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Before long, they were at the second site and the whole process was repeated. Hope put on the mask, fins, and snorkel Alex had handed her before jumping in the water himself. She eased herself off the platform.
Alex wasn’t exaggerating.
At first, she floated on the surface as fish of every shape and color darted and flitted about over corals of red, purple, and even green. Hope smiled as a school of small blue fish came to investigate her, then went back to the reef and chased off a much bigger fish. She lost herself watching the thriving reef below her, jackknifing her body to dive for a closer look before needing to surface for a breath.
Looking over, Hope was surprised two divers were heading back to the boat. It was time to get back on board herself. Watching the remaining group of four divers, she tried to distinguish them—they were in similar wetsuits and tanks. But after a moment, there was a clear difference in one of them.
That was Alex.
The other divers moved with somewhat clumsy fin kicks and one moved like he was riding a bicycle. Alex flowed over the reef, up and down but never touching it, his fins an extension of his body. Hope stared until he waved at her, making her stomach lurch. Waving back, she turned back to the boat, climbing aboard. She made her way to the bow to wrap a towel around herself before venturing into the sunshine to enjoy the warmth. Soon after, Alex came back with the family of three. Noah looked apprehensive.
“Dad, something doesn’t feel right. I felt lopsided all of a sudden while I was waiting to get back on the boat.”
Alex hurried over. “You’re missing a weight pouch. That’s the problem with these weight-integrated BCDs that only use Velcro to close. The pouches fall out easily.”
Noah’s father scowled. “Noah! I told you. You have to be careful with your gear—looks like your diving’s done for this trip.”
“I’m sorry!” Noah was stricken. “I didn’t mean to lose it.”
“It’s ok, Noah. It happens.” Alex leveled a steady gaze at Noah’s father and turned back to the boy. “This isn’t your fault. You said you noticed it at the end of the dive when you were waiting to get back on the boat?” Noah nodded. “Well, it’s probably right underneath the boat somewhere. I’ll dive down and look for it.”
“Could you do that?”
“No promises, but I’ll give it a shot.” Alex went to a storage area in the bow and removed a pair of very long fins and a weight belt. He went to the platform, donning his mask and fins before slipping into the water and holding onto the side of the platform as he became still and quiet. Finally, he took a deep breath and slipped beneath the water.
Hope frowned. “Is that safe? How deep is the water?”
James, one of the two single divers, answered, “The bottom is over forty feet down, so that’s a pretty decent free dive.”
“How come he didn’t just put his scuba tank back on?”
“It’s a hassle,” Tommy replied. “I’m guessin’ he thinks it’s right underneath the boat and he can get it right away. That guy loves to free dive.” He peered at Hope over his sunglasses. “Besides, my man Alex has skills.”
Hope joined the rest of the group at the stern of the boat, pulling on her staff T-shirt. She crossed her arms, fingers tapping on her biceps.
The group waited . . . and waited . . .
Noah’s forehead wrinkled. “How long has he been down there?”
James checked his dive watch. “Close to four minutes. When should we start to worry, Tommy?”
“I’ve seen him dive longer than that. Don’t you guys be concerned. One time, we were on the north—”
Alex surfaced ten feet behind the boat. He raised his right arm out of the water and held up the weight pouch, triumphant. “Got it!” That broke the tension, and loud cheering ensued as he swam back to the boat.
James stopped his watch. “Four minutes, twenty-one seconds. That’s pretty impressive.”
After stowing his fins and weight belt, Alex replaced the weight pouch back in Noah’s BCD. “There you go. Now you’re all set for tomorrow.”
“Thanks! Can you teach me that?”
Alex shook his head, peeling his wetsuit off. “I only free dive for fun. You need to get a certification to learn it properly. I can teach scuba, but not free diving.”
With that, they headed back to the resort. Alex retrieved another bottle of water as his board shorts dripped on the fiberglass deck.
Hope approached him, smiling. “You made that young man very happy.”
“Weight pouches are expensive to replace.” He reached over and put his staff T-shirt back on, then added in a lower voice, “Besides, I didn’t like the way his dad talked to him. That could’ve just as easily have happened to the dad as Noah. They have the same BCD.”
