Chapter 3: Remission...

When we got back to Jim's place on Sunday night, we were met with a process server. It seems that my Dearly Beloved had finally decided to divorce me and I guess he was having a devil of a time finding me, since no one knew about the Surprise and where I was except Jim, Sam and Ernie. No one had called or asked Jim or Sam of course they wouldn't have told any one any way. It was just a fluke that I had shown up when I did.

Oh' well, it was bound to happen. But it did kind of put a downer on the end of the weekend.

The next morning, I was on the phone to my attorney bright and early. I wanted him to play hard ball with her for awhile. He had gathered some evidence of her infidelity. He had not told me about it nor had I seen it. He said it was good and that it would be more than enough to burn her in front of the whole community. She set great store in being a teacher and a pillar of the community. To bad her feet were made of clay. If it got out, she and her lover would go down in flames. I preferred not to know the details. It was enough to know that I was protected.

The next week, winter came to the Pacific Northwest. Every day was a gloomy copy of the one before. Rain and mist, like they use to sing on Hee Haw.

"Gloom, despair and agony on me Ohoooooh! Deep Dark Depression, Excessive Misery, If it weren't for Bad Luck We'd have no Luck at all! Gloom, despair and agony on me."

That's what I felt like for the next several weeks. It was all I could do to get my sorry butt out of the rack and tend to daily needs of myself let alone the boat. But most days I did make do, some days I didn't.

Christmas time finally rolled around. I had made an effort to have Thanksgiving, with Jim and Sam. We went all out and had a complete traditional Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings at a local diner. Somehow it was just not the same. Back when we were little on the farm, everyone would come, all the Uncles and Aunts and all the kids. There was enough food to sink the Surprise. On the Friday before Christmas, I was severely depressed I could barely get my sorry butt out of bed. By afternoon, I was spiraling down a long dark hole. I knew my ex and the boys would be at the Church Christmas program. She was always in charge and the boys were always wise men or shepherds which ever she needed them to be. We had been going since she first started teaching and that was four years before the oldest was born.

I drove over to Jim's place. He wasn't home, he was working his second job. He was a delivery boy for a Chinese Restaurant. He makes good tips normally $75-$100 per night. He can't stand to stay at home alone either. I sat there in his yard petting his two Rottweilers, Max and June they were big bruisers, the most danger you had with them was getting knocked down while they tried to wag their stubby tails as they ran around your legs. I sat there and cried like my dog had died. I was at the bottom. I didn't want to live. I headed down 395th toward I-5 with every intention of wrapping my beautiful designer series Fulieo Pucci Lincoln Towncar around a bridge abutment at around a 100 miles an hour. It seemed like the only way to find peace. The emotional pain was just too much. As I went down the hill, I saw the lights of a Church that had a full parking lot. I pulled in and went in and found a seat in the back. I sat there and watched the story that I had heard so many times before. Silently tears rolled down my cheeks. The lady next to me handed me a clean handkerchief. No one said a word. I found acceptance and I found forgiveness, I knew Christ had forgiven me, I just had to forgive myself. That night I was able to do that. After the service was over, I went out to the car and drove home to the Surprise.

I thought about Al and his remission from the Cancer, he didn't think it was permanent, but at least it had given him some time to be with Janey and Amy. I said a prayer for them and wished them well.

I seemed to have had a remission of my own. The pain gradually eased over the next few weeks and as spring arrived, Sam needed help in the Nursery. What better help than free help. So I went to work over there with him. It didn't take very long to realize that I was seriously out of shape. I gradually got my muscles back and I earned every one of them That's one of the problems of living on a boat. You don't get much exercise unless you really push your self to get off the boat, to walk and run. I started bringing Max back to the boat for a few days so I had some one to run with along the sea wall by Shenanigans. He would run ahead of me and then stop and look back at me with a look, like come on slow poke. Eventually after a week or two, he was pacing along beside me. We worked our way up to 3-4 miles one way and then turned around. I was wishing someone was waiting with the car a the 4 mile mark. Oh' well, it was not to be, it was just the two of us. Between running and working at the nursery, I was gradually getting back in shape. I dropped 20 lbs and all of my clothes started to fit once again. I must have gotten a little pudgy. You can't really tell if all you do is sit around in sweats all day long.

Around the end of May, I called Ernie and asked if he would be game to take the Surprise down the coast to Grays Harbor. I thought I might go down and see if Al was still around. Ernie agreed, that night he got Darrell to bring him down with his pontoon plane. Sure is great having a friend who has more money than he knows what to do with who owns a pontoon plane and loves to fly. In the morning, we got the Surprise ready for Sea. There wasn't much to do as I had her all fueled up and the bottom freshly washed free of all the critters. We just had to pump out and head out. We left the next morning. The sail up the strait and out past Cape Flattery was uneventful. This would be my first time out in open ocean. The wave action was completely new. It was coming from our starboard side and they were long shallow rollers. It was kind of awe inspiring thinking of the distance those waves had traveled. It didn't take very long to realize that the Surprise was a very sea kindly boat. She rode along like a Swan in a mill pond. We were on a broad reach headed south at a good clip. We thought it would only take 10 to 12 hours to make the transit, from the time we rounded Cape Flattery. The wind held steady all day and we made really good time. Ernie had never sailed down this way, his preferred direction was always up the coast to the north. As we got close, we moved out to sea to give us some room to maneuver should the need arise. We heaved too and decided to keep watch through the night so we could go in with the Sun in the morning. We kept each other company in the Bridge. I think we tried and almost managed to solve all the problems of the world, at least our little part of it.

The divorce had been over an done by early February. In some ways it helped to realize that it was done. Some nights I woke up in a cold sweat in a dream where I had my hands around my ex's throat and I was squeezing for all I was worth. Whoa, where was that coming from? I am not normally a violent man. Sometimes I think about her and her double dealing and I have serious second thoughts.

The nest morning, the sun came over the eastern horizon and the sky was ablaze of pink and purple for a short while. After the show was over, we fired up the diesels and headed into Grays Harbor to spend the week. I thought I would rent a car and we would head down to Oysterville. By the way, I forgot to tell you. You know the place Jim and I met up with Al, well that was Oysterville. Now a historical settlement going back to the 1800's.

We made it into our slip around 06:00 and met the Marina attendant and took care of all our obligations. The car was waiting for us by the Marina office. We jumped in and headed south toward Long Beach. I had thought that I would stay in the same Motel that Jim and I had stayed in. We made it down to Long Beach by 08:00 and headed directly toward Oysterville. The tide was going out, so I figured that Al would be at the Oyster House working the bed if he was around. As we approached the Oyster House. I saw some movement around the back. I couldn't tell who it was. We pulled up and parked, and walked around the side with the dock on it. I could hear someone swearing a blue streak.

"You G ... damned, f' ... n motor, I am going to throw you in the drink if you don't start this time."

We rounded the corner, and there stood Janey in all her fiery glory. Her hair was flying in the wind and her face was as red as a beet. She was clearly pissed off.

"Whoa, there little lady, don't throw it in yet, let me have a look at it." Ernie said ... Janey was clearly startled by our appearance, she stood there glaring at us until recognition dawned on her.

"Mike, Oh' God, I thought I would never see you again." She rushed me and threw her arms around me and hugged and squealed and cried all while jumping up and down. It was quite a reception. I held her and finally she started to slow down.

"What are you doing here. I though I would never see you again. We tried calling you, and for some reason we never got through. I must have had a number wrong or something."

How's Al? I asked her.

Her face kind of came apart and the tears started to flow again.

"Mike, that is why we tried to call, Dad died 6 weeks ago. I am so sorry we couldn't reach you. The time when you and your brother stopped. He had such a good time. He talked about it often. I must have heard about it on the phone a dozen times. I know he really liked both of you."

I reached for her again and took her in my arms and we both cried for the loss of her Dad and a friend that I had just come to know. I stepped back and said to her.

"Janey please let me introduce you to my friend Ernie. He is a whiz with motors, why don't you let him have a look at it before you consign it to the briny deep."

Ernie told her "Hi" and then stepped around her to go look at the little outboard. Come on, lets go for a little walk while Ernie works on the motor. I took her hand and led her to the road and we headed north up the road.

"So, how come you are out here working in the beds? Did you decide to stay?"

"No, I was going to go back to Missouri, all though I don't know why, all I have there is a waitress job and there are probably plenty of those around here. It is just what I know. Mom and I talked and she thought she should sell the bed and the house and move back to Missouri with me. After all it is where she is from."

"So why didn't you?" I asked.

We do have the house listed and the business as well. Seems there are not too many people who want to live this remote on mostly a barely subsistence living. If we didn't own it all free and clear, Mom could not survive. All she has is Dad's social security and she's not old enough for hers. She has never worked the oyster bed and I though I would give it a try. Some times we get a big order, but most days, I end up keeping the catch over to the next day or so. We only sell to the tourists and they are few and far between in the fall and winter. Besides, no one will eat them in May, June, July or August."