Thomas understood how hard it was to be far away from your family and the importance of getting back to see them when possible. Matt was close to forty years old, was a painter, and was very talented. He worked at Sunset Café for Thomas for extra money three shifts a week, working the closing shift, and had done so for two years now. He was friendly and good at his job but mostly stayed to himself when he was not working. Two days after Matt had gotten to his parent’s farm his father passed away. He called Thomas and asked if he could take the next week off and be there for his mom. Thomas gladly obliged and decided to fly up overnight for the funeral. Matt was a good and honest employee and Thomas wanted to pay his respects to his mother. This was what sparked Thomas and Tracie’s first argument.
She had gotten upset because Thomas did not ask her to go; he tried explaining that he needed her at the café since Matt was already gone. She eventually understood but not before blowing up at him on the beach behind his house. She apologized the next day and felt bad for getting so upset at him, but was still hurt, Thomas did not at least ask her. He was still trying to get used to explaining his thought process to someone other than himself again because it had been a while. It was something he was not used too, apologized, and explained himself as best as he could. Derrick and Erin agreed to watch Daniel for the night while Thomas was gone. He did not enjoy being away from his son for that long, it was not something he had not done often but occasionally it had to happen.
The boat that they were on was named the “Mountain Gale” and they had borrowed her a few times before. It belonged to a friend of Jackson, Derrick and Thomas’ bouncer and friend at The Whaleback. Derrick had a license to be able to pilot the boat so they did not need the owner with them. After they had left the boat docks in Garibaldi just to the north of Tillamook, passed the mouth of Tillamook Bay, and gotten a little ways out, Derrick let Daniel steer the boat
The boy was in love with the ocean, the smell of it, the way it felt on his skin and the way it made him feel in his heart. When he was out on the ocean or even looking at it, the boy seemed to get a peaceful look on his face and be content with the world. It was something both Derrick and Thomas could relate to, but for the boy it was a little more personal. Some of his earliest memories were of the ocean and the beaches and all of them involved his mother. Sarah Bellows loved the ocean too, the sea life that lived in it, and she loved the stories of the sea. Thomas recalled as he had watched his son steer the boat earlier that Sarah told him once that her father was a deep sea fisherman before he died. It must have been part of the reason she instilled such a huge love of the sea in her sons brain and heart. And as Thomas watched his son he thought that maybe it just ran in their family and the sea was in way…born into him. The boy was in his glory and Thomas knew out here on the gently rolling sea his son still felt close to his mother.
Daniel was now sitting in his chair with his life vest on and buckled in just in case he got something big on his line. Thomas got up and walked over to Derrick who was still reeling in his salmon; it was his second one so far for the day.
“You need help with that old man, it’s kind of taking you a bit,” Thomas said as he tapped Derrick on the shoulder.
“Yeah, I’ll give you your old man Thomas. How many fish have you caught so far chief, just one I think,” Derrick responded and laughed.
“Hey there is still more day left buddy, I’ll catch up,” Thomas said then saying loud enough for Daniel to hear “you guys ready for some lunch?”
“Sure am Dad I’m starving,” the boy replied as Derrick nodded his head in response also.
Thomas went below to the lower cabin to see what the girls had packed them for lunch. A few minutes later, he came up with a basket of food and some water and set it up by the pilot’s chair on a small table. Daniel unbuckled from his chair and carefully climbed the few stairs up to join his dad. A few moments later Derrick joined them after getting his salmon on board just to have to throw it back because it was too small to keep. He plopped himself in the captain’s chair with a grumpy look on his face.
“So it looks like we are still tied my friend” Thomas said.
“Oh be quiet Thomas, it felt bigger than that. Just give me my food man I’m starving now” Derrick said and grumbling under his breath, causing Thomas and Daniel to laugh uncontrollably.
Erin and Tracie had packed five foot long subs and enough chips, cereal bars and candy to get them through the day. Daniel had a foot long meatball sub all to himself and was in his glory. The “Mountain Gale” floated about two miles off shore and as the threesome ate their lunch they could see the mountains of the coast back in the distance behind them, the wide open ocean the other way. Derrick had been in a somewhat grumpy mood for the last few days and when Thomas asked him about it all Derrick said was “oh it’s just bar stuff, but I got it handled no worries man”. Nevertheless, Thomas wondered if it was more than that and decided to ask his friend about it again later on. He had noticed that Derrick had been quieter than normal ever since he got back from the meeting in Portland with Mr. Terreto.
The three of them sat and finished their lunch and talked about the fish they had caught so far, football and camping later in the summer. Derrick had just started telling Daniel about the first time he and his father had come out on the ocean fishing when the alarm on fish finder started going off. Derrick looked at the screen and his eyes got wide. “Oh damn, you guys may get a kick out of this specially you Daniel” Derrick said as he winked at Thomas knowingly then reaching over and pressed the switch to raise the twin outboard motors up out of the water. As the three of them searched the area around the “Mountain Gale”, the sound of spraying water came from the side of the boat by Thomas and Daniel. The three of them looked and about 25 feet away the back of a large humpback whale then its tail fin came slicing through the water as it passed slowly by and disappearing below the surface again. It was followed by four more whales that skimmed the surface, occasionally bringing their pectoral fins out of the water and slapping them back down causing loud splashes.
“Holy cow Dad do you see that” Daniel exclaimed loudly sitting on knees on the bench seat he was sitting on and staring off the side of the boat.
“Heck yeah I did, do you want to take pictures” Thomas answered as he handed his son his digital camera.
“Thanks Dad” the boy said then adding “the kids at school won’t believe this Dad, they’re gunna be so jealous. This is like the best thing ever,” the boy said
“Damn right it is Kiddo” Derrick said then adding “but don’t move too much because we don’t want to scare them okay,”
“Okay Uncle Derrick I won’t, and if I do I will move really slowly” the boy answered.
“Sounds good Kiddo,” Derrick said.
From the other side of the boat they saw two more sets of black and white splotched fluke fins emerge from the water. They were about 50 yards away from the boat and stayed in the air for a moment or two before crashing back down to the ocean surface.
“No wonder we haven’t been getting to many hits in a while, these big guys were pushing the fish away as they got closer to us,” Derrick said.
“See man, you’re not that bad of fisherman after all” Thomas said jokingly as he watched his son watch the whales then adding, “How many more are there?”
Derrick looked at the fish finder for a moment then said “looks like there is another two or three down a bit deeper, could be babies maybe,”
“Hope they stay down there until they get passed us,” Thomas said.
“Why is that Dad?” Daniel asked as he turned and looked at his dad and uncle.
“Because humpbacks can get kind of protective with their kids buddy, and if they think we may hurt them they can get a little rough with boats sometimes,” Thomas said.
As they watched, the whales continue to pass by them and head north they saw two smaller whales come up out of the water about 30 yards from the bow of the fishing boat then
go back down. A minute later, another larger adult whale came up and splashed its fluke up and down.
“Hey Dad, look! Baby whales! Their parents must have said it was okay to come up for air,” Daniel said as he continued to snap away at the pictures.
“Must have buddy” Thomas replied with a smile then looking north to see the first whale that had gone by which was now nearly 150 yards away jump partially out of the water and land with a large splash.
Thomas, his son and Derrick sat and watched the whales until they were mostly out of site farther to the north. Then Derrick lowered the outboards back into the water and suggested going closer to shore since it was already 2 pm. Off to the west in the distance there was large tanker ship that was heading north also. It was most likely heading towards Astoria or maybe Seattle to put into port.
After discussing where to go and locking up their gear, Derrick started up the boat engines and sped off back east then eventually south towards the direction they had come from. The ocean current had caused them to drift north quite a ways and they had to make up some distance. When they were about a mile from shore, they saw the small resort town of Cannon Beach. They could also see Haystack rock that stuck out from the ocean like a giant as they went by.
Eventually, they got to where they wanted to be just off the coast from Cape Lookout state park, which is a little ways south of Tillamook Bay. They put their fishing lines back in the water and let the current gently pull them north for another hour or so. They managed to pull in three more nice sized Chinook salmon in that span of time. At about 5 pm they decided to stop for the day and head home for the night. Daniel had passed out below on a couch and that left just Thomas and Derrick to themselves as they slowly made their way back to Garibaldi and the docks. When they pulled into the mouth of the bay, Thomas sent Tracie a text message to let her and Erin know they would be there in a few minutes. As they passed the jetty on the north side of the opening of the bay they saw a small group of sea lions sunning themselves on the rocks. Thomas thought about waking Daniel up to see them but decided against it.
The girls were waiting for them on the docks and whistling as Derrick gently eased the fishing boat back into her slip making the two grown men smile. Derrick and Thomas tied her up then proceeded to unload the things they had brought with them and spending a few minutes cleaning up the boat. One of the things they had learned from their time on the coast was that fishermen’s boat was as important to him as his wife or mother, sometimes even more so because it was his livelihood. Therefore, you never mess up or disrespect a man’s boat.
Once they were done cleaning and talked as group for a little bit on the dock Derrick and Erin told their friends goodbye and headed off home. Thomas took the fish and agreed to clean them all and bring Derrick the ones he caught the following day. Before they left, they decided to have a cookout the following Saturday at Thomas’ house since it was supposed to be nice.
Later on in the evening after Thomas, Tracie and Daniel had eaten dinner at Thomas’ house the three of them played a board game for a little bit. Daniel eventually decided he was tired and was ready for bed; he was beat from his long day. He gave his father a hug and thanked him for taking him fishing, then went into the bedroom with Tracie following to tuck him in.
A short time later Thomas and Tracie were alone on the couch wrapped up in each other’s arms and talking, Dean Martin lightly playing on the stereo. Tracie was in front of Thomas with his large arms around her, she was gently rubbing his forearm with her fingertips. The lights were off and the fireplace was filling the living room with its flickering light and warmth. Thomas was doing the thing where he played with Tracie’s fingers, rubbing them very lightly and she loved it. In one slow and graceful movement, she turned around, faced Thomas, and looked at him. A moment later, the two of them were kissing deeply their hands moving over each other’s bodies smoothly and with purpose.
“Do you want to spend the night” he asked as he rubbed his finger tips on her face and looking into her eyes as he took a brief break from kissing her.
“Did you really have to ask,” she replied.
“I didn’t want to assume,” Thomas said.
“You can assume a lot of things Thomas and most of the time you’re pretty close to being right, Lets go to bed.” She said smiling as she kissed him one more time and then stood up.
They had talked about her staying over before and this was the first time they had decided to do it. Thomas wanted her there more than he could say and she wanted to be there in bed with him also. They had not made love yet because they were not ready for that step, at least Thomas was not, and Tracie understood. They were also both uncomfortable doing so with Daniel in the house. However, they agreed that sleeping together occasionally was something they both wanted and were okay with doing.
When they got into the bedroom, Thomas went and took a shower while Tracie changed into a t-shirt to wear to bed. Thomas was tired, and kept the shower short. He also did not want to keep Tracie waiting too long. Thomas walked out of bathroom wearing just a pair of shorts, he found Tracie standing in front of the open slider and looking out at the ocean in front of her. The breeze was gently blowing through her black hair and Thomas could not help but think how sexy she looked as she stood there in his t-shirt. He walked up behind her, wrapped his bare arms around her and then kissed her neck gently and shut the slider door. She turned around to kiss him as he gently lifted her up off the ground. She wrapped her legs around him and he carried her to bed and gently setting her down kissing her the entire time.
A few minutes later the two of them were lying in Thomas’s bed, his blankets over them and the light from the moon shining in. As Thomas was lying on his back with Tracie’s head resting on his bare chest, he ran his fingers slowly through her soft hair. She was lightly playing with his chest hair and it was something he loved, the way she touched him was like lightning going through his body. She turned her head up slightly and they kissed slowly one more time as they slowly fell asleep in each other’s arms. Before falling asleep, he realized it had been a long time since he had felt this happy and in his head wondered what Tracie was thinking.
Eighteen
As Stephanie Davis went through the security line at the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids, she looked back and could still see her friend Karen standing at the entry sign watching her. Karen had driven Stephanie to the airport as promised even though it was 6:30 in the morning. The two friends had a light breakfast before her plane took off and drank a lot of coffee. They talked more about Stephanie’s trip to Oregon and all the details, chatting about what she was going to do there and how often she would call Karen and keep her informed. Stephanie agreed to call Karen at least three times a day and check in, although it was more of an order from Karen than a request. After Stephanie made her way through the security line, she turned and waved goodbye to Karen before heading up the ramp and out of site.
Karen who generally did whatever she wanted suddenly yelled “Love you girl, watch your ass” and waved her hands like a crazy woman to the dismay of the security personal who were not impressed.
“Love you too, be good while I’m gone” Stephanie yelled back smiling and waving equally as hard as Karen did.
Then she turned, went around a slight corner and headed down to the loading gate to get to her plane which was about to start boarding.
That was a few hours before, and now Stephanie with the exception of three other people sat alone in first class on another plane after a boring 2 hour layover in Chicago. When she had checked in at her planes gate after having a drink at a bar and doing some research on online, she found out the plane was only half full. In addition, seeing that Stephanie was traveling alone the female gate attendant asked her if she would be interested in a free first class upgrade. Stephanie had never in her whole life flown first class and jumped at the offer not having any idea what to expect. The plane had taken off about 45 minutes before an
d was now high in the sky and heading west towards Portland, Oregon. It was a new and strange place that she had only heard about and never seen in person. And it was not until she sat on the Delta airlines plane as it was taxing down the runway getting ready to depart Chicago that she got nervous and started question her own decision making process. The very friendly flight attendant had offered Stephanie a drink prior to take off, she ordered a cranberry and vodka, which helped her nervousness.
As she sipped her drink and enjoyed her very wide and comfortable first class seat, she watched the land below go by and the scenery change constantly. Sitting there, she remembered the first time she had been in an airplane and how nervous she was. It was when Thomas had taken her to Florida to visit his mother Grace for the first time all those years ago. Thomas had been very sweet and kept assuring her everything was going to be fine despite her fears the plane would crash and they would die. She also remembered the flight back and how paranoid and quiet she was for “other” reasons. Stephanie could not help but think that if she had not been so dumb and scared when she was younger that there would have been more flights with Thomas than just that one.
Silently, Stephanie caught herself hoping there possibly could be more flights with him and that it was not too late. A tear ran down her face as she rested her head on the pillow the flight attendant had giving to her. She crossed her legs and eventually fell asleep to the gentle hum and vibration of the planes massive engines.
Nineteen
With Daniel being out of school for the summer, Thomas was spending less time during the day in his coffee shop. Although he still popped in for an hour or so most days and worked the occasional shift, he more or less trusted his employees to do their jobs. Tracie’s cousin Alexis had been working out very well and had proven that Thomas and Tracie could rely on her to show up for work and be responsible. It was something they had worried about for a time. Thomas’s other employee Matt Linstrom, came back from his families’ farm in British Colombia and seemed more or less at peace with his father’s death. Thomas had hired Jackson from The Whaleback to work three shifts a week on thirds when Matt was off from work since another employee moved out of state. The summer tourism season on the Oregon Coast was in full force now and the shop constantly had people either inside or sitting on the deck out front on the picnic tables.
Running Northwest Page 21