Read Online Far From The Sea We Know by Frank Sheldon - Free Book Online

only the heat of it keeping him from going under
forever, and it now brought him slowly back. He felt grateful, but
then the memory of it faded, and as if from a great distance, he
heard Normy whisper, “You go deep, man…”
    As Matthew’s vision cleared, the faces
around him came back into focus. All had puzzled looks, all except
Normy.
    The moment passed and all the chairs started
scraping back at once. He had his balance back but did not try to
move yet. Penny left two twenties on the table as she got up.
Everyone picked up a bag or two and filed out the door without a
word. He picked up the last remaining duffel, but the heaviness of
it oppressed him. He wanted to leave it behind, along with
everything else. He stood for a moment, feeling detached and out of
place.
    Penny was waiting for him at the door. “Are
you okay?”
    In response, he hefted the bag’s strap to
his shoulder and nodded to her to keep moving.
    As they walked down the ramp to the float,
the ocean launch was just pulling in. The old man at the wheel
tossed a coiled line to Normy, and the warm look he gave Matthew
was in welcome contrast to the son’s last cold stare. Normy jumped
in without hesitation, quickly stowing the gear as the others
passed it along. Matthew stepped over and sat down, and Normy gave
his shoulder a brief clasp as he passed him on his way back to the
float.
    Penny said a few words to the people from
the café, then hopped in the launch and gave the “go” sign. As they
pulled away from the dock, Normy stood with the others, looking out
toward them, not moving, a smile hiding in his eyes somewhere. No
one waved.
    Penny came back and sat down opposite
Matthew in the stern. She touched his arm lightly. “Matthew, are
you sure—”
    “I don’t understand why you did that! You knew we were on a tight schedule!”
    “We made it, didn’t we?”
    “You told me you’d be ready. Sitting in a
bar drinking with those characters is not my idea of ready.”
    “Just what happened to you, anyway?”
    “I’m fine.”
    “Sure you are, just fine.”
    “Did you tell this ‘Normy’ anything?”
    “What’s the point of fretting about things I
can’t do anything about, like whether a boat’s going to be
late?”
    “So instead, you relax by picking up the bar
tab for people who obviously don’t need more.”
    “That’s my business. And, no, I didn’t tell
him anything.”
    This would only get worse. Matthew retreated
to just behind the low cabin and found some papers in his bag to
read. He gave up on that before long and moved forward to stand
next to the old captain and watch their progress. The movement of
the boat, cutting through the chop and swells, and the pungent
spray misting his face, helped calm him down.
    Without looking at Matthew, the old man
said, “A speck choppy today. Expect it’ll smooth out later.”
     

 
CHAPTER 8
     
    After about an hour, they sighted the blue
and white hull of the Valentina . Matthew had been on her
once a few years ago when she made one of her infrequent calls at
Victoria. That brief visit had helped him decide to return to
school and earn at least a graduate degree in marine science. At
nearly sixty meters long, with a generous ten-meter beam, the Valentina was built more for working room and stability than
for speed, but she was tough enough to go anywhere on earth
where the water was four meters or deeper.
    One of the crew approached them in an
inflatable dingy, the usual Zodiac. With an oversized outboard
clamped to the stern, the dingy came up fast and swept by, then
circled to come up alongside the launch.
    “Matthew Amati and Penny, right? I’m Dirk.
Welcome. Ah, captain, if you can just dock at the dive
platform…”
    The old man politely obeyed this statement
of the obvious. In minutes they were there. The crewmember that
hauled up their gear insisted on taking the time to use the power
winch. Penny began to protest, but then shrugged her shoulders and
clambered up the