Good News; Bad News

Here’s what I texted to Kelly this morning after I went in the water: The good news is I learned I’m not allergic to bees, the bad news is I lost both fins in a very violent wave. The other good news is that I’m fine. I don’t like losing a fin. But I’ve lost fins before. Usually I get them back. Twice I’ve fully lost fins and gotten them back the day after. In another instance a week after. But after I lost them I got out of the water. And I looked to the sea. I scanned the water. I watched seaweed clumps in the water move. I imagined how my fins might be moving. I looked down and up and out and saw no fins. For twenty minutes I did this. Maybe 25. And nothing. Nothing washed up. And oh, the bee? Well, I walked back up the beach to where I came down the stairs to the beach. I walked right along the waterline. In my bare feet. A sharp pain was suddenly in the arch of my left foot. I picked up my foot. There was a small, stubby bee stuck in it. I removed and tossed the bee into the…