Chapter 39: Alex Upset

Samantha and Sarah did take us to the driving range on Saturday, but after we returned to the house, I didn’t see them again. For the rest of the day and evening it was just Sofía and me until, over a late lunch, Sofía informed me she was going to Paris. It seemed that she had a part-time modeling gig and would be there for the week. I was sad to see her leave, but I was also glad to have some time to myself.

Reggie stopped by and reminded me not to leave the house as there was no one there to escort me. I wasn’t too disappointed and soon grabbed my sailing book and settled on the veranda to study. It was a mild afternoon and I could get by with a light jacket.

When Cynthiana hadn’t returned by supper, I was beginning to get a little lonely. But then, Samantha and Sarah showed up and I felt a little less lost in the big empty house.

“Alex, will you tell us more about this bright shining light?” Samantha asked.

“No!” I almost shouted. I didn’t want to go there with anyone else right this moment. The pain of Jeanne’s leaving was still too raw and I was avoiding anything to do with passion like the plague.

They were disappointed until Sarah suggested we play a new game she had just bought. It was called ’Settlers of Catan’ and though I had never heard of it, it was challenging to play as well as being lots of fun.

About ten o’clock, I announced I was headed to bed. I thought I detected a note of sadness in their goodnights, but I wasn’t ready to get into the bright shining light with these two ... yet.

I went to bed alone.

Isabella and Reggie were at the breakfast table with Cynthiana when the twins and I finished in the dojo Sunday morning and joined them. I circled the table to hug Cynthiana, telling her I had missed her. Then I kissed Isabella. I didn’t intend to put so much passion into my kiss, but I had been worried about the way we had last separated back on the yacht. Anyway, I soon discovered that Isabella didn’t seem to harbor any grudges. And so the twins finally got to witness the bright shining light.

“Wow!” Sarah said as I sat down.

“I’ll say! That was ... impressive!” Samantha added.

Isabella blushed and I just ignored them as I sipped my coffee and asked Cynthiana about her trip.

“We got to see Jeanne’s coronation,” she replied. “She looked so regal. And I stopped by and met with Anita Dexter. Her first lab results came back and the doctors think she was about ninety percent cured. She may be calling you again soon about the other ten percent.”

“I’m glad she is better, but I’m not sure if I can do any more for her,” I said.

“Just talk to Carina about it sometime,” she said. “And speaking of Carina, she thinks she is pregnant, but it’s still too soon to know for sure.”

“Did you all get everything worked out?” I asked.

“We’re fine, Alex. It was never that big of a deal,” she said. “You don’t know all the history yet but you’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Are you referring to Anita Dexter, the First Lady?” Samantha asked.

Cynthiana just nodded her head.

“What did Alex do to her?” Samantha asked.

“He cured her breast cancer. At least ninety percent of it, anyway,” Cynthiana chided with a grin.

“He what!” Sarah almost screamed.

“How?” Sarah added, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Madam?” Denise interrupted.

“Yes, Denise,” Cynthiana said politely as she looked the girl in the eye. That was one of the things I had noticed about Cynthiana. She always gave someone her undivided attention, no matter their station in life. It was something I decided I would try to do as well.

“Captain Franc has arrived,” she said.

“Well, show him back and get him a cup of that wonderful expresso that you do so well,” she told the girl. Denise scampered off to get the Captain with a big smile on her face.

“Girls, we’ll discuss the First Lady when there are no others around,” she said, closing that topic for now. They were not happy, but tried hard not to show it. I was to find out later that this was their first experience working with Cynthiana.

“Good morning, everyone. I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Captain Franc said as he took an empty seat at the table. “Welcome back, Cynthiana. I trust you had a good trip.”

“It was fine, thank you for asking,” Cynthiana said. “We were just getting ready to discuss Alex’s progress with his training.”

“Well, forgive me for coming on a Sunday, but Alex needs to test for his Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate immediately. With your permission, I would like to set it up as soon as possible,” Captain Franc explained.

“Why the sudden rush,” Cynthiana asked.

“I spent the weekend with Alfred Fourreau and he detailed all the time that Alex spent on the bridge and his duties there, as well as the three rescues he performed. When you add that to what he did with Tony, he has his fifty days and he’s eligible to test for his Offshore Certificate as soon as he has his Coastal Certificate which he has already surpassed the qualifications for.”

“But I’m sure Alex has plenty of time to meet the rest of the requirements,” Cynthiana said.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t explaining myself very well,” Captain Franc said. “Over the weekend, I received several inquiries into obtaining Alex’s services. A friend of mine, Stephen Markum, has purchased a seventy-five foot Beneteau monohull in Fort Lauderdale and would like to hire Alex to deliver it to Cannes as soon as possible. I can make the trip with him, but he would need his Coastal Certificate before we leave.”

“I see...” Cynthiana said.

“Then there is a gentleman, Herr Oberland, at the yacht club where I am a member. I think you know him. He is desperate to get his new Bering 75 from Turkey to Monte Carlo. Tony and Alfred are both fighting over that one,” he said with a smile. “Then there’s the family that are friends with Alfred and Archara that want to sail to meet them in the Bahama’s next month. I am sorry that I do not know their name.”

“My, that’s quite a full agenda,” Cynthiana exclaimed.

“You told me that you wanted him to meet and work with important people. Well, with the reports that Al and Tony are giving out to friends in the industry, two of these are exactly that. Not to mention that there were at least a dozen other inquiries for his services. And I would dare say that the pay he received from Tony would be eclipsed by all three of these.”

“You were paid?” she asked me as she arched her eyebrow.

I just slid the envelope with the check and the timesheet across the table to her.

She looked at the check and raised her eyebrows again and then set it aside. “We’ll discuss this later,” she said. “So what do we need to do now?”

We spent the next two hours making plans. I couldn’t test for my Yachtmaster Coastal Certificate until Thursday and we backed everything else up from there. I ended up having to pass on bringing the seventy-five foot monohull sailing yacht from Fort Lauderdale at this time, but was able to schedule the new Bering 75 from Atalaya on next Monday, February fifteenth, for a seven day passage. It turns out that Captain Alfred would accompany me on that voyage but the new owner would not be traveling with us.