A Doll of Hope

Chapter 29

Just as they had planned, everyone piled into Benjiro's yacht and headed out to go diving first thing in the morning. As they approached the reef, Greta struggled to kept her cool.

"Oh boy! I can hardly wait! I really hope we'll get to see a sea turtle as big as me!" Sandra let out a chuckle.

"Take it easy, Greta. I doubt sea turtles get that big." RJ smirked.

"At least she's getting pumped up. Nothing wrong with that." Bethany gave him a grin.

"You sure seem to be in a better mood this morning. I had a feeling you just needed to blow off some steam." RJ smirked.

"Yeah, yeah, I got the memo. Just give a guy a break every now and then. Can't ya, babe?" Bethany giggled.

"Sorry dear, you're just too much fun to play around with at times." RJ just rolled his eyes. Christie looked out at the ocean. The salty wind blew through her hair.

"Wow, the water's practically glowing in the sun." Benjiro walked up next to her.

"Indeed, it certainly is breathtaking. I can only imagine what marvelous scenes await to be partaken beneath those majestic waves." Christie felt a shiver run down her spine. It was then she remembered that to get to the reef, they had to swim to it. Even though she was determined to do her best at not holding everyone back, she still felt very uneasy about facing her fears. Before long, they made it to the edge of the reef. As soon as they dropped anchor, Greta threw off her cover up.

"Yahoo! Last one in's a rotten fish!" She cheered as she jumped over the edge. Before another word could be said, Greta plowed through the waves and into the water.

"Shesh! Couldn't she have at least waited till we lowered the dock?" Matt asked as he looked over to see the ship's make-shift dock being lowered. Sandra shook her head.

"You know how she gets. When she's excited about something, nothing can hold her down for long."

"Reminds me a lot of you." Matt added. Sandra flashed him a glare. A second later, Greta came back up.

"What are you guys waiting for?! Come on in! The water's great!" She cheered as she floated on her back. Bethany smiled as she took off her cover up.

"I guess we might as well join in the fun. You going in, Chris?" Christie tried to force a smile.

"I will in a minute. You go on ahead."

"If you say so." RJ stated as he threw off his shirt. With a smirk, he sneaked up behind Bethany. Before she realized what was happening, RJ scooped her up in his arms.

"Time to swim with the fishes!" He stated as he carried Bethany towards the dock.

"Wait! RJ! Not yet!" Bethany screamed. But it was too late. With Bethany secured in his arms, RJ jumped over the edge and into the water. A second later, they came up to the surface. Bethany pushed her hair out of her face.

"RJ, you rat! I wasn't ready! I still had to pull my hair back!" She fumed as she tried to reign the water out of her hair. RJ chuckled.

"Come on, babe. It's not that bad." Bethany flashed him a glare.

"Not that bad?! Do you have any idea how long it takes to brush all the tangles out of my hair when I swim wearing it down like this?! It's like I have to separate one strand at a time!"

"Well, that's what you get for picking on me last night." RJ couldn't help but laugh as Bethany continued to fume while splashing him. Christie watched the two of them from the safety of the boat.

"Are those two gonna be alright bickering like that in the water?" She heard someone laughing behind her. She turned to see Sandra walk up next to her with several pairs of goggles in her hand.