Chapter 9

"Listen to this," she excitedly exclaimed. "Second Officer Charles Lightoller, acting on his own accord, caused the Senior Radio Operator, Jack Phillips to immediately send out a distress call for help. The crew immediately launched distress rockets as Lightoller sent for the Captain. The SS Californian was only twenty miles from the Titanic and they immediately turned about and steamed to aid the floundering ship. The SS Carpathian also answered the transmitted SOS, but they were four hours away."

Jackie took another breath and continued, "Captain Smith received reports from the crew that the watertight doors were not sufficient and that water was pouring over the top and spreading. He ordered the ship to a stop and ordered an evacuation of the ship's lower levels. The second class and steerage passengers were evacuated to the deck."

Mom took the book from Jackie and continued reading. "The crew acted with remarkable calm. There were only twenty lifeboats on the ship, with each one capable of holding sixty-five people. (The ship was equipped to carry 64 boats). Passengers were wakened and told to report to the lifeboat stations with their life preservers on. The bewildered people were lined up and the crewmen started loading the boats to capacity. Several boats took more than that number, but it was a dangerous course of action."

"The Californian approached during this time. It lay close by to take on the passengers an hour and forty-five minutes after the Titanic being struck. Lifeboats returned to the crippled ship for more passengers when they were emptied. Time was running out, and some passengers from steerage began jumping into the Atlantic as the ship began to upend, nose first. The water temperature was minus 2 degrees Celsius. A person could only survive about fifteen minutes in that cold. The Californian launched all of its lifeboats and sent them to retrieve survivors in the water."

"At two twenty AM, two hours and forty minutes after striking the iceberg, the R.M.S. Titanic slipped beneath the surface of the cold Atlantic Ocean. Of the twenty two hundred and twenty three passengers and crew aboard, one thousand nine hundred and forty three souls and two dogs were rescued from the ship and the frigid waters of the Atlantic. Captain Smith was seen on the bridge as it slipped into the deep by first class passenger Robert Williams Daniel. News reports of the day are quoted here by this eyewitness.

The April 20, 1912 edition of the New York Times stated: He [Daniel] jumped, struggling among the ice-floes until rescued. He was articulate and adamant; it was William McMaster Murdoch, he said, who had shot himself in the temple. "I was not more than ten feet away, and I do not believe the stories that Captain Smith ended his life. He stuck to his post to the last. He was a brave man."

The New York Herald quoted Daniel in its April 19, 1912 edition as saying: Captain Smith was the biggest hero I ever saw. He stood on the bridge and shouted through a megaphone, trying to make himself heard. I saw Captain Smith on the bridge. My eyes seemingly clung to him. The deck from which I had leapt was immersed. The water had slowly risen, and was now at the floor of the bridge, then it was to Captain Smith's waist. I saw him no more. He died a hero."

"You know", Mom said, "I believe Mr. Daniel. From what we saw of him, he would do that. Oh, look, here's a list of the missing. See here, our names are listed."

Sure enough, Mr. Arthur Fonzarelli, Mrs. Fonzarelli, and Miss Fonzarelli were all listed as missing and presumed dead. No bodies were ever discovered.

Jackie and I agreed with Mr. Daniel in his remarks about Captain Smith. He had been a brave man. The ship was doomed, but our interference had allowed many more people to be saved. Eighty seven percent of the people were rescued instead of about thirty. I think we branch off into a new time line when we interfere with the time line. My hope is that we're better off for it. I'm still afraid to interact with something major, for fear the consequences might make things worse that they were before.

I suggested we put our time travel on hold for a while and live in our timeline. Since we were married downtime, both my wives insisted we continue our status here. We would keep the incest portion secret, of course, but Jackie and I were officially married. We even had the marriage license to prove it. Never mind that it was dated 1877!

The exhaustion from the trip hung over us again, and so we made our way to the king-sized bed in Mom's room, now our room, and crawled in. We spooned together with me in the center. Jackie turned over facing me. This was the way we fell asleep and it was a restful period. We woke late in the day, and all of us were well-rested. I slipped out of bed and Mom rolled over into Jackie's arms. I went down to the kitchen after a stop to make my bladder 'gladder'. I figured it was my turn to fix dinner. Spaghetti, with garlic toast and salad, it was for tonight. I used grandmother's recipe and substituted real garlic for the dehydrated kind. I cut generous slices off the Vidalia onion, and browned them along with the meat after dicing them.

I carefully selected and added the herbs necessary to finish the sauce. I melted a stick of butter next and crushed several cloves of garlic, placing them in the melted butter. After basting the concoction on, I sprinkled a little garlic powder on the bread and placed it in the oven to brown. It was ready about ten minutes later. The spaghetti had cooked in that same time period, so dinner was ready.

I called out to the women and we ate our fill. We cleaned up the kitchen together and Mom popped some corn. She said she wanted to watch a movie tonight. Mom picked up the remote as we settled on the couch, with me in the center, of course. She activated the Roku device and switched to Netflix. I already knew what she would select.

Sure enough, she began streaming the 1997 version of the story of the Titanic. Yes, it had Leo in it, because the version she liked was only available by mail. We spent the next one hundred ninety four minutes watching the story we had just lived through. It was a nice fantasy, but it reminded Jackie of the loss and she cuddled up close, wanting to be held. Who was I to deny her the pleasure? I held her close. Mom reached over from the other side and stroked her side, commiserating with her.

We decided that was it for today and headed to the bedroom when the three-hour movie ended. I wanted a nice hot shower, so I detoured to the right, while my ladies undressed. I usually have the water almost scalding hot. Fortunately for me, a tankless water heater was installed the last time the house was upgraded. I could shower for hours and still have hot water. I let the water cascade over my upper body, causing the relaxation effect I always enjoyed from the long showers.

I was suddenly hit by a blast of cold air as the glass enclosure door slid open. The radiant face and exquisite body of my younger wife, Jackie, greeted me. She stepped in and immediately backed away.

"It's too hot," she complained, "Please turn it down. I want to wash you, but can't because it's too hot.

I would have rejected that plea except for the fact that she was nude. However, her womanly charms, clearly visible through the steam of the shower were enough to convince me otherwise. I reached back and turned the knob to the 'shower with a naked girl' option. It was still warm enough for me, but it was perfect for Jackie. She lathered herself up, soaping her entire front side, then she proceeded to use herself as washcloth, scrubbing my body with hers.

Well, being male and young, you can guess the result. Needless to say, we enjoyed a close personal relationship, albeit a wet one, for some time. Mom came knocking, claiming our ruckus would have the neighbors complaining. The only thing was that the nearest neighbor was a half-mile away. Jackie blushed as she stepped out of the shower into Mom's arms. Mom, for her part, planted a hair-raising kiss on Jackie's lips. Hand in hand, the two women left me alone to finish my shower.

I quit the shower and dried off. Hair drier, toothbrush, deodorant ... you know, the usual routine. The two were in the middle of a Sapphic episode by the time I finished. Jackie exhibited an outstanding talent that also had Mom informing the neighbors. I smiled as I watched the two lovers. Mom came down and crooked her finger at me with a come hither look. Needless to say, I came hither; the evening was very interesting.

I was exploring the basement a few weeks later when I came across an item of interest. It was actually another storage manifest. There was a forty-nine foot yacht stored here in Michigan. It said it was purchased from Wendy Wendolyn Elizabeth Wanzor Austin and owned by ME! Now who the heck is that Austin lady? I got curious about the yacht. Pentwater. Hmm. This could be fun. I set the watch for last week; Muir State Park would be a good place. I'll take the Schwinn; low profile that way.

I unchained the bike from its anchor post around back. Mom and Jackie had left a note about going to the mall. Not a problem. I'd be back in fifteen minutes anyway. I wrapped the cable lock around the seat post and secured it with the lock. I activated the watch while sitting on the seat. I appeared behind the entry shack outhouse. I dismounted and walked the Schwinn out. No one was around except a bored college co-ed sitting in the booth. A short crossbar limited entry to the park. It was her job to collect the day use fee.

I rode up to her from her blind side.

"Hello," I said, announcing my presence.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, "You startled me. Where did you come from? I didn't see you come in."

"I cycled in at dawn. I wanted to see the light as it spread out over the lake. It was very pretty. You should try it some time."

She looked me over, thought for a moment, and replied. "Could you maybe show me some time?"

Yep, she was definitely coming on to me. She looked to be about five eight, with light brown, bordering on blond, hair. Her eyes were limpid pools of blue; her lips, soft and expressive. Her nose was small and upturned a little. She had bilateral dimples that were deeply etched into her cheeks, especially when she smiled. Her teeth were gleaming white and extremely straight. Braces? Don't get me started on her body. It would give Jackie a run for her money. It didn't help that the bikini top she wore didn't quite cover everything it should have. I'm not sure whether it was by accident or on purpose, and furthermore, I didn't care.

Getting my mind out of the gutter, I told her some other time and I pedaled off towards town. I'd forgotten to eat and so I stopped at a diner, a strange little place called 'The Antler'. I asked for the house special and got something called a Wendy or Wendy burger ... something like that. One bite and I knew I'd be back. I was full twenty minutes later; I couldn't eat another bite. The French fries with vinegar and mustard were to die for! I asked directions to the boat storage and they kindly directed me.

I was at the office of the boat yard a short bike ride later. I knocked before entering, even though the sign on the door said 'Come on in, if we're here. Otherwise come back later, unless you want some coffee. Then you'll have to check the pot. If there isn't any, make some'.

Strange. It happened to be my luck that someone was there. I asked about the boat and he gave me a queer look. I showed him the paperwork and he nodded. He took me out to the dry dock area. All the way down to the far end. The last locker on the left had a chain on it that was almost rusted solid. It looked like it hadn't been opened is decades.

"Well, Sonny, this locker hasn't been opened in years," he said, "You'll probably have to cut the chain off."

"I don't suppose you have something that could do that?" I hopefully asked.

"Just so happens," he obligingly said, "That I have a pair of bolt cutters that will slice through that."

He flipped the lid of the box on the back of his cart up and pulled out the biggest bolt cutters I'd ever seen. It sliced through the chain like a hot knife through butter. The chain dropped to the ground. He kicked it aside.

"I sell replacements when you are ready to lock it up. Rent's paid until 2050. You also get free access to the harbor. We can launch her for you right quickly, if that's your pleasure. Rent includes a slip space, too."

"Let me look her over first," I said, "I'll come back to the office."

He shrugged and climbed back into the cart and turned it around. I watched as he zoomed back to the office. I turned my attention to the doors. Maybe I should have asked him to assist me with them. I was amazed when they moved at my touch. It was as if they were in continual use. They only made a little noise when I opened them up.

She was magnificent! I couldn't believe that the wooden boat could look this good. The sunlight reflected of the high gloss shine. There was a ladder set beside it, so I climbed up and stepped aboard. The deck was amazing. The brass fittings all glistened with a highly-polished sheen. I somehow got the impression that this boat had been recently cared for, but that was belied by the chain we just had to destroy to gain access.

I went down the steps and entered the cabin. Oh my God! It was ornate, and it was gorgeous! I couldn't believe it. I noticed a paper on the table by the 'sofa' or whatever it's called on a boat, as I looked around. I quickly retrieved the note anyway.

"This boat is yours, Eugene. You don't know how to pilot it yet, and you need a license. Hire David Austin for the first voyage. He is a certified instructor, and you can reach him through his card posted in the office. You can get them to transfer the boat to the water just by requesting it. They will launch it and make sure you're full up with diesel. The engines have only ten hours total, and zero since the last maintenance, which was two days ago, boat time.'

'You need to sail north, through the straits. Head towards Pirate Island once in Lake Huron, it's on the map. Turn to a heading of 268 degrees once at the island, and follow that heading at 23 knots for 67 minutes. You will have to keep an eye out because the island you are headed for doesn't show up on GPS. Don't ask why. You MUST blast the horn in this series of blasts when you approach the dock.'

The paper then listed a complicated series of long and short blasts of the horn. I was warned that a variation of one would cause a counterstrike to be launched at us. It seems that the owner of the island was a bit peeved with the US and was currently only accepting invited guests. The horn signal was one way new boats would be recognized. I mentally shrugged at that, but I knew better than to disobey the instructions. The writing on the letter was the same as I found on the clipboard in the basement. It looked familiar again, but I still couldn't quite place it.

I disembarked the boat and walked back to the shack. I asked to have the boat launched, and I asked if I could borrow the phone just before he left to see to that.

"You calling David?" he asked.

"Yes, how did you know?"

"Wild guess. He's at 'The Antler' restaurant in town. Tall fella, blonde," he said.

"I had lunch there. I'll be back."

"Boat will be at slip twenty-seven by the time you're back. I'll check it out for you, too."

I thanked him and hopped back on my bike. I knew exactly where to go since I'd eaten there less than an hour ago. I parked the bike and locked it to the light post outside the eatery. The aromas ignited my salivary glands when I entered, and I knew I needed to at least order fries and a shake. They made their own shakes with hard ice cream, milk, and flavor all mixed up in a special blender made for the purpose. I got a double chocolate shake, made with chocolate ice cream and Hersey's chocolate, and the fries. I asked the counterman about David and he pointed out a young man in the second booth along the wall.

I picked up the shake, blender cup, and plate of fries (it was huge) and headed over to the booth once my order was delivered.

"Are you David Austin?" I queried.

"Yep, have a seat," he invited.

I sat and squirted a big gob of mustard on the plate.

"Good," he continued, "I see you know the correct way to eat the fries, so what can I do for you?"

I have a boat I need to get trained on. It's a forty-nine foot Chris Craft, twin diesels. Can you help?"

"Only one forty-niner in these parts and it's owned by Wendy Too. That is, Wendy Wendolyn Elizabeth Wanzor Austin. She wouldn't take too kindly to me takin' her boat out on the lakes without permission. What are you trying to pull?"

"No, you misunderstand. I now own the boat. See, here are the papers."

I produced the papers again so he could read them. He took the time to read every word.

"Well, I guess you do own it then. You'll have to get the boat launched. It's in storage, you know.

"It's already being done. It should be in the water by the time I get finished with these fries."

"So I guess you want me to get you certified so the Coasties don't come down on you, is that it?"

"You got it in one," I replied. "I have cash to pay you with, so that's not a problem. You were recommended, so I feel comfortable with hiring you. When do you think you can give me the lessons?"

"I'm free now. We can go whenever you want."

I was just about finished with the fries. David had been helping me eat the monster portion of fries and I didn't mind. I paid for my food at the counter. We left together, and I walked my bike so I wouldn't get ahead of David. He smiled and thanked me for the courtesy. It wasn't long before we were standing in the office. We didn't have to wait long before the man returned. The boat was in the water and ready to go. I thanked him and we left for slip twenty-seven.

There she sat, neat and trim in the water. I climbed into the boat and waited for David.

"Permission to come aboard, Sir?" he said to me.

"Granted," I said, somewhat nonplussed, "So what do we do?"

"Well, we don't do anything. You will remove the lines from the cleats at the bow and stern, and then you will navigate the channel, and take us out into open water. Just go slow, okay?"

I nodded as the big boat's engines sprung to life. He showed me the forward/reverse. I shifted it into reverse and carefully backed the big boat. All I can say was it's a good thing for the bumpers or the sides would have been scraped before we knew what had happened. I did manage to get it into the channel. He pointed out the marker buoys and I got to the lake with little trouble. He told me to take it where I wanted once on the lake. It was similar to taking the SS Avenger out of space dock.

He went to lie down, and I enjoyed the breeze. The wind felt good against my skin as I motored along. I was heading north and it wasn't too long before we were at the straits of Mackinaw. I passed under one of the longest single suspension bridges in the world and turned northeastward again. I was closing on Pirate Island about three hours later. I made the requisite turn once I came up on the leeward side, and headed to my final destination. I spotted the island forty minutes later. The sun glittered off something immense. I figured out it was a dome as I closed.