Page 62 of Diving In

Ian nodded as we both stood and collected our belongings. He placed his hand on the small of my back and led me toward the front. I stopped just before losing sight of our seat, turning my head back for one more glance atthatspot. I couldn’t help but envision Jack and Fletcher just below the surface.

“Actually,” I said, turning to Ian. “Do you mind if we make one stop before we take off?”

“Um,” he mumbled, glancing at his watch. “Sure. It’s 2:30, and our flight doesn’t take off until 6:00, so we should be fine.”

“Great! I’ll order the Uber.”

Per usual, our Uber was there in under two minutes.

“Georgia Windsor? Headed to the aquarium?” he asked, double checking he had the correct passenger.

“That’s me, and yup!” I readily responded.

I chanced a glance at Ian, suspecting he’d be confused as to why we were headed to an aquarium, but I was wrong. He’d already buried his nose in his phone.

Annoyed, I said, “I just have one more thing I want to do.”

“Sounds good,” he replied, never taking his eyes off the screen.

We sat silently after that, Ian scrolling on his phone and me staring out the window. I’d be lying if I said that when we pulled up to the aquarium, I wasn’t immediately scanning the parking lot in hopes of spotting a familiar midnight-black Jeep.

Unfortunately, no such luck.

I practically jumped out of the Uber before turning around to face the backseat. “I just need to say a few goodbyes. It won’t take but a few minutes.” I’d hoped my explanation was good enough to keep Ian in the car.

“Great. Fish and I aren’t really friends, and I have a call that I can jump on while I wait for you,” he answered.

Sighing in relief, I wandered into the aquarium and made my way to the big tank, not even acknowledging Kennedy at the front desk, although it appeared that she didn’t notice me either, her eyes glaring down at her phone.

There was a bench perched front and center, giving the best view of all the life peacefully swimming around. Thankfully, the aquarium wasn’t very busy, so I had the room all to myself. It only took a minute before Finn made his existence known. My hand reached up to graze the cold, clear glass. I watched as he glided through the water, so gentle and enchanted, coming over to mimic me, raising his good fin to meet me.

He was magic, that turtle of mine. He’d overcome so much in his young hatchling life. He’d been given a fate that he had no control over, placed in this large tank—a place that he would be bound to for the rest of his life—and had no choice of ever returning to the wild. Yet, watching him, I knew he’d chosen to be happy.

He chose to not let the uncontrollable things control him.

“Finn never forgets a friend.” A man’s voice came from behind me.

I swiveled around, stopping as I caught the face of yet another friendly face of the past.

“Mr. Marlowe,” I breathed.

“Georgia Windsor, still breaking and entering, I see.” He chuckled as the words left his mouth.

“What? Really?” I gasped.

“Well, technically the aquarium doesn’t open for another”—he looked at his watch—"two minutes.”

I looked down at my phone, reading 2:41 on the clock.

“I’m just kidding. But I’ll never forget that night I caught you and your brother in the penguin habitat. You kids sure did know how to scare the living hell out of an old man.” He laughed. “I would’ve never admitted it back then, but I never minded the two of you or your shenanigans. Your intentions were innocent, and I’ve always believed kids need to live a little.”

I grinned, the memory of that night sending a thrill down my spine.

“Well, I won’t keep you. I have some penguins to tend to, but it was good to see you,” he concluded with a wink.

“Good to see you too, Mr. Marlowe.” I gently smiled.

I returned to the tank, reaching for the glass again as I whispered, “Goodbye, Finn.”

---