Anders watched as a few of the crew assembled a makeshift shelter for the chemical toilets they brought with them. He had yet to see someone use them. This was one reason Anders never swam with the cruise crowd.
He listened to the chatter of the birds and wondered what other fauna inhabited this small piece of paradise. The birds protested the noise of the tent stakes being pounded into the sand for a moment before they went quiet. The sky darkened. A cold breeze moved past Anders. He rubbed his goose-pimpled arms. The birds resumed their chatter, and the fair-weather cloud moved away from obstructing the sun.
The sounds of the other boats floated over the water, bringing back an air of normalcy and immediacy. Now began his task of setting up the lifeguards, one on the beach and two on the boats that would be anchored offshore on shark watch. Anders pulled out his radio. He called, but he found that he couldn’t connect with the other boats. He tried his cell phone, but that too wasn’t working. He resorted to hand signals to get the crew organized.
Bruce and Jeremy Gable were determined to ditch their parents, Karl and Marie. The teens wanted to hang out with the college crowd. The boys didn’t see the harm in two fourteen-year-old twins mixing with the experienced girls who wore the smallest of bathing suits. Their parents, however, were still determined to keep the twins’ innocence intact for a few more years.
Karl was annoyed that the family had voted for the swim excursion instead of touring the town. He suspected that his wife was being blackmailed by his sons. He couldn’t fathom why his wife would give up a shopping opportunity. He caught her a few times eyeing one of the lifeguards, but aside from a mild flirtation, Marie knew better than to encourage a shipboard romance. Although, it didn’t stop her open adoration for the muscled, tanned men who worked on the cruise ship.
The said lifeguard cleared his voice and announced, “Attention. We will be landing soon. Please take your bags with you, as some of these launches will be anchored offshore. If you didn’t bring sunscreen, it is available for purchase at the complimentary refreshment table. Just sign your name and give the crewman your room number. We will be here for approximately three hours, depending on weather. Please do not venture beyond the beach. Thank you.”
The announcement was repeated verbatim on each of the other boats. The crew waited for a signal from the shore before moving forward to beach the boat and disembark their passengers.
Anders walked the perimeter of the beach, stopping to hand his guards a bottle of water. The two security men had established themselves at the edge of the beach on a rocky outcropping. The height gave them a clean path of sight across the flat, white sand beach. The refreshment marquee dominated the rear of the center of the beach. It was positioned there so that the catering crew would have additional sets of eyes on the patrons to make sure that the swimmers confined their activities to the beach and the water beyond. Caribbean island interiors were notorious for their hazards. Anything from snakes to poisonous plants were known to wreck a vacation, and when the reviews hit social media, it could ruin the careers of the crew members who were responsible for the excursion. Anders was up for promotion. He didn’t want some curious tourist to get in the way of a possible higher paycheck and a single-bunk room.
Anders stopped and opened a bottle of water. He wanted to pour it over his head, but he didn’t want to spoil the white, polo, uniform shirt he was wearing. Instead, he took a deep pull of the icy liquid. He stopped and stared out across the beach towards the water where the beachgoers were wading. The sandbar was longer than expected, making the distance the lifeguard boats had to be anchored farther from the shore. Gentle waves rose and fell as they tracked over the sandbar before kissing the shore. It was a beautiful sight if you ignored the two teens who were floating on their backs in their swim shorts pointing out the tenting of the fabric where it had caught air. They would turn and let the bubbles out, making farting noises with their lips.
Was he ever that young? Was there a time when he thought that an underdeveloped pimple-studded body was hot enough to attract the sexy older women, otherwise known as the college girls?
A shimmer in the sand stopped his thoughts. It was just a ripple, but the light caught the white sand as something appeared to be moving underneath it. It was moving fast towards the water. Surely there weren’t sea snakes here! He took off running towards the disruption, stopping at the water’s edge where he expected the reptile to exit the sand. Nothing happened. Anders looked back and noticed a dozen or so snakelike ripples moving in various directions across the sand. Maybe crabs? Turtles? Whatever they were, there were a lot of them. Anders put his whistle to his lips and blew it to get everyone’s attention. “I think it’s time we headed back. Please return to the beach and collect your things.” He signaled the crew to bring the boats into shore.
Marie was irritated. First, she had to endure the bouncy ride to the island. Second, her favorite eye candy was stationed out in one of the lifeguard boats. There was no way she was going to ruin her designer suit in the saltwater. Third, the twins were acting up, which was making Karl crabby. Fourth, there was no alcohol aside from some bottled wine coolers. Did they really expect those were going to entice her? She turned on her back, ignoring the order
