Page 31 of Building Courage
Natalie sat at one end of the couch, and Brynn took one of the chairs. A trained observer, she read the tension in the editor’s features.
“I wanted to apologize again for springing Tucker on you. I should’ve called as soon as I talked to him.”
“I’ve put it behind me, and Tucker is an excellent scuba instructor.”
“So, you’ve had your first two lessons?”
“Yes, and we’ve scheduled another this Sunday.”
Some of the tension leached from Natalie’s features. “Good. Are you documenting your lessons?”
“Yes. The first video will go up after I’ve shown it to Tucker.”
“Good. Before you go to Australia, I’d like to do a feature on all your training.”
“You can’t use Tucker’s image in any of that.”
“I know, but I thought you might want to hand him your camera now and then and let him take pictures of you while you’re training.”
The idea had already occurred to her. “Yes, we can do that.”
“So, you enjoyed your first two lessons?”
“Yes. I felt like a wrung-out dishrag afterward, but I enjoyed them.”
Natalie laughed. “I can’t imagine. You’re in such wonderful shape.”
“It has something to do with the compressed air leaching moisture from your body, and you’re expending a lot of energy breathing and swimming. I felt better once I hydrated and had something to eat.”
“Good.”
“I’ll also be uploading the footage I filmed at the Scuba shop to my podcast once I run it by Tucker.”
Natalie nodded. “So, he’s still distrustful of the press?”
“A little wary.”
Natalie was silent for a moment. “You two have some things in common.”
Brynn ran her fingers through her hair and brushed it back from her face. “We’ve been over this already, and I’m past it now. What was it you wanted to speak to me about?”
“I’ll have the contract for the Australia shoot ready tomorrow. Are you ready to sign it?”
“Are you sure you don’t want to wait until I’ve done a deeper dive and taken some photos? I’m not really as prepared as I want to be to make the trip or to take the photos.”
“I know how hard you push yourself, Brynn. I’m confident you’ll be prepared and will produce a quality product for us.”
“I’ll certainly try, but I’m not an expert in this field.”
“If divers with a GoPro can take photos, you can.”
Why was she pushing so hard for this? “You’ll say that now, but that isn’t all you’ll expect for the magazine.”
Natalie chuckled. “You’re right. I’ll want them to be as perfect as all your other work is.”
“And if they aren’t?” Brynn asked.
“You’re going to have lots of photos of other things there, and we’ll deal with the underwater photos when we have to. But I still believe wholeheartedly that you’ll come through for us. We all know you’re a wonder with a camera.”