Chapter 2

Act 1

Scene 2

Paul rolled over at the first hint of dawn and jumped out of bed. After going to the bathroom and starting a pot of coffee, he took a quick shower. Paul threw on his lucky sailing shirt, a battered pair of jeans and deck shoes. He went back down to the kitchen, threw a pound of bacon on the stove and went to wake up the boys.

Paul opened the door to Lewis' bedroom, and yelled, "Hey, get out of bed!"

When Lewis didn't even move, Paul grabbed his blankets and yanked them off the 'dead to the world' form lying in the bed. Lewis groaned and pulled his pillow over his head and curled into a fetal position trying to stay warm.

Exasperated, Paul, said loudly, "Get up Lewis, I've got a big day planned for you. Jump in the shower, breakfast is already cooking."

When he still didn't move, Paul pulled the pillow off of Lewis's head and gave him a poke in the ribs. Lewis opened one eye and groaned, "Let me sleep!"

"Get up before I get you up," teased his Dad. Remembering that his Dad liked to tickle him awake, Lewis rolled clumsily out of bed. Eyes half shut he staggered to the bathroom.

With the first boy up, Paul headed for Clark's room. Paul opened up the door and yelled, "Time to get up Clark!"

Clark grabbed his pillow by the corner and whirled it at his Dad. Paul having known this would happen ducked out of the way and let the pillow land in the hallway. He turned on the light.

Clark exclaimed, "Jesus Dad! It's not even six o'clock!"

Paul laughed and replied, "Yep and it's time to get up. You aren't going back to sleep, so you might as well get up and have some breakfast; you're going to need it."

Clark grumbled and sat up. He planted his face in his hands and his feet on the floor and mumbled, emphatically through his hands, "This sucks Dad!"

Paul replied over his shoulder, as he headed back to the kitchen, "Get used to it! Life sucks then you die! C'mon Clark, get a move on we have things to do! Your brother is just finishing in the bathroom get in there."

Paul wanted to have breakfast on the table when the boys got there. He sliced up some onion and potatoes and tosses them into the hot pan. As these start to fry, Paul looks out the window to catch the first rays of the sunrise across the bay. This is going to be a great day for sailing! The boys will feel better after they eat, so it will be OK.

Paul finished scrambling the 9 eggs and divided them onto the plates. He finished serving up the bacon and potatoes just as the boys stumbled into the kitchen.

As they plopped boneless into their chairs, "Boys, grab some coffee and get those eyes open. You two need to pack some clothes — use your backpacks and don't forget your swimsuits," Paul tells them as he pours Tabasco sauce all over his slightly scorched scrambled eggs.

As they stumbled to the counter to get coffee, Paul went on, "We need to stop at Mildred's Pantry to stock up on staples then over to the butcher shop for some meat. I want to be at the Marina early, and be filling up by 9 this morning, so eat up and get moving."

Paul shoveled mounds of scrambled egg and fried potatoes between bites of his bacon. Clark stared sullenly at his coffee and started to eat, sighing heavily between each bite. In the meantime, Lewis started to dig into his breakfast.

Lewis looked up from his plate, caught his father's eyes and sounding a bit interested, asked, "Can we do some snorkeling Dad?"

Paul looked over and smiled, "That's the spirit! Of course we are going snorkeling!"

Lewis had a grin as he asked, "Spear fishing?"

Paul laughed, and answered, "You can give it a shot. But snorkel spear fishing is tough. Sure, the water is shallow. First you have to get down near the bottom and get into some cover so you don't scare the fish. Then you have to spear the fish quick-like and get back to the surface, avoiding the sand sharks. All with one breath."

Clark, showing some interest for the first time, said, "Sharks?

"Don't be shooting those sharks," Dad replied, seriously. "I got one single shot shark spear, don't be using it to go hunting, it's for protection. And don't go alone. Do you remember what I taught you about the dangerous sea life in the area? The jellyfish, the man-o-war, the sharks, the morays, and the lionfish?"

"Yeah, yeah," Clark answered, with a hint of anger, dismissive of the dangers.

After breakfast, they all toss the dishes into the sink and return to their rooms to pack their clothes. Paul grabbed a duffle bag and packed three pairs of jeans, a swimsuit, five t-shirts and shorts, two sweatshirts, two pair of heavy wool socks, five pair of regular socks and a heavy wool sweater. He tosses in his razor, Ben-gay and Advil and the case for his 9mm and zipped the bag shut. He tossed the bag down the stairs and stopped in to see how Clark was coming along.

Clark had a few articles of clothes sitting on the bed, mostly shorts and tank tops.

"You'll need to pack some warmer clothes than that," Paul explained patiently. "We are going to spend a couple of nights on the boat and we don't know what the weather is going to be like this time of year. Make sure you get some jeans, sweatshirts and a wool sweater."