Chapter 40

Wrapped around each other
Trying so hard to stay warm
That first cold winter together
Lying in each other's arms
Watching those old movies
Falling in love so desperately
Honey I was your hero
And you were my leading lady

We had it all
Just like Bogie and Bacall
Starring in our old late, late show
Sailing away to Key Largo

Here's lookin' at you kid
Missing all the things we did
We can find it once again, I know
Just like they did in Key Largo

Honey can't you remember
We played all the parts
That sweet scene of surrender
When you gave me your heart
Please say you will ... play it again
'Cause I love you still
Baby this can't be the end

We had it all
Just like Bogie and Bacall
Starring in our old late, late show
Sailing away to Key Largo

Here's lookin' at you kid
Missing all the things we did
We can find it once again, I know
Just like they did in Key Largo

Chris flew Todd, Kelly, Laura and the girls down to Key Largo himself on Saturday — the place where the TKO gang would board "Aussie Rules," Greg Norman's personal 200-foot yacht. IC had spared no expense to give Kelly and Todd their dream vacation!

While the plan had originally been for just Todd, Kelly, and Laura to be going — the minister was going to fly to Jamaica and join them off shore in international waters — plans had changed, as the best laid plans of mice and men are bound to.

Their plans for a 17-day cruise had been shortened by the funeral, though no one was complaining. The plans for Ami and Cara to fly down and join them later had been altered as well, and since they were caught up with their studies with Robert, and had managed to fit some actual classroom hours in, it was decided they should just come along for the trip.

"I wonder how much this cost them?" Todd said as they approached the yacht.

"If you have to ask, you can't afford it," quipped Kelly with a giggle!

"Who's Greg Norman?" Cara asked.

Todd laughed and explained Norman was one of the world's most famous and successful golfers.

"Let me guess," said Cara. "He's Australian."

"That was a hard guess," said Ami, "considering the name of the boat."

"Now, girls," said Laura. "No bickering or we'll have to feed you to the sharks. Remember, this is our wedding trip."

"We could feed you to Greg," said Todd. "He's known as the Great White Shark."

"We'll behave," said Ami, giving her lover a big juicy kiss.

Cara grinned and kissed her back with a bit more passion. "Not that I'm afraid of sharks," she said. "I just want to enjoy this trip."

The taxi delivered them at the Basin Yacht Club in Key Largo, where they cleared through tight security, and the driver good naturedly, and, for the huge tip that Todd had slipped him, carried their luggage down to the "Aussie Rules."

They, like so many tourists on the dock, stared in wonder at the massive vessel. It was nearly six times as long as Kelly's house and at least four times as high! Unlike the tourists milling about however, they boarded her.

An officer who had been standing guard at the top of stairs, spoke into the microphone attached to his lapel.

By the time Todd and Kelly reached the top, the entire staff had gathered and the captain saluted the party as they stepped on board.

"TKO?" he inquired, verifying the guests.

"Yes, Captain," said Todd extending his hand. "We're sorry you had to sit in dock waiting for our arrival but we had a death in the family."

"As I had been informed," said the captain. "My condolences to you, Miss Jennsen."

"Please, Captain, I'm Kelly, this is Todd, our bride to be, Laura," she said introducing Laura, "and our two wards, Cara and Ami. I appreciate the thought regarding my grandmother. I hope our delay won't cause you any problems."

"None at all, Ma'am, I mean Kelly. Welcome aboard the 'Aussie Rules.'"

"She's a big boat!" said Laura enthusiastically.

"Ma'am," said the navigator, "anything over 150 feet is considered a ship."

"Oh, my!" said Laura. "I'm hardly on her and I've already insulted her."

This caused the captain to laugh.

"She'll hardly take offense to you, Laura. Mrs. Norman is named Laura as well, and she was a model, though a few years before your time. Now I would like to introduce you to the crew of the 'Aussie Rules.' This is Gordon, my first officer," he said indicating the man who had been guarding the stairs when they had arrived and notified the crew.

"Barney, our navigator," the captain continued, gesturing to a lean, short man who had nothing in common with his purple namesake.

"Jack, the ship's mechanic," pointing to a smiling, burly man.

"Jim, our full time and head steward," indicating a tall man who looked more like a butler than a sailor, "Heather, a graduate sommelier, hails from Vancouver," nodding to a very busty brunette, "and Tanya, from Perth Australia," indicating a tall, slim, small-breasted blonde, "who is also working the season between university courses."

"A sommelier?" questioned Ami. "You're a bullfighter? For real?"

After the laughter subsided a bit, Jim explained that a sommelier was a professional wine taster.

"Really?" exclaimed Cara. "You can get a job drinking wine?"

"Actually," said Heather, pushing her white blouse to a near bursting point, "professional sommeliers usually work either for wineries or for fancy restaurants who hire them to purchase their wines. There are more professionals than opportunities, which is why I crew for the summer. It helps pay for my tuition."

"We also have a professional chef who flew in just for this trip," said the captain, "but he's currently on shore picking up fresh produce for tonight's meal."

"He flew in just for this trip?" Todd asked incredulously.

"He was hired directly by the board of directors of IC," said the captain. "As a matter of fact, a Ms. Petticour, one of the directors, insisted on it and sent a case of fine wines along as well. Generally we just make do with Tanya's galley skills. Tanya is also a certified scuba diving instructor, and we have lots of diving gear on board if you're interested."

"The wine selection she sent is exquisite," said Heather. "There's a few bottles of Australian wine like the Trenthelm Muscatio White and the 2001, James Estate Verdhello. There's a Puklus White from Hungary, and some vintage wines from France including the St-Georges 2000 Bordeaux. Of course some American wines like the Blackstone 2001 Zinfandel and the Val-Oak Cabernet-Sauvignon 1999..."

"I think they get the idea, Heather," said the captain who was watching Heather's chest expand and contract with her excitement.

"And after supper will we be sailing off into the sunset?" asked Kelly.

"While we can sail 24 hours a day, the directors of IC have specified you receive a memorable tour to Jamaica," said the captain. "As for sailing into the sunset, I'm afraid we'll be heading the wrong direction for that. We will however be sailing mostly into the sunrise on the second day. We sail tomorrow at 11:00."

"Oh," said Kelly blushing. "I knew that."

The captain smiled and suggested they get settled into their suites, and then when they had freshened up, he would give them a proper tour of the ship.

Jim and the two female crew members helped get Todd, Kelly and Laura get set up in the main suite, directly beneath the bridge with a splendid 20-foot-wide forward view! Cara and Ami were settled into the suite next to them on the starboard side with a 14-foot window view. Todd was pleasantly surprised to find their room had a king-size bed in it, and as Kelly and Laura started to hang their clothes in the built in closets, Laura jumped back in surprise.

"The last guest in this room left something behind," she said.

"What's that, Honey?" asked Kelly.

"It's a straw hat."

Todd laughed and said she shouldn't be surprised. It was the familiar headgear for Greg Norman when he was playing golf.

While the gang from Charlotte were settling into their quarters, on the other side of the highway dividing Key Largo, a plane had just landed at the Surfside Aviation Club. It was Chuck's Silver Goose seaplane.

After the plane was refueled, Chuck, Deanna, Anna, Brenda, Amanda, Sherri, and Celeste sat in the airport's lounge waiting for the arrival of Sara.

"I hope Sara makes it soon," said Chuck. "I want to get under way and get our rooms. I'm not thrilled with the idea of flying too close to Cuba."

"She called this morning," said Sherri. "She's driving the boat from the show down. She said the tests went well and she's signed on for the new season. Her boss thinks it will be good publicity having her drive the show's chase boat down here with her at the helm. Those triple Merc 750's should have her here in no time, and if I know Sara, she's got those motors tweaked to the max."

Chuck smiled, remembering his argument with Sara when she said his boat could perform better if the air fuel ratio was adjusted, and it did. Her ideas had been implemented along with the other ideas the "James Gang" had offered, and Regan boats was now one of the leaders in the performance class of under 30-foot pleasure craft.

As if on cue, Brenda's cell phone rang.

"Hi," said Sara. "Damn port engine is out of sync again, but I'm not going to stop and tweak her now. I'm about 20 minutes away; can you still pick me up?"

"Sure, Sweetie. We'll be there waiting for you. Chuck wants to get up and airborne before it gets too late. See you soon."

As Brenda closed her phone and relayed the message, Chuck arranged for a shuttle bus to take them to the prearranged meeting point in Largo Sound where the producers of "Miami Blues" had secured a berth for the powerful cigarette boat.

Chuck laughed as he heard the approaching boat, and wasn't surprised in the least to see news photographers lining the channel to the Sound. The producers of "Miami Blues" were going to get as much mileage out of their new star and their boat as possible, and Sara delivered in spades!

It sounded for all the world like a convention tour from the Hell's Angels were coming down the channel as all three Merc 750's were on wide rich throttle, the sound reverberating from the mangrove trees that lined the channel.

'Miami Blues Blows Into The Conch Republic, ' was the headline on one paper the next morning.

Sara quickly secured the boat after docking and posed for some pictures for the reporters, and then boarded the shuttle bus with the rest to take them back to the airport.

"It's a pity that Nicole and James couldn't have come," said Sara as they got underway.

"They're opening that new wing at the hospital, remember?" said Sherri. "They couldn't fit this trip in with all the fund raising going on right now."

"I know," sighed Sara, "but I hardly get to see any of you guys anymore. By the way, Chuck. I've had some ideas about new motor configurations for your boats. It'll make them run faster and cheaper at the same time."

Chuck laughed and said that she'd have to take it up with Brenda. He was too busy building sailboats with his daughter.

"Do you think they'll be expecting us?" asked Celeste. "I know we said the three of us would perform at their wedding, but I wonder if they'll even remember. Nobody has called or emailed."

"They've been a bit distracted," said Chuck, "but being on the board now of IC, I know their travel plans better than they do. We'll be down there and well settled in our hotel before they even arrive."

Each of the forward suites were finished in cherry wood and included their own bathrooms. They had noticed the formal dining room on their way to their rooms, and after changing and freshening up, they were escorted to the bridge by Tanya.

The bridge was nothing if not awe inspiring. Electronic controls and monitors were mounted all over and made the wheel appear like an afterthought.

"It looks like something straight out of Star Trek," Todd said, noting the Captain's chair and the two flanking command chairs. A row of six luxury chairs sat behind the command center. The view out the windows was spectacular and high enough to command an impressive view of the Gulf.

"Yes," said the captain. "The design for modern yachts does closely resemble what you would see on Star Trek. The concept is basically the same whether you're sailing through the water or through space."

"Something that might be of interest to you," the captain said addressing Todd, "we have two nose cameras: a fixed 35-mm one and a swiveling 50-mm. If you look at the monitors, you'll probably catch a view of some of the scuba divers still out in the water. We also have a 'Tuna' — a towed underwater navigational aid — which is a remote controlled camera towed off a winch beneath the boat. Its motion and zoom are controlled by a joy-stick remote."

The group stood still for a few minutes just looking out at the water watching as jet skis and wind surfers played to and fro across the waves.

"She must be a solid ship," Kelly said. "I see the rolling waves out there, but I don't feel anything on board."

The captain smiled and said the "Aussie Rules" was moored and in fairly shallow water though the ship was in fact moving due to the natural rhythm of the water, but the size of her nullified most of the motion. "When we're underway, if the waves are over four feet, you'll notice it more, though not uncomfortable. Of course, if we catch some at a 45-degree angle off the bow, you might want to sit down in the fresh air and ride it out."

"How fast will we be traveling, Captain?" Laura asked.

"We'll be averaging about 20 knots," said the captain. "She can do 40 without a problem, but it's not economical fuel wise, and it would take the pleasure out of the trip. Depending on the weather, we'll arrive in the Bahamas, our first stop, around five hours after we set sail tomorrow."

"And we do want this to be a pleasure trip," sighed Laura.

The captain led the way from the bridge to the main living area behind the bridge. There was a huge windowed room which contained arcade games, a pool table, along with a superb lounging area, and of course a bar. There was even a small enclosed movie theatre at the rear.

Leading the way up the stairs, the captain pointed out the sundeck and bar and the outdoor dining area, which was currently set up to seat 16 people!

By the time they had finished the tour, Kelly felt like she had walked all the way from her house to the studio and back again! There had been the galley, though in this case "kitchen" was an understatement as it was at least twice as big as her own, and this one was filled with shining stainless steel appliances and a walk-in freezer larger than her closet at home.

There had been the two 25-foot outboard motorboats along with the 43-foot 'tender, ' aptly named "No Rules." She knew she would enjoy the hot-tub and that the girls would play in the 10-foot pool just for the sake of saying they had swam in fresh water while surrounded by sea water. There had been the steam room, the basketball court, and the handball court. Six jet-skis and 20 scuba sets were in the bay with over 200 fishing rods and, naturally, along with the skeet launcher and shotguns, there had been a teeing green and a putting green.

It was hardly like going to sea at all what with the satellite TV and internet connections in every room. But it would be home for them for the next twelve days. Kelly was going to leave the US as a single woman and return home as a married wife to not just her best friend and business partner, but also as the wife of one of the most beautiful souls she had ever met in the form of her female lover, Laura.

When they had returned to the Bridge, Laura had gushed, "She must be one of the largest yachts anywhere!"

"Hardly!" laughed the Captain, "the 'Aussie Rules' barely makes it into the top ten of the largest personal yachts. Top prize goes to "Rising Sun" owned by computer mogul Larry Ellison. Rumor has it that while waiting for the ship to be completed, he heard that Paul Allen, one of Microsoft's original partners had also commissioned a yacht, which was to be a few meters longer than his. So, quite naturally, he told his designer to add another 50 feet to HIS ship, just so he can claim bragging rights!"

"Did the other guy change HIS ship's length?" asked Ami.

"No. Mr. Allen already has a 300-footer that is ranked fourth on our list, so he doesn't need to prove that HIS is longer! In fact, he has another one which is only 200-feet long — it's berthed at the other end of this marina." He pointed and said, "Just take a walk to the last berth and you can see her."

"Thank you for the tour, Captain," Todd said. "She is an impressive ship, and it's easy to see that you're quite proud of her."

"I do hope you are joining us for supper, Captain," Kelly said. "I'd love to hear about some of the places you've been with her."

The captain smiled and nodded. "I look forward to telling you of all the tales of times when I've had to outrun pirates and all the storms we've weathered."

As they walked away from the bridge, Ami whispered to Todd. "He was kidding about the pirates, right?"

At 11:00 the next morning, the horn sounded three times on the 'Aussie Rules, ' and after ensuring her mooring lines were secure, the captain engaged the bow thruster propeller to nose the huge yacht into the Atlantic before engaging her rear props.

Kelly, Todd, and Laura sat on the bridge watching the captain maneuver the ship out while Ami and Cara stood on the sundeck waving at the large crowd of onlookers from shore.

They had dined the night before on fresh seafood and Black Angus porterhouse steaks, prepared by the highly competent chef.

They had been joined by the captain and the first officer for the meal, and when questioned about the other crew members, Gordon, the first officer, had explained that while in dock it was considered fashionable for the captain and executive officer to join guests for dinner, but it would be inappropriate for any of the other crew members to do so. While underway, only the captain would join them if invited and then only if time permitted. They had to remember they were guests on one of the world's top privately owned luxury yachts. Then Gordon had smiled and thanked Kelly for her inquiry.

The captain had kept them in stitches and wonder with his tales of outrunning the unofficially sanctioned pirates patrolling the Cuban coast and of times when bad weather had forced them to ride out storms.