Chapter 14: Story Telling Catharsis

I didn’t set up the sleeping arrangements. Heck, I hadn’t even seen the whole ship yet. So I took a moment to look around the main deck.

Starting from the stern where you entered the boat via the passerelle, was the enclosable cockpit, with scattered furniture for lounging and a large dining table for twelve, then through a glass sliding door was the salon with a large seating area, a big screen TV, and another smaller table with seating for eight.

On the port side was galley number one, and on the starboard side was the four story vestibule where the stairs were located. Just past the vestibule, going forward was a short hallway with two VIP suites.

Mom and Dad were in the starboard VIP suite and Admiral Craig and Maria were in the port suite. When I looked, they were both empty.

I went up a deck to the Upper Deck, or what was commonly called the Owner’s Deck. In addition to a full beam suite, meaning that it ran from one side of the ship to the other, it had a private cockpit on the stern, with an awning to block the sun. Towards the bow, it had its own smaller salon with very comfortable seating and views on three sides. Going further towards the bow was a very private outdoor lounge pit, invisible from most of the rest of the ship and sunken to avoid most of the winds.

Just forward of that, was the helipad, although there was not a helicopter on it. It must not have come with one, I noted. I’d have to check into that.

I found Mom, Archara, Maria, Carina, and Monique in the small salon.

After saying hello, I told Carina that Roland wanted me to speak with her. She stood and taking my hand, led me back down to the main deck, and then down one more deck to the lower deck.

There were three more guest suites at the bottom of the stairs. Carina led me to the starboard cabin. The other two were on the port side. Forward of the three suites was the crew quarters, with four double bunk staterooms, each with an en-suite bathroom. Galley number two was located there as well with lots of space for food prep and storage as well as access to the below deck freezers and refrigerators.

Once inside, she slammed and locked the door and then rushed into my arms.

“So how far along are you?” I asked as we lay there catching our breath.

“The doctor has set the due date as November 9^th,” she said. “I’m about twelve weeks now.”

“Wow!” I can’t believe I’m really going to be a daddy!” I exclaimed.

Carina suddenly went silent, a worried expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

Carina was quiet for a moment and then she turned on her side to face me.

“Alex ... I don’t know how to say this...” she started. I felt myself becoming tense. I had an idea what was coming.

“You see, when I asked you to get me pregnant, it was because I wanted to experience pregnancy and childbirth, and raising an infant again...” she paused. “ ... with my husband.”

She looked me in the eyes, desperately hoping for ... something. I knew exactly what it was in that moment. Whether it was my instincts, or my intuition kicking in, still, I knew then that I was not going to play the role in this child’s life that I had been envisioning.

“I understand, Carina,” I told her. “As much as I would have liked being in your child’s life as its father, I’m not ready for that in my life right now. There is too much chaos, not to mention danger.”

“Oh, Alex,” she started crying as I held her.

“Besides, Roland will be the perfect daddy for your child and I think I understand how you were envisioning him as a critical part of your having and raising a child,” I told her. “I only hope that you two do not forget that you have two other children that will still need you along the way.”

“Oh, Alex,” she cried again. “When did you become so wise?”

I held her a few more minutes and then kissed her cheek and made my way out of her bed and out of her stateroom. I somehow knew that this was the end of our relationship, at least as it had been. And truth be told, I had changed a lot, being on my own for the last two months, and probably didn’t need her as I had before.

The other truth was that saying goodbye, just like with Jeanne and even Cécile, hurt. And hurt pretty bad! Only this time, I knew I would see her again one day. Even though we might never make love again, she would always be a part of my life. So while there was pain, I somehow knew deep inside that I would get over it. That I would survive.

I went to find Roland and sent him to his cabin. Somehow, I knew Carina needed him right now.

My mom was in the large salon, talking with Archara, Monique, and Maria. When I sat down, they started asking me about my adventures. I could tell that this was more than curiosity. It was motherly concern, so I started from the beginning with stealing the Windsong and sailing to the Isle of Céleste. I told them how I had traded all the food and all the Tupperware storage containers along with a couple of pots and the cordless drill in exchange for Jalibe’s help in removing the mast and then taking the Windsong upriver and sealing it up and covering it with netting. I even told them about removing all the cash in the safe, but leaving their personal papers.

“I think I owe you about four thousand American dollars,” I told Maria.

“And I told you that moving the boat saved us a small fortune in docking fees at the marina,” she replied. “Not to mention all that you went through to get rid of that evil bitch!”

I smiled as I continued my story about escorting Layami on the banana boat for a week and how we got through customs at the cruise line next to the pineapple warehouse. Then I told them about Layami’s first ride in an automobile to the bus station and her first Whopper and first Coke.

I then had to stop and explain what a Whopper was to Monique. She immediately said she wanted to try one someday.

It took me longer to describe Layami’s first ever visit to the Walmart, than the actual visit had taken. They all had many questions that I could hardly answer. I mean, how do I know what she felt?

After relating how her cousins picked her up, we paused the story while they went to the galley to fix supper and I went up to the bridge.

Dad and the three officers seemed to have everything under control, so I slipped into my cabin and got a shower. Then I lay down and promptly fell asleep. I guess story telling was hard work.

After supper, the teens all agreed to clean up and the ladies led me back into the salon for more of the story.

“Before you start, tell me...” Archara asked, “ ... how did you keep Layami from falling in love with you?”

“What?” my mother gasped.

“It just all sounded so romantic. I was thinking that if I spent a week onboard a slow moving, what did you call it? Oh, yeah. A banana boat. Anyway, if it was me on a romantic cruise with a strong, handsome, young man like Alex, I think I would have fallen in love with him before the end of the second day,” Archara gushed.

“You’ve been reading too many romance novels!” Monique told her.

“It wasn’t like that! Really!” I sputtered. “From the time I left the Isle of Céleste until I returned to Zurich, I never even kissed a girl, much less made love to anyone!

Well ... THAT caused a minor eruption!

Finally, my mom asked what happened after Layami left with her relatives.

I then quickly related my adventure at the Walmart and how Lot had sold me their spare minivan for $600, and Henry had set me up with an interview at the UT Golf Club with his brother-in-law, Steve.

Then I described spending the night in the parking lot and how I had returned to the bank in the Walmart to get a debit card and ended up with both insurance and a vehicle inspection, thanks to the bank manager.