Derek paced back and forth in his room. His sleep was restless, though he couldn’t convince himself it was entirely the ship’s fault. Since he’d put on the sea-bands, the rocking had a lulling effect on him. No. It was Mandy’s fault. Why hadn’t she wanted to dance with him? It was the question that had him tossing and turning for hours. Followed by a more condemning one. Why did he care?

The red numbers illuminated on the alarm clock read 4:30 a.m. and pacing his confined room wasn’t burning off his energy. He put on his workout clothes and running shoes and went to the gym. Halfway through his routine he grabbed a water bottle and a towel from the desk, and headed to a treadmill.

The machine faced the windows, giving an unobstructed view in the direction they headed. The horizon was barely visible in the early morning light. He’d have to come back in the middle of the day to run and enjoy the view.

“Good morning,” a cheerful voice came from his left. “I didn’t realize you were such an early riser. I haven’t seen you in here the last few days.” Mandy.

She stepped onto the treadmill next to him, set her speed, and began a brisk walk for her warm-up.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he said.

“Ah. That explains it then. This is the best time I’ve found to use the gym. Most of my companions are still sleeping, and it’s off hours for me.”

“That’s smart of you.” He pushed up his speed on his machine.

She cleared her throat. “I was thinking that maybe you’d want Alice to yourself for a few hours. Maybe just spend time with her without me around.”

Earlier in the cruise he would have accused her of trying to get out of her job, but now he realized she was helping him have time with Grams. “Grams likes having you around.” And I like having you around. He continued running, enjoying that she ran next to him. Her blonde A-line hair bounced and swished with her every stride.

“Your Grams is fun. I adore her,” she said.

He finished running, slowing his pace to walk for his cool down, glad he’d gone to the gym to workout after all.

* * *

Derek tendered from the ship to Georgetown. The Grand Caymans were picturesque. The bright green and blue of the ocean stood out against the white sand beach. He wondered what Mandy would take from the landscape. Would she come up with something to sketch or just enjoy the view?

He’d told Grams and Mandy he’d meet them on the shore and went ahead to see if he could get reception. He clicked into his inbox and read an e-mail from Adam confirming Mandy’s story about her European accounts. She’d been honest with him and he needed to genuinely apologize to her.

Derek grabbed a drink of cold water and waited under a white canopy tent for Grams and Mandy to arrive on the next tender boat. He didn’t have to wait long. As the passengers disembarked he spotted Mandy’s black and white striped hat in the crowd.

“We weren’t sure you’d be here,” Alice said. “What was so urgent that you couldn’t wait for us?”

Derek looked down at the phone he still clutched in his hand. “I was…taking care of a few things.”

“There’s more to life than work, Derek, especially on a vacation.” Grams words held an edge, but Derek didn’t look at her. He watched Mandy. She’d said that too. Had they been talking together, or did they both notice it?

“You’re right,” he said and slipped the phone into his back pocket. “I think it’s time for me to enjoy my vacation.”

Mandy eyed him. “Does that mean you’ll come into the water at Sting Ray City and not just stay on the boat?”

“I’ll come in the water.” His apology to Mandy would have to wait. He’d find an opportunity when Grams wasn’t around to do it.

Alice smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. Mandy says it’s a once in a lifetime experience to hold wild sting rays.”

“Hold them?” Derek asked, wondering what he’d just signed up for.

“Don’t worry,” Mandy said, “Our tour guide will make sure to find a gentle one. The chances of you actually getting stung by one is low.” Mandy seemed to be teasing him, and he didn’t mind as much as he had before.

They took a bus to the other side of the island and from there a boat out to Sting Ray City. The ocean water changed from a deep blue to a brilliant aqua green. Other boats were already anchored around, and several other groups were in the water, making circles with a guide holding a sting ray in the middle.

Derek adjusted his mask, wondering if Grams would like this experience, or if he would.

Mandy cocked her head at him. “You’ll be fine,” she said, seeming to read his mind. “It’s a very fun experience. You can even feed them if you want. Word to the wise though—tuck your thumb inside your fist. Their grinding plates in their mouths are unforgiving.”

Derek’s eyes widened, and Mandy put a hand on his shoulder. If he wasn’t already on high alert, her touch sent him overboard.

“You can always come back to the boat whenever you’re done,” she said.

For the next hour Derek floated with Grams and Mandy. The water was so clear he could see stingrays coming from several yards away. One swam past his legs, brushing up against him, but he stayed calm, not moving or jerking away.

One of the tour guides dove toward a large stingray, bringing it up out of the water. “You want to hold him?” he said in a thick accent.

Derek wasn’t sure, but Mandy nodded at him, and suddenly he wanted to do it to prove to her that he could. “Sure,” he said.

The man holding the stingray stood next to him and transferred the stingray to his outstretched arms. The slippery skin felt soft and he found himself holding the fifty-pound animal and enjoying it.

“Want to try?” he asked Grams, after he’d held the stingray for a while.

“Yes, dear,” she said and laughed a little when the stingray began to tickle her. “This is the strangest thing I have ever done.”

Mandy took a few pictures with her waterproof camera of both of them holding the stingray.

They fed the stingrays chopped up pieces of squid, and Derek felt the pressure and the sucking coming from its mouth.

Mandy snorkeled out away from the group, and Derek wanted to follow her. Grams was still part of the group, holding the stingray, so he put his mask back on his eyes and said, “I’ll be right back. I want to see what she’s looking at.”

He put his face under the water and got her attention. She pointed in the distance. Two stingrays swam together and passed between him and Mandy. Mandy gave him a thumbs up, and he returned the gesture.

He looked in other directions, watching big and little stingrays come into focus in the clear water. He and Mandy swam back to the group, and surfaced. “Wow,” he said.

“Neat to see them up close, isn’t it?”

Two guides gave a stingray to both Derek and Mandy, and Mandy handed her waterproof camera to the guide. He took a picture of Derek, Mandy, and Grams together holding stingrays.

Before Derek realized it, the hour was up, and they returned to the boat. He picked up three water bottles and handed one to Grams and Mandy, and all three of them headed to the top deck to enjoy the view on the way back to the shore.

“Thank you,” he said to Mandy. “This was an amazing excursion.”

Mandy smiled. “Thank Alice. She’s the one who chose it.”