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Caroline ducked into one of the bakeries and ordered a chocolate croissant and her favorite iced macchiato, which she ate as she continued her way into town. She lucked out when she found the cottage online months ago, with its close proximity to everywhere she wanted to be. Later, she’d walk to the grocery store and take a rideshare home, or cave and order her groceries for delivery. Either way, she didn’t want to eat out three meals a day.
She stood on the corner and waited for the signal to change when a truck drove by. Her eyes followed it, reading the sign on the side which advertised Blue Lobster Adventures. “Captain Blue Balls,” she said to herself. For the life of her, she couldn’t remember his name even though he had introduced himself. She did, however, remember people at the bar last night, going on and on about Captain Blue Balls and how he was the famous captain on the island. Somehow, she managed to put two and two together that the man who had taken her whale watching was indeed this captain everyone spoke about.
Then, in true Caroline fashion, she referred to him by this nickname. Did he laugh at her? She couldn’t remember. He did help her home and apparently didn’t take advantage of her. Had she tried to take advantage of him? This was the more likely scenario. She was lonely and tired of being that way. And he was kind to her. He didn’t hit on her or make her feel uncomfortable and the little bit of teasing he had done, she sort of liked. It wasn’t in jest, but flirtatious. The men—boys—at Yale only wanted two things from her: sex and a job with her father.
Instead of crossing the street, she walked toward the water until she came to a railing, and then she walked along it back in the direction of her cottage, until it gave way to a fish market. A boat maneuvered to the dock and one of the men jumped out and tied the boat there to keep it as stationary as possible. If anyone noticed her, no one said anything.
“What do you got, boys?” a large, burly man in yellow hip waders bellowed at the crew.
“Cod and lots of it,” one of the men said.
Caroline watched as the crew offloaded buckets onto the dock. She had never seen anything like it. Not the boat they fished from or how the market handled the catch. Everything looked seamless and it didn’t take long for the boat to be back out on the water. She circled back and found an entrance to the market. It stunk to high heaven, but everything was fresh and on ice. There was a line of people, and someone barked out orders. Not today, but soon she’d come back and buy a filet or two for dinner.
She walked back toward the pier and along the railing in the direction of the tour boats. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she yearned to see Captain Blue Balls. Mostly because she wanted to find out his name again or at least remember it. She kept her head on a swivel, looking for the boat captain. According to him, he knew everyone in Seaport—including her, even though the reality was he really didn’t know her at all. No one really knew her. Not even her family. If they did, they’d understand why she needed a break from her life. From them.
Caroline made it as far as the park, where the tour boats departed from and gave up in her quest to spot the man who had taken her home last night. If anything, she owed him a debt of gratitude for saving her. She knew better than to get as drunk as she had.
A couple vacated one of the park benches, so she sat down and looked out over the pier and at the many boats floating in the water. Some people walked on the dock, some were on their boats, but none of them were the man she looked for. Caroline would find him sooner or later. This, she was sure of.
A family of four walked by and reminded her of her own family. They rarely took family vacations. When it happened, it was always the three of them. Her mom, her, and Jackie. Their dad was a busy man and liked to stay that way. She thought about her family, her life, and the job waiting for her in New York. All of it left her in a sour mood. She wanted to forget the future and live in the present.
“Ugh, what am I doing?”
“Apparently talking to yourself.”
Caroline turned sharply at the deep voice behind her. Her eyes squinted and every nerve ending in her body seemed to light on fire. She didn’t want to be attracted to him. Not anyone for that matter. Yet, there she was, filled with the good kind of anxiety while he approached her.
