TWO DAYS LATER
ATLANTIS THE PALM, DUBAI, UAE—FEBRUARY 9, 2020—11:00 / 11:00 A.M. GST
Even though the website promised 65,000 fish swimming around her, Katie Musser had her eyes on only one. A black tip shark was gliding directly toward her. Her breathing increased, sweat dripped down her face, and she tasted the saltiness on her lips. Katie had read Soul Survivor. She felt a strong, literal attachment to both of her arms. Her body tensed, and she stood perfectly still. The shark floated past her, brushing her thigh with the black tipped fin that gave the fish its name.
Her husband, Rick, was waving at her. She turned and saw him laughing behind his protective glass. He brushed the back of his hand across the front of his helmet and mouthed Phew.
Seeing his joking reassurance allowed Katie to laugh along with him, although she certainly still felt a tinge of nervousness. Behind Rick was her oldest son, 16-year-old Nevin. He, too, was laughing and mimicking being scared.
“Brat,” she said with a smile. He couldn’t hear her, but she knew he would understand exactly what she was saying. It was her favorite word to use when her boys teased her.
Up beyond Nevin were the twins, 13-year-old Zabe and Elliot.
My four men.
Katie had always dreamed of having a daughter, and after she became pregnant for a second time, she and Rick had decided that if baby two was a boy they would go for one last shot. The discovery that baby two was actually two babies had shaken her world. After a long evening discussion, she and Rick made up their minds then and there to be satisfied with their brood of three no matter the gender. After the obstetrician confirmed they were both boys, Katie had to admit that a part of her grieved. Now, though, when she saw the four men of her family walking ahead, joy filled her heart. She’d been blessed by God—no doubt about that.
Looking around at the underwater scenery, she could hardly believe she was here. In fact, she thought that if someone had told her five years ago that she’d be swimming with the fishes she would have thought it was some veiled Godfather reference. But as she looked at where she was then and where she was now, there was no doubt in her mind that God was working out a very unexpected plan in their lives.
She started making her way to where her husband was waiting for her. The change in their lives began when Rick took a chance and left his steady IT job at a credit card company to join with CloudShock, a tech startup. She had to admit that she was hesitant. The company had been launched by two college friends from Duke University and was still trying to get its feet grounded. Then, just three years in, they had invited Rick to come on as an assistant vice president. But soon after he joined, the company took off, riding the cloud data revolution to become a billion-dollar entity.
Katie was so glad that after praying through the decision, they had pulled the trigger. These last five years had been amazing. The hours, though demanding, were not overwhelming. Rick was still able to be a parent-assistant for the twins’ soccer team and Nevin’s lacrosse. His salary was ridiculously high, and she could have quit her job if she’d wanted to. But after a lot of soul-searching, she’d decided not to. She had given up her job as a kindergarten teacher for an eight-year stretch, starting with her first pregnancy and lasting to when the twins started school. Now that she was back teaching, she didn’t want to leave it again. The little kindies gave her such joy with their open minds and ready hugs. She was also able to get the “cute little girl” fix she missed living in a household full of testosterone.
It was business that had brought the family halfway across the world. Actually, it was business that had brought Rick halfway around the world. She and the boys were just tagging along for the ride. One of the reasons that she and Rick were willing to take the chance with CloudShock was their claim to be a family-oriented company. Katie in particular was dubious, wondering if their definition of “family-oriented” was in any way similar to hers. She had been surprised and excited to find out they were.
The school of clown fish that passed in front of her dive helmet was proof of their commitment. When Rick had opened an envelope at Christmas containing the amount of his yearly bonus, there had been a sizable number printed on the paper that would be deposited into his account, as well as an invitation to bring the family on Rick’s scheduled business trip to the UAE.
It was during the schoolyear, so she and Rick had wrestled with the decision—for a very brief moment—before giving an emphatic yes. They would probably never have an opportunity like this again. They had the boys talk to their teachers, she arranged a sub for her classroom, and they all hopped a plane from Durham, North Carolina, to the Middle East.
That was how she now found herself on a helmet dive in a massive aquarium with huge rays swimming above her head and what appeared to be vicious man-eating sharks brushing up against her leg.
Rick moved toward her. She read his lips. You okay?
She nodded, then with a smile pointed toward the boys. Even from behind she could tell they were fascinated. She didn’t have to see their faces to know the exact expression they were each wearing. What an experience for them—especially for Elliot, who had talked about becoming a marine biologist ever since they’d visited one of the North Carolina Aquariums on a weekend getaway to Nags Head. Of the three boys, he was the talker, and she was sure they would all hear about each and every species of fish he saw on this 20-minute dive.
Katie slipped her hand around Rick’s arm. She wanted to savor every moment of this trip. They already had tours and activities lined up for the next five days. The company had given an exorbitant per diem, and Rick and Katie had also dipped into their savings in order to ensure that this would be the trip of a lifetime, both for the boys and for themselves. After Rick’s final meeting on Thursday, they would wrap up their time in Dubai by going to the show La Perle. The website had said it was an acrobatic and stunt performance in what was curiously called an aqua theater. Katie wasn’t sure what exactly an aqua theater was, but she couldn’t wait to find out.
Then on Friday, they would hire a car to take them south to Yas Island. The rest of that day would just be a chill day—a chance to get their energy up for the rest of their visit. Then the last three days would be sheer insanity. Saturday would find them riding the rides and screaming on the coasters at Warner Bros. World. Sunday was for surfing the waves and skimming down the water slides at Waterworld.
Then would come their final day, the one Rick had been geeking over ever since he first read about this place’s existence—Ferrari World, home of Formula Rossa, the fastest roller coaster on the planet. Rick had read online that the coaster reached speeds of 149 mph. Although she wasn’t sure how excited she was about it, she knew that the boys were going to freak out.
Katie couldn’t wait to watch Rick as he walked amongst the sports cars on display at the park. He had always been a car buff. A day surrounded by Ferraris was the closest thing to heaven he would ever find on earth. Every night of the four weeks leading up to their trip, whenever she’d look over to the other side of the bed, she’d see him reading a back edition of The Official Ferrari Magazine on his iPad.
Those last days were going to be exhausting but worth it. While she was excited about all the activities, she was also a little disappointed. They were going to spend all their time on Yas Island without ever making it into the city. This was sad, because she’d heard that, like Dubai, Abu Dhabi was a place of incredible beauty.