Sailing To Survive

I put the transmission into forward and slowly increased the throttle and felt the boat move easily through the water. Marquet had told me that these boats were designed to be stable in all sorts of work conditions. They were powerful but that top speed wasn't what they were designed to do. He suggested that I keep it at a constant rpm for fuel efficiency and to let the boat do the work and not try to apply too much finesse in handling it. By the time we left the bayou and entered the waterway, I understood what he meant. The boat held course beautifully but didn't react well to sudden, quick turns. I needed to know what I was going to do and plan ahead for it. For the first part of the journey, it was fairly straight forward with mostly longer sweeping turns in the man-made waterway. Later when we got to the natural river, I would need to be more observant about sand bars and sharper turns. I felt that I would have a much better feel for those by the time we got to that part of the trip.

Emily came up with two coffees in travel mugs that sat on the console nicely. She looked at the chart and figured out where we were and began marking our progress with an erasable marker. She may not have had much experience on boats, but she understood maps and how to use them. "What are you majoring in Emily? You seem to be really comfortable with maps."

She ginned. "I started out to major in Geology to work in the oil business. But my first year I took a geography class and got fascinated with that. Then this year I took a cartography class and that just blew me away. So now, I am thinking about making those my majors. I never realized that map making was still a vital career program. I thought maps were just there and that they got updated every once in awhile but then I discovered that there is huge need for all kinds of maps and that things change all of the time. So I think that I will change this semester to that. Not many people get fascinated in geography and maps anymore."

"I can tell you from experience that maps and up-to-date information on places is critical. I almost got stuck because of a bad map once."

"That's what I mean. So I learned last year that the best way to use a map is to mark way points and make notes as you go. The next time you pass this way, things might have changed but you can still find out where you are and what conditions you can expect."

"You are now the official navigator as well as cook and dish washer."

"How about we trade off on the dishwashing duties, Mr. Captain, Sir?"

"Do you know about walking the plank if you displease the Captain?"

"Yes, but that is for pirates. You might be a rogue but you aren't a pirate."

"Arggh, matey. But I have been thinking about becoming one; a swashbuckling one eyed, black beard with a wench on each arm."

"Nice try, Bozo. You have two eyes and your hair is sandy colored; besides you only have one wench, not two."

"I'll steal another one along the way."

"Nope; that isn't going to happen."

"Are you arguing with the Captain again?"

"There isn't going to be a argument, Captain; the boss has spoken."

"Crap; foiled by my own petard."

"You don't even know what a petard is much less have one. And it is 'hoisted by one's own petard.'"

"Whatever. Now wench, coffee refill will make the Captain happy."

"Ooo, we must keep the Captain happy, must we?"

"Arggh." Damn she is fun.

She went back down to the galley and I took a long look through the binoculars and saw something that seemed strange but I couldn't tell what it what from this distance. I checked the map and decided that it was about at the ten mile point from where we left and was in a turn in the waterway. I decided to cut power as we approached the turn in case it was a blockage.

Emily came back up five minutes later with our refills. "Take a look straight ahead with the binoculars and tell me what you see."

She looked down river for several minutes and then said, "Shit!"

"What's the matter?"

"That looks like dip shit's boat and like he is stuck on a sand bar or an island or something."

"Well then, let's see about getting your things back and then see if there is anything we can do for them."

"How about blowing that fucking boat up?"

"We could do that but I don't think you would look nearly as cute in prison garb as you do like you are now."

"Another cheap compliment; I'll take it. Listen, he can be charming but he can also be an asshole. Be prepared for either or both."

"I am well aware of the type. Hold the wheel while I put the fenders out." She took the wheel and I told her to just hold the present course since I had cut the engine back. I put three fenders out and when I looked up, there were four guys standing in the back of the boat waving at us. They all seemed to have a beer can in their hand. I let the boat coast up next to them and reversed the engine for a moment to stop or forward moment. I purposely stopped us about two feet away from them. I took a boat gaffe and held us still next to them

Emily was standing with her hands on her hips glaring at the leader of the four.

"Hey guys, look what the rescue boat brought back to us. I guess she decided to play along. Em, are you ready to ask us for forgiveness?"

"Not in this lifetime, asshole."

"Fuck you, cunt. Hey man, hook us up and get us off this bar. We anchored here yesterday and the storm killed our engine. My old man will pay you a lot to get us off this damn bar."

I stared at him and replied in the coldest voice I could muster. "I'm not a rescue boat and I don't want your daddy's money. I just want Emily's purse and bag back."

"Fuck you asshole; you tow us to the marina or I'll throw her shit in the fucking river."

"You throw her things in the river and I'll throw you in after them."

"You and who else?"

"Just me, prick. Now I am going to give you a choice and we can see just how smart you really are."

He snickered, "I'd like to see that, wimp. I played football and could smash you like a bug."

"And I was a SEAL, and l saw Taliban that would gut you in five minutes or less. Now shut your fucking face and listen." He froze in indecision for a moment. "First, you can get Emily's things and hand them over here nicely and I will go back to the marina and send a rescue boat to save your worthless ass and your daddy's money."

"You're bluffing. There weren't any SEALs in Afghanistan."

"There weren't any SEALs in Pakistan either, asshole.

"So what's the other choice?"

"I will push off and go back to the marina and tell the river patrol that you are marooned here and that I heard a woman scream. Then you can explain to them about Emily's things on your daddy's boat with no Emily. I am sure your daddy can afford to get you off the hook in a month or two but I suspect that this isn't the first time he has had to bail your arrogant ass out and he is probably getting tired of you. So what's it going to be?"

He thought for a minute and then turned to one of the guys and said, "Jimbo, get her things and give them to him." Jimbo started to say something but he said, "Just do it, damn it. He's crazy enough to send the river patrol and we don't need them sniffing around the boat."

Jimbo ran below and the guy looked back at me and said, "This isn't over. What's your name asshole?"

"Farley Parkenfarker. Make sure you tell your daddy the whole story because I damn sure will and I suspect that Emily will back me up. I suggest that you just cut your losses and forget about me and Emily."

Jimbo came back and handed Emily her purse and small suitcase. I asked, "Is it all there, Emily?"

"Yes, all of the important things are."

"It will take us about an hour to get back to the marina and probably an hour for so or them to get back down here. Drink your beer but make sure that your credit card is available. Otherwise, your daddy might have to buy his own boat back."

"Fuck you, prick."

I pushed us away and back into the currant and we started drifting down river. I climbed back up and engaged the throttle and made a U-turn to head back up river. I could feel the current slow us down so I moved closer to the shore line where we could move more easily.

Emily had disappeared below and when she returned, she brought me a soda and a sandwich and stood quietly next to me. The tension was slowly ebbing and I could tell that she wanted to say or ask something. "What's on your mind, Emily? I can feel that you are about to split a lip."

She put her arms around me and kissed my cheek. "Thank you; I can't find any word more than that to tell you how much I appreciate what you did. I just hope that Jeff listened to you and leaves you alone. His daddy is a pretty powerful man and can cause you some trouble."

"Out curiosity, what is Jeff's name and who is his father?"

"He is Jefferson Martin the Third and his father is ..."

"Senator Jefferson Martin the Second, one of the most worthless men in Congress."

With surprise in her voice, she said, "You know him? I mean, around here he is a pretty powerful man."

"I met him once at a fundraiser. If there was ever someone who could talk out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, he would be the role model. It also proves the point that the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree." Actually, I didn't lie about the Senator but the truth was he could cause me some trouble if his son knew who I was. The Senator himself couldn't do much but the heavies who worked for the companies that owned him were not known to be nice people. "Don't worry; I suspect that the Senator has bigger problems to worry about that a guy who cussed out his idiot son."

Emily paused and then asked, "Were you really a SEAL based in Afghanistan?"

"Yes and no. I was a SEAL but no, I was not based in Afghanistan. I dropped in for a visit a couple of times and before you ask any more about that, I wish you wouldn't. I have some bad memories from there that I prefer to keep locked away in a deep hole."

"All right; I won't ask any more. What are we going to do now?"

"We have your things back. How about we just take the trip back to St. Louis and get you to registration on time?"

"You're the Captain; you lead and I follow." She rested her head on my shoulder.

"But you are the boss."

"Not any more; well not anywhere but in the galley."

"Emily, what we developed in the short time before this was fun and I enjoyed it. You don't have to change anything for my sake. I liked that you teased me and stuff. I haven't had much of that kind of lightness and fun especially from a woman. Whatever is in my past makes no difference about my present or future; just be yourself and tease me all you want. If you cross a line, I'll tell you."

"It's just that I see you in a different light now."

"It is the same me; you just saw a part of what I used to be. Yesterday and this morning, you saw what I am today. There is more to me that what you have seen but then I am twelve years older than you and have had more experiences. I see in you a very bright and wonderful woman. I suspect that you have a few dark secrets too but they don't bother me unless you are an axe murderess who butchers men in their sleep."

She giggled, "I'll never tell."

"Good. Surprise me. So after we tell Marquet to send a boat back for your boy friend, what do you want to do on the rest of the trip back to St. Louis?"

She punched me in the arm. "He wasn't my boy friend before and he damn sure isn't even a friend now. I'll put him in my cache of bad memories and leave him there."

"He'd probably be better off in the toilet of your mind and just flush him away."

"All right, consider him flushed. As for the rest of the trip back, I want to cook for you and see you smile. I want to get some sun but then you will probably ogle my body and I'll have to fight you off. And I want you to teach me how to run this boat. Can you do that?"

"The smile and the boat part will be easy; the hard part will be ogling your body."

"You don't like my body?"

"No, I didn't say that at all; I said that it will be hard to ogle your body without embarrassing myself in front of you."

"That might be what I want you to do."

"You're a tease."

"You said that you like my teasing."

"Trapped by my own stupid words; Arggh." She giggled and kissed my cheek and ear before she whispered, "Don't pull that pirate shit on me or I'll spank your little ass, Mister."

"I'll have you know that there is nothing little about my ass."

"I noticed but it would still be cute bent over my knee while I spanked you."

"Paybacks are hell."

"Oh, the Captain threatens his crew. I am so scared."

We were approaching the marina so I called Marquet on the radio.

"Ah, Roger; I thought that you would be fifty miles downriver by now. Are you having a problem?"

"No problems; I thought that I would send you some business."

"I always like more business, my friend."

"The guys who dumped Emily on you are stuck on a sand bar about ten miles downriver with a dead engine. They were too drunk to listen to the weather before the storm hit. I told them that we would send a rescue boat after them."

"Ah yes; I try to forget the days when I was young and stupid. I will send the boat."

"Charge them double. The bad boy is very proud of spending his daddy's money and I am sure that daddy won't even blink at the charge."

I could hear his Cajun smile come over the radio. "I know these kind of men and am very gracious to them when I cash their checks. Did you get all of Emily's things back?"

"Yes, we did but you might be careful during the tow. I think that there are other things on that boat that they would prefer to not become known."

"Ah yes, my cousin with the river patrol said that there was a rumor about a load of funny cigarettes going down river this week. Perhaps he needs to check the papers of this boat to insure that they are in order."

"That might be fun but it also might create some problems for you and him. His daddy is a well known person."

"All the better; papas like to keep their stupid children's noses clean and will often pay nicely to maintain their reputation."

"I think that you understand the situation perfectly."

"Have a good sail to the future, my friend. Come by when you are in the area again."

"I will do just that."

I put the radio down and turned to see that Emily had changed into her swim suit although I'm not sure that it could stand up to the rigors of being in water. There really wasn't much to it but it showed an awful lot of what was in it. She grinned at me and said, "Do you like it? This is the first time I have worn it. Do you think that it will make your ogling easier or harder?"

"I cannot answer that question because...because you would probably punish me for what I would say."

"I can think of several ways to punish a bad boy like you. I'm going to get a little sun and then you can show me more about driving this boat."

"I don't know about the boat but you will be driving me crazy."

"That is my plan. Now don't hit that barge heading for us." She climbed back down to the cockpit and stretched out on a towel. I looked up to see a barge coming downriver on about the same track that we were on. There was plenty of room to turn and give him the right of way so I made the adjustment. As we passed, I gave the pilot a toot of acknowledgement. He gave me two toots. I looked up and saw the pilot smiling and pointing to the cockpit. When I checked, Emily was lying on her stomach with the top undone and the thong had disappeared between her cheeks so that she appeared to be naked. I gave the pilot my best wolf whistle sound that a ship's horn can make. He waved and I returned the wave.

I hollered down to her after we were safely past each other, "Congratulations, you have driven two men crazy this morning."

She rolled over on her back and smiled. "I only care about one of them."

"Put something on and come up for your first lesson."

When she arrived, I found that she had put her blouse on but hadn't bothered to button it preferring to tie it loosely below her breasts. She was really going to drive me crazy before we got to St Louis. I went over the controls with her and talked about not trying to make sharp moves but slow ones in anticipation of what was coming ahead. Then I got down and stretched and checked all of the operating equipment and found everything was running properly.

It was now shortly after noon and I went into the galley and heated up a can of beef stew embellished with some fresh bell peppers and onions and some additional seasoning. When it was ready, I took two bowls up to the steering station and set one of them in front of Emily. She looked at me and smiled. "I thought that you couldn't cook."

"I didn't cook this; I just warmed it up and added a few things to make it less bland. How are things going?"

"Fine; it works just like you said it would."

"Good. The harder parts come when we come to a dock or in to anchor. We will do that later. I'll take over so you can eat your lunch." We switched places and she ate quietly before she said, "Am I teasing you too much?"

"No, not really. It's just that I am not used to seeing a beautiful young woman that close to me."

"Haven't you had a girl friend or something recently?"

"Not really. I have dated a few women but mostly that is all. I haven't taken the time to get involved with anyone."

"What kind of woman do you want to find?"

I had to stop and think about that for a moment because I had never really thought about what my perfect woman would be like. "I guess I don't really know. I know that I like smart women and those who support me and allow me to support them. I like someone who likes to explore the world around them and not live in a fantasy land of fashions and fads. I guess that I like a woman who is fun to play with and serious to work with. That's kind of vague, I guess but that it about the best I can come up with."

"So she doesn't have to be blonde with big tits and drive an expensive car?" She grinned at me as she asked.

"No, actually I like a woman who has breasts of any size, hair of any color and a car that runs most of the time. What is more important is if the woman is not what she seems to be. I am tired of plastic people. I don't expect a woman to be perfect because I damn sure aren't offering her a perfect man. If she accepts me as I am, I will accept her as she is. So what do you want in a man?"

"I think that I want the same thing in a man that you want in a woman. I grew up in a nice home but I think we were fairly normal and that is what I feel comfortable with. We bought things because we needed them and bought things to last. My dad drives five year old car and isn't flashy at all. As for me, I have had several boyfriends but nothing very serious. Most guys snicker when I told them I wanted to be a geologist and now that I am interested in maps and stuff, they just laugh at me. I guess I want a man who is strong when he needs to be and normal the rest of the time. I don't want a super hero or super star. I just want a man who will love me and support me in what I want to do because that is what I want to do for him."

"Sounds like we would make a nice couple."

"That is what I was thinking when you said what you wanted. Could you be interested in someone younger than you?"

"I am thirty two; I'm not sure that I could relate to a sixteen year old and probably wouldn't be very good with a woman over fifty. Other than that, age is about as important to me as hair color is. It is part of the attraction process but on a scale of one to ten, it is about a two in importance."