by Wendy Wax
“Then you should go up there. Absence doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder, you know,” Deirdre said. “Sometimes it just lets people forget about you. Or want to, anyway.” She sighed. “You know, of course, that I speak from experience.”
“I get it.” Avery took a sip of wine. “But we’ve got too many subs coming in right after the holiday and far more work to cram into way too short a time frame. I don’t want to be gone that long.” She hesitated. “I might run down to Key West—Chase has a friend with a B and B that he converted in Old Town who offered a room and a tour. You’re welcome to join me if you want.”
“Thanks.” Deirdre flushed with pleasure. “That would be great.” She shot a thoughtful look at her daughter. Maddie, who was far more sober than the rest of them, imagined she could see the wheels turning in the woman’s head.
“Don’t you just love the name ‘cracked conch’?” Maddie set down her fork and munched on a French fry. “I still can’t believe how many ways they can prepare it.”
“Maybe we should get Will to cook a little conch in the video tomorrow morning.” Avery dabbed at the side of her mouth with a napkin. “Assuming he shows up.”
“He’ll show up,” Maddie said with more certainty than she felt.
“He has to show up,” Deirdre said. “The sponsor is counting on it.”
“Well, if he doesn’t you could put your lessons to use and cook something fancy,” Avery said to her mother. “Maddie could assist.”
“I’m not cooking in the video.” Maddie’s eyes strayed once again to Mermaid Point and the light that flickered through the palms. “I’m just going to stand there and encourage William. You know, kind of hold his hand if he needs it.”
“Well, you’ve held his underwear. I’m sure his hand will feel pretty tame in comparison.” Nicole raised her wineglass in Maddie’s direction.
All of them grinned at her.
“Very funny.”
“Drinks definitely taste better out of a glass than they do out of a Coke can,” Avery observed.
Maddie watched them raise their glasses, grateful to Avery for changing the subject but not as happy being the only sober person in the group.
The sky was velvet black with stars twinkling like diamonds spread across it. The moon was almost full and on the rise, its glimmering reflection on the water an arrowed path that led to Mermaid Point.
Once again, Maddie had to pull her thoughts back to the conversation going on around her.
“When are you driving up to Giraldi’s?” Deirdre had posed the question to Nicole.
“I’m going on the third. His family arrives that morning.”
“Is that a problem?” Avery asked.
“No, not exactly.” Nicole laced her fingers around the wineglass stem and sloshed the little bit that remained in her glass. “But it’s . . . awkward. They don’t seem to understand that it’s possible for two people to enjoy each other’s company without needing to get married.”
A brief, shocked silence fell. All eyes fixed on Nicole.
“Which one of you doesn’t need to get married?” Avery asked.
For a moment it looked as if Nicole wouldn’t answer. Then she sighed and said, “That would be me.”
“Seriously?” Deirdre asked.
“You’ve turned down an offer of marriage from Joe Giraldi? Special Agent Joe Giraldi?” Avery asked. “The one with the gun and the badge and the rock-hard abs?”
Maddie watched Nicole’s face.
“I’ve been married twice and I wouldn’t call either experience worth repeating. And Joe and I . . . well, we’re having a great time together and I don’t see any reason to spoil it.” Nicole drank the last of her wine. Her breezy tone didn’t quite hide the discomfort beneath it.
“Joe’s mother thinks that everybody should be married for at least fifty years like she and Joe’s father have. His father told me that the first forty years are the most difficult.” Nicole smiled somewhat grimly. “But he was laughing and holding her hand while he said it. And Joe . . . Joe would like to have children. Honestly, he deserves them. You should see him with his nieces and nephews. And I’m . . .” Nicole looked briefly into her empty wineglass before looking back up at them. “Well, I do believe that ship has sailed.”
Maddie heard the regret in Nicole’s voice. Her eyes were clouded with what looked like uncertainty.
“You know, now that I’m learning a little bit about boats I can tell you that even big ships can and do change course. They’re allowed to head back to port or even plot an entirely different course if they want to.”
“Thanks, Maddie.” Nicole’s smile was bittersweet. “But I’m not sure Joe and I actually want the same things. And honestly, if you couldn’t hack it after twenty-seven years”—Nicole shrugged—“I don’t think our odds are all that good. I’m not interested in becoming a three-time loser.”
Maddie shook her head gently. “I wouldn’t trade the years I had with Steve. Or the family we created. Sometimes it’s just time for a new start or phase. Ultimately we have to make the choices that feel right for us, but I wouldn’t walk away from a great guy like Joe without serious thought.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” Nicole saluted but not quite as smartly as before.
This time a round of pink-colored drinks with small umbrellas arrived along with their slices of Key lime pie. “Pomegranate martinis. From the bartender, Dave.”
They raised them toward the bartender. Everyone but Maddie began to drink.
“Oh, my God! I can practically feel the hair growing on my chest!” Avery said, setting her empty glass down on the table.
“I’ve never understood that saying.” Nicole finished her martini and licked her lips.
Deirdre sipped slowly at hers.
Maddie took a tiny taste. She could see “home” from here and with the moon so bright there was little chance of getting lost. She took another sip; it was deliciously light and fruity. All of them ate their desserts with quiet enthusiasm.
“I like this place. It’s friendly.” Avery’s voice slurred happily.
“Me, too.” Maddie smiled.
“What are you and Kyra doing over the holiday?” Deirdre asked Maddie.
“Kyra’s taking Dustin up to Bella Flora to spend the holiday with Daniel.”
Eyebrows went up at that.
“I know. He and Dustin are staying at Bella Flora. Kyra’s staying next door at the Cottage Inn.” Maddie presented this as a fact, which she hoped it was.
“Maybe she can get him to lobby Tonja Kay to leave Bella Flora alone.” Avery scraped her fork across her now empty plate.
“Maybe.” Maddie knew she wasn’t the only one who doubted Tonja Kay could be dissuaded. In the past nothing short of threatening to expose Tonja’s true potty-mouthed self to her adoring public had stopped the movie star from getting what she wanted.
“And you?” Nicole asked.
“I don’t have any plans.” Maddie wasn’t at all unhappy about this.
They looked at her suspiciously. “So it’ll be just you and William Hightower on Mermaid Point?” Nicole asked archly.
“No,” Maddie replied, taking a long sip of her drink. “It’ll be just me. William and Hudson and Tommy are going on a fishing trip.” She smiled. “Isn’t that great?”
“Did he come up with that idea himself?” Deirdre’s tone said she doubted it.
“No, not exactly. But the point is it’s happening.” Maddie was shocked to discover that her martini glass was empty. She hiccuped lightly.
“Whatever you say.” Avery watched her face. “But what about you, what’ll you do?”
“I think it will be cool to have Mermaid Point to myself,” Maddie said. “I can kick back and take it easy. And maybe visit some of the sights I’ve been reading about. You know, now that I’ve
made this maiden voyage and have a bit of confidence that I can come and go from the island without assistance.”
It was eleven forty-five by the time they finished their meal and paid the bill. With their arms linked they headed down the beach to the boat, belting out the theme song from Gilligan’s Island amid laughter and a smattering of applause from the remaining diners and all of the waitstaff.
The moon was just striking midnight when Maddie discovered that her confidence in her boating skills might have been just a wee bit misplaced.
Chapter Twenty-nine
Their departure from the beach at Lazy Days was far noisier and wetter than their arrival.
“Okay, MaryAnn and Ginger!” Maddie pointed to Avery and Nicole. “You, too, Mrs. Howell!” she called to Deirdre. “Now we have to weigh anchor and push off and get in the boat.”
Maddie sloshed through the shallow water. On her third attempt to hike her butt up to a sitting position so that she could swing her legs over the side of the boat, she teetered precariously for a couple of seconds before collapsing butt first into the bottom of the boat.
Nicole had removed her shoes and half dove, half leapt onto the bow of the boat, flashing a good bit of thigh in the process. Deirdre scooted onto the bow behind her, pivoted on her rear, and threw her legs into the boat, flinging wet sand as she came. The boat scraped against the bottom.
“Boy, we must have eaten more than we thought!” On the beach Avery spent a few inelegant moments trying to wrest the anchor out of the sand. “I’ll unstick you!” she promised as she set it in the boat. Then, without any apparent concern for how wet she might get, she grabbed the bow of the boat and pushed it back toward deeper water, then splashed in after it. Leaping onto the side, she kicked her feet in an effort to continue her forward momentum. Deirdre and Nicole grabbed her by the waist and hauled her the rest of the way in.
Gasping from exertion they contemplated each other. Only Avery seemed to find their soaked and bedraggled state amusing.
“Well, it wasn’t pretty. But we didn’t lose anybody,” Maddie said.
“Tha’s right, Skipper! All present an’ accounted for.” Avery saluted sloppily and squished her shoes together, which struck all of them as far funnier than it should have.
“Okay.” Maddie stood and turned to lower the motor. “Here we go.” She set the choke. The deck was wet and on her first try she pulled so hard that her feet slipped out from under her. Slowly, she straightened and brushed at her sodden clothing. “I didn’t even have two full drinks! And that last one was mostly fruit.” She turned to see Nicole and Deirdre watching her speculatively. Avery still had a loopy grin on her face.
“It’s all right.” Maddie wasn’t sure whether it was herself or them she most needed to reassure. “I just have to get a better grip.” She put one hand on the motor to brace herself more firmly, set the choke, closed her eyes, and yanked. This time the motor sprang to life.
Her crew applauded. Avery pumped her fist and added a “Woot! Woot!”
“Now all we have to do is get into the channel and head east until the place where it doglegs back toward Mermaid Point.” Maddie sat down on the bench next to the motor and grasped the tiller firmly.
“We’re not going back the way we came?” Deirdre asked.
“No. We just came the other way so we could enjoy the sunset.” Maddie backed up slowly, turned the boat so that they were heading out into the ocean, and gave the boat some gas. “This is supposed to be more direct.”
“Iss so bea-u-ti-ful out here.” Avery’s head had dropped back and she was peering up into the sky.
“It is.” Maddie nodded her agreement.
There was virtually no wind. The moon’s bright light glimmered on the still ocean. The only sounds were the whir of the small motor, the light slap of the water against the hull, the occasional splash of a fish, and the odd car over on U.S. 1.
The salty air was warm, the ocean vast. Alligator Reef Lighthouse shimmered out in the distance. William Hightower’s deck light shimmered off to the right. Idly Maddie tried to remember which was port and which was starboard. And why they couldn’t just call them left and right.
“It’s so peaceful and quiet.” Nicole leaned back and sighed, crossing bare, wet feet.
“Tha’s prob’ly what the people on the Titanic thought right before they slammed into that iceberg.” Avery pulled her still-wet top away from her chest, giggling at the sucking sound it made.
“I can pretty much promise you there are no icebergs lying in wait out here.” Deirdre’s raised eyebrow crooked slightly as she contemplated her inebriated daughter. “I don’t think an ice cube would make it more than a second or two.”
Nicole began to hum the theme song from Titanic. Avery chimed in with the vocals, which were decidedly off-key and bore no resemblance to Celine Dion’s version.
“Well, I’d rather hear ‘My Heart Will Go On’ right now than the theme song from Jaws,” Deirdre said. “We know for a fact there are sharks out here.”
Avery mimed a horror-stricken look over her shoulder then switched to the more ominous “Da-dum, da-dum, da-dum” that had signaled the great white shark’s arrival on the scene.
“I believe that’s enough.” Deirdre aimed a bemused look at her daughter. “If you accidentally conjure up a fin I don’t think I’ll be the only one trying to figure out how to walk on water.”
“Da-dum, da-dum . . .”
Maddie tried to empty her head of everything except the channel markers as they turned and ran parallel to Mermaid Point. Her eyes strayed to the lone light that shone from the second story. Was it inside William’s bedroom or the one out on his deck? “All we have to do is go past Mermaid Point, find the markers, then jog back into the relief channel.”
There was a splash in the distance. A horn honked on U.S. 1. A stray bit of music reached them from one of the nightspots on the water.
“Wow, sound really travels out here, doesn’t it?” Avery had finally given up her da-dums. Her eyes turned to the island. “I wonder if they could hear us on Mermaid Point from out here.”
“I’m not even sure anyone but Kyra and Dustin are there to hear us.” Deirdre yawned. “And you know how noisy the houseboat air-conditioning is.”
“Well, I’m whipped.” Nicole’s declaration was delivered on a yawn. “I never thought I’d look forward to the bed on that houseboat, but it would feel like the Ritz right about now.”
“Yoo-hoo!” Without warning Avery stood abruptly in the bow and waved her arms over her head, rocking the boat. “Hey, William! William Hightower!”
“What are you doing?” Maddie hissed. Her eyes went to the light on the second floor of the house. She squinted, trying to see if there was movement.
“Do you want me to ask him if he sleeps in those boxer briefs of his or au naturel, Mad?”
“Shhh!” Maddie tried to shush her. “And sit down. You’re rocking the boat!”
“Hey!” A huge smile lit Avery’s face. “Have you guys ever mooned anybody?” Avery plucked at the waistband of her capris. “We’ve even got an almost full moon. It’s perfect!”
“Oh, God. Somebody stop her!” Maddie flushed with irritation. Worse, she couldn’t see where she was headed through Avery, who was busy fumbling with her waistband.
“Avery,” Deirdre scolded lightly.
“Is that really the best you can do?” Maddie’s slight buzz had evaporated. “After all those mothering lessons I gave you? You have to talk like you mean it!”
“Avery!” Deirdre said. “Sit down and—”
“Whadda ya think, Nikki?” Avery’s feet were planted in the bow. She seemed to have given up on her zipper and was trying to pull the capris down without undoing them.
“I don’t think there’s an audience there to appreciate it. Not that I think your shiny white butt would faze Will o
r Roberto. Although it might melt Fred Strahlendorf’s pocket protector.”
Everyone but Maddie laughed. Avery still seemed undecided.
“Avery! Take your hands off your pants and sit down! I can’t see the . . .” Something metallic glinted on the island and her eyes shot up to the second story. Seconds later any thought of what William Hightower or anyone else might or might not be able to see or hear vanished.
The boat slowed of its own volition. Something, or rather several somethings, bumped beneath the hull. The boat ground to a halt.
Avery shrieked. Her arms windmilled. If Nicole hadn’t grabbed on to her shirt she might have gone overboard. Not that drowning was much of a risk. Several birds squawked and took flight. Those that remained blinked sleepily at them from where they stood. In water that barely covered their feet.
“Holy shit!” Nicole released Avery’s shirt from between her fingers. “What happened?”
Maddie looked around them, still trying to absorb where they were as opposed to where they should have been. “Given the fact that we’re not moving, we’re facing straight on to the beach at Mermaid Point, and the channel’s way over there”—Maddie pointed south—“I think we can safely deduce that we have run aground.”
“What do we do now?” Nicole pulled Avery down next to her.
Maddie turned off the motor and plopped back down on the bench seat. It was even quieter now with the motor off. Her head swam with the bits and pieces of information she’d gleaned on her one brief visit to the safe boating website Hudson had given her. “The only things I can remember are that we shouldn’t try to power off the flat because it’ll just dig us in deeper and that if a police boat sees us we could be fined thousands of dollars.” She commanded herself to remain calm.
“Well, at least we can see land.” Nicole peered around Avery, who was looking increasingly sober. “That should mean people on land can see us, too, right?”
Maddie looked around again, hoping to see running lights out in the channel or some sign of activity on Mermaid Point. “I don’t know. We have a good bit of moonlight, but I’m not sure anyone on land could pick us out from our surroundings. What time is it?”