Chapter 28

"... It's no secret how much Eddie, Jenny, Brad, and Kathy love offshore fishing. They have been very successful in several tournaments. They have also infected our kids with the bug.

"Jack, Tom, Kim, and Sally have enjoyed fishing the Great Lakes in our home state of Michigan, but now that they've had a taste of the fishing down here I don't think they will be satisfied with twenty pound salmon. We could buy the kids a boat and they could go out and learn, but I have a better idea. At least I think its better.

"Marc and I would like to co-sponsor the Lady Guinevere fishing team. We will provide additional support so the kids can enter more tournaments. Harry has also agreed to co-sponsor the team.

"Well, how do you feel about my scatter-brain idea?" Don said as he looked at Eddie.

Eddie couldn't talk for a moment. He looked at his sister and shrugged his shoulders. Jenny smiled and nodded. When Eddie looked at Kathy and Brad, they nodded too.

"Well, it looks like we have a new fishing team. I would like to invite all of you to the house so we can have a small celebration. I have a feeling our kids have a few things to talk about—so do their parents," Don said.

The group left the restaurant and followed Don to the house. In the car, Jack, Tom, Kim, and Sally babbled about the chance to fish with their friends.

"Dad, did you know about this?" Eddie asked.

"Me, I had no idea what Don and Marc were up to," Harry fibbed.

When they arrived at the house, Don fiddled with his keys until everyone was out of their car. He glanced at Marc and smiled.

"Darn it, I don't think I brought the right keys. We'll have to use the backdoor," Don said.

The group followed Don into the back yard. The lights were out and it was hard to see. When everyone was on the patio, Don cleared his throat.

"Oh, I almost forgot. I do have another surprise," Don said.

The lights came on and illuminated the large yard. Against the seawall sat the seventy-five foot fishing boat Eddie, Jenny, Eddie, and Kathy helped design.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present the new Lady Guinevere," Don said.

All of the teens' mouths dropped as they stared at the boat. Floodlights lit the boat, making it stand out against the darkness.

"You did know, you had to," Eddie said.

"Your dad didn't know about my idea until last Monday, Eddie. I had to let him and Mr. Waters in on my plan because of a few legal matters and the fact it included their children. He knew he was building the boat for us, but he thought it was for Jack, Tom, Kim, and Sally. You only knew that the owner wanted the best fishing boat he could get.

"You have done that. The four of you have helped designed a boat you'd want. That was important to me. I don't know a thing about fishing or fishing boats. When I asked your parents to allow you to design the boat, it was because I had confidence in your ability," Don said.

"What's going to happen to our boat?" Jenny asked.

"We renamed it. It's now the 'Lady Guinevere Too.' We're going to keep her so your mother, Mr. and Mrs. Waters, and I will have a boat to use," Harry said.

"Look, this is up to you kids. If you don't think it will work, just let us know," Don said.

Eddie chucked and said, "Come on, guys, let me show you around the new Lady Guinevere."

The group walked to the boat. When they climbed aboard, they saw two men waiting in the salon. Eddie, Jenny, Brad, Kathy, and Molly recognized one of the men from the tackle shop. He was the Shimano representative. The other man introduced himself as Marlin Parker, the owner of Marlin Magic Lures, one of the largest lure manufactures in the country.

"Shimano and Marlin Magic Lures are also sponsors," Don said. "They will keep you in tackle and pay for the entrance fees for the tournaments you fish."

"When Andy called me and told me about this opportunity, I jumped at the chance to help sponsor your team. If we don't attract young people, our wonderful sport will die. I also hope to sell my lures. If you kids ever get to Hawaii, look me up," Mr. Parker said.

"You flew here from Hawaii?" Jenny said.

"I sure did. Like I said, this is exciting for me and my company," Mr. Parker said. "I'm going to be in the Bahamas next week to see you kids fish."

The teens took a tour of the boat. When they went below to see the staterooms, Jack started to chuckle. "Looks like this will be your stateroom, Eddie. You and your girlfriends will need the queen size bed."

After inspecting the boat, the teens went to the house. When they went in, Don gathered them in the living room.

"Okay, we also felt the team needed new threads. I had April work with Mrs. Shockley to come up with these," Don said as he pulled a cover off a rack.

The teens looked at the shirts, slacks, shorts and skirts hanging on the rack. Jenny pulled one of the shirts off the rack and held it up. Embroidered on the back was the name of the fishing team and the sponsors. Over the left breast pocket, the name of the boat and the name of the angler were embroidered in script.

"Here, Molly, this is yours," Jenny said as she handed Molly the white shirt.

Molly took the shirt and looked at her name. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized she was indeed part of the team. Moving through the crowd, Molly found her mom.

"Look, Mom," Molly said as she showed her the shirt.

Laura felt her throat tighten as she ran her fingertips over her daughter's name. She smiled at Molly and nodded. Molly saw her mother's tears and they hugged.

"Well, are you going to try them on? I have to know if we need to make changes," Ellen said.

The teens didn't bother to find privacy. They began stripping and trying on the new clothes. Joel's surprise showed in his face. Don put his hand on Joel's shoulder and said, "You'll get used to it if you hang around this crowd very long."

"They're not shy, are they?" Joel said.

"Not in the least," Don replied with a chuckle.

The nine member fishing team modeled the new outfits. The girls showed off in their short skirts. Finally, things settled down. The group moved to the patio where Don and Marc served cocktails.

"Can we use the boat when Jack, Sally, Tom, and Kim are in Michigan?" Eddie asked.

"Yes, of course you can. The boat belongs to the team," Don said.

"Where are we going to keep her, Dad? Tomiko is going to be on the seawall soon," Jack said.

"We have a slip at the marina where we keep the other boat. We're going to keep her there," Harry said.

"What about the tackle on our other boat?" Jenny said.

"You can take what you need and leave the rest. Who knows, we might want to go fishing someday," Harry said.

"Mr. Stone has a few things to go over with you kids," Don said. "Give him a few minutes, please."

Jerry handed Eddie a folder. "These are the papers for the boat and the fishing team. I need all of you to sign these papers and record your social security numbers. There is a credit card and the bank information.

"In order for you parents to afford this, the boat will have to be available for charter occasionally. Jeri will captain it until you're old enough to get your licenses. Most of the time, the charters will be in conjunction with a charter on Tomiko.

"You have to keep accurate logs of all your trips. Jeri has set up a log on the computer on the boat, but you should also keep it in a logbook. Your sponsors will deposit funds in the account so you have money to fish. You kids can use some of your winnings, but the majority of the money will have to go into the boat's account. Any questions?" Jerry said.

No one said anything.

"Good. Joel will help with any legal matters. He works in my office down here. If you have any questions, see him. Other than that have fun with your new boat," Jerry said. "I'll make sure you all get a copy of the documents."

The teens lined up and signed the papers where Jerry showed them.

"Can we take her out tomorrow?" Eddie said.

"As long as you feel you're ready. If not, take Jeri with you," Don said.

"I'm ready. That boat is easy to handle," Eddie said. "Besides, it's supposed to be calm tomorrow."

Jack pulled Eddie aside. "Do you think we should invite everyone out tomorrow? We can fish hard on Sunday."

Eddie smiled and nodded. He and Jack gathered the rest of the crew and posed the idea to them. Everyone thought the idea was great.

"Excuse me," Eddie said loudly. "Could I have everyone's attention for a moment?"

The nine teens stood in a straight line, facing the adults. When it was quiet, Eddie looked to Jack and nodded.

"First, we all want to thank all of you. I think I can speak for the team when I say we really appreciate this. Next, we would like to invite all of you to join us for the maiden voyage of the new Lady Guinevere. We are taking her out tomorrow and would like all of you to be with us," Jack said.

"What time are we leaving?" Mrs. Waters asked.

"We'll leave at ten," Eddie said.

"How about if we go out for a ride and then you kids can bring us back so you can fish in the afternoon?" Harry said.

"Whatever you want to do is fine with us," Eddie said.

"Can we put our things on the new boat?" Jenny asked.

Don laughed and said, "It's your boat, do what you'd like."

"We should go get what we need from the other boat too," Kathy said.

"Is there anything we need for tomorrow?" Brad said.

"I have some personal items I'd like to have," Kathy said.

"You can go if you want to," Harry said. "Just don't be too late."

"Do you guys want to come with us?" Jenny asked Kim.

"Why don't you go? Sally and I will start washing our new things," Kim said.

"Okay, we'll be back in a jiffy," Jenny said.

Eddie, Jenny, Brad, Kathy, and Molly left. Kim and Sally took the new clothes to the laundry room and started the two washing machines.

"Can you believe what just happened?" Brad said as Eddie drove to the Marina.

"Not really, I'm still a little numb," Eddie said.

"Your friends are really nice," Molly said. "You're right; you'd never know they had money."

"Did you hear Jack when he said we should have the stateroom with the queen size bed? I kind of thought they would want the big staterooms," Kathy said.

"It doesn't surprise me. They aren't like that," Jenny said. "I think this is going to be a blast. I'm going to miss our boat, but I'll get over it."

"We're not losing our boat, Jen. We're gaining another one. We can still take the forty-four out," Eddie said.

"Yeah right, like we're going to do that," Jenny said with a giggle. "I wish I would have known we were designing the boat for us though."

"Why, would we have done anything different?" Brad said.

"Well no, but we might have," Jenny said.

"We did a good job. I wouldn't change a thing right now. That may change after we've fished on her, but any changes would be minimal," Eddie said.

When they got to the boat, they went aboard. Jenny took a few plastic bags from a drawer and they went below to gather their things.

"Are we going to take our old outfits?" Kathy asked.

"I think we should. We can let our friends wear them if they fish with us," Jenny replied.

A half hour later, they were on their way back to the house. Brad and Eddie took the kites and some of the other tackle they knew they would use.

At the house, the adults sat on the patio. They gathered close so they could talk. Don and Marc made sure everyone's drink was fresh.

"I'd like to say thank you from the bottom of my heart," Laura Durham said. "Molly is as happy as I've ever seen her. It is very generous of you to include her."

"No problem, Laura. She looked like she was happy," Harry said.

"How many tournaments do you think the kids will fish in?" Laura asked.

Andy Nester moved closer. "We have them scheduled to fish a half dozen major tournaments this summer. Mr. Parker and I want the exposure."

"Will they have to travel much?" Laura said.

"They will be gone for long weekends most of the time," Marlin Parker said.

"You're welcome to come with us, Laura. We'll be attending most of the tournaments," Don said.

"That would be nice, but I can't afford to do that," Laura said.

"Yes you can, I'll go with you," Joel said. "I've never been to a fishing tournament."

"Why don't the two of you go with us next weekend," Marge said.

"I don't think we can get a room or a flight on short notice," Joel said.

"No problem. We have a plane. If nothing else, you can stay in one of our rooms," Anne said.

"Um, I have to work next week," Laura said trying to figure out a way to go.

"We're leaving on Friday. We can leave after you get out of work," Marc said. "There isn't an excuse in the world that we can't find a way around."

"I'll talk it over with Molly. If she doesn't mind, I'll go. Thank you," Laura said.

Eddie and the rest of the teens came back into the yard. They carried the things for the boat in their arms. As they walked past the adults, Marge said, "Hey, Molly, do you mind if your mom and Joel go to the Bahamas with us next weekend?"

Molly spun on her heels. "Really? You want to go, Mom?"

"If you don't mind, Honey."

"Heck no! I'd love it if you could go too," Molly said.

Laura smiled. Molly giggled and caught up with her friends. "My mom is going to go to the Bahamas with us," Molly said as she stepped onboard.

"That's cool, Sweetie," Kathy said.

Jack and Tom were sitting on the boat when Eddie and the others got back. They helped carry the things below so they could be stowed.

"Which staterooms do you guys want?" Jack asked. He grinned. "I know which one Eddie, Kathy, and Molly want."

"Brad and I will take this one," Jenny said as she stepped into one of the smaller rooms. "All we need is a bed and a hanging locker."

"I agree. Why don't we keep the other big room open for guests? We can use the head if no one is staying in it," Tom said.

Molly giggled and said, "We could take one of the small rooms too. Eddie can sleep on the upper berth."

Kathy put her arm around Molly and said, "Works for me."

"You know, nothing says we can't change around. It isn't like we're going to be living on the boat," Jenny said. "Kathy, Molly, let's go see if we can help Kim and Sally."

"I hope you guys can teach Tom and me how to operate the boat. I've never driven anything this big," Jack said.

"By the time we get back from the Bahamas you two will be pros. This thing is very easy to dock. That's the hardest part of operating a boat," Eddie said.

"Did you know your dads were doing this?" Brad said.

"No, we didn't know anything about this boat. Our dads can be weird," Tom said. "They can be full of surprised too."

"No shit! I thought I was hearing things when he said this boat was ours—the teams," Eddie said. "Do you know how great it's going to be to have Shimano and Marlin Magic Lures as sponsors? They can get us into tournaments we would have to qualify to enter."

"Is Shimano good equipment? I mean, we're not using it just because they're our sponsor, are we?" Tom asked.

"No, we bought the Shimano gear before we knew anything about the sponsorships. I realize we were set up now, but that doesn't matter. I would have selected it anyway," Eddie said. "Most of the lures we use are Marlin Magic."

"Okay, I have an important question. How do you get away with having two girlfriends, Eddie?" Jack asked.

Once the boys stopped laughing; Eddie and Brad told Tom and Jack about the weekend on the boat.

"How the hell do you keep them both happy?" Tom said.

"So far it's been easy. We haven't really been having sex. I wanted to make sure it was going to work because we liked each other first. Kathy and Molly will be keeping each other happy too," Eddie said.

"Can we go up to the bridge? I'd like to check out the electronics," Jack said.

"Hell yes, let's go," Brad said.

"Need any help?" Jenny asked as she walked into the laundry room with Kathy and Molly.

"My mom and her boyfriend are going to the Bahamas next week," Molly said and then she giggled. "I don't think my mom has been anywhere before."

"I wonder if she is going to fly down on Dad's plane," Kim said.

"Your dad has a plane too?" Kathy said.

"They don't own the planes. They are part of a group that leases them. We flew down in one," Sally said. "It was fun."

Kathy, Jenny, and Molly helped take the things out of the dryer and put them on hangers.

"Two more loads and we'll have all the new uniforms washed," Sally said. "I still have to hand wash my new undies. I should do that tonight."

Sally began filling one of the tubs with cold water. She added the detergent they used to wash delicate items and began removing the tags from the new panties and bras. Kim helped her, tossing the things into the tub.

"We have to make up a menu for our trip," Jenny said. "We can go shopping next week."

"You should have your mom make some of her sweet rolls, Molly. They're the best," Kathy said.

"I'll ask her."

The girls finished the laundry. Kim and Sally hung their underwear to dry and then the five girls took the uniforms to the boat. They hung them in the lockers and went to the bridge to see what the guys were doing.

Jack and Tom listened while Brad and Eddie told them about the radar units. They had already gone over the chart plotter and the autopilot. Sally walked up behind Jack and put her arms around him.

"What are you guys doing?" Sally asked.

"Brad and Eddie are teaching us about the electronics. This boat is equipped with some great gear," Jack said.

Sally let go of Jack and walked to the sliding glass door that led to the sundeck. She stepped outside and then called the other girls.

"This will be great for tanning, won't it?" Sally said.

"It will be a good place to watch behind the boat too," Kim added.

"You should see the view from the tower thingy. It's great," Molly said.

"It's called a tuna tower," Jenny said. "You can drive the boat from up there."

"I like the flying bridge on the other boat. It was nice being able to sit in the sun when we were underway," Sally said.

"I know, but we decided to have an enclosed bridge. It'll be better in bad weather," Jenny said. "There's always the sundeck or the bow if you want to be in the sun."

"We're going down to the cockpit," Eddie said as he and the other guys walked past the girls.

The group went down the steps to the cockpit. Eddie turned on the spreader lights so he and Brad could show the others the layout. When Brad opened one of the lockers, he found a duffle bag he didn't recognize. The side of the bag had Marlin Magic Lures printed on it.

Brad opened the bag and found it was full of lures and teasers. "Take a look at this. Mr. Parker left us a present," Brad said.

The boys sorted though the lures. They put them away in the drawers and said they had to remember to thank Mr. Parker for them.

Sally sat in the fighting chair. She giggled and asked about the chair.

"It's a fighting chair. You sit in it when you fight a big fish," Brad said.

Sally scooted to the edge and leaned back. "I can think of another use for the chair. It can be a fucking chair too." Everyone laughed at what Sally said.

"I think you have a one track mind, Sally," Kim said.

"Yeah, like you weren't thinking the same thing!"

Kim giggled and stuck out her tongue.

"Don't stick that out unless you intend to use it," Sally said. She giggled and spread her legs. "I just thought of another use for this cool chair."

Jenny laughed and kicked the gimbal. "It even has a dildo holder."

The teens cut up. They made jokes about the chair and its alternate uses. Eddie finally shut off the lights and they left the boat.

"Is everything okay on the boat?" Don asked.

"Yes, everything is great, Mr. Graham," Eddie said.

Eddie went over to where Mr. Parker was sitting and thanked him for the lures.

"You're welcome, Eddie. I hope you kids land a new record on one of them. You'll be fishing the twenty-pound class, won't you?" Mr. Parker said.

"Yes, we like that weight class," Eddie said.

"The new rods will work well in the twenty-pound class. The reels have a new drag system to reduce break-offs," Andy said. "When we come out with new lines, I'll see that you get them."

"What do we do with the rods and reels we have now when we replace them?" Jack asked.

"They're yours. You can do whatever you want with them," Andy said. "A couple of the other boats we sponsor sell them."

"Can we donate them to the youth program at our club? There are kids that are lacking good equipment," Jenny said.

"I think that is a great idea. Hell, if you kids are going to do that, I'll make sure you always have the latest and greatest equipment. The more of our product people try, the more they'll buy," Andy said.

The party began breaking up at eleven. After saying goodbye, everyone left. Jack, Sally, Kim and Tom sat with their parents for a while. They talked about the new boat and the fun they planned to have.

"Dad, why did you do this?" Jack said. "Don't get me wrong, I think it's great, but it seems like it's a bit over the top."

"Well, Jack, it's like this. We are in the position to help other people. None of us planned it, but we are. Uncle Marc, Aunt Anne, Mom, and I decided to do what we could. It appears we will be spending a lot of time in Florida. I know you kids like fishing so I decided to buy a boat. I was at the boatyard and Harry showed Uncle Mark and me the hull. The rest is history as they say.

"Just don't let things go to your head. Nothing replaces friendship. You kids can have a lot of fun if you keep that in mind. The boat is just a means, not the end."

"We talked about that earlier today, Dad. We know it would be easy for us to become spoiled brats. I don't think that's going to happen, we have great teachers," Jack said.

Don smiled. "You kids should get to bed. It's been a long day for you guys."

Jack, Tom, Sally, and Kim told their parents, and the guests, goodnight. They went to the house and began to get ready for bed. They met in the living room to sit and relax for a few minutes. Jack sat on one of the couches. Sally sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck. Kim and Tom snuggled on the other couch.

"What do you think about the Molly, Eddie, and Kathy thing?" Kim said.

"I think it's cool if they're happy," Jack said.

"They're cute together. Kathy is so bold and Molly is very shy. They complement each other," Sally said.

Jack got up and took Sally's hand. He told his sister and cousin goodnight and walked to the bedroom. Sally stood by the side of the bed while Jack removed her tee shirt. He pulled her panties down her legs and kissed her mons. Jack removed his boxers and they climbed into the big bed.