eye.
“Remember, everyone, if you want to tell me you’re good to go, that you are fine, or that everything is cool, I want the okay sign. So we’ll try that one again. Is everybody ready?”
Finn signaled she was okay, and wished the butterflies in her stomach would settle down so she could enjoy the new experience.
“Okay, Steve, you’re up first. Nice big stride and give me the okay when you’re in and set.” The group watched the man edge to the very lip of the pool before stretching his left leg out in front and almost hopping off the right into the water. “Not bad, Steve. But you don’t need to jump into it. Literally just step off the side of the pool. Okay, next.” One after the other, they entered the water until only Nigel and Finn were left. “Okay, Nigel, you’re up. Nice big giant stride.” He shuffled to the edge of the pool and stood looking into the water, swinging his arms like he was trying to take off.
“Nigel, are you okay there?” Oz sounded concerned and was clearly getting ready to get out of the water. Finn gently touched his shoulder and smiled at him.
“Nigel, would you feel better if we did it together?”
He spat out his regulator. “Yes, please.”
“You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, right?”
“I want to do this. It was one of the things my wife always wanted us to do together.”
“So does she already dive?”
“She died of cancer this summer. She made me promise to try and do this for her.”
“Then this is really brave of you. I’m sure she’s really proud of you. What I’m going to do is stand right next to you and hold your hand, okay?” When he didn’t object, she took hold of his hand and smiled at him. “I need you to put your regulator back in, then use the other hand to hold your mask on just like Oz showed us before.”
“Okay,” he said as he put the mouthpiece back in.
“Once I’ve got my mouthpiece in, I’ll swing our hands for the count. On three, we step in together. Let go of my hand as soon as we get in the water and let Oz know that you’re doing fine. How does that sound to you, Nigel?” He gave her the okay sign straight away and placed his free hand over his mask. She quickly replaced her mouthpiece and her hand over her own mask. She looked him in the eye and nodded her head with the first swing of her hand; on the third swing, they both stepped perfectly into the water. He let go of her hand and gave the okay signal immediately. Finn did the same and tried to ignore the feeling of pride it gave her when Oz gave her a thumbs-up. Learning to dive was important, but lately, it felt even more important that Oz was happy with what she was doing.
Finn closed her eyes as they all began to descend at the deep end of the pool, fighting her natural urge to hold her breath and taking her first breath underwater. The taste of metal and rubber tainted each mouthful, but the sense of wonder as she opened her eyes and really processed where she was and what she was doing finally hit her. She wanted to laugh, but the regulator made it too awkward. She wanted to tell Oz what she was feeling, how amazing it felt. She located Oz and found her watching her, and Finn was sure she could see the smile in Oz’s eyes too.
Finn concentrated as Oz started taking them through their drills. Clearing their masks. Removing the masks. Fin pivots. Maintaining the genie position. Getting used to the depth gauges and air gauges attached to the regulator and getting them all used to relaying information without words. Oz brought them all to the surface as she explained the emergency drill, signaling out of air, and accepting your buddy’s octopus while making a controlled ascent to the surface they were going to go through at the deep end of the pool. Finn signaled Nigel to buddy with her, and they were the only pair to complete the drill perfectly the first time. So Oz made them do it again, just to check. Perfect the second time
“Remember, everyone, if you want to tell me you’re good to go, that you are fine, or that everything is cool, I want the okay sign. So we’ll try that one again. Is everybody ready?”
Finn signaled she was okay, and wished the butterflies in her stomach would settle down so she could enjoy the new experience.
“Okay, Steve, you’re up first. Nice big stride and give me the okay when you’re in and set.” The group watched the man edge to the very lip of the pool before stretching his left leg out in front and almost hopping off the right into the water. “Not bad, Steve. But you don’t need to jump into it. Literally just step off the side of the pool. Okay, next.” One after the other, they entered the water until only Nigel and Finn were left. “Okay, Nigel, you’re up. Nice big giant stride.” He shuffled to the edge of the pool and stood looking into the water, swinging his arms like he was trying to take off.
“Nigel, are you okay there?” Oz sounded concerned and was clearly getting ready to get out of the water. Finn gently touched his shoulder and smiled at him.
“Nigel, would you feel better if we did it together?”
He spat out his regulator. “Yes, please.”
“You know you don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, right?”
“I want to do this. It was one of the things my wife always wanted us to do together.”
“So does she already dive?”
“She died of cancer this summer. She made me promise to try and do this for her.”
“Then this is really brave of you. I’m sure she’s really proud of you. What I’m going to do is stand right next to you and hold your hand, okay?” When he didn’t object, she took hold of his hand and smiled at him. “I need you to put your regulator back in, then use the other hand to hold your mask on just like Oz showed us before.”
“Okay,” he said as he put the mouthpiece back in.
“Once I’ve got my mouthpiece in, I’ll swing our hands for the count. On three, we step in together. Let go of my hand as soon as we get in the water and let Oz know that you’re doing fine. How does that sound to you, Nigel?” He gave her the okay sign straight away and placed his free hand over his mask. She quickly replaced her mouthpiece and her hand over her own mask. She looked him in the eye and nodded her head with the first swing of her hand; on the third swing, they both stepped perfectly into the water. He let go of her hand and gave the okay signal immediately. Finn did the same and tried to ignore the feeling of pride it gave her when Oz gave her a thumbs-up. Learning to dive was important, but lately, it felt even more important that Oz was happy with what she was doing.
Finn closed her eyes as they all began to descend at the deep end of the pool, fighting her natural urge to hold her breath and taking her first breath underwater. The taste of metal and rubber tainted each mouthful, but the sense of wonder as she opened her eyes and really processed where she was and what she was doing finally hit her. She wanted to laugh, but the regulator made it too awkward. She wanted to tell Oz what she was feeling, how amazing it felt. She located Oz and found her watching her, and Finn was sure she could see the smile in Oz’s eyes too.
Finn concentrated as Oz started taking them through their drills. Clearing their masks. Removing the masks. Fin pivots. Maintaining the genie position. Getting used to the depth gauges and air gauges attached to the regulator and getting them all used to relaying information without words. Oz brought them all to the surface as she explained the emergency drill, signaling out of air, and accepting your buddy’s octopus while making a controlled ascent to the surface they were going to go through at the deep end of the pool. Finn signaled Nigel to buddy with her, and they were the only pair to complete the drill perfectly the first time. So Oz made them do it again, just to check. Perfect the second time
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