Page 39 of Roses for Rosie

“Surprise. Put your bathing suit on and I’ll show you.”

“I’m game,” I say getting out of bed and wheeling my suitcase into the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready.

Half an hour later Adam and I and on the beach munching on a couple of rolls we snagged from the breakfast buffet. When we get to the dock, he turns right and leads me to a flat-bottomed boat with a few other people milling around on the deck.

He grabs a life jacket and buckles me into it before pulling on one of his own and walking up a man with a clipboard. “Adam Smythe and Rosie Hall,” he says.

The man finds our names and checks them off on his list. I look around the boat and see a pile of flippers next to a rack full of face masks and snorkels.

“We’re going snorkeling?” I ask Adam when he turns back to me.

“You’re going to love it!”

“But I don’t know how to swim.”

“That’s the beauty of snorkeling, you don’t have to. That’s what these are for.” He pats my life jacket. “All you have to do is stick your face in the water and the life jacket will do the rest.”

“Are you sure?”

“Trust me.”

He asked me to trust him yesterday too. That worked out awfully well. I decide to swallow my fear and go for it. It’s not every day a girl from Jamesville has the chance to go snorkeling.

While we motor out into the ocean, one of the guides gives a lecture about the types of fish we might see, the rules about getting off of and back onto the boat and the proper technique for using the snorkeling equipment. It’s a lot to remember, but most of it seems pretty common sense. Be respectful of the environment and of those around you and remember to breathe through your mouth and not your nose. I nod along, gaining confidence as he talks.

By the time we reach the sandbar where the boat will dock, I am brimming with excitement. I hold onto Adam’s hand and smile up at him.

“I love this surprise.”

“You haven’t even gotten in the water yet. That’s the best part.”

“No, the best part is being here with you.” I stand up on my tip toes and give him a kiss.

He grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Let’s go. It’s time to see some fish.”

We spend the next hour floating together through the reef, spotting schools of fish and waving stands of sea grass. The fish are so colorful and quick. They dart in and out of the reefs and around the plants in a flash. Every time I spot a new type, I tap Adam and point it out to him. He shows me how to float without kicking too much so the fish aren’t as skittish and I can see them better.

Being immersed in their habitat is magical. The water is absolutely teeming with life.

I’ve never thought much about life under the ocean. I guess that makes sense since I’ve never been to the ocean, but now that I’ve seen it, I can’t believe I’ve gone my whole life without it. This is one of those days I know I will treasure forever in my memory.

I stand up on the sandbar when our time is up, breathless and astonished. I pull my snorkel out of my mouth and look out at the water surrounding us.

“That was incredible!” I say to Adam. “Thank you so much for thinking of this.”

“I knew you would love it. You’re the kind of person to be captivated by the subtle beauty and grace here.”

He’s right about that. I’ve always been soothed by nature. A hike in the woods is my favorite way to de-stress after a hard day. You have to work harder to find the wildlife in the woods, but the essence is the same.

I’m amazed that he sensed that about me in the short time we have known each other. It’s not like I broadcast that I’m a nature lover. People who work in bookstores usually aren’t very outdoorsy. But Adam sees past the surface and senses things about people. I wonder if he developed that trait from being a writer or if it’s one of the things that helped him to become such a good storyteller.

“Do you do this often?”

“As often as I possibly can.” He smiles back at me. “I did it once and I got hooked.”

I hear the double meaning in his words and blush, grabbing a beach towel from the guide and wrapping it around me before climbing back onto the boat.

I glance at my bronzed skin in the mirror and smile at the evidence of the most perfect day of my life. Waking up next to Adam was a dream come true but snorkeling exceeded every fantasy of wild adventures I might ever have so much that I’m still reeling.

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