Glass Ceilings Read online

  What happened to bring that on? They hardly spoke during dinner, despite sitting almost opposite one another, but their late night tête-à-tête seems to have brought them closer together.

  And pushed me further into the cold....

  Kerry drew her lips into a hard line. Only one course of action would make her feel better.

  Retribution.

  She’d have to think of something....

  The dive shop attendant, an affable young man, was gathering regulators and tanks, and loading them, one-by-one, into a ute for transfer to the boat. Kerry gave an impatient grunt and rolled her eyes. It seemed like an incredible amount of scuba equipment for only five divers. She really wanted to get this over and done with, so she could go and lick her wounds in peace.

  She marched over to him. ‘Can I help?’

  He turned from loading a tank and grinned at the good-looking young woman he’d noticed watching him. ‘Hey, that’d be great, thanks. Could you grab the regs from inside the shop?’ At her bewildered look he explained, ‘regulators—the things that feed divers air from their tanks.’

  Her eyes remained quizzical.

  ‘Those long hoses over there with gauges on them, that look like this,’ and he held one up to show her. ‘But don’t grab the one that’s on its own at the end of the counter, it’s in for repairs. Got a faulty gauge.’

  Kerry’s eyes lit up, and then narrowed. ‘What’s wrong with it?’

  ‘I take it you’re not a diver yourself?’ At the shake of her head, he explained, ‘The gauge measures the amount of air left in the tank, so the diver knows how much longer he can stay under water. That one’s faulty ’cos it reads full even when the tank’s empty.’ The attendant glanced at his watch. ‘Oops, better get movin’.’ He nodded towards the shop. ‘It’s just the big bunch of regs on the counter that needs to come.’

  He went back to loading gear, leaving Kerry gazing at him with an unreadable expression. She felt in one of her pockets and pulled out a pad of sticky notes, and a pencil—she never went anywhere without them. After a few moments, she sauntered over to the shop and went inside. She wandered around for a bit, looking over all the gear and into the service area, and emerged after a few minutes, carrying a load of regulators.

  ‘Thanks. Just put ’em over there, will ya? I have to fit ’em to the tanks so they’re ready for the guests.’ His mind was obviously fixed on the job. ‘Skipper doesn’t like any delays once they’re at the dive site.’

  ‘Hey,’ she said casually, ‘I just realised I forgot to tell you something.’

  The attendant stopped what he was doing and looked at her with a quick frown.

  ‘One of the divers—my boss actually—is a woman, and she likes using pink scuba gear. Would you have a pink air tank, pink goggles and flippers and a pink ... um ... jacket thingy that she could use?’

  The attendant swallowed his impatience and grinned. ‘Oh yeah, the lady diver. She called yesterday ’arvo to order her gear. But the boss didn’t mention that she wanted pink?’

  ‘She doesn’t like to make a fuss, but she is the boss....’

  ‘Sure, I see what you’re gettin’ at. There’s lotsa ladies hiring gear from us now, so we’ve got a coupl’a pink sets. And, luckily for your boss, I think one’s ready to go. By the way,’ he said good-naturedly, ‘if you don’t want to be chipped about your terminology, don’t call ’em goggles, flippers or jackets. Their proper names are mask, fins and BCD—buoyancy control device.’

  Kerry resisted the urge to spit ‘Yeah, whatever’, instead replying sweetly, ‘Right, thanks.’ She had other things on her mind. She opened her eyes wide and said coyly, ‘I feel bad for the last minute notice ... maybe I could make the changes?’

  Her spirits lifted when he replied, ‘Yeah, thanks. Could you swap this yellow tank for one of the pink ones in the back room? Make sure you take it from the bunch on the right, they’re filled ’n ready to go. The others are empties.’

  Kerry struggled to lift the heavy yellow tank. Catching sight of her, the attendant quickly offered, ‘On second thoughts, full tanks are heavy. Maybe you should leave that to me.’

  ‘I can manage,’ she snapped, determinedly hoisting the tank and disappearing into the shop. She emerged a short time later carrying its pink counterpart, complete with a connected regulator. ‘I’ll put this straight on the ute, shall I?’ she asked, with a winning smile. At the young man’s preoccupied nod she added, ‘And can I hitch a ride to the jetty with you? I’d like to watch the boat head out.’

  ‘Great,’ remarked the attendant, ‘we’ll make a diver out of you yet!’

  Chapter Fifteen

  The ‘Indian Princess’ sat serenely on the calm waters of the island’s harbour. Aboard, all hands were busily preparing for the morning’s dive. Verity watched from the pier and wondered what the Indian Ocean held in store for them. She glanced out to sea, thinking how fortunate they were to have such a clear, calm morning for their inner reef excursion.

  The location of their dive, Ploughman’s Reef, was reputed to have the area’s best swim-throughs and caves, and its schools of colourful fish were the subject of many an enthusiastic post-dive post-mortem. At the thought of venturing into unknown waters, Verity felt the usual stirring of excitement, lightly seasoned with trepidation.

  ‘Looking forward to the splash?’ Royce appeared beside her, and his deep voice made her start.

  ‘I ... yes ... I am, very much.’ Recovering her composure, she added, ‘We’ve been blessed with a perfect morning for it.’

  ‘Yes, your preparations have been particularly thorough.’ He smiled down at her.

  She felt the pull again. It had been the same earlier, when he’d suggested they share a table at the brief pre-dive breakfast.

  Steady girl, she told herself, you’re his boss remember, not some impressionable office junior.

  But who’s to say that’s not how he regards you, even now?

  She gave herself a mental kick. ‘Actually, it’s Kerry you should be congratulating. She made all the arrangements for this trip.’

  They both looked over to where Kerry was standing near the dive shop’s utility.

  Verity said thoughtfully, ‘I can understand why clerical workers feel so undervalued. We’re often guilty of taking their efforts for granted.’

  Royce looked at her a little quizzically. ‘Yes, we should give credit where it’s due.’

  Verity couldn’t be sure he wasn’t teasing, so she narrowed her eyes at him, just as the other divers joined them and the group began making their way onto the boat.

  Standing on the deck and looking over the gear, Royce said, ‘Yes, I should’ve recognised Kerry’s super-efficient hand in this. The gear’s all grouped, colour-coordinated, and in some cases, even name-tagged.’

  Verity scanned the pile of scuba equipment now securely stowed aboard the Indian Princess, and gave a slightly embarrassed grin. ‘It is a bit presumptuous of Kerry to assume I’d prefer the pink gear, simply because I’m the only female diver today. In fact, I’m going to make a point of ignoring my name tag, and grab another colour. It’s all the same anyway, and it’ll be an interesting social experiment to see which man takes the pink set.’

  Royce gave a deep laugh. ‘Fine, how about we swap? You take the gear with my name on it, and I’ll take yours.’

  She glanced at him with a curious frown. ‘You don’t mind?’

  He shrugged and gave a cheeky grin. ‘Why should I? Like you said, it’s all the same. And I’m sure the fish won’t mind what colour I’m in.’ His face grew serious again. ‘But your pink fins might be a bit small for me, so I’ll keep my white ones if that’s OK with you?’

  ‘Fine.’

  Verity found the cruise to the dive site calming, and the rush of sea air in her face, refreshing. While the other divers were busy donning wetsuits, spitting into their masks to stop them fogging underwater, checking their gear and preparing for the dive, she took a few minutes to mo
ve about the boat to take in the views from all sides. As she passed the doorway to the bridge, the skipper emerged.

  ‘Well, hello lady diver. Enjoying the ride are we?’

  ‘Yes, very much. Lovely calm seas today, should mean good diving.’

  He looked down at her from an impressive height. Only a bit shorter than Royce, Verity acknowledged, startling herself. When had she become so familiar with her operations manager’s physique?

  The captain’s thick, dark hair was going grey, giving him a ‘salt and pepper’ look, and he wore a nautical cap at a jaunty angle. He rested his hands on the bow rail and squinted at her through his cigarette’s smoke.

  ‘So, what do you think of my boat?’

  It was obvious he expected to hear praise, and Verity didn’t disappoint him. She gave a wide smile, saying, ‘She’s certainly a lady, and a gracious one at that.’

  The captain’s proud chortle rattled in his chest and he gave a cough.

  Verity went on, ‘She travels very smoothly. By her size, I guess your charters normally cater for larger groups than we have here today?’

  He cleared his throat before answering, ‘Yes ma’am. She’s certified to carry thirty-three divers, but for the comfort of our passengers, we set a maximum of twenty. That way, everyone can enjoy their on-board experience in comfort.’

  ‘Yes, I noticed we were getting the ‘five star’ treatment.’ Verity smiled again. ‘So, do you own the boat, captain?’

  He stood upright and puffed out his chest. ‘I certainly do. Had her custom made to my own specifications. She’s fifty foot long, with two diesel engines and a cruising speed of up to twenty-eight knots. Our on-board generator supplies all the power we need, and we have state-of-the-art electronics including radar, two VHF radios, three depth finders and a global positioning system. And we can fill scuba tanks using our compressor and cascade system, with four fill whips.’

  Verity gave a low whistle. ‘Impressive.’

  Spurred on by her interest, he continued proudly, ‘I had her designed with two side exits, three feet from the water for easy ocean entry, and fitted her with a stainless steel dive platform at the stern, which can take four divers at a time. There’s no queuing to enter the water on my boat.’ His chest swelled again as he spoke.

  ‘Well, we couldn’t have chosen better for our trip today.’

  ‘Why thank you ma’am. I take it you’ve been on dive charters before?’

  ‘Yes, but not many, and none on a boat that could compare with the Indian Princess.’

  ‘Where did they operate from?’

  ‘Fremantle, and the east coast.’

  The captain smiled knowingly and remarked, ‘Of course they have the barrier reef over east, which is marvellous, but give me the WA limestone reefs and wrecks any day.’

  ‘So you’re a diver as well?’

  ‘Dive master, actually.’

  Verity smiled and nodded. It was reassuring knowing a dive master was on board, in case of emergencies.

  The captain was gazing at the ocean. ‘Have you ever dived on the wrecks near Hamelin Bay, down south of here?’

  ‘No, I haven’t had the pleasure.’

  ‘Well, take my advice. Go there the first opportunity you get, because that area has some of the best dives in the world, and a bunch of interesting wrecks; some only swimming distance from the shore.’

  ‘Sounds great.’

  ‘Yeah, that it is. There’s a wreck trail there, part of the Maritime Museum’s heritage trails network.’

  She watched as he reached into a pocket and brought out a battered tobacco tin. He ground the butt of his cigarette into it, and then pulled out a packet of tobacco and began rolling another. After lighting it and taking a deep drag, he said, ‘I love that place, despite what it’s done to some fine seafarin’ men ... and women,’ he added hastily, glancing her way.

  ‘Is there much known about the wrecks?’

  His eyes crinkled with pleasure at her genuine interest. ‘Yeah, there is. Would you like to hear about them?’

  ‘Sure, I’m not going anywhere.’

  ‘You’ll regret it,’ a deckhand sniggered at her on the way past, earning himself a playful punch in the arm from his skipper.

  ‘Don’t worry about him, he’s just,’ and the captain raised his voice so the chuckling decky would hear, ‘an uneducated young pup who doesn’t know ’is arse from ’is elbow. Now, where were we before we were so rudely interrupted? Oh yes, Hamelin Bay.’ His voice took on a narrative quality. ‘It was a busy port for sailing ships and steamers, and provided safe anchorage in summer. But winter’s fierce gales claimed many a ship. There’s an anchor from one of the wrecks, the Lovspring, resting in the bay’s parking area. She was a victim of the great storm of July, nineteen hundred, along with three other ships. Only one storm, but it sent so many to a watery grave.’

  Verity gave a slight shiver and settled herself more comfortably against the railing.

  ‘You can see two wrecks, the Chaudiere and the Agincourt, from the shore—what’s left of ’em. Them and their timber cargo, now reduced to dark outlines rotting away where they fell.’

  The captain paused to take another drag on his cigarette before turning back to Verity. ‘They’re not all sad stories, though. When the iron steamer, Georgette ran aground north of the bay, it’s said an aboriginal stockman by name of Sam Isaacs, and local girl Grace Bussell, saw the wreck and rescued a number of survivors. They were among the lucky ones.’

  The captain’s eyes returned to studying the watery horizon with a far-away look in them, but after a moment he turned towards Verity again and said a little sheepishly, ‘It’s probably not good talking about ship wrecks while we’re on the water! But I can assure you the Indian Princess will keep us safe.’

  Verity grinned and nodded, and he went on, ‘I used to take diving tours around the bay. Its maritime history intrigues me, and it seems I’ve turned into an ambassador for the area.’ He chuckled and took another drag on his cigarette, squinting at her through the smoke. ‘Hope I haven’t bored you?’

  ‘Not at all. It’s been fascinating, and I’m always happy to hear of dive spots that I can add to my ‘to be explored’ list.’

  ‘Well, it’s not only wrecks the bay offers. It also has swim-throughs and caves. One cave is so large they call it “the ballroom”. It’s a real diver’s Mecca.’

  Verity beamed at him. ‘Thanks Skipper, you’ve certainly inspired me to go there the first opportunity I get.’

  Another crew member came up to speak with the captain, and when they’d finished, he turned to Verity again, saying, ‘This is Andy, one of the more well-mannered of my motley crew. Andy’s a certified diver. He’ll be joining your group on the dive today, otherwise you’d be one buddy short.’

  Verity nodded and shook Andy’s outstretched hand. She knew it was a safety requirement for divers to buddy-up, and to never dive alone.

  Andy turned to the captain saying, ‘We’re almost there. I’ll ready the anchor.’

  The captain grunted and spun on his heel to head to the bridge, remarking over his shoulder, ‘Nice talking to you, ma’am. We’ll try to make this a dive you won’t forget.’

  Shortly afterwards, the Indian Princess manoeuvred into a good position close to Ploughman’s Reef, and they dropped anchor. A frenzy of activity erupted on board, with divers gearing up, buddies doing final checks, and crew members supervising divers as they entered the water.

  Because of her long chat with the skipper, Verity found herself lagging behind everyone else. When Royce came over already dressed in wetsuit and gear, appearing about to claim her as his buddy, she suggested he find another. She knew he wouldn’t want to hang around in full gear, waiting for her to be ready.

  And she wasn’t keen on having him watch while she stripped down to her bathers and pulled on her skin-tight wetsuit....

  She was relieved when he went in search of another buddy.

  Andy came over jus
t as she was zipping up her wetsuit, and helped her put on her tank and do a final gear check. He was suited up and ready to go. They were the only divers left on board, so they quickly made their way to the platform at the stern, and Andy leaped straight-legged into the clear blue water. He surfaced almost immediately and gave the ‘OK’ signal.

  Verity held her mask to her face, put the regulator in her mouth and leapt from the platform. She felt the familiar effervescent burst of bubbles surrounding her as she entered the cool ocean water. She signalled ‘OK’ to Andy and together they descended slowly towards the ocean floor, equalising as they went. Verity looked around her, pleased to find the water even clearer than she’d hoped.

  Once down, she rolled over to swim on her back and gazed at the sky through the water. She took a quick peek at her depth gauge and thought, wow, you wouldn’t think we’re that far under the surface; it looks as though I could just reach up and put my hand above the water.

  She stretched her hand upwards and watched as the air bubbles from her regulator bounced and slid around her outstretched fingers, before heading for the surface. Rolling upright again, Verity discovered she’d lost sight of Andy. Knowing buddies must always stay within sight of each other, she quickly sought him out and swam over to join him. On the way, she saw other divers nearby, and glimpsed the pink of Royce’s scuba tank among the assortment of coloured gear.

  It was clear he’d taken to heart the skipper’s suggestion they the fill the boat’s quota of crayfish. He was busily searching under shelves and in crevices in the reef, looking for telltale feelers. Verity smiled to herself.

  No matter how sophisticated the man, she thought smugly, he’ll still be a hunter-gatherer at heart.

  Andy was beckoning her to join him at what appeared to be the entrance to a cave. She swam over and they eased single file through the tight entrance. Verity felt the usual twinges of anxiety at being in a confined space under water, and was relieved when they emerged from the long, narrow entrance corridor. She didn’t like having to scrape through tight openings, and liked even less having to remove her gear to squeeze through.