Written under her name Edith Kokernot, probably after her divorce in 1971 and before 1978.
How it happened was still a mystery.
Beth looked up at the blank television screen on the wall and debated whether or not to press the remote-control button. The last time she had been in a hospital was when she was ten years old and having her appendix removed. She thought how wonderful it would have been to have had television then.
The patient in the bed next to hers was stirring in her sleep and Beth voted against the possibility of disturbing her, forgetting that she had ear plugs to use for just that reason.
She looked forlornly at her leg strung up on a pulley and sighed. What was she going to do while this thing healed? The doctor said she could go back to work in a couple of weeks, but that the cast would have to stay on at least six weeks, maybe longer.
Beth thought back to what she had been doing yesterday at this time, 6:15 p.m. Most people were at home cooking supper, watching the news on television or something equally as sane, but she had been jogging around the track field! Beth Anne Babcock, jogging two miles around a dusty old track field in her sweat suit, hair tied down into a tight ponytail, floppy socks and boy’s track shoes because her other sneakers gave her blisters. She knew she always looked a mess when she was jogging, and she didn’t care. Doctor’s orders were doctor’s orders, and jogging wasn’t meant to be a glamorous sport. She had been doing it for eight months now and had worked up from half a lap to eight laps, the equivalent to two miles. It had not been easy, especially doing it alone, and it had taken real perseverance on her part, plus the warning from her doctor which had sent her there in the first place.
It’s funny, Beth thought, how one sees the same people over and over at the track. She didn’t always get there at the same time every day. It depended upon when she left the office, upon the freeway traffic, and what had held her up at the apartment. She got to know the other joggers only by sight. There were several couples who would come and jog perhaps one lap and walk one; a couple of high school boys obviously in training who seemed to run indefinitely; a father with two young boys and an assorted number of men of different ages and sizes. Only occasionally would Beth see another lone woman, and when she did, they looked about as funny as she thought she did. At first, she felt conspicuous, but no one ever seemed to notice her at all, so she soon got over that, and got the job done and went home to a hot shower and supper. Never giving the jogging a thought until it was time to go the next day. It was like having to take a daily dose of medicine, a little trouble but necessary.
Yesterday there were only three others on the track with her, the man who timed his son with a stopwatch and a man alone. She had been on her seventh lap and was beginning to feel pretty tired when she felt the clip on her ponytail work loose. She thought it had fallen and turned to look on the ground behind her, at the same time reaching back to her ponytail to see if it was still there. Somehow, she lost her balance and fell hard onto her right leg. An excruciating pain shot through her body, and she must have fainted. When she came to, both men were leaning over her, one bathing her face with a wet handkerchief. She was immediately conscience of the pain again and managed to say she guessed she had sprained her ankle.
“I guess I’d better forfeit my eighth lap tonight,” she said and tried to get up.
“No, you just lie right there. I’m going to drive down to the filling station and call your husband. I think you might have broken your leg. I’ll be glad to take you to the nearest hospital, and he can meet us there.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not married. But I’m sure my leg isn’t broken.”
She tried to get up and passed out again. The next thing she knew, the two men had carried her to the strange man’s car and laid her carefully in the back seat and covered her with a blanket that was lying in the car.
“I’m sorry, Miss, but this leg has to be taken care of. There is no need for an ambulance since I am willing to take you myself. It’s quicker and you should have attention immediately. I’m a doctor. My name is Dr. Sorenson, and I practice at Rosewood General Hospital. Would you like me to contact your physician from there? Here is my identification.”
Beth couldn’t care less. She was in such pain but looked at the card and believed him. Anything to make her leg quit hurting. She said her doctor’s name was Dr. James Masterson, but she was pretty sure he did not set broken bones, as he was an internist.
Beth was vaguely aware of the car tires crunching on the asphalt and must have blacked out again, for the next thing she knew she was being eased onto a stretcher and found herself in the emergency room. She was given an injection which the nurse said would ease the pain somewhat, and then she was rolled into x-ray. Then her jogging companion, Dr. Sorenson, appeared not in his jogging outfit, but obviously bathed and outfitted in his surgical clothes.
“I don’t even know your name. Would you like to introduce yourself, and then we can decide what needs to be done?”
He had the medical history form and told the nurse that he would take the patient’s history and did.
Name: Beth Anne Babcock
Age: 27
Height: 5’ 7”
Next of Kin: Mr. and Mrs. R.H. Babcock, Jennings, Colorado
Occupation: Adv. Copywriter
When he had completed it, he explained, “Look, Miss Babcock, I’m not soliciting patients, but as fate would have it, I happen to be an orthopedic surgeon. That’s why I was so sure it was broken and why I risked bringing you here in my car. You have a compound fracture, but the longer we postpone this, the more difficult it is going to be to set because of the welling that is starting. It’s quite noticeable already. You are of age and can give your permission without further delay, or we can call your doctor and ask him to recommend another physician if you wish. But, we should get on with it in any case.
“Well, obviously, if you are willing, then I am. I should be so lucky,” she managed to laugh. “Oh, why did I have to do this fool thing anyway?”
The tears started flowing, but she quickly checked them. It was well and good to have an exciting and glamorous job in the city, but at a time like this she would have liked to have been surrounded with her loving family and friends, most of whom were 300 miles away. She had been in the city barely a year, and in that time had made few close friends, though her roommate was a friend from college days. But Rosemary was engaged to be married and was in the apartment less and less. She had friends at work and a few in her church, but these were casual friendships. Really close friends are not often made in a year.
“You will have to spend a couple days in the hospital until the swelling subsides, but you will be happy and comfortable here. It’s a small hospital and quieter than most.”
“Doctor, would you please call my apartment and tell my roommate what happened. If you have a note pad, I’ll give it to you.”
He jotted down the number. Please tell her I’ll call her tomorrow about picking up my car. I’m sure it’s alright for it is locked.”
“If you’ll give me your address, I’ll arrange to have it moved for you. Do you have the keys? I’ll call her first so she can be expecting us." Beth was too miserable to protest and thanked him gratefully. The pain was getting worse.
“Now, let’s get this leg taken care of. I presume that since you were jogging, you had not eaten.” She affirmed this. “The anesthetist will put you to sleep, then.”
The leg was set without more delay and little fanfare. She knew nothing after having an injection of sodium pentothal and woke up in this hospital bed several hours later, dying of thirst. The pain was gone and had left in its wake only a dull throbbing ache. It was 4 a.m. when she awoke, and a nurse came in with a pill and another injection. She slept until 6:30 when a thermometer was popped in her mouth. Then came the breakfast tray when she discovered that eating breakfast was no easy accomplishment with one’s leg hanging in the air on a pulley.
Exhausted, she lay back on her pillow and slept another four hours until lunch. Then the phone rang. It was her roommate who was calling during her lunch hour. She worked in the same advertising agency as Beth. In fact, that was how she had gotten her job. They had both been journalism majors at State University with advertising as their specialties, but Beth had stayed home afterwards and worked on the hometown newspaper, working both in advertising and also doing feature stories and some society columns. This had been exciting at first, and she liked it, but suddenly she felt that she was growing old without really having a chance “to see the world.” She felt that life was passing her by.
Beth had been engaged for a time to a longtime boyfriend, but she had gradually come to the conclusion that though she loved him dearly as a friend, the thought of a lifetime with him as his wife was not what she really wanted. And the relationship gradually cooled, and they mutually decided to call it off. By that time most of the other young men she had known were either married, spoken for, or gone. She didn’t worry about it, for marriage was not in her immediate plans either. But she did wish she could meet some exciting men her age, exciting in the sense of doing the unusual. She didn’t care what their professions were, but she wanted someone who loved life, adventure, whose spirits were not broken. Too many men she knew were either party boys or dullards. There must be some in-betweens somewhere. If not, she would make her own fun, but she had to make her life change. Life was too routine the way she was living it, even though she was happy.
Beth lived with her parents whom she adored. Her brothers were both in college. She had no sisters. When she finally decided to make the break and go away, her parents hated to see her go but felt, too, that it would be the best change for her. After all, most of her friends were married and had several children already. It wasn’t that Beth was unattractive, but she seemed always to be searching for something that Jennings, Colorado didn’t have for her. Rosemary, her college friend, had told her about a vacancy in her office, and Beth hurried to the city to apply for the position. To her surprise she was hired at once, at twice the salary she had received working for the newspaper. Rosemary had a two-bedroom apartment and was delighted to have Beth move in, partly because it helped defray the cost of the rent and partly because they were such good friends.
It had been great fun, and Rosemary and her fiancé took Beth many places with them, and even got her a few blind dates which Beth enjoyed. Beth was a homebody at heart though and had enough sense not to horn in on too many of their activities. She liked to read and cook, and she liked to sew. She made many of her clothes. In her hometown the newspaper office had been quite informal, and she never had to dress up, but here her office called for more sophisticated dress.
She loved the challenge of the new job. At first though, it had been a real strain. The deadline she had to meet beat anything she had ever had to meet at the newspaper. She often had to work late and on weekends. Often, she went in early to get a head start on the work of the day. But it was paying off, and she even had one new account to her credit, a small sleep shop which wanted radio spots daily. Not much, but she was proud to be responsible for it. She spent the rest of her time working for the account executives learning her new trade. Things had changed so much since college days, and she knew how much she still had to learn. She could cope with the work, but sometimes the pressure of the job got her down. She found she was often suffering from insomnia at night, was getting stomachaches, and was so nervous that she found it hard to concentrate. When she did sleep, she dreamed of her work and was even more exhausted upon awakening. This was making her even more tense at work. She knew she had to do something, so she went to Rosemary’s doctor hoping he would recommend a good tranquilizer.
His diagnosis was what she had feared, psychosomatic symptoms related to her job. She had two choices, to change jobs or cope with the one she had. Naturally, she wanted to keep on with her work, for she liked it and was beginning to feel a sense of accomplishment there. The doctor said he didn’t believe in tranquilizers if something else would relieve the symptoms. He wanted to know what she did for recreation. She said she occasionally played tennis, but that she got home so late it was hard to do except on weekends. She also liked to swim, but where does one swim in the city in the winter for fun?
He had recommended what he said was the simplest and least expensive exercise of all and the most useful…. jogging. She was cool to the idea, but finally agreed to try it. Bet hated it at first and literally had to force herself to do it. She liked sports and exercise but could see no sense in simply running around a track every day. She persevered because she did feel so desperate. It wasn’t like her to get upset over a job or to lie awake at night. The symptoms had disappeared within the first month, and life quit being a hassle for Beth. Her work improved as did her whole outlook.
And now, here she was in the hospital while masses of work was lining up at the office. The thought of walking around for a couple of months with a heavy cast in this big city was very demoralizing. She was lost in her dark thoughts and was unaware of Dr. Sorenson’s entry into the room.
“Well, I see my new patient just ate a good supper. I must say you are looking better than when I last saw you. That was a pretty nasty fall you took. Most people manage to have their accidents on ski slopes. I think you are the first one I every drug in from the track field. How long have you been jogging?”
“Only since June, and I guess I won’t be doing anymore for a long time now.”
“You’ll be surprised how quickly you’ll recover, but you might have to be content with walking around the track for a while after it heals. These breaks have a habit of being a bit sensitive for a few weeks, but soon you’ll be as good as new.”
She smiled wanly at him and could frankly never imagine herself running again. She could only see herself sitting in a wheelchair knitting for months to come.
“By the way, your car is safe in your garage, or did your roommate tell you?”
“Yes, she did. And Dr. Sorenson, I want you to know how much I appreciate all you have done. I am sure you don’t usually provide ambulance service, plus tow service for all your patients. I would probably still be looking for a doctor if you had not come to my rescue. How long have you been jogging, Dr. Sorenson?”
“Oh, I began doing it seriously when I was taking my residency. Then when I opened my practice here, I kept it up from force of habit. I had been so worn out that I found it was the most relaxing thing I could do, and I just kept it up. It’s been three years since I started. I do three to four miles a day, and I have improved my time considerably. I also use this time to work out my plans and problems. And I never feel tired anymore, unless you can call it good healthy exhaustion. I’ve noticed you out there occasionally and admired your perseverance. You have come a long way since I first noticed you. Not many women stick it out like you did. Want to tell me why you’re so motivated, or do you like it all that much?”
She told him briefly about her job, and what her doctor had suggested. She added that it certainly worked for her, but she guessed she would start staying awake now worrying about what was going to happen because of her darn leg. He laughed and said, “Get one of the Candy Striper’s to bring you a good book. We’ve got a pretty good library here, all from donations of course, and relax and enjoy your vacation. Maybe they’ll appreciate you all the more at your office when you get back.”
He said goodbye, adding that he was on the way to the track and would do an extra lap for her. She laughed.
Beth felt better after the brief interruption in her day and picked up a magazine that lay on the table between the hospital beds. The magazine was a skin-diving magazine which looked interesting. She certainly didn’t know anything about the sport but remembered seeing Jacques Cousteau on television showing his underwater photography. She was thumbing through the pages when she opened a page with a familiar face smiling back at her under a mask and snorkel perched on his forehead. It was Dr. Sorenson! What was his picture doing in this magazine? She read the caption, “Denver Doctor wins 1st Prize for Underwater Photography Division.” On the next page was a sample of his pictures, breath-takingly beautiful. The article said he took his yearly vacation of three weeks in Cozumel, and island off the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. That he stayed in one of the smaller hotels, avoided tourists, ate simply. He was quoted as saying that he preferred to live as the natives do when he goes there, and that he spears many of his own fish, cooking them on the beaches, native style. It said his big fear was that with so many people discovering this simple place, it would soon be overrun with tourists and scuba divers who might damage its unprotected coral beds. Beth was fascinated. It didn’t say if he went alone, or with a group, or his family. She was still reading the article when Rosemary came in.
“Well, hello old woman. Why’d you go and do this?”
She carried a small suitcase and proceeded to unpack it for Beth, putting the things in the small cabinet by the bed.
“You know, Beth, there are easier ways to meet men without putting yourself in the hospital. Why didn’t you just put out your foot and trip him when he jogged by?”
Beth laughed and said, “Rosemary, don’t you believe it. I didn’t plan this. Besides, you know I’m not looking for a man so don’t get any ideas for me about the doctor. I’m sure he’s happily married with several children. He appears very settled, except, I just discovered he is a scuba diver. Look at this article I found quite by accident. Maybe I should take up a sport like this when I get over this broken leg. It looks fascinating. I’ve been reading this magazine all afternoon.”
“Don’t do it! You’ll be sure to run out of air on the bottom or run into a shark. And you may not be so lucky to find such a handsome man to save you next time.”
“Funny,” Beth thought, “I’ve been so concerned with my leg and poor me, that I have hardly had a good look at my doctor. He’s kind and pleasant, and I’m grateful, but that’s as far as it goes.”
Rosemary caught her up on the office news with a message from her boss not to worry, that they could keep up her work for a week or so without any problem. He just wanted her to call in when she felt better, and he would send some work home by Rosemary that she could do while she was convalescing at home.
All too soon, the bell rang to end the visit and soon Beth was tucked in for the night, pills and all. The night nurse came on duty at eleven o’clock and peeked in on her. She was surprised to find her awake and asked if she wanted another pill to help her sleep. Beth said no, she guessed she had slept too much that morning and thought she would read a bit longer. She had been fascinated by the skin-diving magazine and was rereading one of the articles she had skimmed earlier.
The next day when the Candy Striper came around, she asked her if she could find a book in the library on scuba diving. About an hour later she came back with three, one of them was nothing but underwater photography and the other two were “How to Skin Dive” and “Personal Experiences of a Scuba Diver”. Beth was immediately lost in them the rest of the day.
When Dr. Sorenson made his rounds late that afternoon, his eyes spotted the book.
“Who’s been reading up on my sport?” he wanted to know.
Beth told him about the magazine she had found and how fascinated she had been after seeing the article on him and seeing his pictures. He seemed pleased.
“Well, it’s a wonderful hobby. It’s expensive because Colorado is so far from the sea. The lakes here are too cold most of the year, and the season too short, but I live quite conservatively and save my money, and then really blow it once a year, usually at Christmas time for I have no family to keep me here. I find it far less crowded, and the climate is better. I have to get away from here. Of course, Christmas is when all the skiers break their legs, so I miss a lot, but there are enough competent orthopedists to take over. Those books you are reading are pretty old. If you are interested, I’ll bring you a couple from home that you might enjoy looking at.”
“Where did you learn to dive?”
“Right here in the local YMCA. They’ve a certified course, and I’d recommend it anytime. Don’t ever be tempted to dive without taking and passing the course. It is an absolute must, despite what else you might hear.”
“Well, I’m sure it’s too rough a sport for me,” Beth sighed still feeling sorry for herself as she looked despondently at her leg.
“Nonsense, a third of the people in my class were women. They make excellent divers. Are you really interested? Because if you are and if that’s all that is holding you back, don’t give it another thought, that is, if you are a good swimmer. That is the most important consideration.”
“I used to be quite a good swimmer, lifesaving and all. That was back in college though,” she sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Oh, what’s the use. I must be crazy talking like this. How can I even think of such a thing, strung up in the hospital like this, a full-time job and all. I don’t think scuba diving is for people like me.”
“Of course, it is,” he laughed. “We have a local club. We go on trips together in the summers. It’s a great deal of fun and not as expensive as you might think. You can rent equipment until you are able to buy what you need. But I guess you’d better get well first. Let’s see, your chart says no fever today. Well, we’ll x-ray you again tomorrow and you’ll be going home soon.” He patted her on the shoulder, laughed and asked her if she’d like to look over his textbook he used for the Y course. Before she could answer, he said he’d bring it along.
“You mean you have to have a book to learn to scuba dive? I thought it was all swimming.”
“Heck no, you spend as much time out of the water as you do in, and you have to take a written examination as well as the in-water exam. Then when you finish that, you have to do the open water, free ascent test in thirty feet of water. After that you’ll get your certified divers’ card and can buy air and dive anywhere. That is when you really begin to learn, by experience. Let me tell you, it’s one thing to dive in a pool and another to dive in the open sea. But I promise you it is. One dive in the ocean and you’re hooked, that is if it’s done at a scenic spot like Cozumel.
With that he left, and Beth lay staring up at the ceiling wondering if her dreams were too far-fetched. She would take the course and she would join the underwater club, perhaps life did have some interesting possibilities after all.
“What an exuberant, enthusiastic man, and I’ll bet a little of it rubs off on every person he is in contact with,” Beth said to herself.
Beth had long ago become bored with the gay young set who cocktailed until all hours and seemed to wallow in each other’s shallow lives. Perhaps this is why she had become such a home body. No one seemed to know anyone else these days, really know them. She herself had avoided fraternizing with the office crowd. She saw enough of them during the day, and she guessed she knew deep down inside that she just wasn’t interested in the swinging crowd. But a girl could go a long way in advertising if she worked hard, was gregarious and enterprising, and stuck her neck out sometimes.
Beth was amazed at how fast the time passed. She was due to have the cast removed tomorrow and couldn’t wait. But fearful too, that something might go wrong. She had heard of such things, but it was amazing how she had hobbled around the office with practically no difficulty. Everyone in the office had been most helpful and all, of course, had signed her cast. The artists had even used their cleverness to decorate it. But it would be a relief to walk normally again after all these weeks.
She found herself in anticipation of the day when she would see Dr. Sorenson again. She wanted to ask him when she could safely enroll in the scuba course and to return his book which she had studied in her spare time, though she didn’t pretend to understand everything in it, particularly the math and psychics involved.
Finally, the day arrived, and she made her first visit to his office. The room was filled with patients bearing casts, on elbows, arms, legs, feet and hands and a few arthritic patients with their canes or wheelchairs. When she finally entered the inner chambers of his office, she was taken to x-ray and after about thirty more minutes, she was taken into another room for the removal of her cast. That meant the x-ray showed it to be mended. Dr. Sorenson arrived with one of his nurses who was carrying a pair of huge scissors. It was only a matter of minutes until the cast was off, and a very white, tingly leg was revealed. They washed it and rubbed it with alcohol, and then she was told to stand. She was afraid at first, but gradually put her weight on it. No pain. Just a scary uncomfortable feeling at first which he said would go away in a day or two.
“Go ahead and favor the leg if you want to, but in a week, you will have forgotten you ever broke it. Oh, let’s hold off on the jogging for about two weeks, though!” he said.
“Oh, Dr. Sorenson, while I think of it, here is your scuba book. Thank you so much for letting me look at it. I wanted to ask if you think I could safely take the next scuba course at the Y. It’s beginning in three weeks. I have thought about nothing else in my spare time, and I know I can do it. The Y isn’t far from my apartment and although it’s twice a week for six weeks, I’m going to give it a try. Don’t know what I’ll do with my hair, wear a wig to work I guess!”
She caught him looking at her in a peculiar way but dismissed it. He said goodbye and said he hoped to see her on the track field soon. To be sure and not give up her jogging though she might have to do fewer laps than she had been doing for a while.
Beth duly enrolled in the scuba course. Her roommate thought she was mad to do it, but she loved it from the first session. It was exhausting, but more fun than anything she had ever done. The class was diversified, all ages represented from high school to over forty, teachers, athletes, secretaries, businessmen, a garage mechanic. By the end of the course, only three had dropped out. The most difficult thing for Beth to learn was ‘ditch and recovery’ which meant going down to the bottom of the pool in the deepest part, fully decked out in scuba gear, removing it all, including mask, and lastly turning off the air. Then she had to leave it all on the bottom and surface. After a few deep breathes, she had to dive back down, turn on the air, put the mouthpiece in her mouth and proceed to put all the gear back on correctly and surface, all within three minutes. She panicked at first and finally had to retreat to the shallow end and perfect her techniques. When she got her confidence, she went back to the deep end and finally passed the test.
The rest of the course was a breeze for her, including what was called stunt night. Each person had to black out their mask with foil and swim around in the ‘dark’ for twenty minutes staying submerged all the time. The instructors harassed each of them, doing such things as jerking off their masks, unhooking their tanks, turning off their air, every trick they could thinking of that might simulate a situation that could take place on an actual dive.
Finally, came the written test. If they missed even one of the diving calculation problems, they would flunk the test for this is the most important lesson to be learned, how to time your dive to prevent running out of air or to prevent having to decompress. She had learned her lesson well and passed with flying colors.
Now all that was left was the open water dive which was scheduled for the weekend. The class was to meet at the Y, and they were going to carpool to the lake. They were to leave for the lake early Saturday morning. Everybody was taking a picnic lunch and a day of fun and relaxation was planned. She was really looking forward to it now that the weather had turned warm again. She was anxious to find out more about the Underwater Club, too, for she intended to make use of what she had learned.
She saw him when she got there. He was talking to one of the instructors. How boyishly handsome he looked in his jeans and open knit shirt. She wondered why he was there. He saw her and came over.
“Well, I see you made it. I just saw your name on the list. I wondered if you were still around for I hadn’t seen you jogging, but I can guess you were too busy doing this. Somehow, I didn’t think you’d stick it out. You looked so frail in the hospital bed and even at my office that day. But say, you look 100% now. Leg give you any trouble?”
She said no and asked him what he was doing here.
“Oh, I thought I told you. I have my instructor’s license and I help ‘em out here when they do the open water test. It’s too much for only two instructors to do alone, so there are three more of us who go along when we can.”
He walked away to help carry some of the scuba gear to the van. In a few minutes he came back to Beth and asked, “Would you like to ride along with me? They have plenty of cars here today. You don’t need to take yours.”
“Why, thanks, I’d love to.”
She locked her car after grabbing her gear and picnic basket. He looked at it hungrily and said, “I hope you brought enough for two people. I didn’t have time to fix a lunch as I had to go by the hospital before I came over here.”
“I sure did. I think I have enough food for four people. My appetite has doubled since I began this course.” Then her tone changed. “Do you think I’ll be able to do it, make a free ascent with my air turned off? I know it won’t be hard to get down to thirty feet, but I admit, I’m a little scared over the other.”
“Nonsense. Thirty feet without air seems a long way to have to go, but you see, you will have compressed air in your lungs which will expand as you rise to the surface, and you will have so much air you have to go slow to allow it all to escape. If you go too fast, I’ll grab your feet and slow you down. Don’t want you to have an air embolism young lady. That’s the whole purpose for this test, you know.”
By the time they arrived, he knew about her hometown, her old job, her present job, her parents, and brothers, her hope and dreams. And he shared his past with her, as well as his aspirations. In fact, they were old friends when he came around and opened the door for her. He took her out into the water after first briefing the group he was to test.
She performed beautifully. He smiled at her as they stood on the bottom of the lake. He showed her how the depth was recorded on his depth gauge. Then he motioned to her to ask if she was ready to go up. She almost laughed at the irony of it all and reached out and tried to touch a fish as it glided past. He tapped her on the shoulder, showed her he wanted her to take out her mouthpiece. She forfeited it, and they started up. He didn’t think she was letting the air out fast enough, so he reached over and forced her mouth wide open with his fingers. She was sure she would run out of air, but as she looked up, she saw her own bubbles rising ahead of her and felt no anguish at all. She was doing just fine, he showed her, with the o.k. sign, four finger and thumb making a circle. Then she was at the surface. She wished she could go right back down. He handed her the air hose, and she swam back to the bank as another student swam out to join Dr. Sorenson. She got out and took off her tank and rested on the bank watching the others.
After he had finished with the others, he got out to rest. After a few minutes in the sun, he asked Beth if she would like to do some exploring before lunch as they couldn’t go back in the water on a full stomach. “I’d love to, Alex,” she responded.
After their walk, he helped Beth with her tank, and they slipped down into the water and swam slowly off into a brand-new world, silent, still clear. He reached for her hand and squeezed it and proceeded to chase a fish with Beth in hot pursuit.
On the way back to town, he pulled her close to him. “You now, I didn’t dare let myself become attracted to you when you were my patient, against my principles and medical ethics, you know. But now that you’re my student and a fellow jogger again… Yes, you’re going to keep that up, but we’ll do it together. Nothing is going to keep us apart, we’ve got so much to do together, to look forward to.”
“You know where we’re going to be next December, don’t you Beth?”
He kissed the top of her head. “I think I’m falling in love with someone,” he murmured.
And the Camero zoomed on toward the twinkling lights of the city.