As time passed, the idea of being able to buy an underwater 16mm camera for his son got further away. A few storms ruined what would have been some of the best weeks of the year at Cove Campsites. It wasn't the first time a storm ruined a perfectly good week and it wouldn't be the last.

Ivan knew the business he was in depended on fair weather. He was lucky even a few campers were content on one of the Cove campsites when the weather was miserable. He would camp out in a storm and love nature in all her phases but who else did that?

One of the two tour boats got dinged up when one of her lines broke free and the hull was damaged. The price tag was going to be hefty but he didn't need two tour boats when no one was staying at the cove.

"From bad to worse," Ivan said to himself.

The milk and the fresh sweet rolls and donuts were a loss. He'd only been ordering perishables a few weeks before because the campground stayed full until the storms began coming ashore in late October.

"From bad to worse," Ivan said, resting his chin in his palm.

"What was that, Boss," Tag asked, standing at the front door.

"Just mumbling to myself, Tag. You wouldn't want to take a few days off, would you?"

"Why? You don't need to pay me if you ain't got the money. I live with my mother, Ivan. It's not like I have overwhelming debt. I'd rather be here helping make this place work. It'll get better and you'll pay me then."

"How did I ever find you, Tag? I can't imagine anyone else taking things as casually as you do," Ivan said.

"A product of my mother. Money can't get you nothing a little common sense and elbow grease won't."

"Remind me to thank Twila for raising such a big hearted son."

"I'll do that, Boss. Think of it this way. How many storms can there be out there. What's this the third or fourth in a row? The Sunshine State is not living up to expectations. Maybe you can sue."

Ivan laughed.

"Is there a go away rain dance, Tag?" Ivan asked.

"Not up to date on the new dancing, Boss."

The phone rang.

"What me to get that, Boss?" Tag asked, looking out of the window at the rough water in the cove.

"No. I'll get it. Cove Campgrounds," Ivan said into the phone.

"Someone shoot your dog, Ivan?" Bill Payne asked.

"No, the weather is killing me. I know, I owe you seventy two dollars and forty-five cents. I'm afraid you're need to do what my other creditors are doing at the moment, Bill."

"What's that?"

"Wait. I'll have your money next week," Ivan said.

Bill Laughed.

"Sounds like you need a bit of good news, Ivan."

"Do I ever," Ivan said.

"Guess what I did this morning?"

"You've got me. What did you do this morning, Bill?"

"The camera equipment from the Horizon went on sale today."

"You were supposed to call me. Not that I have any more money now than I did the last time we talked, I probably have even less."

"I bought a 16mm underwater motion picture camera. I got a good price. I happen to know someone at the university," he said.

"I'm happy for you, Bill. I thought the university was buying all new camera equipment for the Horizon," Ivan said.

"I bought it for you, Ivan. I was thinking, hell, Dylan needs one of those cameras and we'll never get a better bargain. I'll pay for the camera and you'll make payments to me. I'm not strapped and I can wait for when business picks up. I don't think Dylan can wait. I'd like to see what he does with it. I can't get the impression of him making a movie out of my head. I'd like to have a hand in helping him. Hell, one day I might be able to say, 'I knew him before he was a famous film maker.'"

Ivan laughed.

"I don't know what to say, Bill. I've got zero money coming in for the past two weeks. As soon as the weather breaks, I'll be able to pay you something, but a dollar down and a dollar a week is a pipe dream. I'd never ask you to make that kind of investment for me."

"You didn't ask. I decided this is what I need to do. Let me do this. It's as much for Clay as it is for Dylan, Ivan. I think I'm right."

"Clay is going to kill me if I go along with this," Ivan said.

"You know its right. You've taken the heat before and you survived. I want to see what Dylan can do. I've got to get to a meeting. We can meet at the rooftop lounge this Wednesday. I'll bring the camera and film to fit it. There is a tripod and a light bar. We can discuss a payment plan when we meet. I'll buy you lunch. Gotta run."

Ivan looked at the phone before hanging it up.

"Your ship come in? That's the first time you've smiled in a week," Tag said, watching his boss.

"I don't know whether it's good news or bad news. I do know it's going to get my ass in a lot of trouble," Ivan said.

Tag went back to watching the fishing fleet getting ready to leave the cove. A minute later Tag was standing in brilliant sunlight. The sun had broken through the clouds for the first time in a week.

"Might be a good weekend, Boss. The clouds are breaking and they aren't as dark as they've been. Popov's leaving the cove for the first time this week. After two weeks of nothing but rain, folks are going to be heading for the cove sun and maybe a little surfing," Tag said.

"From your mouth to God's ears," Ivan said. "Tag, see if you can raise Popov. Asking what the weather's going to be. He'll know."

Tag went back to the shortwave set and called for Popov.

"Clear skies and following winds," Popov said happily as every fishing boat fell in behind his trawler as it entered the Gulf of Mexico.

"Think Clay will dive this afternoon, Boss," Tag asked.

"I imagine he's already planning to pick up Dylan. This is the longest they haven't going diving in quite a spell," Ivan said, picking up the phone.

"Clay, Ivan. Clear skies and fair winds according to Popov. You going out? If you are, stop by the shop after you pick up the kid."

It was the middle of November when Bill and Ivan met at the Rooftop Lounge which was ten miles closer to the university than it was to the cove. Bill wanted to catch lunch, because he had a class that ran late that afternoon and he missed lunch before he left school.

They walked down to the parking lot after Bill paid the check. They stood behind Bill's car as he opened his trunk. Ivan couldn't believe his eyes. The 16mm motion picture camera looked new.

"Bill, that's a brand new camera," Ivan said.

"No, I'm a marine biologist, Ivan. I might have used it a dozen times in three years. I kept it in the box it came in on the Horizon. They taped up the box and sent it to the university the way you see it. I opened it to make sure it worked. For all practical purpose it is a new camera but I used it enough to be able to tell you it works fine. Other than that it's barely broken in. Being an employee of the university and the man who previously used the camera, they gave me their bargain basement price."

"How much?" Ivan asked.

"How much can you afford to pay me?"

"I'll try to give you a hundred a month. If things keep picking up, maybe a little more. I owe you a bundle on film and developing costs," Ivan said.

"Let's not quibble. It's now all in the same basket. Give me fifty a month until you're back on steady footing. I'll put that toward the cost of the film, developing, and the underwater camera. You've got to remember, I'm doing this for Clay and for Dylan. I'm going it for me, Ivan. Dylan is an unusual boy and I've seen what he has done. What's the worst that can happen? The money isn't as important to me as it is to you. I'm in no hurry. I plan to be around doing what I'm doing for a long time. I think Dylan will continue filming Clay and I want to encourage it. If he sticks with it and can take some respectable pictures, well, he's working in the family business. He's on the watching end, not the doing end. People watching us will be important if we want them to be more responsible with our waterways," Bill said.

"You can see he goes as far as he is capable of going. That's important to me and it will be important to Clay in time to come."

"I brought this as down payment to show you my good faith," Ivan said, taking an envelop out of his pocket.

There were five twenty dollars bills inside. Bill put it in his jacket pocket and reached for Ivan's hand.

"You plan to give it to him right away?" Bill asked. "I'd love to see his face."

"No, way. I've got Clay to deal with. Dylan's editing his film almost full time. He's still goes out to get shots he wants to include. I don't want to distract him. No, it'll be under the Christmas tree on Christmas. Clay won't say anything about that and everyone will want to know what's in the box marked from Santa Clause to Dylan."

"I approve. I like that idea. How long before Clay will allow him to take it on dives with them?" Bill asked.

"That's anyone's guess. No doubt he'll make him wait. When he decides it's time for him to take it down with him the first time, he'll lay down the law," Ivan said.

"Clay is a careful man, Ivan. He won't put Dylan at risk for love nor money. No better man you could find to take care of your son," Bill said, shaking Ivan's hand a second time. "Gotta go."

Ivan watched him drive away. Ivan still didn't know Bill very well but he knew how close Clay became to his teacher over the years. It did feel like they knew each other a little better than they did.

And that's how the odd shape box got under the Olson's Christmas tree the following month. Dylan stood next to the tree looking at that box every night after dinner. He knew it was for him.

He knew it was from Ivan and he knew what Ivan always bought him for Christmas and his imagination ran wild.

At the crack of dawn on Christmas morning Dylan came rushing down to get a hold of that box. Ivan always stayed over Christmas Eve so he could see Dylan open his presents. On this morning Ivan was up before Dylan. He got Dylan's 16mm camera, the one he bought at the garage sale earlier that year, and he waited.

With only the lighting from the Christmas tree it made Dylan look a little green and a little red, he tore into that box once he dragged it out from under the tree, scattering his other gifts far and wide. He hadn't noticed that everyone was up and watching him.

The house rules were, you don't touch your presents until you wake up on Christmas morning. The idea being that Mama, Pop, and Lucy, got to watch as he opened gifts from them.

Clay and Ivan would rather let him open them on Christmas Eve. That way they'd get to sleep in on Christmas, but on this morning, no one was sleeping in and everyone wanted to see Dylan's face when he discovered the 16mm underwater motion picture camera.

The squeal was priceless and Dylan didn't open another present for hours, but he'd read the manual Bill had saved and gave to Ivan.

"Thank you, Dads," Dylan said.

"Dad," Clay said. "Your father is the camera buyer."

Dylan nearly knocked Ivan down when he hugged him. He knew where the camera came from even if Santa Clause was the giver of the gift. Dylan hugged Clay with less enthusiasm. He knew how Clay felt about another camera entering the picture. He understood he'd be waiting to take it underwater. There was a structure to how long he'd wait to take the camera underwater.

He could wait to hear his father say, "Yes. you can take the 16mm on the dive with you today."

The winter was rough in and around the cove. The storms started coming after the new year arrived. Clay busied himself in his Conservancy laboratory doing checks and double checks on specimen's he'd collected on better days. He read and reread position papers on the environment from sources he trusted the most.

Clay posted his thoughts into his journal toward the end of each day. He continued to pick Dylan up when school let out and Dylan did what he'd done as a small boy. He spent time in his father's lab and in his Pop's workshop.

Harry stayed in Washington working on a sweeping environmental bill that would punish polluters and reward people who came up with ways to improve the condition of the natural world.

Ivan spent a lot of time standing behind the big window at the front of the Dive Shop watching the choppy cove waters. In between storms the campground came to life. Regular campers who stumbled onto the cove kept coming back. Some brought their friends. These more sturdy souls kept Ivan's Cove Enterprises' head above water.

Dylan weathered the first couple of storms well. He spent some time trying to shoot the clouds, the shadows, the lightning and the stormy seas next to the cove and behind the Conservancy house. The underwater camera stayed in the box in Dylan's room as one dive after another was canceled until none was scheduled.

January and February were a lost cause.

Bill was frequently on the phone to update Clay on new developments for the summer research trip.

The film filled the cabinet where Ivan kept it and the garage sale camera rarely came off the shelf. The underwater camera stayed in the box it came in and the film for it was still in its packaging.

Dylan helped Ivan watch the cove from the shop's big front window a couple of afternoons a week.

Sea Lab didn't leave her slip. The fishing fleet went out on the best three days forecast each week. It stayed at anchor the rest of the time and the Fish Warehouse told employees, 'Stay at home. wait for a call.'

In March the seaside weather improved and Clay dove on the two reefs he'd been studying the longest. Dylan went with him but was told to leave the underwater camera at the house. Dylan wanted to argue but didn't. He would wait until Clay was ready for him to take it with him on a dive. The wait seemed endless.

Dylan usually knew what days they'd be going on a dive but until April the diving schedule was iffy. When Clay picked Dylan up, he'd tell him if it was going to be a dive day. The dive days meant getting out of the cove and Dylan was grateful for those days.

By April the underwater motion picture camera came out of the box and went to the Dive Shop to occupy the space where the garage sale camera once was. That camera went home to occupy a space on the shelf in Dylan's room.

Dylan shot all the footage he needed for his film. He wasn't finished editing it and if he wanted to redo a shot, the camera wasn't far from the editor. His hope was that he'd soon be told to bring the underwater camera on a dive. On dive days he took the underwater camera with him to the Sea Lab. This might be the day.

Every time they went out on the Sea Lab, Dylan asked, "Can I take the movie camera on the dive?"

"No. Take one of the still cameras. I need stills of the reef to see what damage has been done," Clay told him.

Each day was better than the last. The campground filled up and it stayed full. Each morning Dylan helped Ivan collect the trash from the campsites at the cove. Clay picked him up at the shop and dropped him at school fifteen minutes before first period.

"See you at three, Dad," Dylan said, scooting out of the car before turning around. "We diving today, Dad?"

"Yes, we'll be going out this afternoon so don't keep me waiting."

"No, sir," Dylan said, jogging toward the front doors.

It was the same routine as usual. By three thirty they were leaving the cove and entering the Gulf of Mexico on Sea Lab. The sun shined brightly in the western sky and the water was calm.

Dylan sat in a deck chair for most of the trip, catching rays. He was always tan but he liked the feel of the sun on his skin, especially after the winter they'd just suffered through.

As he arranged his fathers SCUBA gear beside his own and Clay came off the bridge, Dylan asked again, "Can I take the underwater movie camera?"

"Yes, you can. You follow my instructions. That is a complicated piece of gear. You can become distracted and being distracted means. not paying attention. You will pay attention and if you want to take that camera underwater a second time, you'll follow my instructions."

Clay knew he sounded like his father but SCUBA diving was serious business. When something went wrong, it did so quickly and at the most inconvenient time. Being fifty feet underwater meant fifty feet from air. You couldn't afford to be distracted in an emergency.

Dylan knew what was expected of him. He'd been diving with his father since before he got his first camera. The first time they went diving together, his father gave him a similar speech. He would follow his father's instructions without comment.

The pace of dives picked up by the middle of April. Dylan took the underwater motion picture camera on every dive after that. He was becoming adept with the features the new camera offered. It was complicated and for a few weeks he didn't feel comfortable with what he was doing.

It was difficult getting the closeups of Clay's hands and the care his father took not to do harm to the things around some specimen he was collecting. Dylan was always fascinated with the gentleness his father took with all sea creatures. Do no harm could be his motto.

Ivan spoke with Bill more often. They met a few times for Ivan to give Bill film that needed developing and when film had been developed it was ready to be viewed. Dylan was unhappy with the quality of the closeups of his father's hands when he was working. It's the one thing Dylan disliked about the new camera. Closeups sucked.

"He's having trouble getting clear closeups of Clay's hands."

"His hands?" Bill questioned.

"When clay is taking a specimen to examine in the lab. He's trying to show how he goes about it," Ivan said.

"Oh, gotcha. It seems I did encounter that. Yes, I decided to back off completely. Before he goes for the closeup, have him back the lens out as far as it goes and then zoom in. It was blurred when I tried to go to closeup from a mid range shot."

After each dive, and they took three dives a week for Clay to be able to do everything he wanted to get done before the summer trip.

He lost most of the winter and he needed to dive more often. Each afternoon, Dylan was on the Sea Lab with his father.

Once they returned from a dive, Dylan stood in the Dive Shop explaining what he'd done and how he'd done it to Ivan.

These were good days. Everyone was doing what they wanted to do and no one was complaining. Each time Ivan met Bill to take him film to be developed or to pick up film for the underwater camera, Ivan handed Bill an envelop with five twenty dollar bills.

Ivan no longer doubted he'd be able to pay Bill back for the camera.


Send Rick an email at quillswritersrealm@yahoo.com

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