Chapter 42: What Have I Gotten Into?

Maria recoiled away from me as a look of pain came over her face and tears filled her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” she said and then began to cry.

“Be right back!” I said as I jumped up and ran upstairs to grab my satellite phone. I punched number three as I ran back to the owner’s stateroom.

Carina answered as I walked into the cabin. Maria was still on the bed with red puffy eyes. I sat on the edge of the bed as I explained to Carina what I had done.

“You say this was all your instinct?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am. I have no idea where it came from.”

“Well, Roland always says that your instincts are uncanny. Let me talk to her.”

I sat on the bed as Carina talked to Maria for over thirty minutes. At first, all of Maria’s side of the conversation were yes’s and no’s. But then she began to speak to Carina in both French and later Spanish, so I have no idea what they were saying. You’d think after almost a year in Europe, I would have picked up a little more of the language.

Finally, Maria said thank you and goodbye and handed the phone to me.

“I swear, you are the most perceptive man I have ever met. Roland was right. You’ll make an amazing psychiatrist one day,” Carina told me.

“Uh ... thanks?”

“Just do what your instincts tell you to do and come to me as soon as you can,” she said. “I miss you ... Daddy!”

I hung up the phone and looked at Maria. There was a look of hope in her eyes.

“Is this something you need to discuss with Craig?” I asked.

“We have discussed it many times, but the ... er, situation has never been right,” she said.

“Does Craig know that I am with you now?” I asked. “And do you think he is ready to be a father?”

“Ohmygod!” she exclaimed, followed by an excited squeal and a long string of Spanish.

“Why don’t you use the house phone and ask him,” I suggested. “Just to be sure.”

There followed another long conversation in French (with some occasional Spanish thrown in).

“He said he was definitely ready to become a daddy, and that he would call Roland now,” she explained. “But he would like to talk to you later.”

I just sat there and looked at her, trying to decide if I should follow my instincts.

“Would you really do that for us? Give us a baby?” she asked, more hopeful than ever.

“If it is what you and Craig would like, I would be delighted to help you become parents.”

She launched herself at me with another excited squeal. I caught her and flipped us around on the king sized bed. Then I kissed her with all the passion I had. There was no one to tell us if there was a bright shining light, but I believe there was, because Maria’s passions were equal if not greater than mine.

Maria and I had tried every position I know, but she just couldn’t seem to get enough. The whole time she was giddy, and eventually, when we took a short break for me to recharge, she explained that the next three days were her fertile period. And even though she and Craig practiced an open marriage, she always used a condom because she couldn’t take the pill.

When I finally made it to the bridge about one o’clock in the morning, Craig was more lenient than I expected with my late arrival. Archara was sitting on the couch behind the captain’s chair in the wheelhouse. It was obvious that they had been talking and she knew what was going on.

I guess I should explain that the pilothouse (or wheelhouse) was separated from the rest of the ship by bulkheads (walls) and had a captain’s chair in the center of the bridge console, which spanned the entire bridge from port to starboard. Over the captain’s right shoulder was a long elevated couch (for guests to better see where the ship was going) and over his left shoulder was the door to the rest of the ship and then a bunch of built-ins. Mainly shelves and drawers and a very nice chart locker. When underway at night, the lights were all off except for a red recessed light and all the lights from the instruments. This kept the Captain and crew from losing their night vision.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Admiral,” I apologized. “Mrs. Bouchard didn’t seem to want me to leave.”

“I think that if you are going to be involved in helping us in this ... endeavor, I think you have earned the right to call us Craig and Maria,” he replied.

“Yes, sir, Admiral. Anywhere except on the bridge,” I told him.

He laughed and said, “At ease, Skipper.” Then he showed me where we were on the charts and where we were headed. “The seas are one to two (feet) and the wind is out of the northwest at eleven (knots).”

Then he seated himself on the bench beside Archara and said, “Now why don’t you tell us what happened.”

I looked at Archara, the question on my face.

“She was here for Maria’s phone call and my call to Roland. She deserves to hear the whole story,” he said.

So I told them everything. I didn’t want to hold anything back. I told them about the shower and washing Maria’s hair, (Archara moaned at this), and how I had patiently brushed it out as I dried it, (she moaned even more at this). Then I told them about talking on the bed and how she told me about herself and Craig.

“God! Talk about foreplay!” she groaned. “Where did you learn all this?”

“I don’t really know. You know I was a virgin when we started our trip last December,” I reminded her.

“Well, all I can say is you are one hell of a fast learner!” she said. “I’m going to have to call Carina!”

“Go on, son,” Admiral Craig said.

“Well ... while we were talking, I got this hunch, sort of. Roland calls it my instincts. So I asked her about having children and she explained how you all couldn’t have any. Then she began to cry.”

“I can imagine...” Admiral Craig said.

“Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to do so I ran and grabbed my satellite phone and called Carina. Did Roland tell you that Carina is pregnant? With my child?” I asked.

“He did, and he explained a lot more. But go ahead,” Admiral Craig said.

“So I explained my hunch to Carina and then she talked to Maria for half an hour, then I asked Maria to call you. You know what that conversation was all about, but I’m in the dark because I cannot speak French very well.”

“Yes. Yes. Then what happened?” Admiral Craig asked.

“Well, Maria said that you had agreed that I could give you a child, and then we made love. I’m afraid that she was a little wound up and we may have overdone it. If she’s sore tomorrow, I’ll heal her,” I offered.

“Is there any more?” he asked.

“If there is, you’ll have to get it from her. I never discuss affairs of the heart with others,” I told him.

He studied me for another moment and then stood.

“Goodnight, Skipper,” he said as he left the bridge.

Archara didn’t say anything as I went through my mental checklist to make sure the ship was operating like it should. Then I stepped out on the bridge wing and looked around. There were no other lights in sight, so I re-entered the bridge. Archara was still staring at me.

“What?” I finally asked.

“I was just contemplating having my tubes untied!” she said with a laugh.

I just groaned and wondered what I had got myself into.

“Are you protected?” I asked Samantha the first chance I got Wednesday morning. She was serving me a late breakfast after Captain Alfred relieved me on the bridge.

“Relax, Cowboy,” she said with a smile. “I’m covered. However, isn’t it a little late to be asking?”

“I’m sorry. I just thought of it last night and I started to call you then, but it was too late. I guess I’m just a heel,” I said.

“You’re not a heel. And I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself,” Samantha said with another laugh. “You’ve got bigger problems on your hands.”

“Bigger problems?” I almost hated to ask.

“Yeah. Sarah figured out what was going on and she wants a ride on the magic pony,” she laughed.

“Oh,” I said. “I don’t know. Do you think she can handle it and still do her job?”

“Maybe if you washed her hair,” she said with a big grin.

“Someone has been talking,” I thought to myself. I didn’t say anything as I thought about it.

“I can tell you that I would much rather take a bullet for someone I loved, than a stranger,” she said as she sat down beside me and placed her hand on mine.

“Do you think Cynthiana would have a problem with all this?” I asked.

“It’s not against the rules and she even ordered her daughter to have sex with you,” Samantha said. “She told us all about your supposed pheromones, but your blood test didn’t reveal anything unusual, so I’m not sure what to make of them. I don’t feel like they influenced my decision to go to bed with you. If anything, it was the way you have treated us, with kindness and respect, that did it for me. Of course it didn’t hurt to see you with Jeanne and Carina and then hear what they and others have said about your passions.”

“What you probably don’t know is that I was a virgin until just before Christmas,” I told her. “So I’m not really sure that I’m as experienced as you give me credit for.”

“Christmas!” she exclaimed. “Why that’s not even two months ago!”

I just shrugged as I bent my head in embarrassment.

“Do you mind if I asked who got your cherry?” Samantha asked.

“Carina,” I replied. “But if you want the details, you’ll have to ask her. A gentleman doesn’t discuss affairs of the heart.”

“God!” she exclaimed again. “And discreet too!”

I just looked down at my empty cereal bowl while she was talking.

“What are you doing now?” she asked. “I mean, when do you go on watch again?”

“Not until four, but I haven’t slept since yesterday afternoon and I’m exhausted,” I whined.

“Wimp!” she called out as she headed for the lower deck. “Go get your shower and someone should be there in a minute.”

“At least Archara hasn’t spotted me,” I thought to myself.

I spoke too soon, I quickly realized!

Archara was lying on my berth in the crew quarters when I arrived.

“About time,” she said with a sly smile.

“I’ve got to take a shower,” I told her as I slid out of my deck shoes.

“Forget it. I’ve been waiting for you and don’t feel like waiting any longer!” she told me.

“Archara!” I warned. “Please! I’m exhausted!”

“Easy there,” she chided. “I’m not here for fun and games. I just wanted to make sure you are okay with what Maria and Craig want. I talked to Carina and I know what Roland and her have worked out with you, but you hardly know Maria.”

“Like I said last night, I’m working almost purely on instinct. And so far, my instincts haven’t let me down,” I explained. “I do appreciate your concerns, though.”

“Alex?” someone called from the door. The way the crew quarters are situated, the entry door is on the port side facing aft, then there is a corner and the quarters stretch across the tip of the bow (the narrowest part of the ship), so someone standing at the door cannot actually see into the crew quarters without walking in two steps and turning to their right.

“In here,” Archara sang out.

“Samantha told me I should come down here,” Sarah said when she wondered in. “But it looks like you already have company.” The disappointment in her voice was evident.

“Don’t worry, I was just leaving,” Archara told the young girl. “I was checking to make sure that Alex was okay.”

“Tell Carina that I’m fine and will call her tonight,” I told Archara.

“I can’t pull anything over on you, can I?” she said as she looked at me and grinned.

Then she stopped and whispered something in Sarah’s ear.

“Really?” she replied. “I hadn’t thought of that!”

Then they both giggled as Archara left.

If there was a physical difference between the twins, I still couldn’t find it. Except for Sarah’s dimples. Emotionally, I found Sarah a little more giving. She laughed with me instead of at me when I wondered out loud if I had gotten myself into more than I could handle with fathering babies. She wasn’t as overtly blatant with her sexuality as her sister, and in some respects seemed even softer. But in talking to her afterwards, she was as hard as steel when it came to her responsibilities. I gathered that it was her resolve that had gotten them both through school.

Sarah, having seen the bright shining light for herself earlier, did not even bring it up. She was actually more interested in what she could teach the young teenaged boy, than in anything I might do for her. I let her lead me and she had an orgasm in the first five minutes, then she settled down to some slow, intimate love-making.

I did show her how Danièle liked to be on top so she could control the action. This was new to her and she told me so. She also told me she loved it. However, after some time, she sensed that I was beyond tired.

“Turn us over and pound my little pussy!” she whispered in my ear.

We both came within minutes.

Then she allowed me to roll over and go to sleep while she held me.

Sarah had me a sandwich and a glass of milk when I came into the dining room at ten ‘til four. I took them both and headed to the bridge. Captain Alfred was waiting on me and went over where we were and where we were headed, then gave me the seas and the wind direction.

“You’re relived,” I told him as I began to check all the instruments. I paid particular attention to the bilges to make sure they were functioning properly.

One thing about the Friedlich that was different from the catamarans, was the weight. Catamarans were made of aluminum and fiberglass composites to make them light. Consequentially, if the wind was right, they could fly across the top of the water.

Whereas the Friedlich was built along the lines of a commercial trawler with a heavy steel hull and aluminum superstructure and simply plowed through the water without much rocking back and forth or up and down. It had stabilizers, but you could barely tell the difference when they were engaged. And you had to be really quiet to even hear the engine running in the pilothouse because of all the layers of sound insulation.

The afternoon became evening and we ran through a number of squalls, but nothing major. Towards 11:30pm, Admiral Craig came up to discuss a problem with me.

At our current speed, we would reach Messina where we would take on more fuel and some extra provisions, long after dark Thursday, and after the port and the stores were all closed. He wanted to see how I would handle it.

After studying the charts, I suggested that we anchor about a mile off the southern Italian coast near Lazzaro. It wasn’t the most perfect of solutions, but we should arrive there before dark and then we could continue the three hours into Messina at first light. After we re-fueled and re-provisioned, we could head past the point at Torre Faro before sundown and make our way up the coast of Italy towards Monte Carlo. If plans held, we would arrive in Monte Carlo next Tuesday afternoon, February 23^rd. My birthday.

“Excellent! Enter the data into the chart plotter and we’ll make it so, Skipper!” he told me.

When I finished, he told me to go to bed.

“Aye, aye,” I told him. “The admiral has the bridge!”

Maria was alone in the dining room when I went down.

“Alex, I ... uh, I may need some of that healing you talked about. I’m afraid that Craig and I got so excited about finally having a child, that we got a little carried away. And I had hoped that you would try again tonight because it’s my fertile time, but I’m kind of sore,” she told me.

“Let me get a Coke and I’ll follow you,” I told her.

It took but a moment for the amber glow to match the silvery/white of my hands. And Maria was immediately ready to get on with the festivities. However, I felt she needed to give the healing some time, so I explained and then asked her to tell me about growing up in Barcelona.

“Poppa became the head of the mathematics department at Universität Pompeu Fabra (Pompeu Fabra University) right after I was born. I am the third of four daughters. My oldest sister became a professor like my father, and had two daughters. You met Danièle. The other one is twenty-one and about to graduate from the University of Wisconsin in the USA. She wants to be a veterinarian.

My second sister is married to a rancher and they have two sons and a daughter. They also have one of the larger ranches in southern Spain. My youngest sister is working on her graduate degree in Aeronautics. She could have been finished if she hadn’t fallen in love with a musician and followed him around Europe for two years.

It was interesting hearing about her family and it was obvious that they communicated frequently. I asked her what they would think about her turning up pregnant.

“They are devout Catholics and I am not sure how they will handle our arrangement. They know how much I have wanted a baby, but they sometimes listen to the Padre instead of their hearts,” she said sadly. “However, Craig’s family will be thrilled. Especially if it’s a boy. Craig has only three sisters and they have seven girls between them.”