Swim!

5FLIP FLOP

Scotty looked around the boat, touched by the day’s events but even more so by Paul’s comments. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Everyone seemed to be in a state of shock and silent self-reflection. The only sound was the humming of the engine as the boat cut through the waves. When Scotty had packed up for this trip this morning, he had thought about the best-case scenario and the worst-case scenario. The best: Paul would be a completely changed person from high school, be a joy to hang out with, and this trip would be the start of rekindling an old friendship. The worst: He’d be exactly the same as he had been and it would be the worst day in fishing history. But this trip was turning out to be dramatically different than Scotty had expected. The best and the worst cases both had happened on the same day. Paul wouldn’t leave as the same man he had been when he boarded.

Scotty noticed that Brittany was tracing the outline of her shark tooth necklace, which meant that whatever thoughts were running through her mind were bothering her. Scotty figured she felt bad about being judgmental and a little too tough on Paul. Brittany and her mom struggled with their emotions from time to time, and she knew it.

Scotty realized he hadn’t checked his phone all day, which he often saw as a good sign that he was being intentional and productive. He had a missed text from CiCi asking how the trip was going, but what stopped him in his tracks was seeing the date. His ...