Are You Ready? by Amanda Hearty Page A

divorced woman,’ laughed the large Texan man.
    Oh, that’s it, I’ll have to do it now, just to prove I’m not as ridiculous as this man, Ali thought, as she tied back her short blonde hair and began to lower herself into the water.
    â€˜Just don’t drop the ring,’ shouted Robin as she felt the water hit her toes.
    Oh no, too late, she thought, why didn’t I take it off?
    At first there was nothing to see, just the blood and dead fish that had been thrown into the water to encourage the great whites; but then out of nowhere they came, three of them all circling in front of her. Ali was actually in the water with sharks. They came close to the cage, and suddenly one of them head-butted the cage right in front of her. I’m going to die, just like in
Jaws
, except I was stupid enough to pay two hundred euros for it, Ali screamed in her head, but then the shark disappeared as quickly as it had come. After that the sharks kept trying to head-butt their way into the cage, and ran their fins up against the bars, but Ali was braver and kept her nerve. She was with Robin and that was what mattered, nothing couldharm her. She had been rattled in a cage by a shark, and survived! And as she was pulled out of the water by the boat-owner she grabbed Robin, and high from the adrenaline rush gushed that their shark encounter would be a good story to tell their future kids.

35
    Ben was on the 46a bus on the way to work. My God, he thought as he sat down, why did the bus always smell of a brewery every Friday morning? It was from all the people going for drinks on Thursday night, he knew, but one day someone would light a match and some poor bus would explode. Ben chuckled to himself. He was on good form, work was going well, and things with Laura were progressing slowly but nicely. He had been in a serious relationship before, and didn’t want to just slip right back into one that wasn’t going to work again.
    He had a few match reports to be written up, and an interview with a young Limerick Gaelic football player to do that day in work, and then he was hoping he could finish a bit early, to try and meet Laura for a bite to eat, before heading off to see Rocky Balboa in the cinema with the lads. They were all dying to see how their eighties hero now looked in the boxing ring.
    Jeremy was in Ben’s office when he walked in.His friend’s stag do felt ages ago, but Ben knew the wedding was soon, he had the invite somewhere.
    â€˜How are you getting on, buddy? Still avoiding accounts and balance sheets by hiding out here?’ Jeremy joked.
    â€˜I love the work here. I really do, and I have some good stuff to hand in today. Thanks for all your support.’
    â€˜No problem, just make sure you keep up with the work and all. I still have to answer to the sports editor, who isn’t quite sure why we hired someone with no journalism qualifications! Anyway, I also wanted to ask, should we be setting an extra place for this Laura girl at our wedding in four weeks’ time?’
    Ben dropped his file. ‘No way, not yet. That might look too serious. Thanks, Jeremy, but definitely not yet.’
    â€˜You’ll never change,’ laughed Jeremy as he walked across the newsroom.
    Laura looked lovely as she walked into Pasta Fresca in jeans, a tight fitted polo-neck and knee-high black suede boots. After a meal and bottle of red wine Ben had to dash to meet the lads. Laura seemed miffed that their Friday-night date was over by eight thirty, but Ben had already booked the cinema tickets. As they kissed goodbye Laura worried if he was too immature for her. He might be tall, dark and handsome, but she was too old to be messing about.
    * * *
    Over a full Irish breakfast the next morning, Ben told his parents about the film, and filled them in on all the gossip from his friends. He was so sweet sometimes, Maura thought, so gentle and calm. As he fed the parrot and dog, Maura could still