Racquetball is a strengthening sport. Your legs get stronger and your upper body gains strength. I had good strength for a girl. It served me well as the shark and I slid off the boat.
I managed to get a hand on the base of the fishing pole holder and gripped it with all my might. The falling dead weight of the shark, and my sudden stopping from grabbing the holder, jerked my arm hard, but I couldn’t hold on and went underwater with the shark.
I had only been able to hang onto the rod holder for just a second, but that second of strength also caused enough force to jerk my foot out of my shoe. The shark slid into the depths of the gulf with the sole of my court shoe clamped firmly in its mouth.
I came to the surface gasping for air. Not because I had been under for very long, but from the sheer terror of the situation. The boat was a short distance in front of me. With the entire back end and almost all of the deck submerged, the fire was out now. I was able to swim to the edge of the boat and pull myself up along the wooden rail. Darby leaned down from the bridge to grab me and pull me up to him. Neither of us could speak. I had never seen him rattled before, but he was white as a ghost and definitely shaken. I was shivering uncontrollably as he wrapped his arms around me and held me close.
Johnny was still in the front of the boat and holding onto the railing to keep from sliding downward. It was the highest point on the boat now. He was still crying, and I heard the word mommy several times, but he was no longer shrieking.
The captain was leaning against the uppermost side of the cabin, his head in his hands. Ryan was ashen beside him.
We were all too quiet for what had just happened. Were we all in shock? Were we all going to die?
I looked at Darby and asked, “What happens now?” It came out as a whisper.
He pointed behind me. A couple hundred yards away was the only other boat on the water, a fishing boat, coming to rescue us.
Captain Jorje looked around at all of us and asked angrily, “Does anybody know who the s.o.b. with the flares was?”
Darby looked at me and slightly shook his head as if to say, “Don’t say anything.”
Johnny, still weeping, said in a barely audible voice, “Marlon Brando.”
A short time later, the Irish Wake pulled up alongside us. There were four men onboard and, go figure, they were all speaking Spanish. Darby helped me to board their boat first. Johnny was next, then Ryan, followed by Darby. Captain Jorje stood silently for a moment to say good-bye to the Shark Trek before boarding the fishing boat.
One of the men handed a blanket to me. I was grateful to wrap it around myself and sit down. Darby and Johnny sat on either side of me. Captain Jorje was now talking with the men of The Irish Wake. Ryan stood beside him.
“Do you know what they’re saying?” I asked.
“Nope,” Darby said. “I never learned Spanish.”
Johnny threw his hands up with a don’t look at me expression and said, “I only know enough to barely get by at the restaurant.”
The conversation between the captain and the four men seemed intense, but the two captains eventually shook hands. Captain Jorje and Ryan walked back to us.
“Well,” the captain said, “unless you folks have any reason to get the authorities involved, we’re just going to let this go and pretend it never happened.”
“Why?” Johnny asked incredulously. “Why wouldn’t you notify the police?”
He hung his head and said, “I’ve already had a few safety violations in the past, and the insurance lapsed on the boat three months ago. I won’t need a police report for insurance, and I think it would be better for me, and even for Ryan here, if we didn’t get the police involved. The captain of this vessel has a few issues of his own, so he’s in agreement. He’s going to take us back to the marina, and we’ll all go our separate ways.” He paused for a moment before adding, “The Shark Trek may have even been stolen, if you get my drift.”
That was fine with all of us, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
When we parted at the dock, Johnny was subdued but tried valiantly to put on his drama queen.
“Susan, dahling,” he said, “I thought I was going to pass out when I saw that shark chewing off your leg. I was sure we’d seen the last of you when the ocean swallowed you up.” He air kissed me beside both cheeks. “I’m so glad you lived through the attack.” He gave me an extra big bear hug. I knew he had been terrified through it all, and he was relieved I was safe. “You go back to the hotel and get some rest. I’ll see you in the morning.” He then hugged Darby, gave him air kisses, and walked off the dock. I think he may have started weeping again.
I still had the blanket from the Irish Wake wrapped around me. My Shark Trek bucket hat was long gone, and I was only wearing one shoe.
Darby looked me over, gave me a wry grin, and said, “I owe you a pair of shoes.”
“You bet you owe me a pair of shoes,” I told him.
“Come on,” he said, putting his arm around me. “Let’s get out of here. We’ll get you dried out, get something to eat, and we can talk about what we’re going to do about all this.”
We walked up the dock and into the parking lot. Darby pulled the keys to the car out of his pocket and hit the fob to unlock the doors. We turned into the aisle where our car was parked and saw it right away. Four flat tires.