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Another splash caused the water to ripple around me, and soon after, Alice’s long legs appeared beside me, and she settled in onto the bottom with me. I looked over, giving her a big thumbs up as she peered at me, looking worried from behind her big mask. She couldn’t speak, but I knew her well enough to know she was saying, “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
Another splash and then another and another. One by one, Sylvie, Doris, and Dr. Tremblay descended to join us. Soft bubbles from our regulators floated around us, working their way back to the surface, which may as well have been a mile up from how distant I felt from the world above. I looked to Doris and Sylvie, and they both shared Alice’s concerned expression, as best as it could be seen beneath their large swim masks. I gave them a thumbs up, thanking them with my eyes for coming on this experience with me despite their reservations.
A tap on my shoulder pulled my attention, and I turned to see Dr. Tremblay pointing. I followed his finger to see a dark silhouette moving toward us, and my little heart nearly exploded from the speeds it hit as the large, grey shark sauntered in.
I’d never thought I’d call a shark beautiful, but that was the first word that popped into my head as it swam past. Majestic and beautiful. I’d already been swimming with sharks, but that was lying there in a blind panic, wishing for it to end. Nothing but their fins and dark shadows just beneath the surface. This was different. The water was so clear that it looked like a technicolor movie how much detail I could make out on the giant fish gliding by. This powerful creature who could kill in an instant looked beautiful and peaceful as it drifted past us.
It was ... magical.
Another shark appeared, and then another, and soon we were surrounded by five. I saw Dotty, noting her spotted fin, and to hell if she didn’t have a menacing look in those dark eyes. More menacing than the others. We would never know what would have happened if Deep Blue hadn’t intercepted her. Maybe she would have bumped right past us to grab the chum, or maybe we would have been chum ourselves. It would always be a mystery, but I would be forever grateful to the queen of the ocean who got in her way.
I turned to check on my friends, and now instead of uncertainty in their eyes, I saw the same wonder that I knew filled mine. They watched the sharks in awe, barely moving as they stood holding the bars beside me. Doris turned to look at me, and her eyes glistened with excitement. After all the fuss, it seemed she was just as thrilled as me.
Another tap on my shoulder turned me to Dr. Tremblay, and I didn’t even have to look to where he was pointing to know what it would be. The excitement in his eyes told me instantly.
Deep Blue was here.
I spun around to find her, clutching my chest when the behemoth of a shark came into focus. Her girth had to be twice that of Dotty and the others. Her length was almost four times my height. She looked like a monster, but I knew she was anything but.
I touched my dog tags again as if they were some beacon that would connect me directly to Percy. And for me, they were in a way. Anytime I needed to feel my old friend near, I touched them. When I wanted to share something with him, I touched them. When I missed him so much it hurt, I touched them. The simple touch connected me to him, and as Deep Blue swam within arm’s reach of the cage, I wanted him here to experience it with me.
When someone grabbed my hand, I glanced down to see it was Sylvie. I squeezed her back, then reached over and grabbed Alice’s hand. Alice wrapped her fingers around mine, looking over and smiling with her eyes as Sylvie took Doris’s hand in her other. Us four Wilder Widows stood together beneath the surface of the sea, holding hands while we experienced this moment together. The world’s largest Great White just within our reach.
If I had thought this moment was magical before, it was nothing compared to how this new one felt.
We stayed down for another half hour before our time was up. One by one, we bid farewell to the sharks, and I silently asked Deep Blue to stick around so I could swim with her again. We had three more days of dives ahead of us, and I wasn’t ready to see her go. After one last glance at the sharks drifting around us, I climbed up the ladder to the top of the cage, popping up through the opening and pulling out my regulator to take a deep breath of the fresh air.
“How was it?” Jake asked as he reached out his hand.
“That. Was. Incredible!” I shouted as he pulled me up. “One of the greatest things I’ve ever experienced. And I’m old as hell, and I’ve seen a lot, so that’s saying something!”
“Awesome!” He held out his hand, and I slapped it as I passed onto the platform.
Alice came up next, her smile wide as she joined me. “Okay. I’m not going to lie. That was pretty amazing.”
“Right? I told you you’d love it!”
“So cool!” Sylvie said after she popped up and pulled her regular. “Oh, my God. That was just sooooo cool!”
“I can’t wait to go again!” I grinned. “We can go as much as we want, right?”
“As much as you want,” Jake said.
“I’m just gonna sleep down there,” I joked.
Finally, a few moments passed, and Doris’s head emerged out of the water. I held my breath, waiting to see her reaction after so much fear and so much drama had prefaced our dive.
“Well?” I asked as she pulled off her regulator.
Her eyes bulged wide beneath her mask. “It. Was. Incredible! I want to go again!”
“You do?” I grinned. “Really?”
“Over and over and over!” she exclaimed. “It was beautiful, and I didn’t feel scared at all after a few minutes. They seemed almost ...”
“Peaceful,” I answered for her. “They seemed peaceful.”
She pulled off her mask, and her eyes crinkled at the corner from her smile. “Yes. It was peaceful.”
