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Alex descended around seven or eight feet, gliding left and right as he looked for something. His movement was grace in action, effortless and controlled. A single fin kick would propel him just the right amount, and he would hover, searching for his quarry, only to float up several feet and float again without appearing to move his fins at all. Hope looked at Sara, whose eyes were wide.
Alex beckoned to them. The sisters descended clumsily, as their bodies wanted to float. Sara grasped his free arm and Hope his bare shoulder. In front of them was a four-inch damsel fish flitting back and forth in front of its eggs and periodically rushing them.
They watched the brown and white fish fiercely charging to protect its eggs until Sara let go to surface. Alex took Hope’s hand and squeezed it, and as he reached out the fingers of his other hand, the damsel fish promptly began biting him. Hope laughed, then squeezed his hand back and signaled she needed to go up, so they ascended together, letting go at the surface. Sara was still catching her breath.
“Now I see why you don’t use a snorkel,” Sara said. “Do you breathe? How can you hold your breath so long?”
“Practice. I’ve been doing this for a long time. Come on, let’s continue.” They slowly made their way to the end of the reef before turning around to head back. Sara and Hope wanted to stay on the surface by the shallow reef top, so Alex took the opportunity to free dive.
The reef sloped down deep, and it looked like he was easily diving to sixty or seventy feet. Graceful dolphin kicks propelled him along as he stopped periodically to peer into crevices. Even Sara watched Alex more than the reef in front of her.
She pulled up and grabbed Hope’s arm. “Only the resort dive guide, huh? Hope, that guy is a fish! He’s amazing. Are you sure he’s human?”
* * *
They climbed back on board, and Hope passed out towels.
Alex pointed to the cooler. “I put water and soft drinks in there. Help yourself if you want one.”
Sara put her towel down. “How thoughtful. You see, Hope? The man gives us a first-class tour and thinks of our needs too.”
“It’s standard procedure, Sara. He does that on all the trips.”
“Don’t be such a bitch. Would it kill you to show a little appreciation for once?”
“I make sure I always fill the cooler,” Alex said. “I told you yesterday, Hope terrifies me. I don’t want to think what might happen if she found it empty.”
Alex’s smile was back. She mock glared at him, and it got bigger. She couldn’t help smiling back.
“There. You see, Hope? He’s making a joke.” Sara opened a water and turned to Alex. “Hope was concerned I was too hard on you yesterday. I told her you were a grown man, and you definitely look like you can take care of yourself. And I only asked you questions that respect the boundaries of any good employer-employee relationship.”
“You did.”
“Thank you. So where did you learn to become a scuba instructor?”
“In the Red Sea. I was stationed around the Mediterranean a lot, so the Red Sea was close.” His voice was getting flatter. “I got most of my advanced certifications there.”
“I don’t understand,” Sara said. “If you were a diver in the Navy, why would you have to take a separate course to teach scuba? Surely the Navy has stricter requirements.”
Alex frowned. “All the instructors for the scuba-certifying agency have to teach to the same standards. So your individual qualifications as an instructor don’t matter as much. You still have to learn the curriculum.”
“But I don’t—”
“Sara, would you shut up!” Hope crossed her arms.
“Calm down! These are perfectly legitimate questions.” She turned back to Alex with her most innocent smile. “Besides, if I wanted to be nosy, I’d ask you what I really want to know, which is, have you ever been married?”
“Sara!” Hope turned scarlet.
Alex gave Sara a long, measured look before answering, “Divorced. For a long time. Military life is hard on wives.” His eyes flickered to Hope, then back to Sara. He stood straighter. “And turnabout’s fair play. How’s your love life, Sara?”
“Oh, I’m a free spirit. I float wherever the wind takes me.” Sara held her arms out and twirled side to side. “I can’t see myself settling down with a man, raising our two-point-five children.” She dropped her arms and waved a finger at Alex. “Don’t get me wrong—I’m not promiscuous. My rule is only one man at a time. Who on earth would want more than one?”
Alex looked like he was trying not to smile, much to Hope’s relief. Then he turned his eyes to her. “And what about you?”
Her heart nearly stopped, but she opened her mouth to answer—
“Oh, we already established that yesterday,” Sara said with a casual wave of her hand. “Hope has terrible taste in men. Alex, my sister is an amazing woman. The only reason she wasn’t snapped up years ago is because she keeps dating these boring men who have absolutely no class. She knows this, and when they show their true colors, things fizzle out until she meets her next failure.”
