by J. J. Kapka
“Theo left some wine in a cooler for you, and there’s a CD player and some candles, if you want to make a romantic night of it,” he said with a glint in his eye. “Good night.”
They watched him amble off toward the town. “Do we dare open the wine after last night?” Becker asked with mock trepidation.
“How about if you keep an eye out for me, and I keep any eye out for you, and we each save each other from doing bodily harm?”
“Sounds like a reasonable plan.” Becker extracted the wine from the cooler and grabbed glasses and a bottle opener. While he poured, Maddie browsed through the CD collection. She selected several different CDs—all European artists unknown to her—and loaded them into the multi-disk player. Becker lit the candles, and they settled down happily side by side.
There was a full moon out in all its glory, while the music successfully drowned out even the distant murmur of noises from the town. The lapping of the water and the gentle rolling of the boat made a dreamy accompaniment to the romantic setting. Before long, Maddie had snuggled contentedly into the crook of Becker’s outstretched arm, occasionally reaching out to take a sip of her wine. By the time they’d nearly finished the bottle, they’d both kicked off their shoes and were leaning even farther back in their seats, simply appreciating each other’s warmth and quiet company.
The CD changed in the player, and they were surprised when an unknown artist came on singing Unchained Melody, one of their favorite songs, which had originally been performed by the Righteous Brothers.
Becker stirred and said, “I believe this calls for a dance.”
“Mmmm,” Maddie sighed. They stood up and moved to an area of the deck nearby where they had room to turn about. Breathing in the sultry night air, they started to slow dance with their arms tentatively on each other’s shoulders. As the song continued its sweeping buildup, they became increasingly conscious of the contours of each other’s bodies. Their hands fell down to the smalls of their backs, and they pulled each other ever closer, with Maddie leaning her head on Becker’s chest. She could hear how hard his heart was pounding, and her own heart started skipping beats as their bare feet brushed up against each other’s with each step. The moment was so sweet that Maddie wished she could just freeze time right here.
Becker slowly brushed his hand up along Maddie’s arm, sending a thrill of goose bumps rushing along the surface. When he reached her shoulder, he gently swept back the hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. As he reached down to tilt up her chin, they both came to a standstill. Maddie looked up to see Becker’s face smiling down at her, the summer moonlight casting shadows that only served to emphasize the strong lines of his face. Cupping her face in his hands, he leaned down and tenderly touched his lips to hers.
Maddie felt a liquid heat start to spread through her body. She couldn’t remember the last time Becker’s kisses had made her melt as just this simple one was doing. Pulling him even closer toward her, she felt him trembling, which only served to intensify her own awakening desire. Maddie caressed his taut waist with one hand and let the other stroke his hair, as they steadily increased the intensity of their kiss.
The tension finally became unbearable, and they wordlessly stepped apart. Holding Maddie by the hand, Becker led her over to the table, where he blew out the candle, and they headed down the stairs to their cabin. Closing their door, they turned to each other. Standing only inches apart, they held tight to each other’s hands, and as their eyes met, they were both surprised to see tears streaming down their cheeks. Suddenly laughing and clutching each other, they fell onto the bed and hungrily reacquainted their hands with the other’s body.
Unexpectedly, a crack rang out, and before they knew what had happened, they were both sprawled out on the floor. As they’d flown out of the bed, their heads had knocked together. As pain shot through them for the second time that day, they sat up cradling their hands to the injured areas.
Stumbling to his feet as the boat continued to pitch to one side, Becker flung open the door and ran up to the deck, with Maddie close on his heels. They were both taken aback upon reaching the deck to see another boat practically on top of them. They heard much yelling and apparent cursing coming from that boat’s deck, as one after another person climbed out from the cabin below to join the anguished captain at the wheel. Although it was all Greek to them, Becker and Maddie could sense the captain was trying to communicate his apologies to them, but they could only shrug helplessly and pantomime that they didn’t understand.
Word of the mishap spread like wildfire down the marina. Shortly, a throng of people gathered on the dock, pointing and yelling just like those on the other boat. Maddie and Becker felt like they were in the eye of a hurricane and had no idea where to turn for assistance.
At last, the crowd on the dock parted and Nick came bounding through. He jumped on board and surveyed the damage: the offending boat was still locked incriminatingly hull to hull with their boat. To bring Nick up to speed, Becker hurriedly explained the little he knew of what had happened, while members of the crowd shouted out a dozen different accounts.
Although remaining calm, Nick issued rapid-fire instructions to the captain of the other boat and then sent one of the throng off to fetch Theo. Like a surgeon, he quickly set about determining how to separate the boats. With a great deal of relief, he briefly told Maddie and Becker there weren’t any holes, although there was going to be heavy repair work needed to the exterior where the other boat had rammed into them.
Hoping to stay out of the way while Nick ably handled the situation, Maddie and Becker stepped off the boat to a small dockside picnic table. By the time the boats were separated and the crowds had gone home, it was well into the wee hours of the morning, and they could barely hold up their heads.
Finally, Nick came over and told them they could go back to their cabin. He, too, was going to turn in for the night. In the morning, they’d figure out whether they could proceed with the remainder of the trip or not.
The passion of several hours before had been chased away by the accident and the subsequent tedium of waiting to get back in their cabin. They changed for bed, settled on a light goodnight kiss, and gratefully fell asleep as soon as their heads touched their pillows.
~~~
July 25
The next day, Maddie and Becker woke to a soft tapping on their door. When Becker asked what the knocker wanted, Theo called out that the workmen would be arriving shortly and cautioned that things would likely get noisy fairly soon. He suggested they get up and have breakfast while they still had the boat to themselves, adding that he would take them to a nearby beach for the morning.
Maddie and Becker roused themselves fairly easily, despite having had only a few hours of sleep. They were anxious to get out and explore Santorini and certainly didn’t want to be in the way on the boat. They put their swimsuits on under their clothes and loaded their fanny packs with their valuables because of the strangers who would be coming on board. They also grabbed their backpacks and threw in a change of clothes. If the work on the boat was going to take all day, they figured they’d avoid the boat altogether and thus could change for dinner somewhere in town.
When they emerged onto the deck, they found Nick just finishing his breakfast. He advised them of what was going on. Apparently he’d been up for a while, as he’d already accomplished quite a bit. For starters, he’d called the owners, who had a summer house on the island of Mykonos. They were quite concerned about their boat and had decided to fly in to Santorini tomorrow to check on it and sail it back to Mykonos themselves when it was ready. They put Nick in touch with their insurance agent, who arranged the immediate dispatch of a team of specialists to make the repairs in Santorini.
All this meant Maddie and Becker couldn’t remain on the boat and continue their leisurely sampling of the Aegean islands. Apologetically, Nick told them they’d have to find other accommodations in Santorini as of tomorrow and then make arrangements to fl
y back to Athens, probably sooner than they’d originally intended.
However, there was a bright side, he advised them with a big smile. The owners, aware that Maddie and Becker were only innocent bystanders in all this, and sorry that their sailing vacation would be cut short, had told him that they would not have to pay for anything. Although disappointed that they would not have a chance to get to see more of the islands in such a luxurious manner, they were nevertheless happy for what they’d experienced thus far and equally delighted to now have some extra spending money for the rest of the trip.
Theo delivered their breakfasts: heaping plates of fruit and bread and jam, along with a big pot of coffee and a carafe of juice.
As they dove into the succulent fruit, they decided they would at least try to make the most of the time they had left on Santorini. Since the shops opened fairly late in the morning, they agreed that Theo’s idea of taking them to a beach would be perfect. After a morning there, they could have lunch and explore the town for the remainder of the day, far from the din of the boat repairs.
Theo appeared bearing a couple of towels for the beach, and they followed him off the boat. Apparently he, too, was persona non grata on the boat for the day, and he cast his lot with them. Once they made their way over to the beautiful beach, got settled on their towels, and liberally applied their sunscreen, they eagerly dove into the waves. It was partly sunny, with clouds building up on the horizon. The increasing breeze made for enjoyable bodysurfing. Between catching a big wave here and there, they had a great time splashing around. Energized, they made their way back to their towels.
As they sat there, they watched the many windsurfers and sailboats skimming across the sea. The steady wind seemed to make the work of the surfers and sailors quite effortless. Maddie remembered once years ago trying to learn how to sail on a trip to the Caribbean, but the lack of a decent wind—and any expertise on her part—contributed to an incredibly dull experience. All she did was wait for any breath of a breeze to move her little sailboat. It suddenly occurred to her that this was a perfect opportunity to try again. Not only did they have ideal conditions, but they also had Theo. He’d repeatedly shown his prowess on the much bigger boat. Perhaps he wouldn’t mind teaching them on one of the small Hobie Cats that were for rent farther down on the strand.
With mounting enthusiasm, she turned to Becker and Theo with the proposal. The men hardly had to give it a second thought. Neither wanted to just lie around on the sand. Knowing her propensity to burn under the sun, regardless of how conscientious she was with her sunscreen, Maddie stopped to pull out a windbreaker and light pants from her backpack before they all set off to rent the boat. Once at the rental stand, they decided to start off with just the one Hobie Cat, until Maddie and Becker could gain sufficient confidence to handle one of their own.
Theo turned out to be an excellent instructor. After letting them watch from the edges while he made three runs out and back to the shore, he assigned them to alternate shifts working the sail and the rudder. When they appeared to have the hang of handling both at separate times, his next step was to have each of them steer and work the sail at the same time. As they each took turns sailing the boat solo, their confidence increased by leaps and bounds. After Maddie had completed her first round trip on her own, she felt a flush of self-assurance.
Theo, however, wasn’t quite finished with his lessons yet. He once again took over sailing the boat. When he got as far out as they’d been going previously, he warned them to duck as he deliberately allowed the boat to jibe until it fell over. Because the winds were still picking up, the sail and the occupants of the cat all hit the water with a resounding splash. Maddie and Becker didn’t have a chance to be surprised; their only thought was to hang onto the boat lest the current take them farther away than they could swim.
Once all three heads had bobbed to the surface, Theo calmly continued his instructions on how to get back on the boat and tilt it back upright again. This proved harder than it seemed, as the weight of the water dragged the sail down, but after loosening the sail’s tautness, they were finally able to leverage the boat back up.
As scary as the exercise had been, Maddie and Becker were both grateful for Theo’s tutelage, realizing that if they’d been out there on their own and the same thing had happened, they wouldn’t have had a clue what to do. He made them go through the paces of overturning and righting the Hobie Cat several more times. The last two times he had them do all the work themselves while he placidly dog-paddled within reach.
Exhausted by all the hard work, they agreed to take a lunch break before Maddie and Becker attempted to go it alone. Beaching the boat, they hiked up the sand to an open-air restaurant. While enjoying the opportunity to take a break and fill their empty stomachs, Maddie and Becker couldn’t wait to get back on the Hobie Cat and test their skills without Theo. They made fairly quick work of their plates of gyros and fries, before eagerly returning to the beach.
Leaving Theo watching on the shore, they shoved off into the water. Despite the clouds scudding in even thicker, and the water getting ever choppier, they relished the sheer excitement of having the boat under their own control. Leaning out at a forty-five degree angle and bouncing along on the swells, they giggled like school kids with every dip and climb. They couldn’t have cared less about the salt water spraying their faces. It was a rush to be out in such a breathtaking setting, getting the utmost out of their island experiences. They were also keenly aware that, since their time on the bigger sailboat was cut short, they wouldn’t have further opportunities to test their skills.
After an hour or so, they brought the boat back in because Maddie had to use a bathroom. She trudged back to the restaurant, occasionally turning back to monitor Becker’s progress as he tried a few runs on his own. He really seemed to have a knack for sailing. When Maddie caught herself happily envisioning future trips where they could use their new sailing skills together, she realized with a start that Becker had truly done it. He’d found his way back into her heart, and somehow, she knew he would be there to stay. She would wait till later tonight in the cabin, when they had picked up where they left off, to tell him his probation—as it were—was over.
When she got back from her pit stop, she settled down next to Theo on the sand, watching Becker make his run back in. “I wonder,” she mused, “do you think I could do it by myself?”
Theo looked thoughtful for a minute. “I don’t know,” he said cautiously. “The winds are picking up.”
“Maybe if I didn’t go out very far?” Maddie begged him to let her take the boat out herself. “I really think I can do this by myself, but I won’t know until I try.”
Becker was hopping off the Hobie Cat and starting to pull it into shore when Theo gave a reluctant nod. “Okay. But please, just do a few tacks there and back, only about half the distance that we’ve been doing. All right?”
Not giving him time to change his mind, Maddie jumped up and headed toward the water and Becker. Becker, too, looked skeptical when she told him she wanted to go solo, but having just done the same thing himself, he was hardly in a position to argue. Taking the rope out of Becker’s hand, Maddie began shoving the cat in the opposite direction. This proved much harder than when they all had done it in concert, especially since the incoming waves were much stronger than in the morning. Not wanting to ask for help, she redoubled her efforts and finally got it to the point where she could hop on and take control.
Adjusting the sail and the rudder, Maddie waited until the next gust of wind embraced the sail and gave it full body. She gleefully braced herself as the boat started to tilt. The dynamics were different without Becker helping to counterbalance the lean, so she eased up on the sail enough to where she could feel comfortable and in control. True to her word, she only went out about half the distance they had previously done before she again turned to come back. Waving at the guys on shore, her heart lifted with her sense of accomplishment.
Enjoyi
ng her new self-sufficiency, Maddie continued to run the little craft up and down the shoreline, always being careful to stay within the confines that Theo had recommended. After about half an hour, she found herself tiring, but knowing that they might not get the chance to do this again, she allowed herself just one more run out, perhaps just a touch farther than previously. Wanting to see how fast she could go while maintaining control, now that she’d built up her confidence, she pulled the sail in tighter and let the Hobie fly. It was exhilarating. Suddenly the sun came out after the cloud buildup, and everything was absolutely clear. Still, the wind was strong, if not stronger than before, and it felt so good to be out there bouncing along the swells, in full command of the craft.
When she got close to her turning point, the wind abruptly changed and veered to nearly the opposite direction. Maddie was taken by surprise and wasn’t quite sure what to do when the sail emptied and started fluttering. Then she noticed that the boom was heading straight for her head as the wind tried to fill it from the other side. Confused, she reacted by moving to the opposite side to try to keep the boat from turning over as it picked up steam. It seemed to nearly lift off the water because the wind had become so much stronger. Almost before she knew it, she’d passed the prior turnaround point. She took a second to look helplessly back at the beach. Becker and Theo stood at the water’s edge waving and shouting. It was clear that they had seen what had happened.
But what can I do? The farther she went, the more fearful she became that if she tried to turn the Hobie around, the strong wind would flip it over like a straw house. She realized belatedly that she should have practiced some shallow recoveries on her own before she attempted to sail by herself. Too late now, though. The quickening wind kept pushing her farther and farther away from shore at an alarming rate. The next time she looked back, she couldn’t even make out the shapes of Theo and Becker on the horizon. Ahead of her lay nothing but deep blue sea.