Chapter 1

Act 1

Scene 1

Paul poured himself a double shot of scotch on the rocks. He took his glass outside and sat down on the porch overlooking the ocean. For a moment, he listened to the mournful cries of the seagulls, the sigh of the wind, and the gentle lapping of the waves on the inland waterway.

With a heavy sigh, he took a drink and his mouth twisted sourly. He thought to himself, "What am I going to do about the boys? Paul thought to himself. I can't get them to unplug! Not even here! They don't seem to care that the ocean is at their feet and the weather is perfect. I've tried talking them into going fishing, sailing, or surfing. Hell, I'm lucky I can get them to stop playing games long enough to eat! Even then, they won't stop texting or talking on those blasted cell phones. I don't know my own boys and at this rate, I never will."

"I have to come up with something; we still have another two months before they go back to their mother. Maybe if we just get away for a couple of days we can connect. Maybe then it won't be so hard to get them to talk to me, but it's been like pulling teeth with them here."

Paul thought about this for a few minutes and realized the Dragon Lady would be the perfect solution! If they were on the sailboat, the boys would have to be more responsive. After all, the sails would need constant trim, and the tiller always needed to be manned. Excitement coursed through him as he fleshed out the idea. We can do a little site seeing, a bit of surfing and fishing, maybe even see some of the historical sites in the area. He downed his drink as he walked back inside and pulled the chair out in front of his computer.

I need to get them invested in this idea somehow, so I will have them do the navigation and piloting to prepare them for their captain's licenses. He browsed and found photos and areas of interest and starting printing information out about the Outer Banks. Let's start with going to Cape Hatteras National Seashore and do some fishing, snorkeling and even visit the lighthouse. The boy's will probably hate that with all those stairs, but if I can do it, so will they. Maybe we can stop in and see Kimber and the family while we are down there.

Paul poured another drink, sat down and dialed his sister's phone number from memory. After a couple of rings, the phone was answered by a solemn sounding Annabelle.

She said, in her most adult and serious voice, "Hello? Winton Residence."

Paul stifled a laugh, and said cheerily, "Hi there Bell, this is Uncle Paul, your mom around?"

"MOM!" Annabelle yelled, at the top of her voice, "Uncle Paul is on the phone!"

This time, hearing the receiver drop carelessly to a counter, Paul did laugh and waited until his sister picked up the phone.

Her mellow contralto voice said, "Hi Paul, what's up?"

Paul asked, "Hey sis! Wondering what you guys have planned this weekend? I am thinking about taking the boys out for a couple of days on the Dragon Lady and was hoping to stop by."

Kim paused for a second, and then replied excitedly, "I don't think we have any special plans, we would love to see you guys! It's been a long time since we have seen the boys. I bet they have grown! Let me see if Evan has any plans."

Paul heard Kim ask Evan about their plans in the background.

She snatched up the phone and said hurriedly, "Hey Paul, remember when we were kids and raced in the Cape Hatteras MORC Regatta? Well guess what? It's in 2 days! If you guys make it down here by tomorrow evening we can get you inspected for the handicap and join the race! How about it?"