Two Out of Three

She supposed that was a measure of trust in her abilities. She wasn't sure exactly where he'd gotten that, but it mollified her a bit. Though she still looked for hints of flirtation between Avi and Ylva. He spent no more time checking Ylva's equipment out than he'd had anyone else's on the boat. And she wasn't quite sure where her possessiveness had come from. He'd tried to get to know her on the drive down to Eilat, and she'd rebuffed each of his attempts. She knew there was only so much a man would try, especially if another young and willing female was nearby.

"If anyone needs more weights, let me know - I brought a few extras along," Avi announced, as he continued his rounds of every diver. All good, she nodded to him, as she slipped on the dive booties for a bit of extra warmth. Even in the pretty warm water she knew she might get cold if she stayed down long enough. She knew she was a temperature wimp - she hated getting cold.

"Folks, there is a lot of reef to see here, and we will be going slow so we can have plenty of time to see the beautiful wild life. But please, please watch your buoyancy and your fins - do not hit the reef with your fins, and make sure not to drop down on the reef - you will damage it. We have a lot of divers coming here - we want to keep the reefs as pristine for all of us as we can."

Avi took a breath and a sip of water and continued. "We were going to take you to the Caves, but we decided against it. Instead we will first head out to the Japanese Gardens, at the very end of the Nature Reserve. This site can only be reached by boat, so in addition to being beautiful, it also has the advantage of fewer divers. This will also be where we will dive the deepest, our maximum of 40 meters, and coming slowly up as we move along the reef." He rattled off the types of fish we should look out for, everyone watching him with rapt attention as he spoke of the various rays that they might see.

Val knew about the Caves site - it was in Egyptian waters officially, and while relations between Israel and Egypt were polite at the moment, at least on the surface, she also knew from the papers and her family that tensions were pretty high at the moment. She's already had an argument with Aunt Leila over whether she should even go diving in Eilat, and had finally put her foot down.

"We're nearly there. Make sure you have everything you need, especially your mask. We're going to be doing a giant step entry off the back of the boat, and we can get two people ready at a time, but please please don't go in at the same time. We want to make sure to be able to watch you as you get in and get settled in. Remember to give the big OK sign."

She nodded - good and safe, the way she liked it.

"Once we're all in and ready to go, and I'll be looking at all of you to check, so make sure you keep your eyes on me, we'll be going down the anchor line at the back of the boat. If you are relatively new, make sure to go down nice and slow, give yourself time. We're not in a rush, and we want everyone to be comfortable. On the way back, we will end back at the anchor line. Make sure to do your ten meter rest stop!

"We will all gather together, and you can either hang onto the anchor line or float around a bit, but don't go off too far. When we get back up to the surface, just line up at the back of the boat - Ben will put down the ladder and help us all up. You will be wearing your tank into the boat - that's the easiest way. If you're tired and need help with it, just let Ben know. He's a pretty attentive guy, anyway," he added, winking at Ben. "Any questions?"

Head shakes again, all around. Too early for questions, Val knew, especially since Avi was doing a thorough job of describing things, with an easy confidence that reassured everyone. Maybe she should have been friendlier to him, she thought.

Avi went into the water first, watching the rest of them as they lined up and one by one on the step at the stern and splashed into the water using the giant step entry. Each one made the goofy OK sign with one of their arms curved, fingers touching the top of their heads, looking like bobbing Michelin tire dolls in their bulky get-ups.

Val positioned herself on the step at the stern of the boat, checked her mask, put her octopus in her mouth and bit down on it, holding on to it and her mask as she took her giant step into the water. The splash was always fun when the water wasn't too cold, and after the initial shock of getting completely wet, she leaned back and enjoyed the water seeping into her skins and fins, over her breasts and between her thighs. The water was warm enough that it made her feel delicious. She dipped her head under the surface to check her mask, pressed high on the nose piece to drain all the water that had crept in during her jump, and made sure the mask was airtight around her cheeks, nose and forehead. So far, so good. Let's dive, people.

When Tim jumped in, she noticed the hesitation, as if he'd made a pact with himself to jump in. He splashed and bobbed up to the surface awkwardly, then lost his octopus. Val was by his side in a few strokes, and noticed the bewildered stare behind his mask, and the water accumulating in it.

She took out her snorkel. "Tim, clear your mask."

He looked at her blankly. "Give Avi the OK sign, then clear the water from your mask."

He looked around, found Avi staring back at him, and waved an OK with his fingers and thumb.

"Uh uh, Tim, like this." Val reached her arm up to her head, touching the top with her fingertips, making a big O in the process that could be seen near and far.

"Uh, OK. I forgot," Tim said, and mimicked the scuba diving signal.

"Now, clear the water out of your mask. You often get some sneaking in when you first jump in, especially if the mask doesn't fit perfectly."

Tim fumbled with his mask and managed to clear a lot of the water out, leaving quite a bit still sloshing around. His mask was fogging up.

"Did you defog your mask?"

"I did. Maybe not enough. Maybe the water rinsed out the defogging stuff." She smiled noncommittally - defogger coatings lasted quite a while, especially the commercial kind they'd passed around on the boat; the likelihood was that he'd forgotten to do it, and had been too embarrassed to confess. Not a good sign for his experience.

"Well, why don't you do it again? You'll see much better. Just use your spit." She demonstrated, taking her mask off, spitting in each eye socket, rubbing the spit around to coat the entire lens, and then rinsing out the rest by sloshing the mask around in the water. He mirrored everything she did, including putting his mask back on.

"All good? Why don't you check that it's water tight?"

"It's good, it fits well. I'm OK,"Tim insisted, and she let him be.

Looking around she noticed people were disappearing from the water's surface, only bubbles remaining where the bobbing bodies had been earlier. Avi had gone down already, but Ben was hovering still on the back of the boat, watching her and Tim carefully. She gave him a nod, then looked at Tim.

"Ready to go down? Join the fun?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tim answered, his enthusiasm only slightly tinged with anxiety. Val figured he hadn't been diving long, and was still a bit insecure about it.

"All right, Tim. Easy does it. We'll go as slowly as you're comfortable with. The visibility looks great, and from Avi's description of the terrain, we'll have no problem seeing everyone, so there's no rush. OK?"

She pulled her release valve above her head and began letting air out of her BCD, slowly enough so she could comfortably watch Tim's descent. Something about his behavior worried her a bit, but she put it out of her mind as she concentrated on clearing her own sinuses as she expelled more and more air and sank farther below the water's surface.

The visibility was indeed over 50 feet, and she could already see fishes swimming by nonchalantly. The pairs of divers in the group were all below her, their streams of bubbles rising to the surface. She could see Avi floating away from the rest a bit, arms loosely folded in front of him and fins lazily waving back and forth, keeping himself level. She recognized his bright blue fins and the fluorescent green that tinged his mask. A few feet away Ylva floated next to him, her long blonde hair gathered in a pony tail that fanned out behind her. She floated quite gracefully in the water, keeping herself at a steady depth in a way that experienced divers did without even thinking about it.

After taking in her surroundings, Val turned her eyes back to where should have been, a few feet above her, and found no one. She looked up and saw him, struggling with his mask, fingers pressing the bridge of the nose, evidently trying to clear water from it. She pushed off with a fin and rose back to his level, taking in his panicked eyes and his struggle to not breathe in water.

She touched his arm to steady him, and saw his eyes becoming a bit calmer, but water was still accumulating in his mask. She pressed her own mask, clearing it, not because it was necessary but to show him how she did it. The water level had risen and had reached his eyes, which he shut in panic. His movements became more erratic and he reached out for her with both hands, holding his octopus only with his mouth. A fine thing to do for experienced divers, but not great for rookies. He started swallowing water and choking, trying to keep from swallowing more. She judged that he couldn't possibly have much air left in his lungs.

They had been under water for less than a minute and hadn't reached much below 30 feet, so she took his arm with her own and propelled them both steadily upwards. As his head broke the water surface, he let go of the octopus and began to cough, the deep, desperate cough of someone who'd been trying to hold his breath and had run out of air. She steadied him, making sure he was OK, then dipped her own head under the water. Avi was looking up at them and had begun on his way up, his dark brown eyes wide and full of concern. She quickly made the OK sign to reassure him, put her thumb up, and he stopped. At his questioning look, she touched her mask, and he nodded.

She lifted her head up above the surface again, finding Tim coughing but much less desperately than a few seconds earlier. Taking her snorkel out, she asked him:

"Tim, are you OK?"

"Yeah, sorry! Just couldn't clear my mask and kept taking water in. And then I had to close my eyes, and couldn't see anything. I panicked."

"No need, Tim, it's OK. Have you been diving long?"

She saw his discomfort.

"Tim, everyone has to learn it all in the beginning. It takes time getting comfortable with it, and you will. If you're up for it, let's practice clearing your mask," and she patiently took him through the motions until he seemed to get the hang of it. She could tell he'd learned before, but she'd bet her fins he hadn't had much occasion to practice.

"Ready?" When he nodded, she continued, "Let's try again. We'll take it slow. Don't worry, they won't be far. Avi will wait for us."

They descended again, slowly, without any hitches this time around. Val watched Tim as he moved more comfortably, beginning to relax enough that he looked around himself, taking in the marine life and just beginning to enjoy the diving.

She'd been right: Avi had waited for them. He'd led the rest of the group to hover around some Porites corals, the large mound structures radiating thick finger-like projections, nubbly and covered in slime. A slew of colorful fish, slashes of color, darted in and out of the crevices. Larger fish moved around the crowns of the coral mounds, unhurried, some grazing on the reef, others seemingly taking a mid-day promenade.

As they caught up to the rest of the group, she noticed Avi turning to look for them, and Val gave him the thumbs up. He nodded his acknowledgment and gave her a smile that crinkled his eyes behind his mask and dimpled his cheeks.

Val relaxed for the rest of the dive, which was uneventful except for the eels she saw, the angler fish, and the couple of small but spectacularly bright-colored nudibranchs, gracefully undulating their skirts in the water current.

Back on the boat, they relaxed after squirming out of their gear, everyone enjoying the warm sun on their naked shoulders. Val pulled off her skins and strung them up to dry a bit in the boat as the boat headed to their next dive site. They ate lunch and fell into easy conversation, exchanging stories of what they'd seen and how the dive site had compared with others visited. Books of marine life were pulled out to identify the fish seen.

Val enjoyed the sandwich and Greek-style salad that Ben had passed around, grabbed a bottle of sparkling water from the cooler, and settled on the bench, back against the gunnel, head back and eyes closed. She fell into a half-doze, thanking her lucky stars she didn't get sea-sick as the boat tackled some waves along the way. This was the life, she thought.

A brush of a warm hand on her upper arm made her open her eyes.

"Thank you for helping Tim out, Val," Avi said.

"No worries. Anyone would have done the same. He's still learning," she answered, enjoying the feel of his hand. She missed it when he took it away.

"His parents led me to believe he was a lot more experienced than he actually is. If I'd known, I wouldn't have buddied you up with him."

"Seriously, Avi, it was no big deal. He was fine after he relaxed. And I'm glad to have helped out with Ylva."

"What?" he looked at her, puzzled.

"I'm sure she needed some extra attention," Val told him with a wink and relaxing her face into a smile.

He looked at her askance, shaking his head slightly. "It's not what you think."

Val clinked her sparkling water bottle to his own. "Cheers, Avi. I enjoyed the dive."

He looked at his hands, now in his lap, and nodded silently. "I need to switch out the tanks before we get to the next site," he told her, and left her.

She followed him with her eyes, kicking herself for her rudeness. She couldn't quite figure out her awkwardness with him. Something about his manner and bearing made her nervous; he attracted her while at the same time she couldn't admit it to herself, and certainly couldn't let herself relax fully around him. But she couldn't put her finger on what bothered her.Oh well, serves him right.

They second dive took them through more beautiful waters, the character of the reefs different from the first site. The place was rich in marine diversity, though Val could detect tell-tale signs of wear and tear on the reef, the rough scrabble of fin-disturbed corals visible to the more experienced eye. Tim had buddied up with his father and Val with his mother, whose skills were very good. The group meandered along the reef, pointing and drawing each other's attention by light taps on the scuba tanks to various fishes and to the beautiful soft corals of the Japanese Gardens that were entrancing everyone.

Soon enough it was time to return to the boat, and the group made their way to the safety stop, hanging out at ten meters for the requisite couple of minutes to let their blood gases equilibrate normally. Too fast an ascent would result in the painful bends, due to gas bubbles forming in joints. They were all looking around lazily, self-satisfied smiles on their faces, when Ylva began to twitch erratically. Val happened to see her first and headed to her with a few powerful fin strokes, looking at the Swedish diver, trying to figure out what was going on.

Ylva's eyes had nearly rolled up into her head, and her mouth was contorting into funny shapes. Val looked around for Avi and found him pointing out a couple of reef sharks to some of the other divers. She tapped her tank in a pattern to draw his attention, and in less than a minute he had reached them.

Val pointed to Ylva's eyes and mouth. Avi pointed to his dive watch, checked Ylva's own watch and air gauge and, satisfied, he gestured to Val to take Ylva's left arm, while he took Ylva's right. They surfaced in a few minutes, Val noticing that Ylva's eyes had become invisible, and that saliva was leaking around her octopus. Ylva and Avi signaled to Ben, who shouted to Yoel to bring the boat around. As soon as Ben could reach her, Avi helped Ben lift Ylva onto the boat and followed her up, shedding his BCD as soon as he stood up on deck.

"What's wrong with her?" Val asked, as she made her way onto the boat.

"Not sure, but it looks like she may have some sort of epileptic seizure."

"Epilepsy?" Val was astounded. "You let epileptics dive here?"

"I don't know for sure that that's what she has, but I suspect it, based on her symptoms. Help me - we need to make sure she doesn't hurt herself and doesn't bang her head against the side of the boat. Or swallow her tongue. And if she throws up, we need to keep her head sideways, so she doesn't choke."

Val followed his lead and tried to make herself useful. Avi shouted to Ben, who was helping everyone up.

"Everyone, stow your gear out of the way and please sit down. We're going to need to get back to shore in a hurry. Get ready for a bumpy ride, as they say...," and he shouted out to Ben in staccato Hebrew. Ben disappeared into the cabin for a minute, than reappeared, giving Avi a nod in return and kneeling at Ylva's side. Together, they kept her immobilized as the boat began the ride back to shore, taking off with much more speed than on the way out.

"Val, please, can you help Ben hold her? I need to call for an ambulance."

"Sure thing," she said and took his place next to the woman lying prone on the deck, still twitching but beginning to shake. "Ben, do you have any blankets? I'll hold her while you go look. Bring whatever you have, she looks like she may be going into shock."

She looked around at the others, and called to Tim's father, who immediately took Ben's place as Ben rose and again disappeared into the cabin, to reappear shortly with some blankets in his arms. The three of them worked together to wrap her, partly to keep her warm and partly to keep her from hurting herself as she twitched, hitting the deck with her head and heels. After what seemed like too long, Ylva's involuntary shudders subsided and her muscles seemed to relax a bit. The skin on her face, neck and chest was clammy.

Avi had returned and assessed the situation. "I think she'll be OK. For safety, let's keep a really close eye on her. I'll stay near her, and please, I'd like one of you to stay with me, just in case something happens suddenly. But I think she's worn herself out." He looked up at the approaching shore. "We'll be docking shortly. Paramedics are on their way."

Everyone else in the group dispersed to organize their belongings, getting ready to debark. People were talking quietly, throwing occasional sympathetic glances over their shoulders at Ylva.

About ten minutes later they had docked. A couple of tall, burly guys, one with a large bag, immediately boarded. The one with the bag got on one knee next to Ylva and started out by checking her eyes and pulse, then pulled out a stethoscope and continued his examination.

"So what happened?" the other paramedic asked. Avi explained, then stepped back.

"I think she'll be all right," the medic on his knee stated, "but we'll take her in for observation. I think it would be best to have a doctor see her. Did anyone notice anything out of the ordinary that may have set her off?"

Ylva was starting to come to, eyes fluttering.

"I think Val was the first to notice something was wrong. We were doing our safety stop, and I was showing a few people some reef sharks near the rest of the group, but I had my back turned."