Chapter 15

Oh yeah, Daddy ... tell all my friends I'm rich. I'm just beginning to make friends around here.

"Wait ... Daddy ... you said Grace and I bought it. Grace has money?"

"Grandmother Austin."

"Oh ... wait ... grandma left her money to Grace?"

"And the store, her recipes, the Sedan Delivery, the safety deposit boxes at the bank and her steam locomotive collection. Oh yeah ... her guns."

Lucy Lou was listening ... bad move, Dad. "Charles? Adele left her entire estate to Grace? What about CharlieB? What about Mary Anne? What about me? What about ME, Mr. Legal Counsel? Where's Mine?"

When Lucile Louise mentioned Maryanne ... every time ... a listener could hear the separation of Mary and Anne ... like the Separation of Church and State ... two words, not one. Not like her birth certificate ... Maryanne.

"Shut up, LL," Daddy said it. Surprised the fuck out of me.

Lucile Louise came down on him like a ton of bricks off the roof of a 40 story apartment building.

"Lucile?" Daddy was asking, "Do you remember those papers you signed before the wedding?"

"The license? Sure."

"The license came after the wedding. You really should have read the papers."

Lou's eyebrows reached the ceiling ... detached themselves and plastered all over the overhead ... Messy. Someone was going to have to scrape all that mascara and eyeliner off the ceiling of the pilothouse ... Ain't going to be me.

"A prenup?!?" she screamed. "Charles, I thought you loved me."

"I do, Lucy Lou," he said. "But you really should have read it before you signed," he began listing the contents of said paperwork.

1. You cannot take the progeny of our mating if you leave.

2. You cannot apply for separate maintenance.

3. What was mine before we wed remains mine.

4. What was yours remains yours.

5. What was jointly earned is jointly split.

6. Contesting a divorce eliminates any and all prior claim.

7. Progeny remain in my SOLE custody until age 18, at which time they shall be free to chose residence.

8. Should you chose to remain wed, you can not refuse me the benefits of the marriage bed.

9. Once you relinquish matrimony you may NOT come back.

10. Should I die, David or Grace or both, at their sole discretion, retain guardianship of chattel and property.

"I gave you an excellent education as a legal secretary ... feel free to pursue employment as such. I'll give you an excellent reference."

"What about this boat?"

"David and Grace hold title."

"The new house?" she waved in the general direction of the new place.

"David and Grace hold title."

"Hrumpf!"

We took our 'test ride' around the lake ... Pentwater Lake but Lucy wanted more.

"I wanted a sail ... we just motored around the lake," she said.

It was no big problem to simply turn left, motor out the NO WAKE channel, past the Coast Guard white house with the red stripe and the two Rowing Lifeboats on the ramp with the 52 foot MLB (Motor Life Boat) in the basin, "Wave at the Coasties, Lucile," said daddy. She did. So did Grace.

We motored out past the pipe framed 'lighthouse' and out far enough that Grace, Mike and I felt safe enough to hank on the jib from its below deck bag and raise it, clipping its guides all the way. (No doubt about it, I need to invent the roller jib.) We had steerage way and headed for the main sail.

Daddy was sailing ... steering, anyway, when the CoastGuard MLB blew his horn for inspection. Daddy shifted the transmission into neutral, we kids ran back forward and lowered the jib, gathering the canvas in a pile on deck.

"Grace," I said. "We bought too damn big a boat."

"You, dear brother, are positively, absolutely and totally right ... way too big a boat." She grinned at Mike, "Want a job on the weekends?"

We needed crew for sure if we were going to make a habit of this. Even with mast winches that Jib was work. The main was three times the area and weight. That's just the main mast. The mizzen was the size of most 40 foot yacht masts. This is 1955, mylar sails were years in the future. Sunbrella canvas was a good 1o years off. Canvas was the cloth we had and canvas is heavy, mildews easily, tears easier and must be dried after each use. To dry the sails after a cruise we were going to need a drying mast taller than the mast of the boat, a drying mast needed a hole in the ground and set in concrete, old anchors buried with the shanks exposed, halyards, winches ... work, work, work. We were going to need help if we were going to keep this monstrosity.

"Yeah Mike, you and your friends want a job weekends?" I agreed with Grace ... we needed help ... and a smaller boat.

"Job? Like paid for it?" Mike asked.

"Yup," said Grace.

"Ok."

Whoop!WHOOP-WHOOP

OH ... Coast Guard ... boat ... fenders ... yeah.

"Which side Daddy?"

"Which side what, David?"

"Which side is the Coast Guard going use to board us?"

WHOOP-WHOOP

"All their men are on the port side."

"Starboard Fenders ... let's get it done, Mike."

"I dunno, David, how much is this job paying?"

"What's the going rate? ... umh ... Never mind, I'll ask the Chief. Grace! Fenders starboard side."

Mike may have just asked his way out of a job. The Rhodes 77 had lockers along the rail with our fenders. We hung them from the cleats and I found the rope ladder for boarding. The fifty-two MLB has a lot lower freeboard than the 77. We were boarded.

"Took you long enough," said the CPO, (Chief Petty Officer) "We saw you come in but nobody knew nothing. New boat?" He was asking Daddy.

"This weekend," I said.

He looked annoyed. "Burger?" asking Daddy.

"Yeah ... their last sailboat," I replied, "It was such a deal I couldn't pass it up."

"Listen, kid, I'm trying to talk to the owner here, Butt out."

"You are," I said. "It's MY boat, Chief."

He laughed, "Right."

He looked at Daddy. Daddy looked at me. I looked at the Chief. The Chief looked at me and back at Daddy. Daddy raised his eyebrows and shrugged one shoulder.

"Chief Wilkinson," I read his name tag. "Daddy? You want to make a note of that?"