by Denise Irwin
“Before you hang up, we’re all going to bring a dish, right?”
“That’s right, bye ma.”
“Not, so fast, do you have a minister, ‘cause that means sixteen.”
“Sue’s husband, Neal, is performing the ceremony. Oh, one more thing I forgot to tell you. We’re going sailing in the Caribbean for two weeks as our honeymoon.”
“Leona, can you get that much time off work.”
“Ma, it’s kinda complicated at the moment, but I promise to tell you all about it later.”
With a frustrated voice, Nancy told her daughter, “Leona it seems to me that these days, your life is always complicated. Go call John.”
Leona called John’s cell phone. When he answered the call, she told him the wedding was on for Saturday. “John, check and see if Abby can make this date, Sam and I would really like it if she could be there. Remember, if you and Abby want to get married at the same time, it’s fine with Sam and me.”
“She’s sitting next to me. Hold on, I’ll put her on the phone.”
“Leona, did John just tell me that you and Sam are getting married next weekend?”
“He did, can you be there?”
“Since I resigned from the Boston firm, I can be there. Are you getting married on the boat?”
“No, we have added people to the invitation list, and it’ll probably be too cold, so we’re going to get married at a friend of Sam’s. John had Thanksgiving dinner with Sue and Neal Sampson, so he may know the way to their house. Let him know I'll bring directions to work Monday. Abby, I also told John the two of you can get married at Sue’s as well.”
“That could be fun, but John and I our hearts set on getting married in Austin.”
“You’re gonna wait till you get to Texas?”
“It might sound crazy, but we’ve had our shingle designed and we plan to wed while we hang the Bouchard and Bouchard sign.”
“I think that might in some whacky way be fun.”
“We think so to, we’ll see you Monday.”
Leona’s last call was to Shelly. When Shelly’s phone rang, she saw Leona’s number on the caller ID. When she answered the phone, before Leona had a chance to talk, Shelly shouted into the phone, “Lee, I’m pregnant!”
Leona laughed into the phone, “If you expected that I would be surprised to hear that, I’m not. Remember, I was the person who told you to buy one of those tests. So, I’m going to be an aunt. That’s, so cool. How are you feeling?”
“Not bad, I puke every morning, but other than that I feel fine. Tell me you’re calling ‘cause the wedding’s on.”
“Sure, I can tell you that.”
“Well I know you can tell me that it is, but is it really?”
“Yes it is. We’re getting married next Saturday at Sue’s house. I’ll give you directions Monday at work. Shell, congratulations, you’re gonna be a great mom.”
“Thanks Lee, I’m still trying to get my head wrapped around the thought. Randy is close to bursting. He’s already started painting the nursery. He really wants a boy. I’m just happy that we’re having a baby.”
“I’m happy for the both of you; I’ll see you Monday.”
As soon as Leona hung up the phone, she rushed upstairs to pack a small bag for an overnight sail. She packed two sweaters, three pairs of jean, two jackets, two bathing suits and a set of pajamas since Cassie would be onboard. Food, what did she have in the kitchen? She grabbed her bag and rooted through the kitchen. She’d baked lasagna and put it in the freezer. Next, she needed salad fixings. She found everything she needed in the fridge’s veggie drawer. She mentally went through a list of what was on the boat. She had salad dressing; several bottles of wine, there were crackers, chips, beer and Grand Marnier along with coffee. She went back to the fridge, where she pulled out cheese and fruit. When she spied the eggs, she grabbed them as well. Her food bag was full, so she pulled out a second bag. Into it went a loaf of bread and the deli meats she’d picked up two days ago. As Leona went through her mental checklist, she was satisfied that she’d put together everything. The only thing missing was dessert.
When Sam and Cassie walked through the front door, Sam looked at Leona, “What do we have here in all these bags by the door?”
“Sam, don’t you even start. I packed food. You wanna eat don’t you? I also packed my clothes. I think everything else we’ll need is on the boat, other than dessert.”
“Sue sent us with a half pie from last night, so we have dessert.”
“Perfect.”
“Then let’s get out on the water while I still have the strength to load this stuff onboard.”
Cassie followed Leona into the cabin to help stow the bags of food. “Wow, this is really nice. Sam and Bailey lived aboard, didn’t they?”
“They sure did. Have you ever been sailing?”
“A couple of times and I really enjoyed it, so thank you for asking me to come along.”
“I’m sure that as nice as Sue and Neal are, a safehouse can be pretty restrictive, so getting out in the sunshine on a boat will feel good.”
“Sam told me the two of you went sailing on your first date.”
“That’s right. I’d never sailed before. I was scared to death.”
Sam stuck his head into the companionway, “Ladies are we set below?”
Leona told Cassie, “That’s our cue that the captain’s ready to leave the dock.”
As they clambered up the companionway ladder Cassie asked, “What should I do?”
“Just enjoy yourself, Sam and I will get her out of the slip, set the sails; then we’ll put you on the helm.”
“Leona, you set there?”
“Yes sir.” She leaned toward Cassie. “Sam has already taken the off stern dock lines. See them lying on the dock?” Cassie nodded that she did. “Next, he’ll take the loose bow line off while he holds onto the line for the windward piling. As he walks the line down the deck, he’ll put the windward line on its hook on the piling. I’ll put the Cream in gear and off we go.”
Cassie watched as Leona put the boat in gear and it moved forward.
“Lee, you ready for the main?”
“Yes I am.”
“Cassie, I’m going to point the boat into the wind; don’t get upset at the noise the sail’s gonna make.”
“Okay, Skipper.”
When Sam tied off the main halyard, Leona asked him, “Can I fall off?”
“Yes ma’am you can. Do you need me to sheet her in?”
“No sir, I do not.”
Leona grabbed the main sheet and, when the tell-tales flew aft, she secured it in the self-locking cleat. Cassie watched as Leona took the engine out of gear and shut it off. “Sam, are we ready for the foresail?”
“Yep.”
“Cassie, see that light green line?”
“Is it this one?”
“That’s the one. Take that line off the cleat and pull on it.”
Leona pointed to the boat’s bow, “Look forward, that line opens the jib.”
It was a beautiful October afternoon. The leaves on trees along the shoreline were just putting on their fall colored suits, creating a cacophony of color as they sailed by.
“Cassie, we’re passing by Ft. McHenry. It’s on your right.”
“It’s amazing to see it from the water. When I was a child, my class took a weekend field trip to Baltimore. We toured Ft. McHenry on that trip.”
“Do you remember how old you were?”
“I remember I was in grade school. My mom went with me on the bus.”
“That sounds like fun. Once we are past it, I’ll turn the helm over to you.”
As Ft. McHenry slid behind them, Leona turned to Cassie and said, “It’s your turn.”
As Cassie took the wheel, the look on her face said it all. She was beaming from ear to ear. She amazed herself by how quickly she became adept to the boat’s movement.
“Watch the tell-tales on the jib. Now turn the boat a lit
tle toward the left” Cassie turned slightly left. “See how those red yarn things are waving in different directions?” She nodded to Leona that she saw. “Turn the boat to the right.” When Cassie turned slightly to the right, Leona told her, “See how they now lay flat against the sail?”
“I see that they do! That’s just so amazing to me. When I sailed before, no one ever let me drive the boat.”
“Well girlfriend, you’re driving this boat quite well.”
Sam stretched out on the housetop, taking in the warm sun and crisp air. He listened as two of his favorite women talked. Life couldn’t get any better than sailing on a warm fall day. He was able to let go of the stress of Cassie’s case and was happy to see that she had as well. As they approached the Francis Scott Key Bridge that crossed over the Patapsco River, Sam couldn’t resist.
“Cassie, turn the wheel over to Leona, I need you on the housetop with me.”
Leona laughed inside, she’d fallen for what he was about to do to Cassie. Leona took the wheel as Cassie went to join Sam on the housetop.
“Lay next to me. As Leona sails under the bridge ahead of us, we need to make sure the mast has clearance.”
Cassie laughed as she hit him on his arm, “Sam Marksman, I’m not that naïve, but I’ll be happy to pretend that I am.”
Leona called to her, “Cassie, I fell for it.”
“You’re kidding. You believed him?”
“Sure did. I even thought we wouldn’t make it. Sam, when we get to Ft. Carroll, tell her the history of it.”
“Leona, when we get under the bridge, are you comfortable enough to jibe around the island?”
“I think so, if I need help, I’ll holler.” Leona checked the airspeed and saw it was a very comfortable twelve knots. Jibing shouldn’t present a problem for her.
Cassie watched the traffic crossing the bridge high above them. “This is, so cool. You can hear the trucks and cars as cross the bridge.”
“Sam, I’m going to jibe around the island, keep your heads low.”
Jibing is the opposite of tacking, when the boat tacks, the air travels over the bow or front of the boat. During a jibe, the air crosses over the stern. Unsuspecting passengers open themselves up for a whack alongside the head as the boom swings across the deck.
Leona sheeted the main in while she made her turn. Once the air had crossed over the boat, she let the main out, and took the jib’s sheets off the port winch and moved them to the starboard winch.
As the Cream circled the island, Leona heard Sam tell Cassie the fort’s history. “Ft. Carroll was constructed as a manmade island after the war of 1812. The War Department wanted a first line of defense that would prevent intruders into Ft. McHenry. They constructed the fort around 1847. No one has maintained it, so now it a rotting mess.”
“Why would they let something so historical rot away?”
“I think it was funding. I heard somewhere it was purchased by a private owner who wanted to build a casino on the island, but it turned out that the island sits on the line that divides Baltimore, which doesn’t allow gambling and Anne Arundel County, which does.”
“It would have made a unique casino.”
As Ft. Carroll slid behind them, Cassie returned to the cockpit. “Leona, I’m, so impressed with your sailing skills. You did a jibe tending to both the helm and the sails all by yourself.”
“Trust me, I enjoyed the first sail and hated the second one. I guess because I fell in love with a sailor I kept at it. Can you take the wheel while I go below and put together a casual lunch.”
Cassie took over the helm. Leona went below and returned to the cockpit with plates of sandwiches, silver cups of wine for Cassie and her, and of course, a Heineken for the captain.
Cassie laughed, “Silver wine cups?”
“Yep, I gave them to him for Christmas. The rule was no glass in the cockpit while under sail. I had to drink my wine out of a coffee mug. That wine cup you’re hold also has a non-skid bottom.”
“They are lovely, but Sam’s drinking his beer from a bottle, isn’t that breaking the no glass rule?”
“You’ll have to ask the captain about that.”
Cassie chuckled, “I don’t challenging the captain’s rules is a good idea.”
Sam laughed, “I guess I never thought of beer bottles as glass. Leona, let’s duck into White Rocks; we can anchor there for the night.”
Cassie asked, “How long will it take us to get there?”
“Several hours, are you tired of sailing?”
“No, Sam, I’m not; actually I was hoping it wasn’t too close.”
When they were at the channel into White Rocks, Leona started the engine. Sam went forward to take the main down while Leona rolled in the jib. Leona motored through the channel as if she’d done it all her life. “Sam, where do you want to anchor?”
“I’m thinking just off the dock in front of the Windows by the Bay restaurant.”
“I see it.”
Cassie watched as Sam took an anchor out of a locker on the bow. He tied one end of it to a cleat on the bow. He put his hand up signaling Leona to take the Cream out of gear. Cassie was fascinated watching her crew partners. Leona watched the water, then looked to Sam and nodded. Sam lowered the anchor over the bow, then put his hand up and pointed to them. Leona put the boat in reverse and slowly moved the boat backward in the water. Sam put his hand up straight and Leona took the engine out of gear and then shut it off.
“Leona, that was amazing. Neither of you spoke, so I’m assuming those hand signals are how you communicate?”
“That’s exactly what we do, that way if it’s windy or I can’t hear him, I know what he wants me to do.”
“That’s a great way to communicate.”
“It works for us; I’ve watched a lot of arguing couples scream at one another anchoring down a boat. If Sam screamed at me, I’d get off the boat no matter where we were, even if meant jumping overboard. Since it is now officially cocktail hour, can I get you another wine?”
“Yes. Can I come with you, so you can show me where I’ll sleep?”
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize we didn’t show you, your sleeping quarters. You actually have choices. Behind the nav station is a double berth, go ahead and see if that works for you.”
As Cassie climbed into the berth, she exclaimed, “Wow it’s, so big back here. I don’t need to know the other choice. I’ll be fine in this berth.”
“Perfect, let me get out the sheets for that berth along with a blanket. I doubt you’ll need the blanket, but you’ll have it if you get cold during the night.”
Leaning his head into the companionway, Sam asked, “Ladies, can a parched man get a cold beer on this rig?”
“Sam, I am so sorry, I think Leona and I were, so lost in what we were doing, we forgot that you were in the cockpit.” Cassie handed him a beer.
When Leona crawled into the berth to put the sheets on, Cassie stopped her. “I can at least put sheets on a bed.”
“Then go to it my red headed friend.”
While Cassie made up her berth, Leona put the oven on low to thaw the frozen lasagna she’d brought for dinner. The two made their way back into the cockpit with their wine and watched the blazing red ball sink behind the shore to the west.
“Hey, where do the two of you want to eat? I put the oven on low to thaw a pan of lasagna, so I’m going below to turn up the heat on the oven. It won’t take long to cook.”
Cassie called into the cabin, “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to eat in the cockpit.”
“Sam, please pull the cockpit table out of the lazaret.”
Along with the table, he pulled out several candles.
“Sam, this is just wonderful, eating by candle light in the cool evening air. I can see why you and Leona like sailing.”
When the aroma of the baking lasagna made its way to the cockpit, Sam leaned his head into the cabin. “How much longer, I’m out here salivating all over poor Cassie.�
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“Sam Marksman, I’m putting together the salad while the lasagna cools for a moment. It needs to rest.”
“It needs to rest? Hell, a man could starve to death waiting for lasagna to rest.”
Leona handed bowls of salad and plates of lasagna, along with garlic bread up to Sam. “Before I come up, can I get anyone a fresh drink?”
After Leona handed Sam a beer, refreshed cups of wine for Cassie and her, she joined them in the cockpit for dinner.
Just as Cassie was about to take her first bite of the lasagna, she pointed to the sky, “Look, the stars are out.”
When all the dinner plates were empty, Leona asked if anyone wanted a second helping. Cassie was the first to answer, “I would love another piece; however, I’ll burst like a balloon.
Sam piped in with, “Me either, I’m saving room for that pie.”
Leona told Cassie and Sam to stay put while she went below to wash the dinner dishes. When the dishes were dry and stowed in the galley, she asked through the companionway, “Anyone up for pie yet?
Cassie answered, “No, not yet. Maybe I’ll be up for a piece after I digest the lasagna and salad, which were wonderful.”
“Sam?”
“I’ll try to hold off until the two of you are ready for dessert.”
The sky full of stars amazed Cassie. She jumped up from the cockpit bench when she saw a shooting star, “Hey guys, look, there’s a shooting star.”
Leona told her, “Quick, make a wish and you wish will come true.”
“Can I tell you my wish?”
“Nope, ‘cause if you do, it won’t come true.”
They sat quietly watching for shooting stars and listening to the water as it lapped against the haul.
After a day in the wind and sunshine, Cassie turned in early for the night. Leona and Sam weren’t far behind her.
In the morning, Cassie stretched in her berth and asked no one in particular, “Is that fresh coffee I smell?”
Leona answered her, “Sure is. How did you sleep?”
As Cassie climbed out of her bunk, she told Leona, “I haven’t slept that well in a long time.”