[ - ]
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Redbird Creek, Georgia – Mile 606

Nick pulled back on the throttle.  Now what?  He didn’t see any movement on the boat.  Both Pete and Jo must be below.  Nick wondered if he could quietly turn the Lenore around and get the hell out before he was spotted.  He looked to his left to see if there was room. 

There wasn’t.  He was going to have to go further up the river to the lagoon in order to turn around.  Was it possible to tiptoe with a 45 foot boat?

“Hey, Nick!”

Nick turned.  It was Pete, waving at him from the back deck of his boat.

Nick waved back but didn’t say anything.  Pete made large circles with his hands, directing Nick to back up and pull up alongside the Sunset Voyager. 

Okay, thought Nick.  He made the maneuver as Pete yelled out instructions.  There was still no sign of Jo.

Nick dropped anchor and looked around.  He was very pleased with the way he had handled the Lenore.  She lay only a few feet from the other boat.  He turned off the engine and went down to the lower deck.

“Hey, Pete!” he called out, “Where’s Jo?”

Nick looked at his watch.  Surely, she couldn’t still be sleeping.

“She’s making some sandwiches.  We got an early start and haven’t had breakfast yet so we decided to go straight to lunch,” answered Pete.  “Hey, Jo,” he called down below, “make an extra sandwich or two, we’ve got company.”

“What do you mean?” asked Jo.  “How could we have…?”  Jordana’s head appeared at the stairs.  “Oh, hi Nick!”

Nick tried to gauge Jo’s reaction to him.  It seemed fairly neutral.  It didn’t seem like she was afraid or nervous or anything.

Great! he told himself.  Now I’m doing what the fans do.  I’m trying to figure out what she’s thinking.  I’ll be sure to put it in my Internet report.

“You must have got a pretty early start yourself,” said Pete. 

“I couldn’t sleep,” said Nick.  “I figured it was just best to get up and get going.  You know how when you try to go back to sleep, you just end up having stupid dreams, and then when you do wake up, you’re even more tired.”

Speaking of stupid, Nick said to himself.  You’re explaining way too much.  Shut the fuck up!

“I know what you mean,” said Pete.  “Do you want to come over here for lunch?  Or do you just want me to throw the sandwich over to you?”  He laughed.

Nick didn’t know what he wanted to do.  He wasn’t ready for this situation.  That was the problem with real life, he thought.  No rehearsal.

“Um, sure…I can do that.  Here!”

Nick tossed a line to Pete, and they looped it over the rails, lashing the boats together.

“Why don’t we go over there?” asked Jo, appearing in the galley hatchway.  She was carrying a platter of sandwiches.  “There’s lots more room.”

“Can you make it across?” asked Nick, wondering if Jo was strong enough.  He wasn’t really sure how much strength she had.  She still looked like she’d blow over in a strong breeze, but there was some color in her cheeks this morning.

“No problem as long as you hold steady,” she replied with a grin.  “I can even bring the sandwiches.  I used to do gymnastics in school.”

Gymnastics, thought Nick.  Yeah, that made sense.  Those gymnastics girls were always starving themselves.  And ballet dancers.  They had to be starving themselves.  There was no way they could be that thin naturally.

A cough from Jordana made Nick realize that he was staring stupidly into space, saying nothing.  He reached out his hands for the sandwiches.

“Thanks,” said Jordana, handing the platter over. 

Nick took the sandwiches and set them on the bench at the back of the boat.  He turned back to assist Jo across, but she had disappeared.  Instead, it was Pete who jumped lightly from one boat to the other.

“Isn’t this a great spot?” asked the dark-haired man.  “I stop here every time when I come through with a boat.  I was telling Jo earlier, this is the best spot for appreciating Mother Nature.”

“Appreciate this,” called Jo, from the other boat.

When the men looked up, she tossed them a plastic bag.  Nick fielded it neatly and saw that it contained carrots and celery.

“Anyone want dip?”

Nick and Pete shook their heads.  No, this was good.

“Drinks?”

“Don’t worry about that, Jo,” said Nick, “I got that covered.”

He turned to Pete.  “What can I get you?”

”Water,” said Pete.  “I don’t drink and drive.”

“Me neither,” said Nick, “What about you, Jo?”

“Anything but herbal tea,” said Jordana, accepting Nick’s hand to assist her climbing from the Sunset Voyager to the Lenore.  “I don’t think I’ll ever have herbal tea again.”

Jo paused.  “Not that it wasn’t tremendously sweet of you to make it for me, Pete,” she said.  “It was really, really thoughtful of you.”

Pete waved a hand through the air, erasing the thanks.  “Okay, we’ve got ham and cheese here, Nick.  Is that okay?”

Nick shrugged.  Food was food.  “Sounds good to me.  So, water?”

Jordana had not stated her beverage preference.  She nodded.

Nick went below and returned with three bottles of water.  He also grabbed some paper napkins and three small paper plates.  He offered them almost apologetically, as if it were unmanly or something.

“Thanks,” said Pete succinctly, accepting the plate, the napkin and the water.

“Good thought,” said Jo, nodding at the napkins and plates.  She twisted the top off the water bottle and drank deeply.  She finished almost the whole bottle in one long series of swallows.  “I’m so dehydrated lately.  I don’t know why.”

Nick and Pete exchanged a glance, but neither said anything.

They fell to and ate their sandwiches in silence.  Nick watched the other two as he ate. They seemed very comfortable with each other.  Jordana wasn’t making any kind of signals to him.  She wasn’t winking or anything.  She wasn’t spelling out semaphore messages with her carrot sticks.  In fact, she wasn’t paying any attention to him at all.  And she was eating.  She ate an entire sandwich and a handful of carrot sticks.

They finished their sandwiches, and there was a silence.  It wasn’t nerve-wracking, thought Nick.  They all seemed to look around and appreciate where they were.  It was silent.  There were no other boats or humans there. 

Pete began softly to describe the birds that were on the surrounding shoreline.

“Look over there,” he whispered, “It’s a…”  And then he gave a description of the bird and its interaction with nature and the area. 

He was very knowledgeable, and Nick was impressed.  Pete sure knew what he was talking about. 

Nick chanced a glance at Jordana.  Would she try to signal him?  He had paid very close attention to everything she had said so far, trying to look for hidden meaning.  But he couldn’t find any.  Jo hadn’t said much, and Nick didn’t think there was a secret code in the beverage choices.  The only thing she’d actually mentioned was the herbal tea.  And she’d been effusive in her thanks to Pete about it.

So now what?

Where did ‘help me’ come into ‘I’m ever so grateful for the herbal tea.’?

Suddenly, Jordana stood up.  “That water’s gone right through me.  I need to use the bathroom.”

Nick hesitated.  He knew he should offer his but he didn’t want her throwing up on his boat.  He didn’t want her throwing up, period!  Jeez!  Had the food even hit her stomach yet?

“I’ll just go back over,” said Jordana.

Nick knew he had waited too long, and that he’d insulted her.  “No, use mine.  Go ahead.”

“No, that’s okay,” replied Jo.  She jumped lightly over to the Sunset Voyager and disappeared below. 

Nick and Pete looked at each other.  Neither said a word.  Both listened carefully.  They couldn’t hear anything.  A few minutes later, Jordana returned.

“So where are you docking tonight?” asked Pete, suddenly.

Nick shrugged.  “I don’t know yet.”

“Since we got such an early start, I figured we’d try for St. Simon’s Island,” said Pete.

“Wow!  That’s a hike!” exclaimed Nick.

“Yeah, I know, but it’s got a great marina there, the Golden Isles.  It’s got a lot of facilities and there’s a great restaurant not too far away!”

“Sounds good,” said Nick.  “Do you need a reservation at the marina?”

“I’ve got one,” said Pete.  “Do you have your guidebook handy?  It’ll have the phone number.  We’ll tidy this up.” 

“I’ll get those,” said Jo, picking up the plates and napkins and stacking them by the hatchway.

Nick climbed to the upper deck and came back with the guidebook.  He found the number and called.  He made the reservation and agreed to call on the radio when he got close for specific docking instructions and assistance.

“There!  That’s done!” he said, turning around.  “So, what do you think, Jo…?”  Nick was just about to ask Jordana if she would like to ride with him for awhile.  Then he would be able to ask her point blank what she had meant by the nonsense the night before.

But Jo wasn’t there.  She’d taken the empty sandwich platter over to the Sunset Voyager.

“Hey, Pete, do you want Jo to ride with me for awhile?” Nick asked quietly.

“No,” said Pete, abruptly.  Then he looked over at the other boat.  He dropped his voice to a whisper.  “It might not be safe.”

Before Nick could ask Pete what he meant by that, Pete stood up and jumped over to his boat.  “Well, we’ve got some miles to cover, so we’d better get going.”

He unlashed the rope from the railing and shoved hard on Nick’s boat.  A gap of six feet opened between the two vessels.  Pete started the engine and pulled up the anchor. 

Jordana appeared in the doorway.  She looked over at Nick.  He waved and said, “I’ll see you later.”

Jordana looked over her shoulder at Pete.  Then she turned back to Nick and mouthed a word.

Nick couldn’t make it out.  “Pardon?” he called out.

Jordana clamped her lips together and looked at Pete again.  Pete turned to Nick and waved.  Then he pushed the throttle forward.

Nick waved back and then looked at Jo.  She had a weird look on her face, and she mouthed the word again.  Nick shrugged and held out his hands in frustration.  What?

As the boat slowly moved away, Jo tried one last time.  She formed the syllables slowly and clearly, and this time Nick got it.

He got it, but he didn’t have the first clue what it meant.  The word Jo had said was, “Garbage.”