Come Alive Ch. 08

It was decided that Rolf would take the semester off from in-person classwork, that his teachers would provide learning materials and that Dina would help with instruction. It appeared by then that Astrid would remain with him for the time being -- to help with his continuing education, she said.

Britt and Eva were perplexed by the whole affair, though Britt was happy for Dina -- to a degree. But, Taggart remembered, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

Before the little group returned to Gothenburg, Taggart met with Sigrid the Lawyer in her Bergen office. They talked for a few hours, as a matter of fact.

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Their first order of business, on the group's return to Sweden, was to pick up Clyde at the veterinarian's boarding kennel, and he seemed none the worse for his break from shipboard routines. By the time they made it back to Time Bandit Henry was breathless, pale, and his hands were rattling; even Clyde sat up and noticed in the taxi. After Henry made it to the cockpit Clyde came up and started sniffing him, starting at the ankles and working his way up one appendage at a time. When his nose hit Taggart's chest he stopped what he was doing and started whimpering, then his tail slipped between his legs...

"I know, good boy, I know. The news wasn't all that good, I'm afraid."

That warranted a lick on the face, and Taggart leaned into the unsolicited affection, grinned at the purity of his friend's love, and then he scooped up the pup and held him close. Clyde moaned at the close exchange, then draped his front paws over Henry's shoulders in a kind of canine hug, Dina and Astrid stopped and looked at the exchange; Rolf had his phone out and snapped a few pictures of the moment -- because Clyde's feelings seemed to perfectly sum up the flavor of this afternoon.

'Maybe,' Taggart thought, 'because everything feels so different now. Like...a couple of days ago I was still like Rolf...I was still just a big kid. No real responsibilities, no binding ties to another person. But now? I'm not so sure what I am, or even who I am now...'

Dina helped him to his cabin, got him under a blanket and his head propped up on a pillow, then Clyde hopped up and cuddled-in beside him. Henry was asleep in an instant.

"How bad is it, Grandma-ma," Rolf asked her while they washed down the Bandit's deck and hardware.

She looked at him and shook her head. "Henry will tell you. For now, just spend as much time with him as you can."

Rolf nodded, but his shoulders sagged, his frown deepened. "I can't imagine what he must be feeling."

"Well, I do know that he loves you, and perhaps now nothing is more important."

"Why did you marry him, Grandma-ma?"

She stopped what she was doing and looked up. "It's funny, but the moment I saw him I knew this moment was coming. You and I, sitting out here just like we are now and you asking me this question..."

"Mother says you see the future."

She shook her head. "No, that's not true."

"Then why do think you felt what you did."

"I saw heartbreak, Rolf, when I first looked into his eyes. Mine, and yours -- not his. Even your mothers, I think. And all of it...bound up in Henry's eyes, and in his smile. I knew what was coming..."

"Then...why?"

"Because sometimes life just comes at you, Rolf. And you either come alive to the possibilities, or you just wither away inside the rot of lingering fear...and then you make for yourself a life not quite lived, if that makes any sense. Henry ran from that rot, Rolf, and I think that is what he hopes for you."

"I'm afraid."

"Don't be. That is not what he wants, and it is not what you want. Not really, Rolf. Still, the choice is yours now, today, as it will be for the rest of your life. You can choose to live, or you can choose to embrace fear."

"So, when you decided to marry him, you chose..."

"Yes, exactly. And the choice was a simple one."

"I understand."

"Good, we must get all this grime off the deck."

"It's funny to think of Time Bandit in a river, crossing a meadow..."

"Well, that is the beauty of a boat like this. It is a magic carpet that can take you almost anywhere you'd like to go. Now, I haven't had a chance to ask you about Astrid. What is going on with you two, Rolf?"

"I think it is just as you say, Grandma-ma. It was a simple choice."

"Okay. But consider this: you are young, and this is your first experience with love. Do not rush things. Take your time, get to know this girl."

"She says many of the same things to me."

"She is a good soul, I think."

Rolf nodded. "I think so too."

Astrid came up, back in her bikini again but now with a t-shirt on, and she watched Rolf at work, a gentle kind of smile warming her face.

"I think Henry just got in the shower," she said, and Dina looked her way.

"Oh? He was sound asleep a few minutes ago?" She moved to go down the companionway steps and check on him, and found he was indeed in the shower. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"My mouth tastes like roadkill, but maybe that's because Clyde's ass was about two inches from my nose."

"You were snoring a little. Is your mouth dry?"

"Yeah. Big time."

"You are dehydrated, probably from the airplane. Are you hungry yet?"

"Not really, but I know I need to eat something today."

"You can't take those medicines on an empty stomach, Henry. You will get sick to your stomach if you do." She could hear his sigh, deep and full of frustration. 'I have to back-off,' she told herself. 'How would I feel if he admonished me all the time...?' "Does anything sound good to you, at all?"

"Maybe some soup."

"What if I bake some fresh bread?"

He stepped out of the shower and began drying-off. "We should go out tonight; who knows where we'll end up tomorrow."

"We should go slow," she said. "Stop when we find a village that looks interesting."

"You got my vote on that one."

"Does Thai sound good tonight?"

"Sure. Good soup. How's Rolf doing?"

"Worried about you. We talked a little. Let him think about things for a while."

"Okay. Is it cold in here, or is it just me?"

"It's cool out this evening. You might bring a coat."

"You know, I don't think I have any long pants onboard."

"Really?"

"Just my offshore overalls and some kind of fleece under-layer."

"Maybe we should shop in Stockholm, get some woolen slacks?"

"Well, we better get going. I can hear his stomach growling form here..."

They rode into the old city center to a highly recommended Thai place, then after dinner they walked a long shopping boulevard before riding back to the marina. Taggart's hands were shaking badly by the time he walked onto the act deck Bandit, but he sat at the wheel and looked around the deck.

"Rolf, you did a great job on the deck. It looks great."

"I had a good teacher," he said, grinning. "Feel like some company?"

"Sure, sure. Have a seat."

"Henry? How about some tea?" Dina asked.

He nodded. "Sounds about right." After the girls went below he turned to Rolf. "You ready for the canal?"

"I think so. I was reading more about it today. Some of the locks sound challenging."

"With four of us it ought to be okay."

"Grandma-ma said something interesting this afternoon. She called Time Bandit a kind of magic carpet machine, a companion to take you anywhere you want to go."

"I never thought of her life that, but in a way I guess she is. So, if you could go anywhere on her, where would that be?"

"Tahiti, I think. There seems to be something magical about those islands."

Taggart nodded. "Good choice. This would be a good boat for that trip, too."

"Why did you decide to come to Norway, to Scandinavia?"

"After my dad died I found a bunch of books about sailing here. He'd even made a few notes on things he'd like to do here, and the things he'd need on a trip like this."

"So, in a way you made this trip for him?"

Taggart sighed. "Maybe. Maybe not for him, but to be with him -- in spirit. For many years we didn't talk much, I kinda lost track, dropped the ball. My life became one long pursuit -- chasing money, making as much as I could."

"Did you make a lot?"

Taggart nodded. "Too much. But the price I paid was -- too high. If I would have kept my head out of my ass I'd have known what my dad wanted to do..."

"So, you think he wanted to make the trip with you?"

Taggart nodded. "Yeah. I know he did, and I think that's why he taught me to sail. Hell, he taught me about life while he taught me to sail. And he knew everything, too. About the oceans, sharks, whales, you name it. And navigation. My God...he knew absolutely everything about navigation!"

"Where did you sail with him?"

"Oh, up and down the Pacific coast. Washington and Oregon on one trip, and south to Mexico several times. Places like Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Manzanillo, Acapulco. We raced to Hawaii twice, did pretty well, too. There used to be a race to Tahiti, but it took too long so we never did it."

"What's your best memory?"

"From sailing with him?"

"Yes."

"When I was a kid, I mean really little, I used to watch his hands -- on the wheel. Unless it was really rough out he usually steered with just a finger or two on the wheel. He said he could feel the water better that way. I thought it was magic at first, because, well I was pretty small at the time and I could barely turn the wheel. Not him. He made everything look almost effortless."

"You still miss him, don't you?"

"Every day. Some people define who we want to be in life, Rolf. They point the way. For me, that person was my dad."

Dina and Astrid came topsides with tea and cookies, and Taggart put his arms around Dina's shoulders. "So, do you feel married yet?" he asked.

She nodded and smiled. "Very much so," she added, kissing his forehead.

A group of kids was gathered on the grass, a couple of guys were playing guitar and singing -- and they sounded pretty good. Henry looked at Rolf and Astrid; both were looking that way.

"Why don't you two go check it out," he said. "Might be fun, and look! No old farts!"

They laughed, then they skipped off the stern like a couple of rocks across a pond.

"Fun to be that age again," he sighed.

"I'm enjoying this one right now."

"Yeah? Well, me too, as a matter of fact."

"What time do you want to leave in the morning?"

"Oh," he said, "the tides look good around six, six thirty. If not, we'll burn a ton of fuel getting through the city."

"Well, the slower the better, as far as I'm concerned," Dina said, a slight tinge of sadness in her voice.

"Oh?"

"I don't think I want this to ever end."

He nodded. He understood. Time was the real enemy now, a predator slowly moving in for the kill.

© 2020 adrian leverkühn | abw | this is a work of fiction, pure and simple; the next chapter will drop in a week or so.