Forty minutes later the two of them surfaced not far from shore. “Congratulations,” Ben said. “You are now a certified scuba diver, courtesy of the good folks at Scuba Schools International.”

“I feel like there should be some kind of initiation or something,” said Hudson as they headed in.

“Didn’t I mention the part where we make you wrestle with a wolf eel?” joked Ben.

They emerged from the water, walking up the beach to one of the freshwater showerheads mounted on a pole nearby. Ben held the button down while Hudson rinsed himself and his gear, then they switched places. When they were both mostly free of saltwater, they continued on to Ben’s car and began the process of taking everything off.

“You never told me how your talk with Caddie turned out,” Hudson said as he removed the weights from his BC. “Did that guy really take her diving?”

“He did,” Ben said.

“And that’s bad, right?” Hudson asked.

“He’s not an instructor,” Ben explained. “Technically, there’s nothing that says you have to be certified to dive. But no dive shop operator in their right mind will rent you gear or fill your tanks without seeing a c-card first. I guess Brian just borrowed a bunch of gear for Caddie.”

“And you’re okay with her diving without any formal training?”

“No,” Ben said. “I quizzed her a little, and she doesn’t know half of what she should to be out there. But there’s really not much I can do to stop her if she’s determined to do it, so I offered to teach her the right way to dive.”

“Let me guess,” said Hudson. “She said no.”

Ben nodded. “That girl’s as stubborn as ...”

“As you are?” Hudson suggested.

Ben, sliding the tub with his gear into the back of the car, didn’t answer, but Hudson knew he’d said exactly what Ben was thinking. “I thought we were starting to get along,” said Ben.

“At least she’s talking to you,” Hudson reminded him. “You can’t expect miracles overnight.”

Ben helped him lift his gear into the car. “I’d settle for just knowing what she’s thinking,” he commented.

“Ah,” said Hudson as Ben closed the hatch. “I’m afraid that will never happen. You’re a dad; she’s a daughter. You’re different species.”

They got in and drove back to Ben’s house. When they walked in, Caddie was sitting on the couch, reading a book. She looked up, then went back to her book without saying anything.

“Hey, Caddie,” Hudson said brightly.

She muttered an unintelligible greeting but didn’t look at him.

“Hudson just finished his certification dives,” Ben said brightly.

“Good for Hudson,” said Caddie.