Tess linked her arm through Bree’s and they proceeded on board. They walked around and checked out the accommodations until the captain announced that they were ready to cast off. Tess was excited. She’d never taken time to do something like this before. The boat had a large cabin area where the passengers could hang out, and also a large deck, where Tess suspected they’d be spending a great deal of time if they were going to see any whales.
The boat pulled away from the dock and headed out toward open water.
“Do you want something to drink?” Bree asked.
“I’m good. Do you want to go inside until we get farther out to sea?”
“If you do.”
Tess thought about it. “Nope. I spend my life indoors. Let’s go stand at the front of the boat. I’ll put on my fashionable jacket, and we can stand there on the bow with the wind in our hair and reenact that famous movie scene before that legendary boat went down.”
Bree offered her a cheeky smile. “I knew you reminded me of Kate Winslet. I guess that leaves me playing Leo’s part, then. Now swear to me that by the time the credits roll, no matter whether we see whales or not, there will be no blue jewel tossed over the railing.”
Tess held up three fingers in pledge fashion. “I promise. Such a travesty, plunking that magnificent stone into the soup where only the fish could appreciate it.” She put on the flashy jacket and did a pirouette to Bree’s amusement. Bree put on her blue jacket, and they headed to the front railing.
They stood side by side, and other whale watchers came up to the railing to join them. The boat bounced as it cut through the surf on its journey out to deeper water. Bree moved behind Tess and held her close as the wind and the mist blew past them, and Tess leaned back into Bree.
“So, Judge Theresa Fairchild, are you having as much fun as I am?” Bree whispered into Tess’s ear. A whisper of warm air that spiked Tess’s awareness of Bree’s proximity.
“This was never something on my bucket list, but now that I’m here with you, it’s a day for the scrapbook.”
Bree continued to breath warm air onto the back of Tess’s neck, creating a sensation that made Tess want to turn and kiss her.
“I need some whales to distract me,” Tess muttered.
Just then, someone yelled, “Whale!” and everyone’s attention turned in the direction that a few people were pointing. A pod of large humpback whales had surfaced and decided to put on a show. One whale forcefully slapped its fluke on the surface of the water, and then another whale’s head broke the surface. Crew members offered explanatory commentary, but Tess was mostly enjoying watching Bree watch the whales’ antics.
Tess laughed at Bree’s enthusiasm when a whale actually breached and they were able to see well over half of the huge magnificent body of the flying creature as it leapt partially out of the water and rolled, silhouetted above the deep navy blue of the ocean and the light cerulean background of sky.
“Oh my God,” Bree squealed. “Did you see that?” She hugged Tess. “Such a gorgeous creature. To think that this is going on out here every day, a world so far removed from our courthouse lives. What a marvelous adventure.”
Tess took in Bree’s excitement as she gushed over the beauty of the giant mammals and the day.Such a gorgeous creaturestruck Tess as she looked at Bree. Not just her looks, but her infectious appreciation and enthusiasm for so many things in life. Tess knew that she felt something more for Bree than she’d ever come close to feeling with any other woman. A feeling of worry passed through Tess, and she tamped it down.
Today Tess was going to finish enjoying what Bree had committed to offer her on this raffle prize adventure. She’d at least have some wonderful memories, if she didn’t let them overwhelm her. She’d spent her life guarding her heart, but how did a person explore their options unless they took a chance, and where was the line that said it was no longer worth the risk? Well, today was for having a great time with Bree, so she was going to do just that.
“Tess! You have to look over here. To the left. What do you see?” Bree put her arm over Tess’s shoulder and turned her toward the scene she was so excited about.
Tess looked to where Bree was pointing and saw leaping dolphins moving at a distance while keeping pace with the boat.
“There’s your Flipper. Not just whales today. A whole pod of Flippers.” Bree was laughing, a joyous laugh that connected with Tess and reverberated around in her pounding chest. It was the kind of joy Tess wanted to share in.
An older white-haired woman was watching the two of them, and she appeared entertained. She walked over and extended a pair of binoculars toward Tess. “Get a closeup through these if you’d like.”
Tess accepted the offering and put the field glasses to her face. She watched the leaps and dives of the dozen or so closely spaced dolphins who were engaged in an aquatic ballet as they matched the momentum of the boat. Tess wondered what it would feel like to move so freely, to undulate through your world using your entire body. And she also wondered what it would feel like to carry a different emotional load than she carried.Her cats had demonstrated they cared for each other. Did those dolphins love each other?
As Bree took her turn at closer scrutiny of the synchronized swimmers, the woman touched Tess’s arm. “If you want to hand me your phone, I can take a photo of you two.”
Bree handed back the binoculars, and Tess pulled out her phone from where she’d placed it in her coat pocket after capturing the whale in mid-breach. Bree pulled Tess in by the waist and they stood hip to hip.
“Now saycheese,” the woman directed.
Tess muttered the word in unison with Bree’s fuller volume. The woman looked at the shot and nodded, then she looked at Bree. “You want one with a kiss?” She paused. “Sorry, I’ve been watching you two.” That seemed to be all the justification their photographer needed to make her suggestion. “On the cheek’s okay.”
Bree leaned in from the side and placed her lips over the corner of Tess’s mouth as the woman took the shot. “Oops, I missed her cheek. Must be the waves.” The tease was evident in Bree’s voice.
The woman smiled. “Undoubtedly.” She handed Tess back her phone. “Now you have a snapshot memory.”
After they’d thanked her, the woman headed away to a different area of the boat, but with her back to them and still not quite out of earshot, she called back, “Nice jacket. Very hot…pink. You do it justice.”
