Smooth Sailing (6 page)

“No, no. I buy it from a deli on the French side. They’re the best on the island.”

“You don’t have to provide such a good lunch, do you? You won’t ever see most of these people again, right?”

“Right. I get about a ten percent return rate, and that’s almost entirely from people who come to the island every year. Very few cruisers come back. The details fade with their memories of the cruise.”

“Why do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Offer such a nice lunch. This had to cost a lot.”

“Well,” Kaatje sat back against the cushion and said thoughtfully, “I run my business in a way that I’m proud of. I make a lot less than the guys who run the big boats, but that doesn’t matter as much to me as feeling fair and honest. Plus, I have to eat the food, too, you know, and I like a nice meal.”

“That’s cute.” Laurie smiled happily, taking another forkful of her shrimp salad. “You seem like a good person. I’m really glad we went sailing today.”

“I am too. Sometimes my clients are big pains in the butt. It’s always nice when someone appreciates my ocean.”

“Oh, I’m more than appreciative. I might even take another vacation before five more years tick away.”

“Five years? You haven’t had a vacation in five years?” Kaatje’s expression showed her astonishment.

“No, I haven’t. I’ve been really, really busy.”

Her poker face was back in place when Kaatje mildly said, “I’m glad that vacation brought you to St. Maarten.”

*

Kaatje cleaned the galley while Laurie took a nap on the trampoline. She was fast asleep when Kaatje softly called her name. “Laurie. Laurie.”

Blinking slowly, she opened her eyes, then stretched luxuriantly. “Oh, what a nice place to nap.”

“I thought you didn’t approve of naps.” Kaatje’s eyes twinkled at her jibe.

“Sometimes you can’t fight hard enough to stay awake. This is one of those days.” She sat up and tried to straighten her hair, but the salt had rendered it the consistency of straw. “Can we snorkel again?”

“Sure. But only for fifteen or twenty minutes. I like to allow for an hour cushion to get back to port. Let’s sail back towards the harbor. There’s a good spot that’ll let us get back to the dock in fifteen minutes, even if the wind dies.”

“Sounds great. Can I sit on the rail again?”

Kaatje smiled broadly. “Absolutely.”

*

Their snorkeling was brief, but Laurie spotted a big sea turtle that entranced her thoroughly. Kaatje almost had to restrain her from following it to points unknown. They got back onto the boat and Kaatje said, “I don’t normally offer this, but why don’t you go below and take a quick shower. No one likes to be crusted in salt.”

“I’d argue, but I’m desperate for clean water. Is it…?”

“Take a left at the table, go down a few stairs and the bathroom’s right there.”

Laurie went below and took a remarkably fast shower, one just long enough to wash off the salt. Then she put her own clothes back on and stood in the doorway of the cabin, combing her hair with the brush she’d providentially carried in her purse. “I feel fantastic,” she said. “Truly fantastic.”

“Seeing you comb your hair makes me jealous. I’m gonna at least rinse mine.” Kaatje took a liter bottle that she’d stowed in the locker by the captain’s chair. “I always bring a bottle of fresh water. The salt can be harsh.”

She’d obviously done this many times, bending over the railing to rinse her long, dark hair. “Much better,” she declared, throwing her hair back with a sharp snap of her head. She dashed down into the cabin, then came back with a wide comb. “Nice,” she purred, combing it until it slipped through without a snag. “I keep thinking I should cut my hair, just to save time, but I’ve never had it short. I’m not sure I’d like it.”

“It’s really nice,” Laurie said, realizing she’d been staring at her. What was there to stare at? It was just hair! In the distance, massive horns tooted the first ten notes of Teddy Bear’s theme song, “Sweet As Honey.” Laurie froze. “What’s that noise?”

“
The Teddy Bear
is casting off.”

“What?” She could feel the blood rush to her head, making her faint. “That means there’s like a half hour or something before it leaves, right?”

“No. They blow the horn as they start to back out. Why? Your boat doesn’t leave until an hour from now.”

Laurie gulped past a massive knot in her throat. “You know how I told you I was on
Kingdom of Denmark
?”

“Yeah.”

“I lied.”

*

Laurie had the number for Luxor cruise operations in Miami on her smartphone, but they were too far out to get a signal. She was about to throw it overboard when Kaatje said, “I can usually get a signal, even out here. Use my phone.” She took it from a holder by the wheel and tossed it to Laurie.

Laurie was on the verge of hyperventilating, and the boat rocked and dipped as they raced back to the dock, but she managed to thank Kaatje for the kindness.

They were within sight of the bay when Laurie finally got connected to the appropriate person. “No, we wait for no one,” a manager said. “No one. Ever.”

Laurie slumped down in her seat, utterly defeated.

“Hey, don’t feel bad. People miss the boat all of the time.”

“You don’t understand. I work for Luxor.” When Kaatje looked blank, she added, “Teddy Bear’s parent company.”

“Still, that’s a big ship. Who’ll know?”

“Everyone,” Laurie said miserably. “My boss has the head waiter checking to see if I eat in the dining room. And I made some…enemies on the boat. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to find out I’m disorganized enough to miss the damned thing.”

Kaatje steered the boat so that the air barely buffeted the slack sail, then sat next to Laurie. “Let’s face facts. You did miss it. I can see it moving.” Laurie turned and watched as it slowly made its way out of its berth. “It’s too late in the day to catch a plane to the next port and no boat could get you there in time. Let’s enjoy the rest of the day.” She got up and turned the boat into the wind, heading back out into open water without further comment.

“But…!”

“But what? It’s late afternoon on a lovely day. You can go sit by yourself in a hotel room, or we can have fun.” She stared right at Laurie until Laurie met her gaze. “If you don’t let them, circumstances don’t have to ruin your day.”

“I think they do. You don’t understand how much shit I’m gonna get for this.”

“Are you gonna get fired?”

Laurie sputtered. “No! Of course not!”

“Then it doesn’t matter. You might get chewed out and you might get teased. Neither are fatal.”

She said this with such calm, such certitude, that Laurie let herself believe—a little. As soon as she let just the glimmer of belief in, she started to feel better. She relaxed against her cushion and let the wind blowing through her hair soothe her, and after a few minutes she smiled and said, “Can I sit on the rail again?”

*

They went much further out this time, cresting over waves like a big fish. Laurie sat next to Kaatje and talked a lot—about her job and the pressure she’d been under, about how she’d been assigned to Osaka the day she started at Luxor, and how it had become the driving force in her life. She told Kaatje about how the earthquake and tsunami had impacted so many of their Japanese colleagues and how sometimes it was hard to remember this was just a theme park that had to be brought in on time— not life or death. She talked about her health scare and about how it drove her crazy to have to take vacation at such a critical time. Kaatje listened attentively and asked an occasional question. It was clear she was interested and engaged, but she didn’t talk nearly as much as she listened.

By the time Laurie had given a brief synopsis of her countdown schedule to opening day in Osaka, she was exhausted. She climbed down from the captain’s chair and stretched out on the deck and said, “Thinking about how much I have to do makes my heart race. And to not be able to do any of it…” She gently beat her head against the bulkhead.

Kaatje climbed up to the top deck and lowered the main. The breeze and the current moved the boat gently, taking it where it wanted. Kaatje sat at the table in the stern, keeping an eye out while talking to Laurie. “I clearly don’t know a thing about business, but the fact remains that you can’t do anything right now. Conserve your energy for when you can make a difference.”

Laurie sat opposite her and looked at her with a completely puzzled expression. “How do I do that?”

“Well, what do you normally do to relax?”

“I can’t afford to relax. I need every bit of energy I have.”

“Hmm. Okay, let’s talk about your motivations. Why do you work hard? What’s the payoff?”

What kind of question was that? “It’s my job. I love my job.”

“But why?”

A lot of people had asked that question. But it wasn’t answerable. You either got it or you didn’t. It was clear Kaatje wasn’t the type to get it, but it was impolite to ignore the question. “Because it tests me. I like having a really big challenge and working hard to meet it.”

“But what’s the payoff? Is it the money?”

“I guess. Or it was at first.” She sat for a minute really thinking. Most people didn’t ask about this part. “I went to grad school to be able to work at the highest levels. Part of my goal was to get rich. Now I make a very good salary, but I don’t spend a whole lot.” She laughed softly. “I’m too busy.” Damn, no wonder talking to strangers sucked. If a person didn’t understand the drive to work hard at everything you did, there was no way to explain it.

“Do you want to retire early?”

“God, no. I can’t ever see myself retiring. I’d go nuts.”

“Power?”

“Not too much. I like having power, of course. Power lets you get things done. Thankfully, I’m not one of those people who likes to have power only to feel important.”

“Hmm, not money and not power.”

“I’m driven, that’s for sure. But I always was. I’m a very hard-working person and working at almost anything gives me satisfaction. I used to practice piano when I was a kid without anyone telling me to. I was gonna be good at it, even though I didn’t like it much. And don’t get me started on gymnastics. I was really loony about that.”

“What about your social life?”

“Mmm, I don’t have one at the moment. I broke up with someone about…” she thought for a minute. “We were breaking ground for the hotel. I suppose it’s been two years.”

“Wow. I wouldn’t like it if my girlfriend gauged our time together by her work schedule.”

Bingo! The gaydar was working perfectly. She could spot a gay person from fifty yards. “That’s how I think. It doesn’t mean anything.”
It did to Colin, but she doesn’t need to know that.

“I think it would to me.”

Urgh. Another sensitive soul. Some people got their feelings hurt too easily. “Then tell me about
your
social life.”

“Mine’s not in great shape at the moment, either. Did I mention that my first mate went back to school a couple of weeks ago?”

“You didn’t say school, but you said your helper left a few weeks ago.”

“Well, she was also my girlfriend. We’d been talking about…you know…being serious, but she got a grant to do some postdoctoral work in the South Pacific and she took it.” She looked at Laurie with a sad shake of the head. “Without talking to me first.”

“Why do you think she did that? Were you not getting along?”

Kaatje shifted a little, looking puzzled. “No, things were good. But I think she wanted more…I don’t know…something.”

“Money? Power?”

Kaatje flinched, then she seemed to realize Laurie was teasing.

“Maybe that was part of it. A lot of people don’t think sailing is a career…whatever that is. Or maybe it was that she couldn’t figure out a way to use her degree here.”

“What was her degree in?”

“Marine biology.”

Laurie pointed to the vivid blue ocean. “Duh.”

Laughing, Kaatje said, “We don’t have a university with any research capacity. She would have had to get a job at a school in the States and then do field research here for us to have any time together. I don’t think that appealed to her.” She sighed and looked away, staring at the water for a moment. “I’m not sure.”

“How long were you together?”

“Six months. Not very long. Barely long enough to make me think it could be…something more. But I guess we never actually said those words…”

“That’s a tough time, that six month assessment period. I’ve been there a couple of times when it hasn’t ended up like I wanted it to.”

“Maybe that’s because you said, ‘Six month assessment period.’ That would seal the deal for me. I’d send you packing.”

“No, I think it’s when I said, ‘It’s time for your semi-annual performance review.’”

Kaatje gave her a quick look, then smiled when Laurie grinned. “You got me. I believed you.”

“That’s probably closer to the truth than I’d like to admit, but I never actually said those words.”