Settling Old Scores: BWWM Second Chance Romance (26 page)

He
brought them around to the back of the house and sat them down at a
big old picnic table. One of the things Kevin liked about the south
was how fall and spring were extended compared to the North. This was
just such a day. It was sunny and still fall-like despite the fact
that it was December. It turned out that Dwayne was an expert BBQ
guy. He had a brick grill in the back with hot coals glowing away
cooking some pork. As he worked the grill, another man came around
the back of the house. Dwayne introduced his brother Clarence to Pat
and Kevin.

They
got to work on the meal. Clarence and Dwayne had done this before.
They didn't even need to talk to each other. They anticipated what
each other needed and when it was needed. Kevin was impressed with
how they functioned and got along. Pat noticed it, too. The sizzling
pork smelled great. Kevin definitely had an appetite. They began to
eat voraciously.

Kevin
realized that he knew some of the same people these two guys did. So,
he started to tell them about his friend Bailey. The brothers laughed
as Kevin described how he clumped around on his artificial leg with a
woman's nylon on his head, and gave brusque orders to Kevin. Then,
they both started talking about their days as labor activists. There
were some great stories. It turned out they knew some of the same old
Jewish merchants that Kevin remembered from his days as a paperboy.
Then, Pat told them the whole saga of the McCanns and what had
transpired in the last four months in regards to them. It turned out
that they remembered them also.

After
everyone had eaten, Pat and her dad went for a long walk at a local
park. Kevin wanted them to have as much private time together as they
could. He stayed back and helped Clarence clean up. As they worked,
they talked. Clarence asked him questions about the places he had
been, what he liked and what he didn't like. Clarence told him how
Dwayne had called him to say he had heard from his daughter. Dwayne
was on cloud nine according to Clarence. Kevin asked about his
family. He had two children. So, it turned out that Pat had some
cousins after all; two girls in their early twenties.

Kevin
told Clarence the story of how he met Pat and how they grew up
together. Clarence laughed when Kevin told about being so infatuated
with her he never really noticed that she was mixed until Pat told
him she was. Clarence conceded that she was way lighter than he had
imagined. Then, Kevin told him about how hard it had been for Pat to
figure out where she fit in. Clarence observed that Dwayne and him
could understand her confusion better than a white mom or white
boyfriend dude could. "We lived with all that subtle
discrimination you white folks don't know nothing about," he
said. Kevin knew it was true.

The
shadows were getting long when Pat and Dwayne came back to the house.
It appeared they had talked considerably. Patricia and Kevin didn't
want to impose on anyone, and didn't know how the visit would go.
They had checked into a motel out by the freeway before they came to
Dwayne's house, wanting to be sure they had an exit strategy if
problems or frictions came up. They made arrangements to meet for
breakfast the next morning. Then they went to the motel.

Pat
told Kevin that they had talked and covered a lot of ground as they
walked off their meal. She was tired and happy, that was what made
Kevin happiest of all. They flopped onto the bed and it was instant
lights out for both of them. The next morning, they ate breakfast
with Dwayne and Clarence and headed for Hilton Head. Pat made some
arrangements to stop to see them again and meet her cousins on the
way back from Hilton Head. Kevin had offered and Pat had bought into
the plan for her to drive back north with the truck. Pat was going to
use it to transport her stuff to Houston when she headed back down
there.

Later
that day, they arrived in Hilton Head and met Kevin's mom. Kevin had
stopped at the union hall in Savannah and signed in. He got the low
down on the boats coming in and the calls being made. The hall was
quiet and Kevin knew he would get out easily if he got out before the
holidays were over. He was number three on the board. Judging by the
runs, Kevin figured he would get the rust bucket to the
Mediterranean. Kevin had to admit that his mom had actually blossomed
into an entirely different person after his dad died.

Mom
had lost weight and smiled a hell of a lot more than she used to. Pat
knew her from the old days, but hadn't seen her in five years. She
commented about the weight loss, "I get up early every day and
walk on the beach. On days when there is no wind, I ride a bike. In
the evenings, I do it again. There are a lot of widow ladies here, so
I always am getting prodded to do something."

Pat
and Kevin kidded her a little about having men friends. She took it
with good nature. "I don't want any more men in my life that I
have to take care of. I like things just as they are," she said.

Later,
as the sun went down, Pat and Kevin went down to the beach. The water
was calm and the tide was coming in. Each new wave washed something
new ashore. They sat and watched for a while. It was there that Kevin
proposed to Pat. He had bought a ring several weeks earlier but just
couldn't seem to find the right time or place to present it. He knew
he was running out of time and wanted her to be assured of their
relationship. As he got down on one knee, Pat saw the ring. Without
hesitation, she shook her head no, and started to cry a little.

To
Kevin's complete surprise, she rejected the ring. She said she wasn't
ready yet, that she wanted to wait. “You told me you would
accept it in a heartbeat a month ago,” Kevin said.

“
That
was then, this is now. I have had so much happen to me in the last
month, you can't deny that. I just want some time, and maybe the
space will do us both some good,” she said.

Kevin
persisted. “There has to be more to this. Is it something I
did, or failed to do?” he asked.

“
Kevin,
it is not anything like that at all. I want our relationship to be
just as it is. I love you dearly. I just don't want either one of us
doing this under duress. There is no need to rush. You are going out
to sea, and I will be fully occupied in the short term. I am not
turning you down. I am just telling you to wait a little,” Pat
said pleadingly.

“
I
don't have any plans to get another boyfriend. You are the one I
love. Trust me on this Kevin, and don't worry. You are the first one
to ever propose to me and I think it's sweet of you. I can fight off
those cowboys in Texas without a ring,” she said.

Kevin
just sat there in silence. He thought about what Mr. Sharpe had said
to him about Pat. “Your relationship with Pat Washington isn't
likely to last once she is done going to school, unless you are
ashore with her. If you are serious about her, give that some
thought. I have given you a lot of advice over the years, and I
haven't been wrong yet, have I?" he had said.

He
comforted himself with the knowledge that at most he would be gone
for three months. He didn't have to stay out six months if he didn't
want to. He knew he would have to change something; he was not going
to lose this girl. He couldn't hide his disappointment, but he didn't
want to even begin to try to talk her into something as serious as
this.

They
walked slowly back to the condo. Pat worked on Kevin as they walked.
She slowly got him to see her point. It dawned on him that he was
being iterative again and she was ahead of him as usual. She wasn't
going to play sea wife. She was going to get in front of that one
from the get go. Once that thought hit him; he settled down and his
mood improved at least a little. He knew himself that he didn't want
to sail that much longer either. The detail wasn't there, but the big
picture was.

The
next day, Kevin got his ship. The S.S. Diane was going to be his new
home for the next several months. Kevin went aboard and looked her
over. He brought Pat with him so she could get a taste of what the
life was about. He gave her a quick look at the bridge, engine room,
cargo holds, and his quarters. Pat was amazed at how compact
everything was, and concerned about how old the boat was.

Kevin
just shrugged, "This is actually a dying industry Pat. Once
maritime subsidies go away, these boats are going away. This is the
cash cow stage of life, as the current crop of Boston Consulting
Group MBAs would say. The owners are milking this as hard as they
can. When the milk is gone, they will buy foreign flag vessels and
operate them with foreign crews that are way cheaper than union
labor," he said.

They
kissed and said their goodbyes under the shadow of the Diane. "Well,
it's back to the old ways for us, back to writing letters back and
forth. It's not like we haven't done this before," said Pat
forlornly. Kevin watched from the ship's stern as she waved. The big
old boat singled up the lines, and finally slipped a remaining spring
line. She was already pointed downstream; the tide and river current
were running together. Within minutes, she was clear and heading down
the channel to sea.