A/N: Here's another one for today! Enjoy--
A Few Days in the Pacific Chapter 4
"Join us at the Hot Bean Café. Just off the main street." The note was signed "Dave", the marine biologist—who reminded her of Grissom. She threw the note at the bed and got in the shower.
And in the shower, she had her own conversation, talking to the wall as she scrubbed her sunburned shoulder. "Here I am, on the vacation of a life time, and I don't even want to go out. This is a pitiful excuse for living!" She complained to herself. Wrapping a towel around her body, she found the note. She would find the Hot Bean Café.
She spotted the group from the door. The biologist saw her, jumping up to pull a chair to their table. "Sara! Everyone—this is Sara Sidle, a fellow shipmate." He introduced her to each person, all researchers on some special project.
"I'm here as a tourist." Sara explained when asked if she had a project.
"For how long?" Another asked.
"I fly out on Wednesday." Sara said and left most of the conversation to others.
They were studying sea cucumbers, measuring and photographing the little sea creatures in several bays around the island.
"Come with us tomorrow." The biologist encouraged her. "It is easy work—much easier than what we were doing on the ship." The others agreed and before she gave it much thought, she said yes.
They ate dinner, talked about research, the islands, the importance of protection of wildlife and plants. Each person seemed to have a particular area of interest but joined together to work. Two were working to band and count certain birds, including the albatross she had seen. Another was looking at a type of fish which had been introduced to the fresh water ponds on this island.
The companionship and conversation kept the group at the table long after other customers had eaten and left; the owner knew this group and served food and beers without questions. The third or fourth beer sent Sara in search of a restroom and she realized she had nearly stepped over her set limit.
Back at the table, she apologized, saying "I need to get back to my room, guys. Too many beers in a short time." She held on to her chair for a minute. "But I think I can make it to your bay tomorrow. I'd like to see what you are doing."
Two of the men along with the marine biologist insisted on walking to her hotel and the four found the building telling her they would pick her up the next morning.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"Not far—we'll pick you up on the bay side. You'll have fun."
It might have been the beer, or the voice that sounded so much like Grissom, but Sara dreamed of the man who was in Las Vegas…
…Grissom talked about reading Moby Dick and seeing the rain forest before pulling her into bed. They had been frightened and worried about their friend who recuperated in a hospital bed as they wrapped arms around each other. She removed his blue silk shirt and pitched it across the room.
"I love this part of my day," he whispered as his lips found the edge of her ear. Her response was a simple hum in agreement.
In her dream tonight, they laughed and played in sunny days and warm nights, even laughing about some puzzle at work. She slept in restful peace…
A constant tapping woke her. A hammer, no, not a hammer. Something against glass. She stirred and saw a shadow at her door. Morning, she thought—something she should remember. The tapping continued.
"Oh, dam!" Sara said as she jumped from her bed and reached for the door.
The young woman at the door, the same one who had been so helpful all week, had her hand raised to knock again and jumped when Sara flung open the door.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Sidle. The men—the men," her arm waved toward the bay, "they insisted I wake you." She dropped her arm and her eyes.
Sara realized she wore a tank top and panties, nothing else. The girl turned away. "It's okay—Paulina—I overslept, I knew they were coming." She grabbed a shirt. "Tell them I'll be a minute, only a few minutes." And in less than five minutes, she appeared on the deck with camera in her hand, wearing the baggy shorts, a long sleeved shirt, and sandals she had practically lived in on the ship.
The girl who woke her met her on the lower deck. "Food, Miss Sidle. You need food with those men." She said with a laugh as she handed a small bag to Sara along with a bottle of juice.
Four men waited in a small run-about type boat at the edge of the water. Two helped her after she waded in knee deep water and threw one leg over its side.
"Partying too much last night?" Dave asked as he reversed the boat with a long pole before the motor caught and backed into deeper water.
Sara laughed and looked at this 'crew'. They were old hands at this work. Silently, Sara reviewed what she knew about each. Dave had been her companion since her first day on the Sea Shepherd ship. He was quiet, reserved, yet people listened when he talked, saying few words in the early days. He was one who had given her ginger tea for seasickness. She knew he was retired—not sure from what—but he was obviously a true scientist. Sara had been drawn to him, listening, asking questions.
Last night, she had met the other three—all scientists, intense about their work or projects, and willing to share their time, their expertise, their work with an interested stranger. George, Jeff, and—what was his name, she tried to remember why she should know his name—Sandy, the color of his hair. She said the name out loud.
"Sandy—what's your project?" She covered her forgetfulness quickly. She knew they had talked about it last night.
The question was all he needed to talk about his project. Not just his project, he explained, but one covering all islands in the archipelago. He talked until the boat slowed to enter a small bay with several floating platform type boats anchored and people working in dive suits.
"Here we are," the driver of their boat killed the motor and someone threw a rope to them. They quickly tied the boat and stepped onto the platform.
Sara realized they were swapping places with the five people on the platform.
"These guys work at night, diving, finding the sea cucumbers." George, the researcher on this project, explained. "Today, we will measure, register, and photograph what they found." He held up one of the soft creatures.
In the next few hours, Sara learned about sea cucumbers—named because they looked like cucumbers, sort of, but not really, she thought. Like a star fish without arms, the echinoderm sea cucumber fed on algae and waste on the floor of the ocean. It is considered a delicacy in many places and had been harvested to the point of near extinction in these islands. They were coming back, but so few adults survived that breeding would be slow for years.
Sara held one of the spongy animals in her hand. "How do they breed?"
George explained the asexual "mating" process—no contact necessary. "Eggs and sperm are produced at the same time, meet in the water and maybe you get fertilization." He rolled an animal over, pointing to one end. "They can jettison internal organs and regenerate those, too." He placed a small mark on its back. "Remarkable creatures."
He placed it on a measuring mat and Sara took the photograph. She scooped the wet sea cucumber in her hand and held it at eye level before gently placing it back into an aquarium. One of the others would return it to the bottom of the bay.
She worked all day with the sea cucumbers and the researchers, taking short breaks to eat. At mid-day, all five jumped into the water for a cool break, swimming and diving in the clear water, climbing back on the platform to dry in the sun before continuing their work.
The next crew arrived to take their place—more divers who worked in darkness collecting the sea cucumbers and putting them in aquariums. Before leaving, Sara handed her camera to a newcomer and requested a photograph. The day had passed quickly; all four men and Sara had stayed busy and conversations had been about their work.
"Eat with us. We know the best places in town," the youngest man of the four had plopped next to Sara in the boat. "We don't get a good listener to eat with us very often."
Sara agreed to meet them later. After a shower, she checked her email—nothing, and uploaded two more photographs including one taken of her and the four researchers. She held a sea cucumber in her hand and she was smiling…
