The Dream Jumper's Promise

Chapter 12

Chapter 12                         

            It was only 8 a.m. and Dave and Sally had quit their jobs with Tina’s Dive Shop. They’d decided to move back to the mainland.

            “Thanks for giving me one day’s notice, Diver Dave.” He’d come in only to collect dive gear. They were leaving in thirty hours.

            “I’m sorry but Sally is sick, Tina.” Dave hung his head. “She has a malignant lump in her breast and needs treatment. We’re going to California to be near her family.”

            Tina grabbed Dave’s arm and pulled him into a hug. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry.” And she’d been ready to yell about his lack of consideration. “Is there anything I can do?”

            Dave shook his head. “Just pray.”

            Tina wasn’t much for religion, but it was worth a try. Her problems seemed small compared to a malignant lump. This news made her feel like she’d been too self-absorbed lately. At least she was alive and healthy. Somehow Tina needed to find that version of herself who arrived on Maui eleven years earlier after a horrendous fight with her parents about needing to find her own place in the world. The pain of defying her heartbroken mother and father was left behind in Seattle, along with the fear of disappointing them. Eventually, driven by the need to prove them wrong, she’d opened a dive shop against all odds and shown a profit.

            The phone rang and she took a deep breath. “Aloha. Tina’s Dive Shop.”

            “Kristina? We’ve booked tickets to Maui.”

            “Mother?”

            “Your father and I are flying to Hawaii next week.” 9/11 had kept her parents off planes for the last seven months. They hadn’t even come when Hank was declared dead. A blessing, in so many ways. “I expect you to make some time for us seeing we’re crossing the Pacific.” Her mother sounded both determined and put-out.

            “I’m surprised,” Tina said. “And pleased, of course.”

             She sighed like it was her daughter’s fault they had to fly. “We’re booked at the Sheraton.” 

            Too close in many ways. “You don’t need to do this, you know. I’m doing much better.” Time with her parents would be challenging.

            “Good. Then we’ll see for ourselves. And I want you to think about coming back with us to Seattle.” Her mother’s tone suggested this was actually possible. “For the summer,” she said. “Get your mind off things. Your father will make up your lost revenue, you know.”

            “I’m busy here. Don’t get your hopes up.” Letting her father financially bail her out was the last thing Tina wanted. Years ago, she’d vowed to never take money from her father again. The price was too high, letting them have a say in her life.

            “Regardless, we’ll be there next Thursday,” Elizabeth Greene said.

            Would Jamey still be here? “I look forward to seeing you both.” She dreaded their inevitable interference if things didn’t improve by the time their first class feet hit the airport tarmac.

            It was only nine o’clock and already Tina was counting the minutes to her afternoon shrink appointment. Her pressing problem was now finding a new dive instructor. Or two.