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Ahead of us was a speedboat, moored to the jetty. Beside it, I could see a bundle of equipment being loaded into the boat by a guy in a wetsuit.
“You don’t even have to get in if you don’t want to.” I soothed her.
I was out of practice at water skiing. It was one of my favorite things to do when I was in the tropics, and I was excited to show Alicia how it worked. There was no better feeling than being tied to the back of a speedboat racing along at 40 mph. I’d competed professionally for a few years when I left the Air Force, but eventually, I’d gotten so busy with running CAA that I’d had to stop.
Once we were on the boat, my skipper, Frankie, fired up the motor, and we were heading out into the bay. Alicia screamed with excitement as we carved a white, foaming trail through the water under the sun. After we’d started a more leisurely cruise, I took off the linen shirt and cargo shorts I was wearing and slipped on my wetsuit.
I enjoyed the attention I got from Alicia as I stripped. “Looking at something?” I asked innocently, sure the driver wouldn’t hear us over the roar of the speedboat.
She said nothing but looked away. Eventually, I changed and slipped on my skis.
It was fantastic. Through hand-signaling to the skipper, I motioned for us to build up speed as we exited the bay. The water was a little choppy there, but it was a bright, calm day on the sea, and I was interested in pushing my limits. Besides, having some fun and letting loose would help me relax after our emergency landing the night before.
Finally, we were pushing 40 mph, the top speed for competitive water skiing. I motioned again, and the skipper shrugged.
“JAKE!” cried Alicia, from about fifty feet away. “WE ALMOST DIED LAST NIGHT!”
“I’LL BE FINE!” I called back and focused on keeping my balance as I felt us climb a little higher. I kept my hands on the line and focused, feeling my center of gravity and pushing the backs of my skis into the water, aquaplaning effortlessly at speeds that would have totaled a less experienced skier.
As we started to slow down, I controlled my speed so as not to slam into the back of the boat. Slowly, I reeled myself in and flopped down on the floor of the speedboat.
“Dude,” said the skipper. “That was intense.”
“I know,” I said. “It was great, wasn’t it?”
Despitemybestencouragement,Alicia couldn’t be persuaded to try it. “I’ll practice my swimming tomorrow,” she said. “Right now, I’m just recovering from the shock.”
“Did you enjoy the boat ride?” I asked. She couldn’t hide her smile. Alicia loved my passion for speed and flight, and I could tell she shared it.
After that, we stopped for lunch in Grand Cayman, and finally, got a cab back to our cabin. There, we cuddled on the sofa, as Alicia rested her head in my lap and I scratched her scalp gently. I could tell our trip in the boat had gone some way to relieve Alicia’s anxiety, but she was still shaken up by the whole incident. That much I knew for certain.
“Do you wanna talk about it?” I asked.
There was silence. I knew there was something she wanted to talk about.
“Why were you reading that book? Before we landed?”
I sighed. “It’s some stupid manual on parenting I picked up back in Chicago.”
Alicia nodded and turned around. I lifted a stray strand of hair from her face as she looked up at me. “Do you think,” she began, “that you’d like to … be a parent?”
I looked down into her face, trying not to show my emotions. Of course, being a parent was an idea that came with all kinds of crazy for me. For a start, there was my own screwed-up family situation to consider. That didn’t make me ideal father material. And then, there was my business, which was my life. Today was the first day I hadn’t woken up and started working in months. And then, there was Alicia. I still didn’t really understand what it was she expected from me, or whether she liked me at all. I didn’t understand what kind of relationship was forming between us or whether it was one where I would even be wanted around once the life growing inside her had arrived.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I’d like to help you. And support you. Is that enough?”
She smiled and closed her eyes. “It sure is,” she said.
As she took a nap on me, I relaxed for a moment. I wasn’t exercising or reading or hiking, and I certainly wasn’t working. I was just enjoying being with Alicia, being in the same room as her. It was an unfamiliar feeling and at first a little uncomfortable. Then, slowly, I started to realize I was enjoying it.
Then, Alicia’s phone pinged. It was on the arm of the sofa.
“Who’s texting me?” she asked.
I picked up the phone and opened the message.
I read it in silence.
“Jake?” asked Alicia. “Is it Sam?”
