Chapter 46: 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.