Chelsea Sutton and Robert Wade flew underwater.
Well, that was Chelsea’s impression of her scuba diving…she was free. She’d have preferred to be able to fly through the air on gossamer wings – that would be the ultimate freedom – but scuba diving was a close second. She weighed nothing. Movement was effortless. And the fish that surrounded them…beautiful.
And in front of them, the wreck of the Sapona. The Sapona rested in only fifteen feet of water, and a few snorkelers were diving the wreck as well.
It wasn’t much of a wreck dive, Wade thought as he wound his way through the remains of the ship, enjoying it for what it was. He had been familiar with its history, even before Chelsea had told him of it as her sister, Stacy, had piloted their boat toward it.
The Sapona was a 350-foot concrete hulled freighter, that had been designed by Henry Ford and built in 1919 by the Liberty Ship Building Company out of Georgia. She had been named the Lone Star, and was one of a handful of ships built with steel reinforced concrete, in the effort to conserveon precious steel during World War I.
Because of her extreme weight, the Lone Star was not cost efficient to operate and was soon sold. Renamed Sapona, a Bahamanian purchased her in order to store prohibition whiskey on board. Rum runners would cruise to and from Florida picking up their illegal cargo from the Sapona, which was moored just off Bimini.
ln 1926, a severe hurricane hit the island. Even though the Sapona had been
moved to a safe protected area, she was bounced off of the sea bed by massive merciless waves and broke in two.
During World War II, the Sapona was utilized as a target for bombing practice. Air Force and Navy planes flew from Florida to drop bombs on the defenseless hulk.
"Some people," finished Chelsea, "see the Sapona as an ugly, rusting hulk sticking out of otherwise pristine waters. But really, it is a wonderful underwater sanctuary. We will see yellow tails, blue tangs, puffer fish, stingrays, queen and French Angelfish, barracudas, and jacks."
And fire coral, noted Wade, carefully avoiding an encrustation.
The wrecks he really liked to dive through were those in Palau – the aircraft and ships that had been sunk during World War II.
But the role he was playing for the sake of his guide, Chelsea Sutton, was that of a neophyte diver, and she continued to stick close to him as a good buddy should.
After they’d gotten their fill of the Sapona, they surfaced and returned to the Scylla and Charybdis.
There was a fresh-water shower below, and Chelsea sent Wade down first to shower off the salt water. When he reappeared topside, Chelsea went down, and Wade went forward to talk to the pilot, Chelsea’s sister, Stacy.
And for the first time, he noticed that Stacy – clad in a baseball cap and dark sunglasses – was Chelsea Sutton’s identical twin.
How interesting, thought Robert Wade. That could come in useful, in more ways than one.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
14. Amanda and the Swim Meet
I.
Patrick Teague sat in the corner of the donut shop, sipping coffee.
He found these swim meets very stressful, not only because he was in charge of making sure that everything transpired smoothly, but because his own daughter was one of the participants.
When Cheryl had told him that one of their volunteers had called in sick, but that she had managed to find a replacement, she had said, “Her name is Amanda Sutton. She’s experienced – she was a volunteer last year, when she was a sophomore at the university here. She’s agreed to come for the week.”
Teague had said, “Why did she stop volunteering? Burn out?”
“No, she dropped out of college, and went back home to Bimini to scuba dive for a living.”
Teague had clamped his teeth together. Not knowing that Amanda and her two sisters had formed a business and actually *was scuba diving for a living, he assumed that what Cheryl meant was that the girl had abandoned her studies to waste her time scuba diving, while living with parents who would support her.
Teague hated that. As the father of a child who beamed with joy and pride every time she accomplished something that was easy for those who were not developmentally disabled, he was filled with anger every time he saw someone with no disabilities throwing their lives away – foregoing an education to spend their time playing computer games, or watching TV while drinking themselves senseless, and whining about how poorly they were paid in their dead-end jobs.
Then, when Amanda had been late arriving on her first day, this had fueled his anger even more. He thought that she was taking her responsibilities very lightly.
She hadn’t made excuses, which he had liked. People who tried to excuse their mistakes instead of admitting them annoyed him. And she’d been very professional in her duties yesterday, and very patient and enthusiastic with the athletes; he’d liked seeing that.
His cellphone rang. He looked at the caller ID. It was his ex-wife, Cindy. Teague sighed, and raised his eyes skyward. Talk about someone who was frittering away their life… As he lifted the phone to his ear and said, “Hello, Cindy,” he caught sight of Amanda Sutton, stepping to the counter.
“Patrick,” said Cindy, “You’ve got to help me. My car won’t start, I can’t get a cab, and I’ve got an important appointment in a half hour.”
“Cindy, I’m working here. There’s a tournament going on.”
Cindy sniffed. “Patrick, you’ve got dozens of people handling that swim meet – you don’t need to be there every minute. And you’ll be back in less than an hour if you leave right now.”
Teague suppressed a sigh. The meet didn’t start for another hour…he should be back in time. And if she had an important appointment…maybe she had a job interview!
“All right, Cindy, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
The call from Cindy drove everything from Teague’s mind – he had to get to her quickly, drive her wherever she wanted to go, and get back – and he walked out, completely forgetting that Amanda was even in the building.
II.
An hour later, Teague arrived at the swimming pool, seething.
The important appointment his ex-wife had had was with a hairdresser. A hairdresser.
Oh…she hadn’t been lying, much. To her, an appointment with a hairdresser was important. Certainly more important than a swimming competition in which her own daughter was competing.
And now, he was five minutes late. Which would have been just barely excusable except he’d been rather snippy with that Amanda Sutton yesterday about the same thing.
Huh, thought Teague sourly. His ex-wife and Amanda Sutton. Two peas in a pod.
Patrick Teague sat in the corner of the donut shop, sipping coffee.
He found these swim meets very stressful, not only because he was in charge of making sure that everything transpired smoothly, but because his own daughter was one of the participants.
When Cheryl had told him that one of their volunteers had called in sick, but that she had managed to find a replacement, she had said, “Her name is Amanda Sutton. She’s experienced – she was a volunteer last year, when she was a sophomore at the university here. She’s agreed to come for the week.”
Teague had said, “Why did she stop volunteering? Burn out?”
“No, she dropped out of college, and went back home to Bimini to scuba dive for a living.”
Teague had clamped his teeth together. Not knowing that Amanda and her two sisters had formed a business and actually *was scuba diving for a living, he assumed that what Cheryl meant was that the girl had abandoned her studies to waste her time scuba diving, while living with parents who would support her.
Teague hated that. As the father of a child who beamed with joy and pride every time she accomplished something that was easy for those who were not developmentally disabled, he was filled with anger every time he saw someone with no disabilities throwing their lives away – foregoing an education to spend their time playing computer games, or watching TV while drinking themselves senseless, and whining about how poorly they were paid in their dead-end jobs.
Then, when Amanda had been late arriving on her first day, this had fueled his anger even more. He thought that she was taking her responsibilities very lightly.
She hadn’t made excuses, which he had liked. People who tried to excuse their mistakes instead of admitting them annoyed him. And she’d been very professional in her duties yesterday, and very patient and enthusiastic with the athletes; he’d liked seeing that.
His cellphone rang. He looked at the caller ID. It was his ex-wife, Cindy. Teague sighed, and raised his eyes skyward. Talk about someone who was frittering away their life… As he lifted the phone to his ear and said, “Hello, Cindy,” he caught sight of Amanda Sutton, stepping to the counter.
“Patrick,” said Cindy, “You’ve got to help me. My car won’t start, I can’t get a cab, and I’ve got an important appointment in a half hour.”
“Cindy, I’m working here. There’s a tournament going on.”
Cindy sniffed. “Patrick, you’ve got dozens of people handling that swim meet – you don’t need to be there every minute. And you’ll be back in less than an hour if you leave right now.”
Teague suppressed a sigh. The meet didn’t start for another hour…he should be back in time. And if she had an important appointment…maybe she had a job interview!
“All right, Cindy, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
The call from Cindy drove everything from Teague’s mind – he had to get to her quickly, drive her wherever she wanted to go, and get back – and he walked out, completely forgetting that Amanda was even in the building.
II.
An hour later, Teague arrived at the swimming pool, seething.
The important appointment his ex-wife had had was with a hairdresser. A hairdresser.
Oh…she hadn’t been lying, much. To her, an appointment with a hairdresser was important. Certainly more important than a swimming competition in which her own daughter was competing.
And now, he was five minutes late. Which would have been just barely excusable except he’d been rather snippy with that Amanda Sutton yesterday about the same thing.
Huh, thought Teague sourly. His ex-wife and Amanda Sutton. Two peas in a pod.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
13. Amanda and the Swim Meet
The next morning, Amanda Sutton left extra early to ensure that she would be at the swim meet well before time. Normally she would just leave early, but she wanted to prevent karma from biting her in the butt. It would be just her luck if she got caught in a traffic jam or something and was late twice in a row, which would cement Teague’s opinion of her as an incompetent.
She therefore got to the swimming pool with over an hour to spare, and decided to stop in at the coffee shop nearby for coffee and a chocolate éclair.
When she walked into the shop, her eyes glanced casually over the patrons already there.
Damn. Teague was sitting in a corner booth.
Worse, he looked up just as her eyes fell upon him.
Amanda nodded in his direction, then turned to give her order to the counter clerk.
What should she do? If she stayed in the shop, as she had intended to do, it would be only polite of her to go ask Teague if she could join him. If she walked out of the shop, she’d have to eat her breakfast in her car.
Not that that would be bad…she had a comfy car.
But when she received her order and turned, she found that the decision had been made for her. Teague was just disappearing out the door.
Well, that cemented it, Amanda thought as she found a booth and bit savagely into her éclair. Teague did *not like her. And he couldn’t be bothered to be polite, or at the very least professional, and not let that dislike show. Which cemented her dislike of him.
She was tempted to tell Cheryl she was quitting. Serve Teague right. But she couldn’t do that to Cheryl or to the kids.
Amanda finished her éclair, and decided she needed another one to fortify herself for the day ahead.
Then, checking her watch, she decided it was time, and headed for the swimming pool.
She therefore got to the swimming pool with over an hour to spare, and decided to stop in at the coffee shop nearby for coffee and a chocolate éclair.
When she walked into the shop, her eyes glanced casually over the patrons already there.
Damn. Teague was sitting in a corner booth.
Worse, he looked up just as her eyes fell upon him.
Amanda nodded in his direction, then turned to give her order to the counter clerk.
What should she do? If she stayed in the shop, as she had intended to do, it would be only polite of her to go ask Teague if she could join him. If she walked out of the shop, she’d have to eat her breakfast in her car.
Not that that would be bad…she had a comfy car.
But when she received her order and turned, she found that the decision had been made for her. Teague was just disappearing out the door.
Well, that cemented it, Amanda thought as she found a booth and bit savagely into her éclair. Teague did *not like her. And he couldn’t be bothered to be polite, or at the very least professional, and not let that dislike show. Which cemented her dislike of him.
She was tempted to tell Cheryl she was quitting. Serve Teague right. But she couldn’t do that to Cheryl or to the kids.
Amanda finished her éclair, and decided she needed another one to fortify herself for the day ahead.
Then, checking her watch, she decided it was time, and headed for the swimming pool.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
12. Amanda and the Swim Meet
Amanda Sutton worked hard that day at the Special Needs Kids swim meet. She enjoyed interacting with the kids, each and every one of whom was as sweet as could be, and excited and happy just to finish their race, regardless of where they placed… and that was how it should be.
Occasionally she’d look up to see Teague watching her grimly, but he’d always turn away rather than acknowledge her.
Jerk, she thought. Did he think he’d have to keep an eye on her to make sure she was fully committed to her work?
Well, she wouldn’t let it bother her. If she were going to be spending any time in the guy’s company, she’d confront the problem, but since she was only doing a favor for a friend for the week, there wasn’t any point in making a fuss. He could think what he wanted.
At the end of that day, Cheryl hugged her and thanked her.
“You sure made a hit with Teague,” Cheryl said as they walked toward their cars.
“What are you talking about?” Amanda laughed. “The guy was glaring at me all day.”
“I think he likes you,” said Cheryl.
Amanda laughed again. “You’re fooling yourself, Cheryl.”
“Oh, c’mon. You got off on the wrong foot, but if you got to know each other…”
Amanda held up a hand. “Don’t even go there, Cheryl. I don’t have time for a relationship right now, anyway. Stacy, Chelsea and I have just started a new business, and I’m going to be working my butt off for the next year at least getting it established.”
“Oh, there’s always time to go out on a date,” Cheryl said.
Amanda shrugged. There was no point in arguing the matter.
As she drove home, she thought about Teague, briefly. Yes, they had gotten off on the wrong foot…stereotypically that meant that they’d end up as lovers. And that’s obviously what Cheryl thought. But in real life, that type of thing never happened.
Occasionally she’d look up to see Teague watching her grimly, but he’d always turn away rather than acknowledge her.
Jerk, she thought. Did he think he’d have to keep an eye on her to make sure she was fully committed to her work?
Well, she wouldn’t let it bother her. If she were going to be spending any time in the guy’s company, she’d confront the problem, but since she was only doing a favor for a friend for the week, there wasn’t any point in making a fuss. He could think what he wanted.
At the end of that day, Cheryl hugged her and thanked her.
“You sure made a hit with Teague,” Cheryl said as they walked toward their cars.
“What are you talking about?” Amanda laughed. “The guy was glaring at me all day.”
“I think he likes you,” said Cheryl.
Amanda laughed again. “You’re fooling yourself, Cheryl.”
“Oh, c’mon. You got off on the wrong foot, but if you got to know each other…”
Amanda held up a hand. “Don’t even go there, Cheryl. I don’t have time for a relationship right now, anyway. Stacy, Chelsea and I have just started a new business, and I’m going to be working my butt off for the next year at least getting it established.”
“Oh, there’s always time to go out on a date,” Cheryl said.
Amanda shrugged. There was no point in arguing the matter.
As she drove home, she thought about Teague, briefly. Yes, they had gotten off on the wrong foot…stereotypically that meant that they’d end up as lovers. And that’s obviously what Cheryl thought. But in real life, that type of thing never happened.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Stacy's Erotica: Anton and the Mermaid postponed
Stacy re-read the last two chapters she'd written, and found them good. But the thought of making love underwater...now that she was putting her mind to it that was stymying her. Although her two characters Anton and Katherine were masters of breath control, and could stay down three minutes at a time, even with exertion, there was no way to have a meaning sexual encounter underwater.
"Pony bottle," she thought to herself. "That's the way to do it. Goggles and a small pony bottle strapped to the back to give air for ten minutes, but not large enough to prevent petting and embracing."
She sighed and shook her head. So, this was going to precipitate Anton and the Mermaid, redux 3, where the action would take place in a secluded lagoon.
Writing a coherent story sure was hard work!
"Pony bottle," she thought to herself. "That's the way to do it. Goggles and a small pony bottle strapped to the back to give air for ten minutes, but not large enough to prevent petting and embracing."
She sighed and shook her head. So, this was going to precipitate Anton and the Mermaid, redux 3, where the action would take place in a secluded lagoon.
Writing a coherent story sure was hard work!
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