Chapter 43

As I ran, I thought about the coincidences that occurred during my life. I had met only two people named Chuck, and saw both of them on the same day on opposite coasts. There were two Karens that both preferred women, and two people who want to live and be with each other that don't have time for each other. I hope that Darcy is finding the satisfaction in her performances that she's looking to have.

At this point in my life, time seemed to just flow by, and it was hard to keep up with it. Thanksgiving was next week, and I hadn't given it much thought. Did I want to stay in DC, pack my stuff, get out-of-town, go to Nashville, or go to Orlando? I had to come up with a plan, and I had to do it soon.

By the time I made it back to the house, I had run fifteen miles. I was cold and tired, but my mind felt good. The energy release and time to think were refreshing. After a hot shower, sleep came easy.

In the morning, Chuck was gone, and Shawna apologized for the incident in the living room. To ease her concerns, I told her not to worry about it. I asked about the holidays, and she told me that she was heading home for a couple of days to see her parents. When I called Sophie, she told me that this year, she was going to visit her brother in Texas. I knew that I was always welcome at mom's table or over at John, and Beth's house, but it was kind of late to just show up. If I sat at home, I'd just get mopey. So I finally thought that if I left the country that I wouldn't have Thanksgiving in my face because other countries don't celebrate Thanksgiving, and if they do, it's on a different day.

The next question was where did I want to go? It was cold, and nasty, so I could go to either Europe or Canada to ski, or I could head south across the equator to the summer half of the planet. Rio or Australia, are both too crowded. Fiji is the place to go when you don't want anyone to find you. I could skip calling Art, and just make my own plans.

So, I took the bull by the horns, and called the airlines to book a flight to Fiji. I asked about flights, and found out it would be almost twenty hours one-way. I looked to Montreal and Vancouver British Columbia for skiing, and found out that the snow was still too light. So, I went to plan C, and booked a flight to Cabo to hang out, drink beers, do some fishing, and just relax.

On the first leg of the trip, I flew non-stop to LAX, and then changed planes to Cabo. I had a hotel near Medano Beach with a short walk to the marina. It was eighty-two degrees, and sunny. I threw my clothes in a drawer, put on some board shorts and a t-shirt before walking down to the pool. When I arrived, I sat at the poolside bar where it was nice, and peaceful, and ordered a beer. Since I had on some flip-flops, I decided to get the lay of the land, so I walked to the marina to see what fishing charters were available. All the shops along the way catered to tourists and had the typical tourist offerings. There were also some places for the local captains and hospitality workers to hang out after a day on the water.

As I was wandering toward the docks, a kid came up, and asked if I wanted to buy some weed. This time I passed, but kept in mind where to find him later. After another block, as I was passing a cigar store, I wandered in, and found that the Mexicans didn't boycott the Cubans or their cigars, so I picked up a Montecristo Number One. I borrowed the owner's cutter, and bought a lighter before thanking him, and moving on. As I continued walking, I passed a couple of restaurants, and bars. Finally, I came to the marina area, and walked down to the docks looking at the signs for the fishing charters. As I neared the end this big dude hopped off his boat a few yards ahead of me, so I looked and saw his sailboat, and another charter sign.

I said, "Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, I'm Captain Bob, are you looking to go sailing?"

"I've spent the last week sailing up in San Francisco Bay. I was thinking about doing some fishing. Do you know which boat brings in the fish, and has a good crew?"

"Most of the crews are good. Most are Americans that come down to get away from the taxes, and live the life that most dream about."

"I was thinking about going after some sailfish."

"I'd go with Captain Jack on the Lucky Lady. He's a friend of mine, but he's also is a good captain."

"Who should I see about booking a trip or checking his schedule?"

"Is it just you?"

"Yeah, I came down to avoid the realization that I'd be spending the holiday alone. I just want to relax, and have some fun."

"I hear ya. I spent too long selling crap, and when I looked up, I was successful, and alone. I came down here, and now have a good life sailing, and getting paid enough to pay the bills, and cover the bar tab."

"Where can I find Captain Jack?"

"He's probably belly up to the bar, if his boat is clean, and he isn't aboard."

"Can I buy you a beer?"

"I never pass up a free beer. By the way, what's your name?"

"My name is Britt. It's good to meet you."

Bob led the way up the docks and down the block away from the hotel. We didn't go far before we found a bar for the locals. It wasn't pretty, but it was friendly, and the beer was definitely cold. When we entered, they greeted Bob like family, and Bob introduced me to Jack.

"Jack, I want you to meet Britt. He wants to catch some fish, and buy me a beer, so I figured that I could kill two birds with one stone, and bring him here. What do you have booked this week?"

"I'm free tomorrow, but have a reservation the following day. Most days are just walk-ups. What do you want to catch?"

"I was thinking about going for some big game fish. If there's someone to cook it, I'm not against catching some good tasting food."

"It's right in the middle of the best time to catch Marlin. The best months to catch Sails are just finishing up. We caught a mess of tuna today, and one guy brought in a forty pound Wahoo."

"Sounds like 'just what the doctor ordered' to clear my head. What time do you want me at your boat in the morning?"

"How long are you in town?"

"Until I decide to leave. I think I may have to go to work in January. My assistant takes care of most of the day-to-day stuff. I'll call her in the morning most days, and she'll let me know if there's any place they need me to go."

"We charge five hundred a day, but if you want to buy five days then we can come down to seventeen-fifty instead of the twenty-five hundred. Is that in your budget?"

"I'll tell you what. I'll go out tomorrow, and pay the five hundred. If I like the trip, I'll buy another four days for twelve-fifty. That's the discounted rate, but I've never been out with you., so I want to try your boat before I lock in."

"That sounds fair to me. My goal is to make sure that you're happy."

"Let's have a drink to seal the deal."

Jack, Bob, and I sat around, and told stories. Bob asked about my sailing in San Francisco, and I told him that it started out, as a babysitting assignment, but turned into a fun day. He asked why I needed to have someone babysit me, so I told him the story about when I tried to walk to dinner, but instead, went into a couple too many bars, ended up totally hammered, and getting a blowjob.

This led to more drinks, and more stories. Bob asked, "Are you going to smoke that cigar in your pocket or are you just taking it for a walk. I was going to have one if you want to go sit outside at a table."

"I plan on smoking it. Let's go."

Bob, and Jack both got a cigar from the bartender, and we went out to a table. It was getting late in Cabo, and since I was still on east coast time, I was getting very hungry. I asked them about food, and they told me to order a fish sandwich.

Jack said, "A lot of the tourists can't use all the fish we catch, so they give it to us, and we give it to the restaurant. I brought a few nice tuna in today, so I know it's fresh."

I ordered a grilled tuna sandwich. It was great. We smoked our cigars, and when I got up to leave, Jack told me that he'd see me at seven in the morning.

Bob wished me luck with the fishing, and he left telling me that I should stop by to see him if I wanted to go sailing. It wasn't too late when I made it back to the hotel, but with all the traveling, I was tired, so I set my alarm, and went to bed. I woke up at four, which is seven eastern, but it didn't make a difference, I was awake. I went for a run, and then went for a swim at the beach. When I returned to my room, I showered, had some breakfast, and was at the boat by quarter 'til seven.

Jack had the engines idling on a fifty-five foot Hatteress, named the 'Lucky Lady'. It was a sweet boat. Jack lived aboard, so the front berth was off-limits, but the rest of the boat was available for relaxing. The mate's name was Jose. I got permission to ride up on the flying bridge with the captain, as we made our way out into the Pacific.

It wasn't long before we were in the fish. I caught a couple of tuna, and then they changed bait to go for the Marlin. It took a while, but after about two hours, I heard the line zing, and Jose called, "Fish on."

I got in the chair, and after the hook set, I began to fight the fish. I'd work to regain some line, and then it would run. Jack maneuvered the boat to help me, but the fish was too fresh and strong to expect a quick trip in the boat. It went back and forth for over an hour before it first broke the surface, and danced on its tail. The blue marlin was trying to get the hook out of his mouth, but it didn't work. He dove again, and out went the line.

He eventually tired, and the two hundred eighty-pound fish made it in the boat, but just long enough for a picture. I wasn't going to eat it, and wasn't going to mount it, so they checked the hook, and cut it free before lowering the fish back into the water. He flipped his tail, and swam off. I was beat from the long fight, and all I wanted was a beer and a sandwich. With the way that I felt, I knew that I had nothing left for the rest of the day, and I didn't want to just drive around and waste fuel. I asked Jack to stop the boat so I could dive in to cool off before he turned to head back to the marina.