Smooth Sailing

by Susan X Meagher

  She opened the door, went upstairs and spied her clothes lying on the banquette of the galley table. Kaatje was only wearing her shirt. That gave some indication of where they each were on the comfort scale. Laurie would have put on a snowsuit if she’d had one. Anything to cover up. “Tell me about this boat,” she said, trying to get on safe conversational grounds. “I don’t know the terms for anything.” She slipped across the cabin and jumped into her clothes as quickly as she could.

  “Okay. We were up on the trampoline, then we walked along the deck and jumped into the cockpit. Now we’re in the cabin. The galley specifically.”

  “It’s bigger than it looks. Does this seating thing and table area turn into a bed? You could live here if it did.”

  “No, it doesn’t. But you can easily live here. I do.”

  “Where do you sleep?”

  “There’s a berth on either side of the bathroom.”

  “I don’t know how I missed that. I’m usually pretty aware.” Getting away for another few seconds seemed like a really good idea. “I’ll go take a peek.”

  She stepped down and saw a narrow hallway with doors to the right and left. “I have my choice,” Kaatje said, standing right behind her. It was hard to get any privacy on a boat. But smelling Kaatje’s salty skin was strangely nice. Even though she was right there, she didn’t seem to be infringing too much on Laurie’s space.

  Kaatje opened the door to the left, revealing a double bed that rested atop low cabinets in a room so narrow one would have to jump onto the bed to get in it.

  “This is cute,” Laurie said. “It’s like a den.”

  “Yeah, kinda.” They moved out and Kaatje opened the other door. “This is my berth.”

  This one held what Laurie guessed was a queen-sized bed with shelves on the wall at the head for magazines and books, and lamps shooting a warm light onto the pillows. A few framed photographs of sunsets and sunrises and sailboats were on the walls.

  “These are your photographs, aren’t they?”

  “Yeah. When I take a shot I like I have it blown up to ten by twelve. Then I switch these out to keep things interesting.”

  “It’s nice,” Laurie said, sliding her arm around Kaatje’s waist and giving her a squeeze. Why had she done that? A second ago she was considering jumping to her death. There was something calming about Kaatje. Almost like she was a big Valium. “I could easily see living here, even with the tiny bath.”

  “It is small for an apartment, but kinda big for a boat. Still, it’s a turn­off for a lot of people. And I have to share it, when I have a full boat, but, other than that, I couldn’t ask for more.”

  “Where are we?” She made a circle over her head. “I can’t get my bearings.”

  “We’re in the hull.” At Laurie’s blank look she added, “The part that stays in the water. The forty-seven foot long thing that looks like a canoe?”

  “Oh, I thought they looked like kayaks. What’s in the other one?”

  “Two more berths and one small bath. I use one berth as my office, but I can turn it back into a regular berth in ten minutes. In high season I try to fill the boat and take people out for as long as they want to go. That’s where I make most of my money.”

  They started to walk back up to the galley. “How many do you take?”

  “I can only take six. That’s all I’m legally allowed with the kind of license I have. One time I had a woman and five kids. That was a rockin’ two days. I earned my two thousand dollars that trip.”

  “Wow, that’s a good chunk of change.”

  Kaatje was standing in front of the half-sized refrigerator, pulling out white containers. “A thousand minimum US per day for an overnight. I’m on duty every minute. That doesn’t seem like a lot to me.”

  “No, I guess not,” she said thoughtfully. “What will you do next?”

  “For…?” She started to dish out the contents of the containers onto colorful plates.

  “For you. For your business plan. More boats? Bigger boats?”

  “No.” Kaatje finished what she was doing and brought the plates over to the table where Laurie was sitting. “What would you like to drink?”

  “Just water.’

  ‘Sparkling or flat?”

  “Uhm…sparkling. You’re a very good hostess.”

  “Practice, practice.” She handed Laurie a glass and carried her own back to the table. “My business plan is to have good weather and customers with available balances on their credit cards.” She smiled quickly, with Laurie noting that this was her perfunctory smile, the one she used to show the topic was finished.

  But Laurie was too tenacious to let a facial gesture put her off. “But you’re very young. You can’t be satisfied with where you are in life.”

  “I can’t?” She took a bite of shrimp-laced pasta, her perfunctory smile absent. “You must be mistaken, because I am.”

  “But you could have much more.”

  “More what?” She chewed, barely looking at Laurie as she reloaded her fork.

  “More business. More money. You could really make a good buck if you expanded.”

  “Then what?” She took another bite, still with no eye contact.

  “Then you’d be able to do more. You could…retire early.”

  Now their eyes met. “Retire from what?”

  “From having to take people out. You could do what you want.”

  “This is what I want. I like taking people out.”

  “But it’s human nature to want to improve, to keep striving.”

  “Not this human. I’m happy. Doing more would make me unhappy.” She got up and took a baguette from the counter, rapping it on the counter to test it. “A little limp, but not too bad.” She cut a few slices, raised an eyebrow at Laurie, then brought her bread back to the table. She poured a little olive oil and vinegar from cruets on the table onto a corner of her plate and dipped the bread, then took a small bite with each bit of pasta. “I love bread. I’m always looking for good bread near my harbor.”

  “Come on,” Laurie said, trying to engage Kaatje in the discussion. “Talk to me.”

  “I am talking, I just don’t have anything else to say. I’m happy. I don’t want more. I do what I love for six or seven months, then I take a month or two off and go to the Netherlands to see my family and friends. I don’t know how to improve on that life.”

  “I didn’t realize you had family in…Europe.” She was embarrassed to admit she wasn’t sure what term to use, recalling some confusion in her mind about the difference between Holland and Amsterdam and the Netherlands. Or was that Denmark? All of those countries were scrunched up in that little corner of Europe.

  Now it was Kaatje’s turn to look blank. “I said I was Dutch.”

  “I said I was half Norwegian, but I don’t have family in Norway…that I know of.”

  “Oh, I didn’t make myself clear. I’m Dutch. From Amsterdam. I’ve only been here around ten years now.”

  “Ahh. I thought your accent was…I don’t know…Caribbean or something.”

  “Mmm. It gets to be a little Caribbean after I’ve been here for a few months. My friends in Holland have told me that.”

  “Why did you come here? How did you even know about the island?”

  “My father got transferred here when I was just entering university. I wasn’t…well, I assume I would have done well, but I didn’t have any idea what I wanted to do in life. It made sense to come along. My parents are still here, but they’ll probably go back home to retire. I’ll stay.” She patted the wall behind her. “This is my home.”

  “What does your dad do?”

  “He’s a banker. He manages the Royal Dutch Antilles branches in the Caribbean. It’s not a good name since the Antilles doesn’t exist any more. Our side of the island is an independent country now, as I assume you’ve heard.”

  Laurie nodded even though she had no idea what an Antille was or why it didn’t exist. “I guess I’m surprised you�
�the bank has a branch here.”

  “The island is still a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” Kaatje said slowly. “Is that what you’re confused about? The news media didn’t cover the constitutional change very well?”

  Trying not to look completely dull witted was not easy. Kaatje was speaking gibberish, but she seemed to think whatever she was talking about was common knowledge. There was one morsel that might be exploited. “You said your side of the island. What did you mean by that?” An intelligent question. Hurrah!

  But Kaatje looked even more puzzled. “The island is half Dutch and half French. Did you not know that?” She emphasized “that,” as though the dullest of the dull would know at least that much.

  “Uhm, no. I had no idea.” They’d barely covered geography in school. No one in America knew anything about this stuff. And what did half French mean? Which half?

  “Didn’t they give you something on the ship to tell you where you were going?”

  “Yeah, I guess they did. I didn’t bother reading much of it. I guess I should have, huh?”

  “Only if you’re interested.” She resumed eating. “Americans can get away without knowing much about the world. The alpha dog doesn’t have to know about the pack, but the pack better understand the alpha.”

  “I guess I’m more interested in business than…geography.” That wasn’t the right word, but what was? Not politics, not sociology. Who the hell knew?

  “There’s room in the world for all kinds of interests. I have no interest in business, but I know a lot about…geography. I travel whenever I can.”

  “We could start a business teaching people about geography. We’d make a killing.”

  Slowly chewing, Kaatje nodded politely with no interest showing in her cool blue eyes.

  It wasn’t going to be easy, but she had to be able to show she wasn’t a dunce. “Is this island like the US Virgin Islands are to America?” Thank God she’d read that part in the book that was in her cabin.

  “Kinda. Everyone here is a Dutch citizen and we can travel back and forth without restriction.”

  “Really? You’re all citizens?”

  “Sure. But more people come here from Holland than go the other way. Most of our professional class is Dutch, but the island is much more Caribbean than Dutch. The French side is a different matter. Many West Indians speak French and a lot of French retire here.”

  Okay, there is no way to understand this without looking even more stupid. Might as well get it over with. “The French side? Side of what?”

  “Of the island. Half of the island is Dutch. Half is French.” She was speaking so slowly she must have thought Laurie was hard of hearing…or thinking. “They drew a line across the middle of the island—well, not quite the middle, the French side is bigger—and each country took half.”

  “Recently?”

  “No,” Kaatje said, clearly trying to stifle a laugh. “Not recently. In the seventeenth century. Legend has it they were going to war over the island, but the generals met in a tavern, had a few drinks and decided to just draw a line.”

  “That’s interesting. I wish I had more time to explore.”

  “Are you going back to work as soon as you get home?”

  “Yeah. After four more days of punishment on that stinkin’ boat.” She rested her head on her hand, looking glum.

  “Why don’t you do what you want?” Kaatje said this remarkably softly, as if she were afraid of being dismissed.

  “I want to go back to work now. That’s what I really want. But Fernando won’t let me.”

  “Second choice?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. It’d be nice to poke around and see what’s on the islands, but it wouldn’t be that much fun going alone.”

  Again, Kaatje nodded, her eyes heading back to her plate. She finished her meal in silence, still methodically eating in a neat pattern. When she was finished she got up and picked up their plates and set about washing the dishes. Laurie sat at the table, gazing out at the dark sea that surrounded her. Kaatje was ticked off about something, and Laurie was pretty sure it wasn’t geography. She was hard to read when she got quiet, but she’d closed down even more when talk of work came up. Maybe a woman didn’t want to rock your world and then have you say your fondest wish was to go make some phone calls about a theme park.

  Once finished, Kaatje stood by the table. “What now? I can take you back to the tender dock or…whatever you want.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure.”

  “Do you have any plans?”

  “No.”

  “Would you like company?”

  Now Kaatje’s real smile was back. “I’d love company.”

  “Then I’d like to stay here.”

  “Great. We could stay overnight at anchor, but I should move further out just to be safe. Or we could go back to my mooring.”

  “Your mooring is…?”

  “Where I dock my boat.”

  “It doesn’t matter to me. If we have to move, I suppose we should just do it once, right? The mooring sounds most efficient.”

  “Great. We’ll go over there in a bit. In the morning I’ll take you to my parents’ house and you can use your phone and their computer.”

  “Damn it, I don’t have my laptop. I feel like I’ve been robbed.” She sighed heavily, then looked back up at Kaatje. Stay focused and stop thinking about work. You’ll be back in civilization tomorrow. “That’s very generous of you. Do you have to work in the morning?”

  “Yeah. I’ve got people coming at ten, and I have to get lunch made. I’ll probably have to take you up to my parents’ at about eight. Is that okay?”

  “Sure. Can I get a cab to the airport from there?”

  “Yeah. No problem.” She grinned, then held out her hand, lifting Laurie to her feet. “Let me take a shower and you can pick up where you left off.”

  Trying to hide her trepidation, Laurie enthusiastically said, “Great!”

  *

  They both showered, separately, since there was barely room for a solo adult in the tiny enclosure. When Laurie was finished she found Kaatje outside, an extension cord leading to the blow dryer she held. She was naked and seemed completely unconcerned with modesty as she stretched her arm behind her head to finish drying her hair. Laurie stood in the doorway, wrapped in just a towel. “Hi.” Time to pay the piper. Can’t let a woman go down on you like a pro and beg off just because you’re chicken.

  “Come on over here.” When Laurie stepped outside to stand next to her, Kaatje wrapped an arm around her and pointed to the town’s glittering lights that created a soft blip of interest in an otherwise dark void. “Look.”

  “It’s remarkably beautiful.”

  “So are you.” She put her lips to Laurie’s neck and delicately kissed all across her skin. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

  Laurie rested her hands on Kaatje’s arm, then leaned into her embrace. “I am too. You probably can’t tell this, but I’m a little nervous.”

  “You’re kidding,” Kaatje said, flatly. “Who would ever have guessed?”

  “I know you can tell. That’s why I can talk about it.”

  Kaatje kissed the top of her ear, then made her way down her neck, resting for a moment on her collarbone. “Don’t worry. I have no expectations. We don’t have to have sex again. I just like you and want you here as long as you can stay.”

  “You do?” She tried to turn to see Kaatje’s eyes, but she was held tightly by that strong arm. “You’re not just being polite?”

  “No. I really do like you and I’m very happy you’re staying with me. I always sleep well when someone shares my bed. It’s soothing.”

  “It usually takes me a while to get used to sleeping with someone.”

  “Then you should stay longer.”

  What a perfect thing to say! She didn’t come on too strong, but she’s not afraid to show her feelings. Those are awfully nice traits.

  *

 
They went into the bedroom, where Kaatje opened small windows on either side of the bed. Laurie smiled when a cool breeze wafted across the room. “I love to sleep with the windows open.” She stood as far from Kaatje as she could, hoping to delay the inevitable move to the bed.

  “Let me hang up your towel.” Kaatje took it and went to put it into the bathroom. Laurie quickly slipped into bed and covered herself with the sheet, not nearly as unconcerned with her nakedness as Kaatje was.

  A few seconds later Kaatje reappeared and she got under the covers as well. “Nice, isn’t it?” She put her hands behind her head and took several deep breaths. “The air is saltier out here, even though we’re just a few hundred yards from the bay.”

  “Are we going back to the mooring soon?”

  “Yeah, but there’s no rush. I like being alone out here.”

  “Me too.”

  They were quiet for a minute, then Kaatje said, “Tell me, how did a girl like you wind up in a Dutchwoman’s bed?”

  Laurie giggled despite her nerves. “I have no idea. I guess the Dutchwoman’s just too charming to resist.”

  “That’s not very likely. I think you might have had an…inkling you might like being with a woman, and you let yourself go with the feeling.”

  “I’ve said no to that question every time someone asks. But I was probably fooling myself.”

  Kaatje shifted quickly and sat up enough to lean on an arm. She looked almost incredulous. “People have asked?”

  “Yeah. Quite a few.”

  “No one has ever asked me if I’m possibly straight. Well, not since I’ve been an adult.”

  “Really? I wonder why people ask me?”

  “Strangers? People on the street?”

  Laurie elbowed her. “Of course not. But my mom and my sister and my boss have all asked. Actually, Colin asked. Several times.” She looked at Kaatje. “That’s odd, isn’t it?”

  “Seems a little…different. I’m not sure what I’d think if a girlfriend asked me if I were straight.”

  “When you say it that way it sounds silly.”