Once upon a time…
It’s how all the best stories start, right?
Or maybe, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away.
Or maybe you want to do the Wayne’s World wavy lines and wiggle.
However you get there, imagine if you will, 1989. A young nerdy girl in the summer between middle and high school, heading off to Space Academy in Huntsville, Alabama.
And it’s not her first time.
But this year, even more adventure awaits! Part of the training now offers campers a chance to learn the basics of scuba diving and then spend a couple of hours submerged in a small version of the diving tanks that astronauts use to train on working in anti-gravity.
I was skeptical, at first. Mostly because of the wetsuit, not gonna lie. But once the water closed over my head and I could still breathe? And I hung suspended in the water…I was hooked.
It would a handful of more years before I could get back to it, but after a couple of years of, ummm, persistent suggestion, my hubby and I did our basic certification. Then advanced. Then a couple of other optional ones like night diving and wreck diving. And we spent some fabulous time diving with the local scuba shop here as well as in Florida.
But life gets busy. And scuba skills decay if you don’t use them. And it’s been a lot of years since I’ve managed to strap on a tank and take a giant leap into the water.
But I still dream about it.
So, when, in The Billionaire’s Nanny, Wes Allen randomly mentioned that he wanted to quit his software job and open a dive shop, I have to admit I was surprised. Then when he actually went through with it? I was even more surprised. But also a little excited. Because maybe, even if I couldn’t get out and dive myself any time soon, I could write about it.
And boy oh boy, when it came time to write Wes’s book, The Billionaire’s Teacher, there was a lot more diving than I expected. And I loved every minute of living vicariously under the water with Wes and Sunshine.
I hope you will, too!
To whet your appetite a little, how about an excerpt?
I put my goggles in place, popped my snorkel in my mouth, and stood. I circled my index finger and thumb and took a big step out into the water. I dropped down under the surface for a second before the air in my vest popped me back up. I spit out the snorkel and treaded water while I waited for Wes to join me.
When he was in the water, he flashed the OK sign back at me with his thumb and index finger.
I reached around behind my neck for the group of hoses connected to my air tank, found my regulator, and put it in. A quick exhale to clear out water and I was ready. I pointed my thumb down, waited for Wes to return the motion, then began to slowly let air out of my BCD, letting gravity and the weights integrated into the system pull me under the waves.
This was my favorite thing.
It was as if all the cares and worries of the world stayed above the water. So now, as I descended, I just had to focus on my rate of descent, clearing my ears, and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation.
Curious angelfish fish darted over to investigate our bubbles and the bright splashes of color on the sides of our wetsuits. As we neared the reef, I slowed my descent even more until I hung suspended at the best depth to move around without having to make a ton of adjustments.
Wes overshot slightly and it took him a minute or so to tweak his buoyancy to match my depth. He flashed OK. I returned the gesture and signaled in the direction that we needed to go if he wanted to see the sunken glass-bottomed boat.
I wasn’t sure that he cared about that, but it was a nice path through the area that would show off the animals who made their home here. And he could get a feel for the current, such as it was, at this dive site.
Wes swam beside me. I appreciated that he didn’t lag behind or zoom ahead. And he had a good mastery of the kicking technique needed to propel himself through the water without stirring up a lot of the ocean floor. As dive partners went, he was the closest to ideal that I’d had since Luca.
My mind shied away from that comparison.
Instead, I focused on breathing easily and admiring the fish. A flash of color made me pause and reach for Wes’s arm.
He turned and I pointed to the green snout of a moray eel that had darted back into its hiding place as we swam by.
Wes’s eyes brightened.
It was almost more interesting to watch him watch the fish as it was to see them myself. He had a visible appreciation for everything around us, despite the scuba equipment he wore. I couldn’t explain it—years of diving with groups had honed the instinct. It was something in the eyes. And the speed that he swam. Wes was enjoying being down here, not simply zipping from one thing to the next to say he’d done it.
I waited until he made eye contact again and we swam on, the warm water surrounding me like a gentle hug.
The Billionaire’s Teacher will release on September 26th. I hope you’ll take a chance on Wes and his forced proximity, age gap, stranded romance.
Have you ever been scuba diving? Or do you have an unusual hobby? Tell me in the comments!
Elizabeth Maddrey is a semi-reformed computer geek and homeschooling mother of two who lives in the suburbs of Washington D.C. When she isn’t writing, Elizabeth is a voracious consumer of books. She loves to write about Christians who struggle through their lives, dealing with sin and receiving God’s grace on their way to their own romantic happily ever after.
I have never been scuba diving. My son went once and loved it.
I’ve never scuba dived.
Happy Friday Elizabeth! Thanks for sharing about how you became interested in scuba diving. While I enjoy living near Lake Michigan, I am a land lover, so I have never been scuba diving. This German American retired high school teacher, does not have any unusual hobbies, but am looking forward to reading The Billionaire’s Teacher. Enjoy your weekend.
I went scuba diving once with a very touristy group while on vacation. A fellow diver kept panicking, and the professional diver had to frequently take her back to the surface. At the end of the experience, we cleaned our equipment by dunking the facemask in a rain barrel! Of course I got sick the next day! Never tried it again.
It’s such an amazing experience!
Do you think it would be something you’d try?
My college roommate got scuba certified in Lake Michigan. Her main takeaway was that the lake is cold. :)
Oh no! That is definitely not an auspicious start to diving.
I’ve been scuba diving and absolutely love it! But it has been a while since it is expensive and my husband doesn’t enjoy it.
It’s definitely pricey!
That’s so cool that you used to scuba dive, I thought it was just something you’d researched for the series.
Really looking forward to ‘The Billionaire’s Teacher’ release, I’ve loved the series so far and Wes is an intriguing character.
I’ve never scuba dived or had any unusual hobbies. I used to love choral singing and I hope to get back to it when my kids are a bit older.
I have never scuba dived, and don’t think that is something I want to try. I don’t have any unusual hobbies, either.
I miss singing in a choir! I hope you get back to it.
Fair enough!
I’ve never been scuba diving and while I think it could be neat to explore a reef and see the creatures that call it home, the thought of actually scuba diving freaks me out.
I’ve never been scuba diving, though it would be fun! I guess I should learn how to actually swim first….. :D
I have not been scuba diving! As a native Floridian, you’d think I’d spend a lot of time on/in the water, but I don’t. I burn way too fast and easy, do NOT like being really hot, so spend my time inside in the A/C with a good book!!
Hubby struggled a little with claustrophobia at the start.
Definitely swimming skills are needed first!
AC is one of my favorite things! But I don’t like the beach or the ocean unless I’m diving. So I get it.
I loved the ARC of Wes & Sunny’s story! I have never gone scuba diving (not the greatest swimmer), but one time years ago my parents took my sister and I to Hawaii and we did go snorkeling. My main takeaway was the horrible sunburn on my back the next day, but it was fun in the warm water. I loved hearing your history with diving!
Yes I have been scuba diving. Between Junior and Senior year of high school, our whole family (7 of us) went to Jamaica and we took a boat around the islands. The captain was a very nice man. The sights were gorgeous and the water was just as gorgeous. My sister and I went scuba diving a lot. Once as we were out a fish as big as my little sister swam next to us. That was so cool. When we got back to the boat, we told everyone about the fish and the captain had a fit. Turns out it was a shark of some sort. Well heck he was friendly. We were not allowed to go back into the water until the next day and we had traveled quite a bit that day. It was gorgeous to spend time in the water with all the fish.
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! :)
And snorkeling is fun, too! Although, I’ll be honest, I don’t breathe through a snorkel nearly as well as I do with the diving gear.
Oh wow! Look at you, shark diving! lol
Never been scuba diving not sure if I would want to. I don’t have any unusual hobbies
I’ve never been scuba diving. I can only imagine how gorgeous it must be seeing/swimming with all the fish, sea creatures, and coral.
It sounds daunting at first for sure.
It’s really so amazing — you can’t avoid the awe of God’s creation.
haven’t been
I have never been scuba diving. I really don’t like the water that much.
I have never been scuba diving. I enjoy swimming but haven’t done that in years.
Hope you get to try it sometime.
Ha. That’s fair. You definitely have to enjoy the water some to want to dive.
I feel like it used to be easier to find places to swim than it is now.
I have never been scuba diving, but it looks so fun!
I have been snorkeling but not scuba diving. No unusual hobbies for me.
I hope sometime you get a chance to try!
Snorkeling is great, too!
Thank you for sharing. I have never suba dived. I do not have any unusual hobbies. God bless you.
You’re not alone in not having an unusual hobby!
I’ve never tried scuba diving, but I’m pretty sure I’m not a good candidate for it. It just seems like something I may freak out during. But, I’m very excited to read Wes’ story!
Haven’t been scuba diving it kinda scares me. I tend to gag when I have things in my mouth and scared that would happen underwater.
I haven’t really done it but I always thought astronomy would be so much fun. I love looking at the stars and one of my goals is to see the Aroura Australis. I know of friend on farms here that have seen it but so far I haven’t. I did see Haileys comment. (sorry for the late reply been an interesting few days_
Freaking out would definitely not be good
Oh boy. Yeah that wouldn’t be so positive. The Auroras are on my dream list as well. I hope you get to see them! Astronomy would be a fabulous hobby.
Over never scuba dived. I do the on the top of the water looking below. I guess I am a little claustrophobic because when I haven’t done it for quite some time I have to make myself relax and breathe easy. Once there I enjoy it a lot. I can just go and go and no need to stop from normal swimming. Make sense?
I tried snorkling in Rarotonga , it was okay but I not a big fan of water after nearly drowning as a child.
On the opposite side my husband used to be a scuba instructor on Lake Malawi in Africa and also did free diving. Works for us, he goes diving and I sit and read a book, win win.
I have never been scuba diving but i would love to try one day :)
I have never been scuba diving. I would love to, but I wonder how I’d feel about it as I tend to be claustrophobic. I do love snorkeling though!
I’m not sure it counts as unusual, but my hobby is cooking competition BBQ with my family’s team. I cook the ribs, my son cooks chicken, my hubby cooks the brisket, and my brother-in-law cooks the pork (& the ribs when I can’t.) I also run the judging room some weekends instead of cooking.
I’ve never been scuba diving, and doubt that I ever will, so I look forward to doing it vicariously through your book! I have a variety of hobbies, but just the “usual”–gardening, sewing, jigsaw puzzles, and reading, of course!!