to back out.
Not everyone liked to jump into shark-infested waters.
Especially when there were already three sharks circling the dive cage.
“Ready.” He nodded, pulling his goggles over his eyes. He was unrecognizable like this, but she did have to say he made a handsome figure in scuba gear.
Mac smiled at his bravery and stepped into the cage first, putting on her air hose. Barry got in after her. She gave him the thumbs up symbol, and he mirrored it.
“Monte, lower us down.”
Mac held onto the bar as they were lowered into the water.
“How far are we going?” Barry asked, his head tilted down, looking below them. Not that he could see anything in the dark depths.
“Twenty feet.”
The cage stopped and they dangled, suspended over the dark emptiness. It was all quiet around them. Mac looked around and couldn’t see the sharks right away, but she knew they were close.
“Don’t get too close to the edge of the cage,” she warned him when she saw him almost sticking his head out between the bars.
Barry pulled back just as a tiger shark glided past that. “Fuck.” Barry windmilled his arms back and tried swimming to the far back corner of the cage.
“That’s why I said don’t go to the edge.” She chuckled. “Come on.” She held her hand out for him. Barry took it and came to the middle of the cage.
“I’m not seeing the appeal to this yet,” he complained.
“Just wait.” She giggled at his impatience. “There.” She pointed to the tiger shark coming back around. It seemed to slow down as if it knew they were looking at it. Another came up behind it, then swam next to him. “She’s pregnant.” Mac pointed to her distended belly.
Barry drifted closer to the edge of the cage but still far enough away from the danger zone, just watching them in silence.
Smaller fish swam with them, eating the parasites off of them. Other fish swam along in this perfect harmony as if these fish didn’t fear the larger predator.
Mac remembered being stunned into silence the first time she’d watched them too. This whole other world people knew so little about. Without a voice to stick up for themselves and needing researchers like herself to be their voice. To keep these species alive and prospering.
Barry drifted back to her and took her hand. “You were right. I can see the appeal now.”
“Just wait until the height of the migration season.” That was a sight to behold. Hundreds of different shark species all swimming together in the same direction.
“I can’t wait.” Neither could she. Not only was she going to get to spend the rest of her life following her passion for sharks, but she was going to get to spend it with the man she loved.