Chapter 67: Do You Think I Am Pretty?

“Where we headed today?,” I asked Captain Alfred when I got to the bridge Thursday morning.

“Matthew’s Town Marina on Great Inagua Island. It’s the last Bahamian island we’ll stop at before we make the six hundred mile run to the British Virgin Islands,” he said. “There are plenty of places we could stop in between, but they are all heavily influenced by American dollars. So we’ll run west a ways out into the Caribbean.”

“So after Matthew’s Town, its four days of blue water sailing?” I asked. “Maybe we should relax for a day or two before we make the six hundred mile run. I know the girls would love playing in the waters of the Caribbean some more.”

“No, for two reasons,” Captain Alfred explained. “The first you’ll understand when we get there. It’s not a tourist destination, but more of an industrial port. We’ll take enough time to top off the fuel tanks and take on provisions and then head out. The second is the weather. There are two fronts moving in and we’re likely to see both of them. I want to get as far along towards the British Virgin Islands as possible before the storms hit, because once they hit, we won’t be able to use the sails. And it may take us more than four days.”

The Captain wasn’t painting a pretty picture. He had warned us of this before we ever left France. The weather is unpredictable in the winter, in the Caribbean. Thankfully, the eighty foot long and forty foot wide catamaran was built for our circumstances. Its wide beam would help it ride out the storms much smoother than a monohull, and the 3500 square feet of living space didn’t hurt either, even with seventeen of us on board.

We hoisted the sails and Captain Alfred went down to breakfast, leaving me at the helm. The word must have spread because the girls were all out on the big trampolines on the bow taking advantage of the warm temperatures and the early morning sun. As I sat there in the captain’s chair, I thought that there were few sights in the world that could compare with eight naked teenaged girls lying in the sun. It was the most fun I’d had since hitting the hole-in-one last week!

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned my head. My mom was standing there, looking out on the bow.

“Nice view,” she said.

“Not bad at all,” I agreed.

“Alex, I’m afraid I got distracted by talk of a baby yesterday and didn’t allow you to finish what you and Dr. Rappeneau were saying about your influencing the girls.”

“Do you feel influenced by me?” I asked her. “I mean do you want to have sex with me since I cured you?”

She didn’t answer right away. I knew she was formulating her thoughts so I remained silent.

“Do you think I’m pretty?” she asked me. “Be honest.”

I stood and took her hand. Then holding her at arm’s length, my eyes moved up and down her body.

“Do you still work out?” I asked.

“Up until about two months ago when my neck began to hurt and I had trouble using my hands. Since then, not too much,” she revealed.

“I would say that you are above pretty. More like exceptional. Your face is showing your age a little more than it used to, probably because of me,” I quipped. “But since I healed you the other night, your eyes have looked brighter. And I like the way you shortened your hair while I was gone.”

“That was Kelly Ann. She felt so bad for me that she took me to a spa one day last summer,” she said.

“Your skin is still as blemish-free as it was when you were young, I’d bet, and your tummy is almost as flat as Kelly Ann’s, which is amazing considering that you’ve had three kids. Your breasts are some of the most attractive I’ve ever seen. Did you know that Jenna’s breasts look almost exactly like yours?” I asked.

“I had never noticed until this trip. I’m not sure I have even seen them since she started wearing bras back in junior high,” mom replied.