Chapter 19

Outer reef off Cairns

I exploded out of the water onto the swimming platform of the catamaran and pushed myself up with my hands. A moment later, Elena did the same and flopped down beside me. We stripped off our masks and grinned at each other in delight.

“Wow, that’s amazing, Jack! I’ve never snorkeled up here before. And the fish! Did you see that barracuda tracking the school of trevally? And the giant clam? I thought those were made up. I didn’t realize they actually existed.”

I grinned at her enthusiasm, “It’s all new to me, too. What a rush! And the giant stingray? I wasn’t about to swim close to it and do an Irwin.”

We both chattered away as we extracted ourselves from the stinger suits. The captain had assured us that the chances of encountering Irukandji jellyfish were low on the outer reef, but since it was just after summer, he still recommended that we wear them. They were annoying to put on and take off, but Elena, as usual, looked hot in her figure-hugging stinger suit, so I didn’t mind watching her take it off.

A glance up at the boat showed that the catamaran’s captain was also enthralled by the sight, though his wife stood with her hands on her hips and stared at him with an annoyed expression. I grinned at the scene, not particularly concerned about a little perving from a married man in his mid-sixties.

I lucked out with the charter: a sixty foot sailing catamaran, captained by a retired navy gentleman and his wife. They sailed, provisioned, and even cooked for the week, and all we had to do was help out as needed and enjoy the snorkeling as we sailed between moorings at the outer reef. The charter normally carried two couples, but they had jumped at the chance at carrying only Elena and myself.

From discussions at dinner, it was clear that they only took three charters a year which paid for all their costs. They seemed more than pleased with us because we were happy to help out with dinner and they expressed enjoyment in sampling the higher quality wine that I had paid for.

It was only late morning and we had already snorkeled for three hours. It was surprisingly tiring, so after hosing the suits and ourselves off, we went to our cabin for a short pre-lunch snooze. I spooned Elena from behind, wrapping my arm around her and resting my hand over one breast. When she gently wiggled her bottom against my midsection and pressed her hand over mine, I knew she approved.

The comfortable silence was broken by the chime of a FaceTime call. Grumbling a bit, I grabbed my phone from the side table, and once I saw who it was from, sat up in bed and answered.

“Hello daughter Amy! It’s great to hear from you!”