If I Survive You

Cukie and his mother, Daphne, are on their way from their home in Kendall to Smuggler’s Key to meet Ox, Cukie’s absentee father. After 12 years of silence, Ox has expressed an interest in getting to know his son, and although Cukie is ambivalent about the prospect, Daphne agrees. On the way down to the Keys, Cukie realizes how close his father has been all these years; Daphne admits that Ox is not “a good” man. When they arrive at Ox’s work, a hut on the marina, Cukie is somewhat surprised to see that his father is a “redneck.” The young man finds little in his father’s face (other than his nose) that would indicate familial relation. Inside Ox’s tiki hut, there is a large poster of a Jamaican woman that Cukie has seen in Kingston shops. As his father brags about knowing the model, and about how much she resembles Daphne, Cukie’s disdain grows. Although he expects his father to offer him a beer, Ox instead hands him lobster-hunting equipment. The two embark on their first dive, and afterward, Ox tells Cukie that lobstering will be something he can “fall back on” (109) when he’s older if need be.