Page 47 of Second Tide's the Charm
Sylvia looks pleased. “She was my advisor during my master’s program. Anyway, the lab offers seasonal research internship opportunities to give scientists experience with technology and techniques to use in their own research.”
“I actually looked into applying this spring,” I tell her. “But by the time I was ready to apply, the window had closed.”
She grabs a towel and wipes off her hands. “Yep, but Gwen was telling me the other day that one of their candidates for the fall term had to drop out and they reopened to applications. I think the deadline is Friday. If you’re still interested, might be worth a shot.”
Before I can thank her, Gabe raises his arm, pointing toward the buoy.
“Hey guys, I’m still fairly new to this,” he says, eyes on the viewfinder, “but I’m pretty sure the buoy rocking like a used car lot inflatable means we’re in business?”
nineteen
hope
I’m bent double, hanging over the side of the boat, gripping a rope that’s secured around a lemon shark’s tail, doing my best not to screw up this shot at redemption. Adrian’s at the other end of the shark, with Sylvia between us, LED goggles on as she conducts the ultrasound.
The lemon shark is named because of the yellowish tint of the scales on their dorsal side, a part of the animal that isn’t visible at the moment because we carefully maneuvered the shark onto her back to allow us to conduct the ultrasound. The inverted position induces a trancelike state called tonic immobility which helps keep the animal calm throughout the procedure.
“We’ve got a pregnant shark!” Sylvia says, elation in her voice. “I’m going to go ahead and measure these babies.” Water sloshes into my face, but Sylvia is stoic, calling out numbers to Liam, who’s taking notes.
Once she’s finished, she pulls the goggles off and holds them out. “Want to take a look?”
“Me?”
“Here, I’ll take the tail rope,” Marissa says. She steps up beside me and I wait for her go-ahead to let go. I’ve only done this once, five years ago, and the thrill is just the same when I slip the goggles over my face and a grainy image comes into view.
Live pups. Active ones, with tiny rows of teeth, churning around in the uterus. A sight to behold, and I’m captivated.
I slip off the goggles and move out of the way for Liam to place the tag.
“I’ll watch this first go-round.” I haven’t tagged a shark since my disastrous first day, and though my nerves are settled, fear of failure lingers.
Now that Marissa’s got the rope, I’m at loose ends, left to play spectator. I haven’t screwed anything up, but I haven’t been an asset, either.
“Let’s get this shark swimming again,” Adrian says, and I’m by his side in an instant, ready to assist in undoing the ropes securing the shark. On Marissa’s signal and a nod from him, I loosen the knot, slipping it off. The shark swims away, kicking up a spray of water as a farewell, and I sputter out a laugh. Wiping the salty water from my face, I blink through bleary eyes to find Adrian grinning at me.
I did it. A small thing, to release a shark, but I didn’t fumble the knot, or fall overboard. Little victories.
After the first shark, we hit a string of good luck. I pitch in during all the shark work-ups, assisting where needed, stepping back when I’m not. The work feels seamless, exciting, exactly how it did years ago before I left. On our last shark of the day, Sylvia holds out the tag to Adrian. “Want to do this one?”
But instead of taking it, he turns toward me. “Hope?”
No tremor in my fingertips when I reach for the tag this time. I don’t hesitate, don’t waste a second waiting for fears to overwhelm. A thousand people could be watching, and it wouldn’t matter. I know how to do this, audience or not.
Adrian releases the tag into my grip, and I raise my eyes to find his inky-dark ones on me, steady. Reassuring. Present.
My hands go still, grip firm, and he lets go. Steps back. He’s giving me space. Trust.
I lean over the boat and feel the shark’s rough skin under my gloves, working by muscle memory to insert the tag just below the dorsal fin. Simple. Easy.
Exhilarating.
I step away to let Liam and Sylvia finish up and find Adrian grinning from ear to ear. He grabs me around the waist and swings me up into a hug. My arms go around his shoulders, and I’m laughing, joyous, carried away by the feeling of being back where I was always meant to be.
The years fall away and leave us here together in this moment. At the beginning. Full of promise.What ifno longer a barbed memory but a joyful hope.
He sets me down a moment later, eyes locked with mine in a sure, certain way that makes the world fade away as he comes into sharp focus. The sun appears from behind a cloud, light dancing in the depths of his eyes like sunbeams filtering through the shallows, a depth of emotion in his expression that matches the pounding in my chest.
When my feet hit the deck, I wake from the trance, realizing in a heartbeat where we are. The others are still bent over the side of the boat, working to release the shark, and Gabe has the camera pointed their way, but he’s looking at us, his usual grin replaced by a look of concern that has the euphoria of a moment ago evaporating in a heartbeat.
