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It tasted smooth and rich.
    Afterward, Mr. Cotter talked about volunteering for the Blue Moon Foundation, which he had been doing for three or four years, he couldn’t remember exactly. Tommy said, “Thank you, Mr. Cotter,” and Mr. Cotter reached out a hand and put it on Tommy’s shoulder and I knew Mr. Cotter understood that Tommy had a difficult ride with CF, and that the purpose of the trip couldn’t be separated from the reality of Tommy’s shortened life. Mr. Cotter didn’t have to say much, and neither did Tommy. Mr. Cotter patted Tommy’s shoulder twice, then went back to his coffee.
    Finally Mom showed up, a big tote bag at her side, her hair pulled back in a nutty-looking ponytail, her body trailing too much perfume. She grabbed a muffin, apologized for making us wait, and laughed when Mr. Cotter said the tides wait for no man but they will for a woman. Then we climbed into the Cadillac and drove toward the pier.
    That’s how the ocean found us.
    TOMMY SHARK FACT #3: When most people think of a great white, they usually think in terms of length. That’s a mistake, according to Tommy. A great white’s girth is its most extraordinary feature. A nineteen-foot great white could take a six-foot-tall human and swallow him like a sideways Ritz cracker. Great whites are wide, and round, and come through the water like a moving tunnel. Peter Benchley, the author of
Jaws
, wrote: “Sharks have no interest in hurting you; they just want to eat you.”

    Captain O’Shay told us to come aboard the
Gray Jay
.
    He was a big man with a big boat. He wore a Giants hat and a Giants hoodie and his boat had a Giants insignia painted on the hull. Something had happened to his face along time ago, because his left profile appeared dented, as if someone had started to remold his features and then lost interest. He hadn’t shaved in a while, and his cheek whiskers appeared white when you looked at him in a certain light. His voice carried to an unusual degree, as if he had spent his life shouting over the wind and could no longer remember what it was to speak quietly.
    “It’s a little snotty out on the water,” he said by way of welcome, “but we should be okay. Three attacks on elephant seals yesterday. Welcome aboard. Welcome. Mind your step.”
    “Hello, Dave,” Mr. Cotter said, handing the captain the cooler. “You’re looking well.”
    “Henry, you old salt,” Captain O’Shay called back.
    Obviously, they knew each other.
    Before we had climbed completely aboard, a short yellow school bus pulled in at the top of the pier. I felt my stomach sink. The bus made a beeping sound as it backed into a parking slot. I didn’t turn to look at Tommy, but I knew he had spotted it. I stepped on board behind my mom. She held her hand out to Captain O’Shay. He smiled and shook it. A pair of gulls laughed right then. The birds lifted into the air and slid sideways on the wind.
    “So, you must be Tommy,” Captain O’Shay said to my brother in his loud, kettle voice. “Well, we should have agood day. As I said, three attacks yesterday. This time of year, you can usually depend on at least one a day, but you never know. Sometimes you get five. That’s the record, anyway.”
    “Off Indian Head?” Tommy asked.
    The captain looked carefully at him. I had seen it happen before. People dismissed Tommy as a cute little CF kid, but then Tommy said something that changed their perception. I saw Captain O’Shay reappraise him.
    “You know the islands?” he asked Tommy.
    “Just from studying them. Shark Alley, Mirounga Bay, North Landing. Just some of the places.”
    Captain O’Shay looked at Mr. Cotter, then back to Tommy.
    Before the captain could say anything else, the bus began to unload.
    Challenged kids.
    You could tell right away. A large lady holding a clipboard climbed down first, then leaned inside and said something to the group. It took her a long time to say what she needed to say. When she pulled back out, it