Page 36 of The Big Race
“Jeffrey! Ray!” It was Ernie, the garbage collector, jogging toward us with George close behind. “Clue box is over there! Come on!”
Ray held my gaze for one moment longer. “We should go,” he said. “But I needed you to know that.”
As we ran toward the clue box, I tried to process what had just happened. Twenty-five years together, and it had taken a competitive reality show in a foreign country for Ray to articulate something so fundamental about us. I wasn’t sure if I should feel touched by his realization or frustrated that it had taken this long.
Either way, there wasn’t time to dwell on it. The race was waiting, and so was our next challenge. But as Ray reached for the clue, I couldn’t help feeling that something had shifted between us—something small but significant, like the first crack in a wall that had seemed impenetrable.
Ray tore open our clue. It was a “mind the gap” challenge. “Decoded Waters,” he read. “Teams must collect fragmented phrases hidden on buoys throughout Cinta Costera Bay. Once all fragments are collected, teams must fill in the missing words, then connect the phrases to find the ultimate answer.”
We were fitted with life vests headsets with cameras, and given brief instructions on paddleboarding technique. The military couple was already on the water, expertly maneuvering between buoys.
“I’ve only done this once before,” I reminded Ray as I tentatively mounted my board. “At that resort in Key Largo.”
“You’ll be fine,” Ray assured me, already standing confidently on his board. “Just keep your knees slightly bent, core engaged, and paddle with your whole upper body, not just your arms.”
I wobbled as I attempted to stand, the board unsteady beneath my feet. “Maybe I should kneel until I get the hang of it?” I suggested.
“We’ll be too slow that way,” Ray said. “Just follow my lead.”
He pushed off, paddling smoothly toward the first buoy. I attempted to mimic his technique, managing to stay upright but moving at a fraction of his speed.
Ray reached the first buoy and grabbed the plastic-coated strip. He called back to me. "Fragment C: '...where mountains of water lift giants from the depths...'"
The strip I grabbed at my first buoy read: "Fragment A: 'I am a ladder with no rungs...'"
Another fragment: "Fragment D: '...yet I flow without moving, connecting what God divided.'"
And the final piece: "Fragment B: '...I swallow ships and birth them anew...'"
My arms were already aching, unused to this specific type of exertion despite our training. The afternoon sun beat down mercilessly, and sweat dripped into my eyes. I nearly lost my balance attempting to reach a particularly difficult buoy.
“Careful!” Ray called, paddling over to steady me. “We’ve got all the fragments now. Let’s head back and try to complete the riddle.”
We returned our paddleboards, vests, and headset cameras, and walked over to a table where we laid out the fragments. "I am a ladder with no rungs, I swallow ships and birth them anew, where mountains of water lift giants from the depths, yet I flow without moving, connecting what God divided."
"It has to be about water," I said, thinking aloud. "Ships, flowing, mountains of water..."
"But a ladder with no rungs?" Ray puzzled. "And 'connecting what God divided'—that sounds geographical."
"Wait," I said, the pieces clicking together. "Mountains of water that lift ships—locks! It's the Panama Canal!"
Ray's eyes lit up. "Of course! The canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific—what God divided. And it's like a ladder because ships go up and down through the locks, but there are no actual rungs."
We handed the completed phrase to the judge. He studied our work carefully, checking that we had the right answer. Finally, he smiled and handed us our next clue.
“Great teamwork,” Ray said as we hurried away. “Your clue-solving skills and my paddleboarding – perfect combination.”
He tore open the next clue. “Make your way to the Stop’n’Go’,” he read. “Warning: the last team to check in may be eliminated.”
The clue directed us to a nearby hotel rooftop, which would serve as the Stop’n’Go for this leg of the race. While we got our bearings, I noticed Cody nearby, filming us all the time.
“We’re still in this,” Ray said as he identified the hotel and we took off at a run. “Probably in third or fourth place.”
“Unless the sorority sisters or another team finished the paddleboarding quickly,” I pointed out.
“You need to stop seeing everything so negatively,” Ray snapped. “We recovered from a setback. That’s what matters.”
The hotel came into view, an imposing structure with a distinctive angular rooftop. When we reached it we raced inside, following Big Race markers to an elevator.
