Kiss On The Bridge (15 page)

‘Where’s the shark?’ she thought.

Anneli knew if she didn’t somehow conquer the
thought she’d drown before even attempting to squeeze through the
porthole. The vision of Wade drowning forced her to free her mind
of the shark and quickly gripped the side of the porthole.

‘You can do this,’ she confidently yelled in
her mind. ‘Swim through the hole; make your way to the stairs and
open the trap door. It’s an easy thing to do.’

Anneli pushed her arms through the hole. She
started to wriggle her shoulders through one at a time. Both her
hips, though narrow, couldn’t fit through the hole at the same
time. Realizing she couldn’t go forward or back, panic gripped her
mind. Drowning or the return of the shark unnerved her. She could
hear the sound of her heart beating inside her ears. She stopped
wriggling, trying to force herself to relax. Searching the open
ocean for a handhold so she could stretch out and help her to
wriggle free, Anneli again needed to force the idea of the shark
from her mind. Her lungs were now starting to ache. Wade was right
she should’ve relaxed a while longer before attempting to play the
hero. She closed her eyes at the realization drowning seemed
inevitable.

Anneli’s heartbeat started to slow. Even
underwater she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Soon her
lungs will need oxygen, signaling the end. In her final moments her
mind churned her thoughts.

‘Wade, I’m sorry for letting you down. I’d
been too cocky to listen. Our fate is sealed. The sensation of
dying is strange. In the seconds leading up my death I feel at
peace. There’s no panic, no bright light, no angel to escort me
home; not even the return of the shark to bring the moment of
departure from this world into the next, quicker. The only thing I
can do is to wait.’

Wade watched from the air bubble. He took a
deep breath and dived to see what stopped Anneli from squeezing
through the porthole. A quick study of the water revealed no blood.
What he did notice, Anneli’s legs looked limp. Panic started to set
in. He needed to ignore the feeling if he were to save Anneli. He
floated just above her hips. Due to the panic trying to take
control of his mind he nearly missed the problem. If he didn’t work
fast Anneli will certainly drown. Already she’d been underwater for
at least forty-five seconds. He tried to remember how many seconds
she bragged at being able to hold her breath. He couldn’t recall
the answer. To stop the panic onslaught again he gave himself a
massive goal. Fix the problem in two seconds.

Three seconds ticked off before Wade decided
what course of action to take. Saving Anneli’s life took precedence
over any embarrassment he might cause her. He reached out to
unbuckle the large belt from around her waist. Quickly pulling the
over sized shorts down to her ankles, he threw them over his
shoulder. Besides her top, the only article of clothing Anneli wore
was a pink frilled G string.

He grabbed her ankles, positioned his feet
against the table leg and pushed hard.

Anneli’s thighs and legs were propelled
through the port hole. Wade stuck his head through the hole,
watching her rocketing to the surface. He threw his fists up in a
victorious salute.

The moment Anneli felt the breeze on her face
she opened her mouth to breathe in the fresh air. For over a minute
she bobbed on the surface treading water waiting for her lungs to
stop aching.

In the warm sunshine Anneli slowly
recollected the final moments.

“At the verge of blackout I can vaguely
remember something gripping my ankles. The next thing I knew my
head broke the surface.” She chuckled at her raspy whispers.

A stinging sensation on her hip bone forced
her to look. Red water hovered around her torso in a growing slick.
“Where are my shorts,” she managed to rasp. “Oh no, my thigh has
been skinned from being pushed through the porthole. The shark; my
blood in the water is the ringing of the dinner bell.”

The moment her senses were rejuvenated Anneli
started back down, determined to save Wade. In a heartbeat she
decided he did the right thing to save both their lives. He’d seen
almost all of her. Embarrassment will have to wait.

Wade waited for Anneli at the stairs hoping
it mightn’t be long before the storm shutter opened. The air bubble
looked to be no larger than a medium sized bucket. To save
Charlotte the manual pump needed to be started. Soon it will be too
late.

Anneli saw the problem before she reached the
storm shutter. The plate connecting the boom to the mast looked
bent, which in turn pushed the boom against the storm shutter.
Volleying her gaze between looking for the shark and the boom she
successfully unscrewed the four wing nuts. Bracing her feet on the
deck Anneli used her entire strength to try to heave the boom out
of the way.

The boom only slightly moved.

Banging on the ocean side of the door forced
a grin on Wade’s face. Sitting in the submerged cabin waiting for
rescue felt un-nerving. For the first time in his life he felt more
than useless. He swam back to the tiny air pocket to inhale what
remained of the air.

A dark shape the size of a small car closed
in on Charlotte. Wrapping two hands around the boom Anneli froze.
Her gaze riveted on the monster. Of all the facts she read about
sharks only one stood out; ‘if confronted by a shark, don’t move.
They were attracted to blood and vibration.’ She watched the
shark’s cold emotionless eyes staring at her. The monster opened
its mouth showing off rows of razor sharp teeth. Each swish of its
tail brought it closer. Anneli quickly thought up a plan of escape.
She almost decided to implement the plan when the monster of the
deep seemed to lose interest, deciding to swim away. Anneli stood
frozen long after it disappeared. She knew if the shark changed its
mind it’ll be back. She needed to lift the boom well before the
dinner bell could be rung a second time.

Anneli’s lungs were starting to ache so she
decided to ascend towards the surface to take a few moments to plan
her next wave of attack. She inhaled, filling her lungs to capacity
before heading back to the blocked storm shutter. Using two hands
she gripped the boom and planted her feet firmly against
Charlotte’s deck. Standing upside down she pulled on the boom,
willing it to move. Using all her strength a small amount of air
escaped her lungs.

The boom lifted off the door.

Wade’s head, torso and legs squeezed through
the gap. Before he could dart for the surface he spied the shark’s
return. Wade pulled the screw driver from his back pocket to ready
himself for the attack. The shark came in for a bite. Wade lashed
out, stabbing it in the gills. The grey monster swam away leaving a
trail of red in its wake.

Anneli and Wade bolted for the surface.

“Great timing,” he puffed. “I’d used all the
air in the bubble.”

Anneli’s cheeks turned red. Wade quickly
reacted to the reason for her embarrassment.

“Here, I have a present. I believe these are
your shorts. I’ll set to work righting Charlotte.” He gave Anneli a
long loving kiss before diving back under the water towards the
wheel house.

Wade located the manual ballast pump. He
quickly set to work untying the handle. Next he selected one of two
small wheels the size of a doorknob. He wound one wheel anti
clockwise, the other he turned clockwise. One ballast tank seemed
ready to be pumped dry, while the other will remain full. Pumping
the water out of only one of the ballast tanks will force Charlotte
to rotate. In time she’d be sitting right way up. Wade knew it will
be a slow tedious process. The activity could take up to an hour to
complete. Somehow he needed to convince Anneli to help. He swam out
of the bridge and back to the surface. By the time he took a breath
his lungs were at bursting point.

“Wade, you were gone too long. You have to
agree on me helping you. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“I didn’t know how to ask.”

“Wade, you know I’m up to it. Show me what to
do. Don’t forget I can hold my breath longer than you.”

“I apologize. I forgot. During the last dive
I’ve closed off one ballast tank. The only thing we have to do is
pump the water out of the second ballast tank. In theory Charlotte
will right herself.”

“In theory?” echoed Anneli, looking somewhat
doubtful.

Wade gave a half hearted shrug. “When I
bought Charlotte, the bloke told me in the event the yacht turned
upside down the only thing I have to do is what I’m proposing.”

“Let’s hope he wasn’t pulling your
chain.”

Wade raised his eyebrows before diving
straight down. Leading the way back to the manual pump situated on
the wall of the cabin, he showed Anneli what needed to be done.

She first needed to anchor herself to the
wheel of the yacht before commencing to pump the metal arm up and
down. No mean feat upside down in ten feet of water. Wade completed
five pumps before shooting back to the surface. He floated on the
calm sea about seventy-five miles off the Australian coast. His
lungs were constantly aching from holding his breath too often. He
felt positive Anneli will be feeling the same.

Opening his eyes to the sunlight, a look of
terror gripped his soul. Anneli had been down far too long. Could
she be trapped and on the verge of drowning again, or could there
be another shark blocking her ascent? Wade dived. He tore through
the water and into the bridge, nearly bowling Anneli over. He
reached out, grabbing her arm. In his panic he pointed to the
surface. She resisted by giving him a look which read.

‘I’m fine, so do not interrupt.’

The corners of Anneli’s mouth curled slightly
upwards when she re-commenced her pumping of the manual ballast
arm. She completed several more pumps before ascending towards the
surface. Wade followed her up. He held out his hand to support her
back while she floated in the warming sun.

“Wade, I’m fine.”

“How can you stay down so long?”

“I’ve explained it already; practice.”

“I should follow your lead.”

Anneli chuckled between breaths. She didn’t
want to let on she was on the verge of blackout. Counting inside
her head she passed her personal best of sixty five seconds when
she broke surface. The way things were looking she doubted whether
either of them would have enough strength to keep going for an
indefinite period of time.

On his fourth dive Wade noticed Charlotte
starting to list. The main mast sat at a forty-five degree angle.
The discovery gave him a renewed zest. He surfaced as Anneli dived.
Wade estimated in thirty minutes Charlotte might be sitting
right-way-up. Even though the yacht sat at sea level they could
rest before he opened the second ballast tank. A short time later
he’d raise the sail then they’d be on their way.

Anneli surfaced. A gleam shot from her eyes.
“Charlotte’s on her way up.”

“She sure is,” replied Wade.

Seven more dives each saw the mast vertical.
The two swam to the side of the boat and sat on the deck in waist
deep water.

“It feels good to take a break,” confessed
Wade.

“It sure does,” replied Anneli, sitting next
to him staring up at the sky.

Eventually Wade slowly walked over to the
bridge, opened the second ballast tank and commenced to pump the
handle.

In minutes Charlotte’s deck appeared out of
the water. Four feet of air now separated the deck to the surface
of the sea.

“Let’s go below to view the damage,” insisted
Anneli. She took hold of Wade’s hand to lead the way down. Stepping
off the bottom stair, she stood in a pool of water. Immediately she
started to sob quietly.

“It’s okay,” whispered Wade, cuddling her.
“It won’t be long before Charlotte will look new again. The only
thing she needs is a small amount of elbow grease.”

“I know she will. This yacht kind of tugs at
your heart strings. I don’t want to see anything bad happen to
her.”

After opening two portholes, Wade started to
search for two empty plastic buckets. He found them under the
kitchen bench in a cupboard.

“The former owner of the yacht happened to be
one hundred percent correct about how to right the yacht,” remarked
Anneli, sitting in the water. She leaned against the side of the
yacht pretending Charlotte was a large bath.

“Almost correct,” hinted Wade. “The bloke who
told me the tale built this fine yacht.”

Anneli’s eyebrows shot up. Wade started
searching her face for something. He found it in her eyes. They
worked well as a team. The near drowning experience couldn’t
extinguish the spark of love between them. A new warm wave of
emotion swept over him from the top of his head to his feet.

Anneli leaned forward tapping him on the leg.
“We have plenty of work to do.”

She scooped up a bucket of water. Instead of
heaving the sea water out of the porthole she decided Wade needed a
shower. She tipped every last drop over his head. Wade closed his
eyes, laughing till his jaw ached. He tackled the young woman rugby
style. They both came up splattering sea water. They were laughing
and coughing at the same time. The spark of love started to develop
into a raging fire.

Anneli enjoyed the moment. Her newly
discovered hero turned out to be more than she ever hoped.

A wave of sadness extinguished her thoughts
of having Wade by her side for the rest of her life. She masked it
well. The question of how he felt about her started to plaque her
mind. Could Wade ever feel the same way she did?

The two started the bailing process. Inside
fifteen minutes the carpet fibers poked above the water.

Wade dropped his bucket on the carpet before
walking off. In seconds he came back carrying a mop to soak up the
remaining quarter of an inch of water. “When we arrive back in
Melbourne I’ll organize to have the carpet replaced.”