Beckett stood at the upper railing watching Luna and Dan and Jeffrey on the level below, suiting up to get into the water. Or rather Dan and Jeffrey were suiting up, Luna had on simple yoga pants and top. Her paddle board, Steve, and the Zodiac had been lowered down in the water. Dan climbed down the ladder after Jeffrey.

Luna casually said, “You’re going down the ladder, huh? Pretty Stiffneck of you.”

Dan looked up. “What, but — how are you going to get in?”

Luna looked up at Beckett with a question in her eyes.

He called down, “Don’t worry about me, I won’t look.” He turned away from the railing as Sarah walked up and asked, “Are they in the water already?”

There was a big splash.

Luna came up and yelled, “Whoooo! Beckett I’m good!”

Beckett turned back to the water and waved.

Dan said, “If I had known you were going to jump, I would have jumped too.”

Luna effortlessly lifted herself to the paddleboard and circled the Zodiac, giving Dan a lesson on holding the paddle and standing. Then she crawled effortlessly into the Zodiac while Dan moved to the paddleboard and sent it rocking. “Why’s it so small?” He got to his knees and sat there for a moment. “You made this look easy.”

Luna laughed, “It is. It’s totally easy. Just stand up.”

Dan got on his hands and knees trying to get a foot under him with the board shifting and rocking until he slid into the water.

Sarah laughed and spoke to Beckett. “This is so fun to watch. It’s going to drive him crazy that she’s better at this than him.”

Beckett said, “He’ll never get better than her, so he’ll need to get used to it.”

“Never, but he’ll have fun trying.”

Dan climbed back on with the paddleboard rocking up and down. He asked Luna, “Okay, how?”

Luna laughed and shook her head. “Put one foot under you and then the other.”

Dan jokingly glowered at her. “Very funny. The ground is moving.” He rose struggling and splashing until he had his feet under him, but was bent in half at the waist.

Luna laughed. “Now you have to stand up straight, but loose.”

“I’m not standing?” His top half was practically parallel with the board.

Luna cocked her head to the side. “Maybe? Can you see the horizon?”

“No! I can only see the board!”

Luna giggled. “Okay that’s probably fine, let’s call that standing. Now put your paddle in the water and push it back.”

Dan lowered the paddle to the water, lost his balance, spun his arms, dropped the paddle, it started floating away, and overturned the board. He hit the water with a giant, arms spiraling splash.

He came up with a whoosh and pulled his top half up on the board with a grin. “Was I doing it?”

Luna deftly fished the paddle out of the water. “Dan, I say this with kindness and gratitude, but it must be said — if you’re under the water, you’re not doing it right.”

He hoisted himself back to the board with a laugh.

He and Luna practiced for an hour. Dan finally got the hang of it and Jeffrey and Luna followed him in the Zodiac and returned him to the ship a while later. Dan climbed the ladder and called down over his shoulder to Luna still sitting in the Zodiac. “That is so tiring. How far did I go?”

Luna called up. “Um, about a half mile?”

He laughed and called up to Sarah, “Did you see me, baby?”

She laughed, “I did, you looked like an ocean god battling your arch nemesis, gravity.”

Dan climbed to the deck and flung the water from his hair. “I see how you guys are. Beckett do you hear how the love of my life is talking to me?”

“I do, you should have awed her into silence by showing your ass.”

“My luck is I’d get court-martialed. I’m not cute enough to get away with any of that.”

Dan towel-dried his hair as he left for the galley. “I have a birthday cake to make. Better get busy.”

Beckett watched Luna, remembering the first day when she paddled into his life, much like this, cheeky smile, paddling in lazy circles. She watched the horizon while Beckett watched her. Finally, she turned her board to the ship, shielded her eyes from the sun, and called up, “Beckett can you call Rebecca out?”

Beckett and Sarah both yelled, “Rebecca!”

Rebecca appeared a moment later, wiping her hands on a towel. “Yes?”

Beckett gestured down at Luna, who called up, “Rebecca can you put on your bathing suit and come down? I have something to show you.”

“Me? My bathing suit?”

Luna grinned. “Come on, it will be worth it. And go quick, bring your camera.”

Rebecca raced into the lab and came back a few minutes later in yoga pants and a bathing suit top. As she passed Beckett she asked, “Do you know what it is?”

Sarah said, “I think she’s taking you out paddleboarding.”

“Oh.” She climbed down the ladder to the lower deck and asked, “Should Jeffrey or Dan come, bring the Zodiac?”

Luna said, “Nope, the engines would scare what I’m showing you.”

“Really, what? Is it something cool, something big — tell me Luna.”

“It’s a birthday surprise and you’re going to miss it if you don’t jump.”

Rebecca took Luna seriously and instead of going down the ladder did an awkward jump out with an arm-flapping descent. She swam two short strokes to Luna who lifted her under her arms to the board and somehow kept them both balanced. Rebecca kneeled at the front and Luna paddled to the horizon fast, calling over her shoulder, “We’ll be back in a few minutes! Don’t leave!”

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They were gone for over an hour. When they returned, Rebecca was exuberant. She began talking way before she got to the boat and continued nonstop. “Whales everyone, whales, Luna took me to see whales. And how do you think she saw them? She was paddling and noticed the water current. Then she saw a school of fish. She followed it with her eyes and in the distance she noticed a splash and she just knew. That’s all it took. She paddled me out there right in the middle of a pod.” Luna held the ladder while Rebecca climbed from the paddleboard. “Did you see how far away we were? Could you see the flukes?”

Sarah said, “I didn’t see anything. How many were there?”

“I think seven. One of them came so close I could have touched it. Gray whales.” She stood beside them on the deck. “It was the most amazing thing I ever saw.” She called down, “Luna do you need help?”

Luna laughed as she pushed the paddleboard into the sling to be lifted to the ship. “Nope, carry on.” She climbed the ladder and joined Beckett. “I want to take you to see them, but I’m very tired, do you mind?”

Beckett said, “I understand, we have always.”

Rebecca said, “That was the most amazing birthday present I’ve ever had, thank you so much Luna. It meant the world to me. That was, wow.”

“I’m happy to do it. You really haven’t seen that many? It must be the engines.”

“Really? Maybe we need paddleboards for the next trip. Come on Sarah, I want to go tell Jeffrey about it.” They wandered off.

Luna’s mouth gaped open in a big loud yawn.

Beckett laughed. “How about I show you to my bunk so you can nap? I have about ten more chores to finish before I help everyone with the birthday party prep.”