“Nah, man,” he says, “the water cave. You know, the one she found when she was looking for us—with the box wrapped in a thick rope.”
“Oh, right. But why? Just leave it alone.”
“You’re not in the least bit curious?”
“No, man, not at all,” I say. I might be a little curious, though.
“Okay, well, I am, so I’m making a raft to tether on the back of the WaveRunner. I mean, we can use it for other things too, right?”
“I suppose so. Just... you’re not going to get me all Tom Hanks, holding on to a volleyball, riding the currents. We haven’t seen anything out there but unfriendlies.”
“No, just relax. This isn’t for anything other than pulling behind the WaveRunner so we can use it to help float up the box.”
“Got it,” I say. “You want some help?”
An hour later, we have a two-sided bamboo raft with a layer of the emergency raft sandwiched between it.
“So when are we going to do this?”
He cranes his neck up at the sky. “Not today.”
“Yeah, you’re right. It looks like it’s gonna rain again. I thought the rainy season was supposed to be back in the fall, not in February.”
He shrugs. “I’m not the damn weatherman.”
I nod. With each passing week, he seems to be getting crankier. It’s becoming a bit of a thorn in everyone’s side. If he wants to take the WaveRunner for a little spin and see what’s under the water, why the hell not?
“Let’s do it,” I say.
“By the look of the sky, it should only rain for a little bit.”
“Now you’re the weatherman?” he says.
“It’s not hard. Rain comes from east of the island and moves west, to the other side. All you have to do is look.” I motion my hand across the horizon like a presenter.
“So we go this afternoon.”
“With Haley,” I add.
“Obviously,” Calvin grunts.
And the rain starts. We take cover, running for the camp. In the last few weeks, Zane’s been working on his Christmas gift to Haley. There’s a side platform coming off our sleeping platform, just big enough for washing up and some storage. But we’ve alsonow got a cover over the table and most of the kitchen area—it’s part tarp, part roof, and mostly waterproof.
Sam and Dante are sitting at the table with their lunch.
Dante cups his hands at the sleep platform. “You coming down?”
A few seconds later, Zane pokes his head out. “In a minute or two.”
“There might not be any left in a minute or two—Calvin just showed up,” Dante announces.
“Hardy har,” Calvin says.
I look between Haley and Sam. “So, after lunch, it looks like it’s going to clear up.”
Sam puts his spoon down and holds my gaze. “There’s definitely more to that statement,” he says.
“Right, yeah. So after lunch, I’m thinking that Haley, Calvin, and I’ll take the WaveRunner and Calvin’s new raft and go see what’s in that crate.”
