Nick heard a knock on the side of the boat. He came up on deck. Pete and Jo were standing on the dock. Pete was wearing the same pants as earlier, but he’d changed his shirt. Nick kind of wished he’d done the same. Jo was wearing a dress, a sleeveless cotton number with flowers on it. A light cardigan sweater was draped across her shoulders.
“You ready?” asked Pete.
“Yeah,” said Nick. “You got a car, or should we call a cab?”
“Already called it,” said Pete. “It’ll pick us up over there.” He pointed to the manager’s office.
“Mickey not here yet?” asked Nick. He grimaced, thinking it was a pretty stupid question. Obviously, she wasn’t.
“She’s meeting us at the restaurant,” said Pete.
Jo looked at him in surprise. “She is? When did you talk to her?”
“While you were getting changed,” said Pete. “She called and said the meeting was running late. It doesn’t matter. We already have all her stuff aboard. We just need her.”
“I didn’t hear a phone ring,” said Jo, petulantly.
Pete pressed his lips together and then said patiently. “I have it set to ‘vibrate’. See.” He pulled the phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.
Jo nodded. “Okay. When will she get here?”
Pete shrugged. “She wasn’t sure about the meeting. She said she hoped to be here by nine.” He looked at Nick and smiled. “Shall we?”
Nick stepped up onto the dock. “Yeah, I’m hungry. Let’s go.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Pete had not been wrong in his assessment of the restaurant. The food was excellent. They shared an appetizer – a crock of hot crab dip with vegetable pieces and crackers on the side. It was delicious, and Pete and Nick dove in. Jo munched on some celery and carrot sticks but declined the dip.
The restaurant, Vincenzo’s, was one of those big platter restaurants, where you ordered two or three dishes, and it fed six people. Together they decided on veal piccata and Caesar salad. Pete and Nick hemmed and hawed over the pasta selections, but they decided against it. It would be way too much. Jo didn’t have much input. She said she liked everything and would be fine with whatever they decided. When the waiter asked if they would like a pasta dish as well, Nick and Pete looked at each other and started to laugh.
“Yeah,” said Pete, “we’ll have the penne.” He looked at Nick and shrugged. “We’ll divvy up the leftovers. I’m guessing you’ve got a microwave on the Lenore.”
Nick nodded. “Yeah, and heating stuff up is my favorite way to cook.”
The salad arrived, and Pete served it out.
“Not too much,” said Jo.
“Just eat what you can,” said Pete, kindly. He filled two other plates full and handed one to Nick. “So…Lenore…is there some kind of special significance to that name?”
“There might be to someone,” said Nick, “but not to me.” He explained that he’d bought the boat second-hand and that he planned to change the name.
“Any ideas?” asked Pete.
Nick shook his head. He knew he’d know the name when he heard it. Somehow he’d just know it was the right one.
“How about Nick’s World?” suggested Pete.
Nick wrinkled his nose. “No, I wouldn’t want my name on it. Too easy for the fans to find.”
Nick’s voice trailed off. He wondered if that made him sound arrogant…especially since he was sitting here waiting to meet one of those fans.
“What about Weird World?” asked Jordana, softly.
Nick smiled. “Yeah, that would work, I guess.”
Jo lowered her eyes to her plate. So Mickey’s not the only fan, thought Nick. The album’s not even out yet, and Jo knows one of the songs. He was pleased that she hadn’t made a big deal of it. It was obvious that the name meant nothing to Pete.
The waiter arrived with the veal and the pasta. Pete and Nick kept their salad plates, saying they might have more with their dinner. Jo told the waiter she was finished and that he could take her plate away. Nick saw that she hadn’t eaten much of the salad, had mostly just pushed it around her plate.
The continued their conversation about boats while they ate their main course. Pete talked about some of the boats he’d delivered. He was taking this one down the Intracoastal Waterway to Fort Lauderdale. Nick was following the same route but continuing on to his place in the Keys. Jo didn’t have much to add to the conversation after she admitted that she didn’t know anything about boats.
Suddenly, Pete twitched.
“Whoa,” he said, and he pulled his phone from his pocket. He flipped it open and put it to his ear.
“Yo,” he said. He listened for a moment, then said, “but you said…” then listened some more.
Nick smiled. He guessed this was the missing Mickey. He hoped Pete wouldn’t insist that Nick speak to her. Nick hated that…when fans shoved a cell phone in his face and begged him to say ‘hi’ to their friend or sister or cousin. What the hell were you supposed to say to a perfect stranger, especially one that was either sobbing out how much she loved you or else taping every word you said for playback on the Internet?
Pete wasn’t saying much of anything. He was mostly listening. Nick noticed that Jordana had put down her fork and was staring intently at Pete.
“Well, Honey,” said Pete, with a grin, “if you knew who was sitting across from me at this table, you’d be telling your boss to shove his dinner plans.”
Pete listened for another moment and then said, “I’ll give you a hint. The initials are Nick Carter.” He paused and then laughed. “Yeah, that’s right. Your Nick Carter.”
Pete abruptly moved the phone away from his ear. “Jeez, Honey, they could probably hear that in Poughkeepsie. Settle down.”
Pete listened some more. Then he placed his napkin on the table and stood up. “So when do you think you can get here?” he asked He nodded at Nick and Jordana and walked away from the table.
There was an awkward silence at the table. Nick ate a forkful of penne. “This is good,” he said.
Jordana looked at Nick. “I don’t have much of an appetite today,” she replied.
Nick looked at her plate. She had barely touched her food.
“You said ‘jet lag’ before,” said Nick.
“Yes,” said Jordana. “I just got back from Europe. But that was over a week ago. I should be over that by now, don’t you think?”
Nick shrugged. “Hard to say. Jet lag hits everybody differently.”
“I guess you’d know about that,” said Jo, with a smile. “I imagine you rack up quite a few air miles in a year.”
“Yeah,” agreed Nick, “and I hate every one. So, where in Europe were you?”
“Mostly France,” said Jo. “I was there for two months. I made side trips to Switzerland and Italy.”
“That sounds great,” said Nick. “Was it a holiday or something?”
“Yeah. It was a present from my parents…for getting my Master’s. I start work the first of July.”
“Really? What do you specialize in?” Nick wasn’t sure that was the correct term.
Jordana didn’t get a chance to answer because Pete reappeared at the table suddenly, snapping his phone shut and taking his seat.
“Change of plans,” he said. “Mickey’s boss decided they had to continue the meeting over dinner.” He looked at Nick. “She’s in advertising. She always has to suck up to the client.”
“When will she get here?” asked Jo.
“Well, she’s not actually going to get here,” explained Pete, emphasizing the last word. “She’s going to fly out tomorrow morning and meet us in Charleston.”
“But…” protested Jo.
Pete sighed. “Jo, you know I can’t wait. I have to get this boat to Florida by the 20th. I have to leave tomorrow morning.”
Nick was beginning to feel uncomfortably out of place. He wondered if he should excuse himself to the washroom and let them finish the discussion in peace. He was saved from making the decision by the waiter who came over to inquire about dessert choices. They all declined.
The waiter asked if they wanted the remains boxed up. Pete asked if they could have two containers.
“No problem,” answered the waiter. “Are you finished, Miss?”
Jordana nodded. Pete looked at her plate.
“Aw, Jo,” he said, with concern in his voice, “you’ve hardly eaten a thing.”
“I’m just not very hungry,” retorted Jordana, defensively.
“Okay, okay,” said Pete, reassuringly. He reached over and squeezed her hand.
The waiter returned with the boxes and the bill. It wasn’t very expensive, thought Nick, adding things up mentally. He and Pete had had a couple of beers. Jordana had stuck to mineral water.
“Let me get the tip, Man,” suggested Nick, remembering the look on the grocery delivery man’s face.
“I said it was on me, but sure, if you want to. That’d be great.” Pete counted out cash from his wallet.
Nick couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen a restaurant bill paid with cash. Everyone used plastic these days. Nick slipped forty dollars under the edge of his plate. He knew it was too much but better that than too little.
The ride back to the marina was quiet. Since Nick had paid for the outgoing journey, Pete insisted on paying for the return. While he was getting a receipt from the cabbie, Nick and Jordana stood without talking.
“Okay,” said Pete. “That’s done.”
They walked down the dock. They reached the junction of the T where they would part company. Pete shifted his plastic bag of food to his left hand and reached out with his right.
“Well, Nick, it was nice meeting you.”
The opportunity had finally come for Nick to be alone, and suddenly, he didn’t want to be.
“Hey, it’s still early. You guys want to come over to my place for a beer or some wine or something?” Nick hoped his question didn’t sound as desperate to their ears as it did to his.
Pete looked at Jordana. “What do you say, Jo?”
Jordana shook her head. “Nah, I’m pretty tired. I’m going to turn in early. You go ahead, though.”
“Are you sure?” asked Pete. “You’ll be okay by yourself?”
“Of course, I will,” replied Jordana. It was her turn to reach out a hand. “It was nice to meet you, Nick. I’m sorry I wasn’t better company.”
“’S okay,” said Nick, shaking her hand gently. “You were cool.”
Jordana took the plastic bag of food from Pete. “Stay as long as you like, Pete,” she said. “You won’t disturb me when you come back.”
Jordana turned her back on them and walked down the dock. Pete stared after her for a moment. Then with a sigh, he turned and started walking in the direction of the Lenore.
“Is she okay?” whispered Nick, when he thought they were out of earshot.
“Yeah,” said Pete quietly. “She just…uh…she’s had the flu.”
“She said ‘jet lag’,” said Nick.
“Oh yeah, that’s right, she said ‘jet lag’.”
Nick wondered if ‘the flu’ meant the same thing he’d thought ‘jet lag’ meant earlier.
“I’ll be glad when Mickey gets here,” said Pete with a sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Nick and Pete sat on the back deck of the Lenore and had a beer. Pete asked intelligent questions about the boat but never asked to see below. Nick was pleased that Pete was aware of this piece of boating etiquette. It was the same as earlier, when he and Jo had arrived to pick Nick up for dinner. They had stayed on the dock. It was an unwritten rule. You did not step onto someone’s boat unless you were invited. You did not ask for ‘a tour’. You waited until it was offered.
Pete had been on numerous boats, according to his travel stories, probably more than him, Nick figured. After they exhausted details of the engine specifications and top cruising speed, Nick asked Pete if he’d like another beer. When Pete said, “sure”, Nick invited him down to see the cabin area.
Pete descended the stairs and gave a low whistle. “Jeez, must be nice to be rich!” He ran his hand along the back of the leather captain’s chair.
“Uh, yeah, it is,” replied Nick, with a laugh.
“This is great,” said Pete, peering closely at the stereo system built into the wall. “But I guess it makes sense you’d be into music. What are your speakers?”
“Blaupunkt 680s,” said Nick.
“Holy shit!” exclaimed Pete. “You turn those babies up full blast, you might blow the boat apart.” Pete leaned in to examine the rest of the entertainment system. “Man, you got everything here…DVD, TV…you’ll never have to go topside.”
“Well, there’s that whole ‘driving the boat’ thing,” said Nick, “but yeah, when I’m at anchor, there’s no reason to be bored.”
“I’ll say. What’s this?” Pete pointed at another set of plugs and dials.
“That’s for the computer. I have a laptop.”
“Cool! Why do you need that? For charging the battery?”
Nick shook his head. “No, but it does that at the same time. That’s my Internet access cable.”
“You can’t have an Internet cable on a boat!” said Pete.
“It’s not like that,” explained Nick. “I have a wireless hookup in my laptop, but it only works if you’re a certain distance from a cell or a tower or something. I’m not sure what. Anyway, if you plug the computer into that, it enhances the signal, makes it stronger or something. At least, that’s what they said.” Nick shrugged. “I’m not planning on using my computer much anyway. I’ll find out what lies the tabloids have told about me when I get home. I don’t need to go looking for them.”
“I hear ya,” said Pete. “This the head?”
Nick nodded and continued with the tour of the boat. That took them to the end of the second beer, and they went back on deck, where Pete said his goodbyes.
“This is a real makeout machine,” he said of the Lenore. “All that black glass and white leather. It’s a bachelor’s paradise. The boat I’m taking, the Sunset Voyager…now that is a complete ‘old fogy’ boat, all mahogany and velvet.” Pete looked around once more and then said, “Well, I’d better get back. See ya, Nick.”
Nick said goodbye and watched Pete walk away. Then he went below and got another beer. He looked around the cabin.
Bachelor’s Paradise.
Nick wondered if that was what he should name the boat.
