Chapter 73

Steve

I feel as if everything is going faster. Time was rushing by the closer it comes to the time for us to sail. When I woke up Monday morning, I felt a sense of urgency to get up, do something, prepare for something, to take care of last minute anything.

Mercy hugged me and whispered, "Relax, everything is taken care of. You have wonderful people who will take care of everything while you're gone. They can call you anytime, and can even e-mail you with pictures or other information, if you need it. Just relax, Honey, everything will be fine."

I felt a little better, but I still had that sense of urgency.

After a quick shower, I was out on the patio with a cup of coffee when Glenda walked in. She said, "When Tiny and Ruth are gone, it's really different around here. I know he'll be back Tuesday night, but he sure is missed. I kind of miss that nutty Chuck, too. He's some kind of troubleshooter for government law enforcement, isn't he? He's gone a lot, but when he's here with all of his women, life seems better. I'm going to enjoy being with him on our trip."

The patio soon filled with the other people of our extended family, as we all prepared for the day. When people left for work, I used one of the computers in Sue's office to check my e-mail and to answer some. While I was finishing, Debbie IMd me with a note to call her ASAP.

"Hey, Deb, what's going on?"

She said, "I just wanted to tell you that you need to remember to check and answer your e-mail at least once a day while you're gone. I'm glad to see you doing it at home before you go so you will feel comfortable doing it when you're sailing."

"I'm not totally lost when I'm out of the office," I said, with a chuckle. "I'll be sure to keep up, but remember, you can call me right away if something comes up that you need an immediate answer for."

"Steve," Debbie said, with exasperation in her voice, "Tiny, Phil, and Abe will all be here, so don't worry, everything will be fine. Let us worry about you guys, and you forget about worrying about us."

Chuck had been at breakfast, and was still at a table when I came back out. He waved me over to him and said, "I've made up my mind what to name the boat. I need someone to paint it on the sides and stern."

I asked, "So what are going to name it?"

Chuck said, "I know it'll sound kind of lame, but I want to call it "Lucky Lady."

"That's not bad, but why the 'Lucky Lady'?"

He said with a smile, "That boat has always felt like an elegant lady to me and the way things have gone for me, I need to tell the world how lucky I've been. Now, every one of my women can think that the boat is named after her."

I laughed, "Yes, Chuck, they are all lucky ladies. I like it, nice, simple, and easy to remember."

Mercy and Missy came out of the house, looking at Chuck and each said, "I like it, Chuck. The Lucky Lady is perfect for your boat."

I'm always amazed how they do that. Chuck looked at them with a raised eyebrow and said, "Wandering around in my head again, huh?"

Missy blushed, but Mercy said, "Well, you're usually all closed up. You lock everyone out and we can't see you at all. When you're open, we run around in there like little kids getting away with something."

Chuck said, "Careful in there, you may find things you don't want to know about."

Missy said, "You have some dark doors that don't want to open, so I know there is a lot inside of you that you won't or can't get rid of. Lisa is the same way. You two have a dark side."

I told the two, "You two are infringing on Chuck's good humor. Let him be."

I turned to Chuck and said, "Let's get Sue and go over to the boat so we can accept the work. We need to be back a little after noon to pick Dewey up out at the airpark. He'll want to go over to the boat later, but you don't have to go then."

Chuck was nodding, "This is the girls' last day at the employment office. They are busy saying their goodbyes and making sure everything is covered during their leave of absence. Tomorrow, we'll get everything on board for the trip and leave on Wednesday. I'm getting really excited too. I could barely sleep last night thinking about it."

I nodded, "I'm the same way, Chuck. I keep feeling I'm forgetting something, and that there is more to do. I'm sure you're the same way."

Chuck said, "Actually, I'm totally free. The Marshal Service has me on recovery leave for ninety days, so I'm really well taken care of. Wanda is taking vacation that she's saved up for over ten years, so she has all the time she needs too. She's staying here and will meet us in Ireland with John."

Steve cocked his head and said, "The next time you remodel the boat, you need to build a heliport on the deck. You could have one of the little helicopters on board to get you around when you are in port. It could be an advantage for emergencies too."

Chuck thought about it a minute, then said, "Yeah, we could do that but if something happened out at sea, a helicopter wouldn't help much. Besides, there isn't any room for a helicopter with all the lines running fore and aft. I really don't think we need one."

"OK," I said, "Let's get going and out to the boat."

I found Sue in the office and told her we needed to go over and accept the work on the boat. She said, "Get Mercy and Kathy. They had as much to do with the design as everyone else. They'll go with you and have Chuck sign for everything. I thought we should pay for the mods as they are for us and Dewey. Chuck really didn't need to do anything to the boat to make it habitable for him and his family."

"Did you hear what Chuck is naming the boat?"

Sue looked up at me questioningly.

"Lucky Lady," I said.

Sue giggled, "That fits him. He has so many ladies and the man is lucky, isn't he?"

I told her, "He says he's always thought of the boat as an elegant lady and he thinks he has been lucky to have a boat like that, as well as all of his other luck."

"That fits alright," Sue said. "When you get over to the yacht club, have John, the charter captain, call the painter so it gets done today. The paint should be dry by tomorrow so it can be sealed."

I went to find Kathy and Mercy. They were busy stacking up kids' clothes to take to the boat. I announced, "I'm going to the boat to accept the work. Sue asked me to take you two along to make sure everything is as you ordered. We need to go now so we can get back early."

Kathy pointed at a stack of boxes and said, "Put these in one of those cardboard boxes and we'll take them over now. This should be the last of the kids' clothes. I think we're ready."

I put the clothes in the box and put the box in the truck. Chuck was waiting for us on the patio with Lisa. We were off to the yacht club and were there in just over a half-hour. I found John, the charter captain, and asked him to have the name painted on the boat. He said he would do that and register the name with the Coast Guard.

Before John could leave, I saw Chuck talking to John, telling him something. John just nodded and smiled before he left.

Inside the boat, the girls checked all of the modifications and were gushing over the excellence of the work the Magellan crew had done. Chuck signed off the work and handed the men a check, plus a hundred-dollar bill to each of the crew. He said, "Thank you, gentlemen. Your boss gave me a deal on the work and said if I paid on delivery, he would cut me a ten percent break. I think this covers it. If not, have your boss send me a corrected invoice. He finished with, "Thank you," as he handed the crew members their tip.

I told Chuck, "Sue said we were supposed to pay for the modifications."

Chuck asked, "Why, it's my boat? I wanted the mods done too so my friends could accompany me. If this works out, I have some more trips I want to make. Come on, let's get back home so you can wait for Dewey. I have to run by the office for a few minutes before long, then Lisa and I are going to play in the studio for a few minutes."

Back at the house, we all scattered to do those things that needed to be done. Inside the living room was a stack of guitar cases ready to take to the boat. Too bad I didn't know they were going or I could have taken them this morning. At least the kids were planning on continuing their lessons and practicing while they were gone. I'll bet we'll have some nice concerts while we're out.

Noting the time, I took a cart to the beauty shop next door to have my hair cut one last time for a while. I was wearing my hair long enough that if I did miss a haircut or two, no one would notice. But it always feels good to be trimmed up nice.

Back at the house, I looked for Sue in her office and asked her, "Did we get the kids all of their international immunizations? Do we need to get any too?"

Sue said, "They're all done. I had the doc check our stuff and we're fine. Everyone is taken care of. I made sure Chuck's ladies all had their shots too. You might call over there to see if Julie needs to see a doc or needs any immunizations."

I called Chuck's house and one of Chinese girls answered. I told her what I wanted to know and she said she would find Julie and ask her. She would call me back with the answer. The little girls were amazing. They spoke such proper English and seemed to be very knowledgeable. I am a little surprised that Chuck is bringing them with him, but then it probably was his women that were bringing them.

After lunch, I called out to the airpark to see if they had heard from Dewey. Star said, "He'll be here right at two. If you want, I can call you when he's on final approach."

"No, Star, I'll be there at two, so no need to call. I'll come out early to say hi to everyone. We're leaving Wednesday, you know."

"How could I not know, Steve," Star said, sarcastically. "It seems like everyone is going on that trip, you and Chuck and all of your women and all of Chuck's women. The place will be lonely while you-all are gone. I'm glad you're getting to go though, as you probably need the break."

I took off for the airpark shortly after the call and used the time before Dewey was to arrive to say hi to Wes, Gene, and Jimmy in the hangars. I was speaking to Star, who was on duty, when we heard Dewey's G5 call for landing instructions.

I watched the aircraft set down and come to a stop before pulling onto the taxiway and coming toward the charter office.

When the aircraft stopped, the ground techs slid chocks under the wheels and began opening the fueling door and the luggage compartment.

The door to the plane opened and the stairway let down. First out were Sheila and Sheena, then the three kids, Shirley and Sharon, and finally, Dewey. I got hugs from everyone, including Dewey, and we all put the luggage into the truck. Sheila said, "We shipped all our clothes for the trip earlier and Sue said it was already on board. I can't wait to see the newly remodeled boat; I'll bet it's a beauty."

Dewey asked, "Is it still just "Boat" or did Chuck name it?"

I told Dewey, "It's appropriately named, "Lucky Lady."

Dewey just nodded, "That's appropriate. The man is lucky, but lady as in singular, doesn't work out."

I told him, "Chuck thinks of the boat as an elegant lady and says it has been a lucky happening every day since."

Dewey said, "Sure, I can see that. It's Chuck's Lucky Lady. A good name."

We went to the house first, where all of the women were fawning over each other. Dewey's kids wanted to know where our kids were and were instructed to relax until the others got out of class in a few minutes.

I told Dewey, "If you want to go to the boat, let's do it now. I'll load these guitars so we get them over there and we'll go. How about you ladies; who's going with us?"

Mercy, Kathy, Sheila, and Sheena all wanted to go and were out the door and quickly into my pickup. We made a fast trip to the yacht club and while Dewey and I carried guitars to the storage locker below deck, the girls began their tour. When we finished being pack mules, Dewey and I checked out the modifications. He was very pleased and said, "The cabin is as big as ours on my boat. This is going to work out great. I like the way the area off the galley and dining area is arranged. It looks like a giant family room with two TV areas and the area in the back where the keyboard is for the kids to play music. You all put a lot of thought into this. You did a great job putting the room dividers so that you don't even realize where the masts are."

I said, "Your clothes are all in the closets and the kids clothes are all in the kids' bunkrooms. Come on, let's check those out."

We walked down to the crew area and went into the bunkrooms that had been specially modified for the kids. The boys' room was neat and orderly, as was the girls'. There would be plenty of room and they would also have an almost private area in the crew's lounge with a big TV and a table to play games on. I showed Dewey the group of games that were in the locker there, so he would know the kids had plenty to do when the weather was bad.

Back up in the main salon on the main deck, I showed Dewey the inside helm area and how nice it was. He was impressed with the array of video screens stretched out in front of the wheel. He said, "This boat is really computerized, isn't it? What happens if the computer crashes?"

I said, "This thing has three redundancies. The first redundancy is on all the time and if the first goes bad, the second takes the place of the first and third starts up to assume the place of the second. The redundant computers will analyze the computer that is down and instruct us what to do to repair it. We have a full set of parts to repair the equipment as necessary. The same goes for all of the communications equipment, as well as the radar and collision avoidance systems. The computer system monitors everything and reports by constant update. I think we'll be taken care of."

Dewey said, "And if all else fails, then we'll sail the boat the way we used to, by compass and handheld GPS. We're hardly roughing it, are we?"

We traveled back to the house to begin an afternoon of visiting and drinking. Dewey and I were having a great time when Charlie arrived and helped us drink some beer. Chuck and family showed up and were very loud and rowdy with the excitement of leaving soon.