Page 35 of Diving In

“Fletcher and I once spent the entire day trying out every restaurant on Blue Fin Boulevard. We started our morning at The Surfer’s Coffeehouse with two large orange juices and two cinnamon sugar pop-tarts. Eight hours and six restaurants later, we ended with two gigantic ice cream cones from The Scoop. I’d never eaten so much food in my entire life, and I still haven’t ever eaten that much again. Although, I swear I burned off all the calories we consumed from the amount of uncontrollable belly laughs the two of us shared that day,” I finished with a smile spread across my entire face.

“That smile suits you, Georgia James,” he said.

My grin only grew at his compliment, and I was learning to love my name. Myfullname.

“And thosedimples…” He raised an eyebrow, giving me a look that made heat flood my cheeks. My hands shot up, my fingers finding the familiar divots that mirrored each other on either side of my face.

“What about them?” I responded, trying my best to sound nonchalant.

“They’re perfect,” he said. “We’re here.” He smirked, as if he knew that his casual compliment had riled up my insides, giving him permission to have his way with me right here on the beach…

The beach?

Between reminiscing and the general distraction that is Cal, I hadn’t noticed the sand crunching beneath my feet until he brought me back to the present. I heard the waves thrashing against the shore, furious and angry.

“Cal?” I asked, hesitation saturating my voice.

“I told you to trust me… Do you?”

Surprising even myself, I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, making sure he knew my answer.

As we walked closer to the water, I noticed little clumps in the sand. Some were still while others appeared to be in motion. It was then I saw the nets located around a majority of this part of the beach with signs that read: “Do Not Disturb the Sea Turtle Nests.”

“Look, look, look!” Cal shouted as he pointed to a moving mound.

I watched as this newborn creature slowly emerged from his egg. Tiny but mighty, he struggled to break free while trying to trudge through the sand, headed straight for the water.

“He’s so little,” I said. “There’s no way he’s going to survive.” I shuddered at the thought of the baby turtle being overtaken by the force of the ocean, or even worse, eaten by something bigger.

I waited for Cal’s response, and when I didn’t get one, I turned to my left and was met with a playful grin plastered on his face.

“Get this. These hatchlings have a 1 in 1,000 chance of surviving to adulthood. That’s less than a 1% chance of living a full life.”

“Well, that’s extremely depressing. Thanks for sharing,” I deadpanned.

“But that’s just it, Georgia. Even with their chance of survival being so limited, these tiny hatchlings still choose to go for it on the off chance that theydomake it. Is that not completely fucking incredible?” The amazement in his voice floated from his body and into mine with one squeeze of my hand.

“Life’s really fuckingscarysometimes, especially when it feels like you’re drowning with no chance of making it up for air. But it’s in those moments that you have to hold on and push through, because what’s waiting on the other side of really fucking scary is really fuckingamazing,” he said.

His words consumed me, and I completely understood what he was saying. I even believed him, believed that I would be able to get through anything life threw at me.

“You know, Cal, you’re pretty damn insightful when you want to be.” I poked his arm with my free hand, the other one still very much wrapped within his.

“I have my moments,” he said.

The sand squished beneath my feet as we walked. With his hand interlaced in mine, I found enough courage to ask, “How do you find the strength to hold on in the moments that threaten to pull you under?”

“You dig really fucking deep…” he suggested, his voice dropping off as if he wasn’t finished with his thought. “A long time ago, I was drowning. I’d lost someone too, someone close to me. And in the darkest moments, the moments when I was sure I wasn’t going to break the surface, I turned to the good times. Reminding myself that no matter how strong the darkness was, I was stronger. You are too, Georgia.”

“You really think I’m that strong?” I said, staring at the sand as we walked side by side.

“I know so.”

All this time I had been so wrapped up in my own grief, I’d forgotten that he’d lost Fletcher too. “Cal—”

“It’s okay,” he said, his voice filled with sadness as he peered down at the water’s edge.

“I guess through all the chaos, I sort of forgot that it wasn’t just me that lost Fletch. You lost him too.” I’d hoped my words brought a sense of apology with them.

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