Come Alive Ch. 09

There was a main railway line just along the right side of the river here, and passenger trains whooshed by every ten minutes... "You know, we could almost tie up here -- but I think the trains would keep us up all night."

"We'll find something better up ahead," Dina said, glad the medication had kicked-in so quickly. "Besides, it is too early to quit for the day."

"Okay. Rolf, let me get the engine going then you can cast off the lines."

And a minute later they were underway. They slowed when they met a small freighter coming downriver, and everyone whooped when Time Bandit bounced on the passing ship's large wake, then they came to a small marina near the village of Nödinge and tied up for the night. As soon as Bandit was secure, Taggart went down to his bunk and fell into a deep sleep.

Rolf, Astrid, and Dina sat in the cockpit and snacked, though Dina seemed intent on not talking about her conversation with Britt earlier in the day. Astrid carried dishes down to the galley, leaving Rolf to find out what had happened.

"I will talk to Henry when he awakens. This is very complicated, Rolf. More so than anything I might have imagined."

"This Eva...she sounds..."

"Like a lunatic! I'm having a hard time believing the girl could put on such a show!"

"What did she do, Grandma-ma?"

"Rolf? It is time you stopped calling me that. You are too old for such things, and it is making me feel older than I already am."

"Yes, Grandma-ma."

She smiled. "I am sorry. I should not have said that."

"What did this Eva do?"

Dina turned away, looked at the river. "She is acting like a child, Rolf. Terrible, really, but it is better not to talk about such things now, as she might be joining us soon."

"Alright. What about my mother?"

"She has the morning sickness now. It is better that she not travel for the time being. Then...we shall see."

"How do you feel about all this, Grandma-ma."

"Oh, a little sad. Sad for Henry most of all, but sad for these girls, and for these new children."

"Henry has talked to me about this. He says it might fall to me one day to take care of these children."

"True. It may. What do you think of that?"

"It is strange to think about such things. Being a brother is one thing, but taking on the role of a parent is quite another. I hope to be good at both..."

"Be a good brother, Rolf. Doing that will take care of all the rest."

"It is a good thing you are not pregnant, isn't it?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Three children? What would Henry think about that?"

"I don't know," she sighed.

"Can you still have children, Grandma-ma?"

"I thought not, but..."

His eyes went round: "Oh my God. You too?"

She nodded. "Yes. Me too."

"Oh, no. Three babies...and all at once."

"It is not three, Rolf. Your mother has twins, Eva too."

"What?"

"That is four. Then, heaven forbid, perhaps I will have two as well."

"Fuck!"

"Yes, fuck indeed. Please, tell me that Astrid is on birth control?"

Rolf shrugged. "I do not know."

"Oh dear God. We will need an entire maternity ward before this winter is over."

"Six brothers and sisters," Rolf said, his eyes lost in contemplation. "It boggles the mind."

"I wonder," Dina sighed, "if he would object to a vasectomy while he is asleep."

"A what?"

"Never mind. I am saying silly things."

"Six, Grandma-ma. Six! Think of that!"

"And he will not live to see even one of them born. Think about that, Rolf. Not one of them."

"I think he would find that almost funny, Grandma-ma."

She smiled. "Yes, perhaps that is true, yet I think he will be happy, even so. I hope so."

"I hope so, too. Do you know, he called me 'son' today."

"Does that surprise you?"

"I think it did, yes."

"When he looks at you I see pride in his eyes, Rolf. Sometimes we come to our station in life from very different places. His road to you, perhaps, was like this. When he first arrived in Bergen, what if he had walked in another direction? Away from your mother's clinic. What then? We, you and I and your mother might not have ever seen him. We wouldn't be here right now. All because he went to the left instead of the right."

"So, it was all a happy accident?"

"Ah...that is a very big question, Rolf. A happy accident? Or...the road he chose was destiny, part of a plan."

"You mean God, religion, all that?"

She nodded her head.

"What do you believe, Grandma-ma?"

"Me? Well, if there is a God, Rolf, I think He believes very much in happy accidents. The world and our lives can unfold in many different ways no one can foretell, perhaps not even God."

"But don't people believe God has a plan...?"

"And what would be the fun in that, Rolf. Perhaps even God enjoys watching the decisions we make, or perhaps He despairs when He sees us making regrettable decisions."

"Or perhaps there is no God?"

"Perhaps. But it is unimportant what I think, or Henry thinks. What is important is what you think. The choice is yours."

"What about medicine? Can medicine coexist with God?"

"Why not? I doubt God would mind one way or another. What might matter to God is that we are true to ourselves, and to our own beliefs. As a physician, I believe in a set of paradigms, but it would presumptuous for me to say that the structure of medicine, or of science, precludes a belief in God. Again, it is more likely that God watches how we treat one another, that we love and respect each other, that we cherish life in all forms, even the earth."

"Is it wrong for me to feel love for Henry?"

"No. How could that be?"

"Well, because he is not my real father."

"Your father is no longer here, so you do not forsake the memory of him by embracing the present. Henry is an important part of your life now, and I suspect he always will be. Love, respect, even duty...those are the things you embrace now."

"But..."

"Rolf...think of it this way. If your father could in some way be looking down on you right now, do you think he would be disappointed?"

"I wish that was possible, Grandma-ma."

"Yes...but perhaps it is possible, Rolf."

He nodded, then turned to face the heavens. "I think it is getting cool out now. Could I make you some coffee, Grandma-ma?"

"Yes, please. I am going to check on Henry, then I will see you here. And please, might not Astrid join is?"

+++++

He woke up early the next morning and made coffee, then he went up to the cockpit with his iPad and started planning their day. He woke up the chart plotter and looked at potential stops along the way, then he thought about the conversation he'd had with Dina sometime in the evening. About Britt and Eva needing time with him, about the twins...and then the real news...that she too was pregnant.

"How is that even possible?" he remembered asking.

"I thought these things were over, but apparently they are not. Anyway, that doesn't matter now. I am and that is that."

He had kissed her, asked her how she felt, but she had answered with oblique references to her age, and of trying to be a good mother again, but all in all what he witnessed was a very profound insecurity taking flight.

How could he help her manage that, he wondered?

Eliminate known sources of insecurity. Let her focus on the child or, heaven forbid, the children. Yet the first thing he knew he had to do was open up all lines of communication with her. He was beginning to feel that she was already sheltering him, keeping things that might upset him out of sight, and so out of mind. She was, in other words, protecting him -- and he loved her that much more for it -- yet he also knew he had to have her understanding. He had to be kept in the loop if he was going to be effective at helping everyone navigate the rough waters ahead.

He nursed his coffee for a while, lost in thoughts about the present when out of the blue he thought about Doris Day. Growing up with her in the house next door had always been kind of surreal -- going to see Pillow Talk at the movie theatre then coming home and seeing her on the porch overlooking Newport harbor, every now and then waving at her and seeing her smile... Coming in from a long trip on Bandit with his father and her calling out "How'd y'all do?" in that magic voice of hers. Her smile...

Clyde came up the steps and barked twice, indicating his need was getting extreme, and Henry grabbed the leash and took him ashore. Clyde took his time finding just the right bush to hose down, then circled twice and dropped a dump truckload. Taggart groaned. "Damn, boy, they're getting stinkier!" That was worth a wag or two of the tail, then they made their way back to the Bandit. Taggart settled behind the wheel so Clyde sat next to the boss and waited for his head rub, which was none too soon in coming.

Then he heard Dina down in the shower so he finished his coffee -- then without warning, he vomited -- and he saw streaks of blood in clear fluid that almost looked like mucous...

Dina heard the noise and was on deck before he finished cleaning up the mess.

He told her what had happened, then...

"What did it look like?"

"Blood streaks, thick clear mucous looking stuff, no food in it."

She shook her head. "If you can't get more food down this will get worse. Understood? You have to eat more!"

"But I'm not hungry, Dina?"

"It does not matter. Three times a day, even a little. You have to keep your body nourished or it will not be able to fight. Okay?" She sighed. "Next town we come to we will need to get a blood count. Did you drink coffee, too?"

"Yes."

"No, Henry. Not without food. You'd do better with herbal teas, too. Now, let me get you a scone, then I'm going to fix you some eggs. Will you eat some ham or bacon?"

"You're the doctor. You put it down in front of me and I'll eat it. Promise, okay?

He ate her breakfast and a half hour later it came back up; he bent over the rail and let go right into the river.

"Henry, next time that happens I need to examine the contents for blood, okay? This is important, alright?"

He nodded. "What about that shake you gave me yesterday? I held that down okay."

"You should not be vomiting so soon..."

"Let me try the shake again, and I have some antacid tabs in the medicine cabinet above our sink."

She disappeared down the companionway and he disconnected the shore power cord, then started the diesel. He pulled in their lines and then he backed out of the slip before he turned into the river -- still headed generally north. Dina came back and handed him the canned shake and he tossed it down, then shivered just a little.

"That is a taste I don't think I will ever get used to," he grimaced.

"Do you like salmon?"

"Yup, in all its forms."

"Sushi?"

"Especially sushi."

She nodded. "Do we have to transit a lock today?"

"Yeah, assuming we make it there in time; it's only about 20 miles."

She sighed: "I wish you would speak in kilometers..."

"Yeah, okay, call it 32 clicks. What do you think about maybe getting a bigger boat?"

"What? Are you serious?"

"Yeah. The way things are looking if you guys had a boat big enough to handle all of you, well, it might help to, you know, bring all of you together on a regular basis."

"I'm not sure I can talk about the future right now, Henry. Not that future, anyway."

"Sorry. I understand. Probably better if I just handle things while I can."

She turned and looked at the passing landscape -- pastures off to the right, some rugged low hills to port, the rail line still there, trains whizzing by now and then. "Are you thinking about such things often?"

"Yeah, more or less. I have ideas, I pass them along to Sigrid."

"The lawyer?"

"Yup. When I'm, well, you know, just get in touch with her."

"What about your holdings in the States?"

"Everything has been transferred into a trust. In Bergen. She'll lay it all out for you."

"What about the boat?"

"It'll belong to the trust for the time being."

"I like this boat. If you got something new that would mean getting rid of this one, no?"

"No, not at all. I can put the new boat into the trust and leave Time Bandit to you. Would you prefer that?" She nodded her head but looked away, he could tell she was crying and trying to hide it from him. "I suppose you'll take care of her, right?"

"Of course. I may even take her on a long trip. Would that be okay?"

"Sure. Where would you go?"

"Wherever you tell me to go."

"Ah, so you intend to keep talking to me even after, eh?"

"Of course. Every night before bed."

"I feel like such a flake. Bugging out without changing even one diaper. Sheesh, the nerve of some people's children..."

"I hope we have a bunch of boys -- and that they inherit your humor."

"Dearie me. You do have a pretty wide masochistic streak, don't you?"

"A little, maybe yes."

"Well, enough of this crap. Get out the guidebook and let's figure out the day...

+++++

Dina and Astrid whipped up a salmon bisque to go with fresh bread and Taggart enjoyed the soup, and when he kept it down Dina relaxed a little. 'I just have to find things he can tolerate,' she said to herself. 'And fill him with nutrients when I can...'

They approached their first lock, right inside the village of Lilla Edet, and it was a big one; the guidebook said it was often full of commercial freighters and small passenger boats, as well as pleasure craft. Today was, unfortunately, no exception. A big, red-hulled freighter had already pulled into the cavernous lock, and a white passenger boat came in right behind them...so their first attempt at trying a lock would be a trying affair. And one with an audience.

"Let's get Clyde down below," Henry said as they approached the entry. "Rolf, you stand by with the bowline; I'll handle the stern from here," he added as he maneuvered Time Bandit into a space indicated by the lock-keeper. The red-bricked wall looked to be about thirty feet tall, and bronze bollards were recessed in the wall at regular intervals; the trick would be to secure Bandit to one bollard, and, as she started to rise, to get another line rigged on the next higher bollard -- which was now too high to reach.

The white passenger ship came in behind them and then the lock's gate closed behind them. When the gate was secure water began filling the lock chamber, and the water rushed in with incredible velocity, creating a turbulent wash that made holding onto the lines a real chore. The commercial ships had heavy lines and specialized equipment to handle the load, while Time Bandit had Rolf and Henry...

"Okay Rolf, get your line on the next bollard!" he called out when they'd risen about eight feet, and he scrambled to get his line secure on his next bollard. But...in the end, it proved an easier than expected transit, and when the gate opened they motored out of the lock behind the red freighter, then the little cruise ship motored out after them. Then, all three boats motored along in a spontaneous parade, with the passengers on the liner behind standing on the bow taking pictures of Taggart & Company.

The landscape was more rugged now, hills flanked both sides of the river here, and the river itself bent more frequently to accommodate the hilly terrain. And beyond each new bend new villages popped up unexpectedly, each sporting at least one church steeple, many with bakeries and markets near the water, so stopping was always a temptation -- and an easy option if supplies ran low.

"This is so different from an ocean passage," Henry said...to no one in particular. "All we need is a chocolate factory..."

"And a golden ticket!" Astrid added -- and Rolf smiled.

Clyde chose that moment to jump into Taggart's lap, and sitting there with his front paws draped over Taggart's shoulders, and with his snout resting on Taggart's neck, he promptly fell asleep -- then started snoring. Taggart wrapped his arms around the pup and scratched his back, and he soon felt a moan of contentment come from deep inside the old boy. Of course, Rolf took another picture with his iPhone...

After a brief snooze Clyde jumped down and went off in search of a water bowl, and Henry turned the wheel over to Rolf. He walked forward and pulled out his own phone, and he called Hallberg-Rassy, a boat builder on the Swedish coast just north of Gothenburg. He explained what he needed and his time constraints; they advised they usually built on a semi-custom basis but had had a recent order cancellation just before delivery was to be made. It was a new 57 footer, and the rep went over the details; Taggart was intrigued enough to want to see it.

"We're on the Trollhätten Canal, actually approaching the town of Trollhätten," he advised.

"Ah, that is very close to us here. We could send a car for you in the morning if you like. If that would that work out for you?"

"Yes, I think so. I'll let you know where we moor for the night."

The rep made a few recommendations for places to tie-up overnight and then rang off.

"Who did you call," Dina asked, standing behind him at the mast.

"Feel like looking at a boat tomorrow?"

"You are serious, aren't you?"

"Yes, of course."

She shrugged. "Okay. Is it far from here?"

"No, I don't think so. Maybe an hour away."

She sighed. "Are you always so -- decisive?"

"Well, circumstances have changed, haven't they? I want to get it right, and I don't want to waste time, so I have to move fast. How far are we from Trollhätten?"

"About seven miles..."

"Miles! You used miles, and after telling me to..."

"I know, I know," she grinned, "but that silly machine only gives a readout in miles."

"Nautical miles, Dina. The same unit of measurement on all my nautical charts. Look, just multiply miles by 1.6 and you have clicks..."

"Clicks? what is it with this clicks-thing!"

"Just a bad habit I picked up when I was an American..."

"Bosh! You are an American through and through..."

"Look! A Burger King!" he shouted, pointing at a little castle on a hilltop. "Let's go!"

She shook her head as she muttered her way back to the cockpit.

"And the crowd goes wild, Ladies and Germs! Team Taggart scores again!"

+++++

The Hallberg-Rassy yard was immaculate, and the 57 was tied up just below the main office building. Taggart looked at her as he walked up, admiring not only her lines but the apparent simplicity of the rig. The cockpit was amazing, with literally everything electrically coupled to the helm. You could, the rep explained, adjust everything from the wheel: furl the sails, adjust the sheets, raise or lower the anchor, or operate the thrusters...

"Did you say thrusters, as in more than one?"

"Yes, bow and stern."

"Hell, even I could pass the parallel parking test with this rig."

Dina had already gone below and she was calling for him now -- almost urgently.

"What's wrong?" he asked after he'd made his way down the companionway steps.

"There's a dishwasher in the galley!" she cried.

"And a washing machine in the owner's head," the rep advised.

"On a sailboat?" she said, wide-eyed, then she turned to Henry. "Have you ever!?"

"I think she likes this boat," the rep said, smiling now that he had her.

He showed them around for two hours, going over literally every system onboard at least twice. Then: "Shall we go for a sail?"

"No thanks," Taggart said, and the rep looked crestfallen, so did Dina. "I think I've already made up my mind."

"Oh?" the rep and Dina said in unison.

"Let me get you my attorney's number. You can call her in an hour to arrange for the transfer of funds and registration information. We'll swing by here in about three weeks to pick up the 57. At that time I'd like to drop off my current boat and leave her in dry storage here in your yard. We'll arrange for pickup next Spring. During that time could you winterize the boat's systems and perform whatever maintenance you think necessary?"