by J. P. Larson
“I know. There’s a postscript. It says, ‘Gina is arriving in a day or so with a little extra something. I hope you’ll negotiate the sale for me’.”
“He got another ship?”
“A big one. With lots of bristly things sticking out of it.”
“So aren’t you the one who should be asking me to sell it?”
“Alex is the finance officer. The ship is a Grey Ghost prize. I understand he gave half to the crew.” Pamela paused. “Helm, can you land us without a lot of attention from the first and myself?”
“Yes, Captain,” Linda said.
“Mother, I’m going to collapse now. But I thought you should know that Alex and I won’t be keeping any further secrets.”
“Good.”
* * *
Alex sat in a chair, fingering his cane. “Okay, everyone. Listen up. Welcome to the first annual Grey Five K. As promised a year ago, we would have a 5 klick race today. This will be an annual event, but next year it’s on Random Walk.”
He looked them over. “I want to thank you all for coming, especially my parents and the other Random Walkers who have come so far.” There was brief applause.
“You can all see the start of the race. Liz set this up to be the end, but I asked her to turn it around. I liked the lay of the land going the other way instead. The end is exactly five kilometers. We’ll start in ten minutes. That will give the servants sufficient chance to finish their betting pool. Thanks again for coming.”
Alex turned to Pamela. “Will you watch the start or the end?”
“I think I’ll stay right here,” she said.
Alex looked at Elizabeth, sitting on the other side of his wife. She was talking to Jim, then handed him an envelope and some money before turning to look at Alex.
“Betting on me, Liz?”
“Just this once, Alex.” She smiled.
Wendy Tate, Alex’s old doctor, wandered by. “I’m very proud of you, Alex,” she told him. “You’ve done amazing things.”
“I see you’re dressed for a light run, Wendy. Good. I hope you don’t mind the company?”
“Of course not, Alex.”
“Gina! Get the guys and come over here.” Gina looked around, whistled, and pointed. Wendy suddenly found herself in a group of very large, very athletic men, and one small woman.
“Doctor Tate,” Alex began, “These are the members of hostage extraction team Bravo, also known as crew members of the Grey Ghost.” Alex made the introductions.
“I hope you will all call me Wendy,” she said with a smile. So then there was a new round of names.
Alex looked around. “Jimbo, where’s Janice? You two detached yourselves right before my big event?”
“She’s running, Alex, so she can’t have gotten too far away.” Jimbo looked around. “See?” he said after a moment. “Just talking to Alicia.” Alex looked in the direction Jimbo was pointing in time to see Janice and Alicia hugging.
“Wonder what that’s about,” Alex said. He looked around and saw Jeff blushing.
He felt her giggle, then pause. Jeff looked at him sharply.
“You don’t know what you’re getting into, Jeff! Congratulations, I think.”
Everyone gave Alex a funny look, then turned to Jeff.
“Um…” he said.
“Oh,” said Anthony. “You finally asked Alicia to marry you. It’s about time.”
“Um…” he said.
Gina piped in. “Oh. She asked you.”
“I can’t believe you guys knew already. I thought we were being careful.” Jeff paused. “Actually, she asked Mother during our last stop. I’ve never been so embarrassed. She didn’t even warn me! Suddenly Mother is calling me into the sitting room, and the two of them have been talking. Mother tells me to sit down, then says that Alicia asked if we could get married. Mother then says she’s thinking of agreeing to the entire plan, as Alicia has promised to keep me in line!”
There were a few chuckles before Jeff continued his story. “So I looked at Alicia and pointed out this isn’t how we do things on Random Walk, that when two people want to get married, they decide between themselves, then just announce it to their parents.” He looked down at his feet. “She got all sad and started to get up. Mother stopped her, then asked if I had an opinion before she announced her decision. So I told Mother I really hoped she would agree to Alicia’s proposal.”
“He looked up. Of course, Mother agreed. Alicia thanked mother, promised to take care of me, then announced we would have a shipboard wedding. Then, finally, she looked at me and thanked me for being so understanding about some traditions, that they don’t come up very often, and that she appreciates my letting her have them. I’m not sure what that means.”
Alex smiled. “That means you’re going to look so cute for your wedding, Jeff. What will you do for a honeymoon?”
“We’re going to take two, with Captain’s permission. A trip to see Random Walk and another to see Dawson’s Star.” He turned to Pamela. “Is all this okay with you, Captain? Can we still ship with you if we’re married? And take the time off?”
“Yes, Jeff, it’s perfect. Alex, will you loan them the Pride, though? Then they won’t have to wait around for us, and can travel at their convenience.”
“Of course. But now, shall we get started?” Alex said, climbing slowly to his feet and leaning on the cane. “Time for a little run,” he announced. “Did someone bring a tortoise? I want to beat something!”
“What’s a tortoise?” Wendy asked. Alex turned to Pamela. She nodded, and Alex projected an image of a very slow-moving animal, with Alex struggling to keep up.
Wendy laughed.
“Alex,” said Elizabeth. “I’ll stay right here with Pamela. Jim is driving your parents to the other end, and they’ll call the winner.”
“Send them sandwiches, Liz. This might be a long race.” She smiled at him.
Pamela walked to the starting line with him. Alex dropped to the grass, stretching his muscles a bit. Pamela helped him back up, and he leaned on his cane until everyone was ready. “Will you call the start, Liz?” Alex asked.
“On your mark… Get set…” Alex handed his cane to Pamela. “Go!”
The pace was set by Gilbert, who immediately took the lead. He was followed closely by the rest of the Random Walkers from the Ghost. Trailing along behind them were the other racers.
Alex, his limp disappearing, loped alongside the doctor. “You run pretty good,” he told her. She glanced in his direction and nearly fell over. “Sorry to startle you,” he said. “I’ve been practicing.”
He ran with her for a while, until she started to drop back. Twenty minutes later, he reached the finish line to huge applause. The aging doctor Wendy came in shortly after that.
“Who won?” Alex asked.
“Gilbert,” said Gina. “Who else.”
“Well, everyone,” Alex said loudly. “We just have to get back to the house. There are cars available for those who need them.”
Then he turned around and began running back, most of the crew of the Ghost packed around him.
They reached the house, and Alex accepted a glass of water from Pamela, then slowly walked around, cooling off a bit. His crew members were barely sweating.
Everyone finally arrived, either walking or by car.
“Well, Jim,” did anyone win yet?”
“Alex, we only did a distance pool, zero to five kay.”
Liz spoke up. “It looks like everyone underestimated you again, Alex.”
Alex looked at her. “Everyone, Liz?”
“Jim, I gave you a sealed bid,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “Would you open it and tell us what it says?”
Jim nodded, pulled an envelope from a pocket, and tore it open. “It says ‘10k’!”
“Thank you, Liz, but I’m afraid it’s everyone this time.” He turned back to the race course. “Come on, Gilbert. I need a pacer.” The two of them started out, and were quickly joined by the rest of the Random Walkers, Janice and Alicia.
“I still win,” Liz said. “I got the closest bid.”
“Jim, did you have any other sealed bids?” Pamela asked him sweetly.
“Just yours, Ms. Grey.”
“Would you read it to Mother, please?”
“Do I have to? I don’t think she’s going to be happy when she finds out it says ‘over 10k’.”
Elizabeth smiled at her daughter. “Jim, please make sure that Mr. Grey sees that and knows who won.”
About the author :
J. P. Larson lives in Minnesota. His household includes The Lady and The Dog. It is unclear which of the three is the most spoiled.
He likes hiking in the mountains (which isn't easy while living in Minnesota) and scuba diving (ditto). He consoles himself by feeding the muse.
J. P. can be reached via his Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/author.j.p.larson. You can email him at [email protected]
J.P.'s other published works include:
Short Stories
Forever Friends: 4500 words. Wendell's life has been filled with dogs. Small dogs, big dogs, dogs of all types. Forever Friends offers a glimpse of what Wendell meant to his dogs. And in the end, Wendell is offered an intriguing choice.
Velvet Dreams: 12,000 words. Joshua and Abby are in love, but their future together is clouded: they've never actually met, and they're each keeping important secrets.
Novels
Arnikan. The first novel in the Cartosia Series. Duran and Svela attempt to assassinate the leader of the occupying Cartosian army, the evil Queen Alana. When their attempt fails, Duran is forced to become Queen Alana's bodyguard.
Countess is the second novel in the Cartosia Series. Svela has become the new Countess Arnika and must now delve into the duties required for her unique position. There's so much to learn and so many problems to solve. Where is a new countess to start?
During her very first evening in Kalinholm, she is introduced to Lady Elantra, the fiercest woman in all of Cartosia. Is Elantra more, or perhaps less, than she appears?
Finally, what has been happening in Vastoria, Arnika's neighbor to the west, since the war?
Vastoria. Vastoria is the third novel in the Cartosia Series.
Duran and Svela must travel into Vastoria to effect a bold rescue. They much each use their wits coupled with Duran's swords and Svela's magic-enhanced bow to retrieve the Cartosian women, held as slaves for 9 years by the Vastorians.
Vastoria is a novel of 100,000 words or 291 written pages.
Adrift
Copyright 2013 by Joseph P. Larson
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events or locales is purely coincidental.
* * *
License Notes
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