Chapter 5 #3
As a finale to the experience, Marco and Tony, the catamaran’s crewmen, jumped into the water as well, and proved Terry’s theory that they were very familiar with this pod of dolphins by having the big males in the group boast them out of the water by the soles of their feet.
They performed several tricks, letting the dolphins throw them high into the air, then flipping before plunging back into the water.
Everyone applauded, including Terry, amazed at the skill of the crewmen and the strength of the dolphins.
At last, the captain summoned everyone back onto the deck of the transom and helped them up into the boat.
Terry went last, after counting the guests and making sure that everyone was uninjured and happy.
It took him only a minute to change back into his sandals and slip on his t-shirt, ready for the trip back to the dock.
He realized how sheltered they’d been in the lee of the boat when he stood up on the transom and was blasted by a gust of wind.
Alarmed, he looked at the sky and saw a dark, malevolent-looking band of clouds approaching rapidly from the south.
It was all he could do not to gape in alarm, but he needed to keep a calm face for the passengers.
After making sure they were all settled, chattering in excitement about their experience, he approached the captain.
“What’s going on?” he asked quietly.
“A frontal boundary developed suddenly,” the older man said. “It happens. Looks like that tropical depression is deepening faster than they were expecting. Gonna be a bad blow, but we’ll get back to the dock before it hits.”
“If you say so,” Terry murmured, turning his head to look at the clouds. He could see flashes of cloud-to-cloud lightning in the developing storm, but for now, the sky above was still blue and clear.
He made his way back over to Mark and handed him the camera. “Take a look at the pictures I took,” he said, wanting to keep Mark distracted in case he had noticed the storm. “I think I got some good ones!”
Mark accepted the camera and began checking out the photos. It wasn't long before a blush rose in his cheeks, and he shook his head, laughing. “The dolphins look great, but I look like a gobsmacked idiot.”
“No, you don’t!” Terry craned around to look at the photo Mark was examining.
“I think you look like a man who is experiencing and appreciating something wonderful that he’s waited years to do.
” He met Mark’s eyes. “Never make yourself small to fit anyone’s expectations, Mark.
Do what makes you happy, and enjoy it. If I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s that you never have to make an excuse for feeling joy. ”
Mark’s expression softened, but there was a brief flicker of melancholy in his eyes. He seemed on the verge of saying something, but then he gave a tiny shake of his head as if to stop himself.
“You’re right,” he said. He studied the photo again, and he smiled again, but with pleasure instead of self-deprecation this time. “Maybe I’ll get this one printed out and framed as a reminder of the day and the life lesson.”
“I’ll email you all of them when we get back to the ship,” Terry promised before realizing Mark might not want to give him his address. He didn’t want Mark to think he was presumptuous. “Or, um, I can have them put on a thumb drive if you prefer. Whatever you prefer.”
“Nah, I’ll give you my email address,” Mark said, handing the camera back to Terry. He paused, glanced away, and cleared his throat. “Or I could give you my number, and you can text them to me.”
Terry couldn’t help the stupid, goofy grin that he knew he was wearing. “Sure, that would be great!” He tried to tone it down a few notches, since he didn’t want to scare Mark off. “Did you play the video? I got your first ride in full HD.”
“Yeah!” Mark faced Terry again, his face alight with an answering grin.
“Thanks so much for that. It’ll be a great memory to look back on.
” He gave a sheepish little chuckle. “I’ll be glad to have a recording of it because I was so overwhelmed, I barely remember any of it.
It was surreal, you know? I’d been wanting to do it for so long, and then it was happening, and it almost didn’t feel real. ”
“I totally understand,” Terry agreed wholeheartedly. “When I did my first deep scuba dive, it was like being in another world. I mean you watch movies with it in there, and I snorkel all the time, but going down that deep in reality was overwhelming.”
Mark was about to respond when a sudden, strong gust of wind buffeted the catamaran, ripping hats off people’s heads and making the sails snap sharply, and he looked around with growing alarm. Terry looked back to the south, and was surprised to see how fast the squall line was approaching.
“Oh shit,” he muttered, then looked at Mark. “It’s gaining on us. Grab on to the seat and don’t be alarmed. Catamarans are more stable than a single hulled boat.”
The captain and crewmen were suddenly in motion, racing around to angle the boat away from the full force of the wind.
The problem was that there were eddies in the water, and the waves were growing at an alarming rate, with foaming whitecaps racing up on the stern.
Terry watched the storm front churning toward them, and saw the way the clouds were rotating in an alarming fashion.
He silently urged the boat to go faster, but he had a sickening feeling they weren’t going to beat the storm back to port.
Some of the other passengers were already crying out with fear and asking frantic questions that the grim-faced crew answered with calming reassurances as they worked.
Mark gripped the seat hard enough to turn his knuckles white, and he watched the storm with visible concern, but he appeared calm, outwardly at least. The only clue he gave about his thoughts was when he asked, “We’re going to be okay, right? ”
“We will, I promise,” Terry assured him, determined to make sure it was the truth. He donned his life vest and gave Mark an encouraging smile. “I’ll protect you, no matter what, okay?”
Mark nodded and seemed to be reassured by that, at least a little. “If you don’t, I’ll come back from the briny depths and haunt the hell out of your ass,” he said with a little laugh, seeming to joke to make himself feel better as much as to assure Terry he was all right.
Terry reached out, giving Mark’s arm a squeeze.
He wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline rush of the approaching storm, or Mark’s appeal, or maybe both, but he decided to go out on a limb.
“No haunting necessary, but when we get back to port, we could have a drink to celebrate our survival of the restless wave.”
Mark let out a little snort and half-smiled. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“Good.” Terry knew he was wearing that goofy smile again, but he didn’t care. Mark had to be interested, and it made him absurdly happy.
The smile faded, however, as he saw a rain band approaching. The sky grew darker, and he scooted closer to Mark. “Hang on, here we go!”
The rain slammed into the catamaran with stinging force, and the wind howled as it lashed the water against the hull.
The captain yelled at everyone to hang on, and the boat heeled a few degrees, which was alarming, since catamarans were wide and stable.
Maybe it just felt like they were about to stand on their heads, but then the boat steadied.
It was small comfort, however, for the people being pelted by sharp drops of water.
“You okay?” Terry asked, his mouth close to Mark’s ear.
“Still in the boat, so I’m great!” Mark raised his voice to be heard over the storm, and then he went right back to gritting his teeth and watching the crew with rapt attention.
Terry chuckled, pleased that Mark was at least still able to joke, which meant he wasn’t panicking. Which was a good thing because a couple of people were about to lose it, and he had to help the crew. His already high estimation of Mark rose even higher.
“Stay here, and hang on!” he said, then lurched to his feet, moving a few feet over to where a woman, the only other person who had come on the excursion without a partner, was sobbing loudly in fear.
“It’ll be okay,” he told her, while swiftly double-checking the fastenings of her life jacket. “It’ll blow over and be gone. Just hang in there!”
She looked up at him with tear-filled eyes, but she took a deep breath to collect herself. “My wife is back on the ship. She can’t swim, but she wanted me to do this because I’ve always wanted to. I’m scared I won’t see her again!”
“You will. Trust the captain. I'm sure he's been through this hundreds of times. It’s super scary, but you’ll have a story to tell your wife!”
“I’m glad she’s not here. She’d be even more afraid than I am,” the woman said, and Terry patted her arm in encouragement.
“Hang on tight. The sea can get rough,” he said. "Just think of your wife, I'm sure she's sending you lots of love right now!"
As he said that, one crewman was lashing ropes to cleats and tying knots in them. “Here’s something easier to hang on to!” he said, smiling encouragingly as he passed one to the drenched woman. “We’ll be in port as soon as we can be!”
The words seemed to calm down the other passengers a bit, and Terry smiled at the woman he had comforted.
“I’m going to check on the others,” he said.
At her nod, he stood up and released the rope.
He checked on the couples on either side of the woman, who assured him they were fine, and then he headed back toward Mark.