As I lay on the table waiting for the doctor to arrive, after the nurse had injecting a gallon of Novocain into parts of my manhood, I considered what I really wanted from the remaining years I had to live. I decided that life with Becky was what I wanted. I hoped we could return the Pacifica to the boathouse in California and modify it a little for our next voyage. I had some ideas how to make it better and I knew that Becky had created some drawings of the changes she wanted to implement.
Just then, the doctor knocked and entered the room. He looked at me and said, “I hear you have a Daughter who is an attorney.” He laughed and said, “I will be certain to not leave a scar. I would not like to meet her in a court room.” He laughed a deep belly laugh and held out his hand as he introduced himself. He sat down on the small rolling chair between my ankles and pulled the sheet off me. He laughed again said, “Oh my.” I raised my head and told him, “Please don’t use those words when you have sharp instruments in your hands. You make me nervous.” The doctor laughed and said, “It seems the nurse has written her name on your scrotum with a black felt pen. Now why would the woman do such a thing?” He shook his head as if the answer eluded him. A minute or so later he said, “There, that will fix what ails you,” and stood up to leave. Then he turned around to me and said, “No sex for a couple of days. I really don’t have to tell you that, you will soon figure that out for yourself. In about six weeks, I suggest that you have your semen examined for sperm. I would not want your Becky pregnant from an accident.” Then he turned and left the room. The nurse followed him in and said, “I see you are done. You can sit up on the end of the table while we talk. You can shower in twenty-four hours, but don’t sit in a tub or go swimming for three days. Don’t want water seeping in around the stitches. In a week or so, the stitches will dissolve and disappear. You may want some Tylenol for a few days to ease any discomfort. Ice will help if you get any swelling, but be careful to wrap it in a towel so you don’t freeze your skin. Becky is waiting for you in the waiting room. She has paid the doctors bill and you can leave as soon as you are dressed.”
As we walked out of the clinic and out to where the taxi cabs waited for passengers, Becky squeezed my hand very hard, as if she was frightened. When we arrived at the docks and unlocked the Pacifica, we dropped our backpacks on the bed. We worked together to pass the sails and hardware up onto the deck, and then took our time hanging the sails. Once we moved the vessel out into the open water with the propulsion motors, and set the sails. There was a light southwest wind and it quickly filled the sails and sent us on our way out towards the northeast. We still wanted to see Midway Island and then work our way south down the Hawaiian Island chain. As we sailed, it was beginning to get dark. We sailed on and Becky guided us through the maze of harbor buoys. She knew which side of the Pacifica the green and red buoys needed to be when traveling out to sea.
The night air was very warm and humid, and we sat on the deck chairs as we navigated out of the shipping channel and into an area designated for small vessels to anchor. Once we had the sails folded lowered and tied to the masts, we dropped the anchors. Then Becky asked if I was hungry. I said I might just have a peanut butter sandwich and some powered milk for supper. Becky asked if I was okay. I looked her in the eyes and said, “No, but I will be in a couple days.” When I tried to stand up from the deck chair, I realized that some of the pain medicine the doctor had given me was in order. I moved carefully down the hatch ladder, fixed myself a peanut butter sandwich and added some powered milk to a glass of water. I took one of the pain pills and then stood beside the eating table to eat my sandwich. Becky giggled and said, “I take it that sitting is out of the question for a couple of days?” I laughed and said, “I think moving in general is out of the question for a couple of days. Relax Becky, men have been having this tiny snip, snip, procedure for many years and all but a few have survived it.” Becky asked, “Yes, but they cut part of your manhood with a sharp knife and that scares the hell out of me. Can I look?” I laughed and said, “Yes, but if you touch, I will feed you to a hungry shark.” She began to laugh and said, “I am sorry my love to laugh at your misery. I am very much in love with you, and you’re offering to have this vasectomy so I don’t have to take the estrogen and chance another miscarriage is something that makes me love you even more.”
She turned her back to me and I saw her wipe her eyes with her finger. I told her that she did not have to hide her tears from me. I explained that I would not have had the vasectomy if I had known it would make her cry. She turned to me with a scowl that made me laugh, and then she smiled and said, “Okay, you were teasing me.” I walked up to her and said, “Let’s get back to having fun again and enjoying this voyage. You are okay and the lump in your breast should go away on its own. We may have to help each other lift things for a couple days, but then we should mend and be healthy once again.” Becky gave me a funny look, but hugged me and said, “When it is daylight, we will find a better place to anchor for a few days. Then we will assess our bodies and see if we are ready to head up to Midway Island as we planned. If not, than we will sail around this island and remain near the hospital until you are healed, and my lump stops growing in size.”
Becky said, “Let’s get you into bed for the night. You will feel better in the morning.” As I undressed and began to change clothes, Becky looked at my stitches and then turned around to begin changing her clothes. She pulled off her blouse and turned around to me. I carefully put my fingers just under her nipples and realized that both nipples now had lumps behind them. Becky told me that now that both breasts had the same exact lumps, she felt confident that she would be okay when her hormones rebalanced. I carefully kissed each nipple and said, “I am sorry that you had such a scare. I can only imagine how stressful finding a lump in your breast would be.” She snuggled her bare body up close to me and said, “We will be just fine in a few days. I love you, but please get into bed so you don’t swell up. We have no ice tonight.” I chuckled and said, “Actually, I do. The nurse gave me four chemical ice packs that I just need to squeeze, and they turn cold.” Becky smiled and said, “Get into bed anyways; I don’t want you miserable tomorrow.”
As I got into bed, I asked about her appointment with her doctor. Becky looked me in the eyes and said, “Are you sure you want to hear that story, it involves things you might not like to hear.” I looked at her and said, “I was married for many years and raised a daughter. My daughter and I had no secrets. We discussed things that made her mother leave the room shaking her head in dismay. I promise you that I will not be embarrassed or repulsed. I love you, and I hope we keep very few secrets from each other.” Becky explained to me what her doctor had checked and what he had told her. I listened carefully and then said, “You have had a bad week my love. I hope that now that you are off the birth control pills, and have recovered from the spontaneous miscarriage, you begin to feel better. I wish you had told me earlier that the birth control pills were causing you problems. I would have had this vasectomy before we left home.”
Chapter 15 - Midway Islands and the Musicians Seamounts
We spent three days in the warm waters around Honolulu and Waikiki Beach. When we woke up on the morning of the forth day, Becky snuggled up close to me and said, “Please feel my breasts.” I chuckled and said, “How could I possibly refuse such an offer.” She elbowed me and said, “I mean, check to see if all the swelling in gone.” I carefully did as I she told me and then playfully kissed each nipple. She giggled and said, “My body is all better, how are your stitches healing. I laughed and explained that I could not see them, so I had no idea.” She pulled the blankets down, then my shorts, and checked for any sign of infection. Her warm fingers seemed to produce the reaction she intended, and she asked if I was sore. I told her I was just fine and she giggled again. This time she whispered in my ear, “Shall we try out your modified body to make certain it still works as your God designed it?” I agreed, but reminded her that some of my best swi
mmers were still lurking around down there. She said, “One of these condoms will prevent your swimmers from finding my hidden baskets of eggs.”
Becky had wanted to have a swim before lunch, but the lifeguards had hoisted the shark warning flags. Becky looked at me and said, “I suggest that we head on out of here as quickly as possible. I would like to stop along the way around Oahu Island and pick up some supplies and fresh fruit.”
We made our stop around three in the afternoon at a beach side market and then decided to hold up on the southeast side of Oahu for the night on a sandbar. When we had the sails tied back and the anchors set, I stripped off my clothes and dove into the ocean. When I surfaced, I saw a naked body diving head first into the water beside me. I had not had a proper bath in six days, and washing in a basin of water with a sponge is not a proper bath as far as this male is concerned. I had not waited the full week to allow my stitches to heal completely, but I really did not figure water would enter after six days.
As we cooked our supper, the sun began to set and a cool breeze blew in from the northwest. We were both tired and decided to go to bed early and try to get an early start in the morning. When we went down into the cabin for the night, Becky asked if I would like a martini before we went to bed. I smiled and said, “Extra dry please.” Becky giggled and said, “I only know one way to make them.” I laughed and said, “Then I will take mine just like yours.” Becky said, “Tell me what makes a martini dry.” I explained to her that instead of making the martini with one-third parts Vermouth, dry meant that you add just a splash of Vermouth to the Gin. If someone requests an extra dry martini, you just wave an unopened Vermouth bottle over the gin. Becky began laughing and said, “Then you might just as well order a glass of gin and be done with it.” I opened my mouth to explain that a glass of gin is a martini, but closed it, and decided to keep quiet.
As we sat facing each other on our own beds on opposite sides of the cabin, I asked if she planned to sleep with me tonight. She looked at me and said, “I sleep with you every night, don’t I?” I smiled and said, “No, I mean in my bed with me.” She said, “What did you have in mind, Stanley.” I smiled and said, “Tonight, I would like to just cuddle and feel your warm body close to me.” She stood up, crawled onto my bed, folded her feet under her butt and sat down. I looked at the position she was in and said shook my head. Becky looked into my eyes and said, “You have something you need to say, I can tell, and I hope you get to it soon, you are making me nervous.” “Becky, I love you, please don’t get nervous about how I feel this week. You scared the crap out of me with the lumps in your breast, the miscarriage, and the things that I believe you have not told me about your doctor’s visit.” Becky moved over closer to me, tipped her head to the right, and let it rest on my shoulder. She finally said, “I did not think you needed to hear every detail of my doctor’s visit. I was not trying to hide anything from you, but I guess I did not want to alarm you over the D&C. You had enough to deal with over your decision to have the vasectomy to protect me from any further medical problems. Besides, you spoke words that made me suspect you already knew about the D&C.” I told her that I was certain that she had the procedure, but wondered how she could make love to me right after the doctor had performed the procedure. She looked at me and said, “Stanley, the fetus was only the size of a thimble, it was not as if I was aborting a second trimester baby. Husband, the procedure was very simple and only took five minutes. The doctor said that my body would have ejected the fetus on its own in a few days, but he wanted to make certain I was healthy to return to sea without having to worry about my next period or spotting. Please don’t worry about my health any longer. I am perfectly fine now and I am ready to finish our voyage.” She giggled and said, “However, it was nice to have someone that loved me, and someone to hold my hand and help make decisions for me while I was frightened. I love you a lot and this week has strengthened that love tenfold.”
As we cuddled in bed, a gently sea breeze blew across the two open hatches and cooled the cabin. Around midnight, we decided it was getting a little too cool and closed the bow hatch. The next time I opened my eyes, I could smell coffee perking. When I looked around the cabin, I realized that Becky was up on the deck. I rolled out of bed and quickly dressed. When I stuck my head up through the hatch, I heard her say, “Good morning sleepy head, can I offer you some coffee and breakfast.” I climbed up onto the deck and peed, then sat down beside my wife and ate some of the oatmeal she had prepared. Then I cooked two eggs and ate them. As we sat drinking coffee and enjoying the cool air, the sun peeked up over the horizon. Becky said, “Do you need a bath or a swim before I wash the dishes?” I laughed and said, “I will be okay for now, I will shave later after we are underway.”
I hung the sails and steered us towards the northeast. We would have to make a portside tack in a couple hours time after we cleared the shallow waters of Oahu. I sat down in one of the deck chairs with my hot coffee and enjoyed the cool breeze in my face. As I sat, Becky’s voice startled me and she said, “A penny for your thoughts.” I turned to her and said, “I was thinking about my daughter, Dawn. I realized as I sat here that your personalities are very similar. You both are very confident and able to care for yourselves, you are both well educated and you both love me.” Becky giggled and asked, “Are you lonesome for home?” I laughed and said, “Heavens no. I am doing what I enjoy and have no need to be anywhere but right here on this vessel with my wife.” Becky took hold of my hand and asked, “Do you remember the very first time we made love?” I laughed and said, “I have not made love to many women in my life and I have not forgotten any of those special times. I remember making love to you on my sister’s spare twin bed while she was out on a date. That night was very special to me and I regretted that we did not work a little harder to kindle the fire that burned in our hearts. I was saddened when we both began attending different colleges and lost touch with each other.” Becky laughed and said, “You may have lost track of me, but I kept close watch over where you were living and who you were dating. My heart was broken when you got married and I discovered June was pregnant.” I squeezed Becky’s hand and said, “I regret marrying June, but I don’t regret my daughter Dawn. When she was born, I was the happiest man in the county, and I still get excited when I hear her voice whenever she calls me to wish me a happy birthday, or just to talk.”
Becky and I took turns taking naps during the day and evening. We wanted to sail through the night, and we planned to take four-hour shifts on deck. I moved the solar panels up on deck and we put a full charge back into the batteries before suppertime. We were still close enough to the islands to have cell phone service, so we used our laptops to check the weather maps throughout the day and early evening. The weather forecast called for clear skies and a mild wind, but chilly temperatures tonight. We would have to put on our warm Under Armour clothes under our dry suits when we stood watch on deck. The waves would be just high enough to cause a spray of salt water that would be very miserable without the dry suits.
Around suppertime, I got out a fishing pole and baited it with bacon rind. I cast it off the stern and held on tight. As I let out line to get the bait to submerge, I felt a hard tug and the drag began to scream as it fed out line. By the time I had the fish onto the deck, I was as tired as the fish. It was about fifteen inches long and quite heavy when I picked it up by the tail. Within a couple of minutes, Becky had identified the fish and said, “You have made a very good choice of fish for supper, Stanley. This one goes by the name of, Bigeye Scad; it is one of the jack fish.” Becky had brought up her fillet knife from the cabin and asked, “May I prepare your fish for supper, I need to keep practicing as often as I can.” I made certain the fish was dead, and then laid it on the deck. Becky began the first cut from behind the gills and down to the tail, and then flipped the fillet over and quickly cut the meat from the skin. When I picked up the fillet, it had one small bit of skin near the tail, but she had done a perfect job.
She cut the fillet in half so it would fit into the frying pan and then moved to the second fillet. As she laid the meat in the hot pan, I smiled at her and said, “It is a true compliment when the student surpasses the teacher’s skills.” She looked me in the eyes and said, “Thank you Stanley. Your patience with me made learning easy.” She held the fillet knife away from our bodies and kissed me hard on the lips. As the fish cooked, I brought up some fruit cups and opened a coconut. I had poured the clear coconut milk into the cup and we shared the sweet delight. I had purchased a few onions and I placed a slice on each of the fillets as they cooked; the aroma was delightful. As we sat down to eat, I asked Becky if she would like some beer. She said yes, but asked to share a can with me. She said, “If you plan to take another pain pill before you go to sleep, you should not drink too much beer.” I thought about her words and said, “I should not need any more pain medicine, and if I do, I will take a Tylenol instead. Nevertheless, I will still share a beer with you tonight.” I watched Becky take her antibiotic tablet with a sip of beer. I laughed and said, “You were so worried about me drinking with my pain medicine, but you thought nothing of taking your medicine with a swallow of beer.” She laughed and said, “My medicine is a simple antibiotic to prevent infection after my tiny surgical procedure, your medicine is a powerful pain medication. There is a vast different my love.” I chuckled and said, “Yes, dear.” Becky held up her index finger and made a comment that I am certain made her dead Mother in heaven blush.
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