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Hours later,Will looked at Calista standing at the railing nearby. She was watching the bustle of the port and marveling at everything with such innocent eyes. This probably was the first time she’d seen anything like this – and he remembered how impressive it was.
The massive lumbering ship coasted in the deep harbor, gliding towards the docks in the distance. As a boy, he’d always imagined a dock would be like the piers you see in pictures and had been shocked at the difference between imagination and reality.
The dock was actually a massive concrete wall that they would tie to once a tug glided them close enough. If they weren’t loading supplies, then they would have simplyanchored out here and rode the dinghy into port, before heading into town.
“Light sail!” he called out loudly. “Approaching dock - drop anchor and slow us down, Shepherd!”
“Aye-aye, Captain!”
“Man the ropes and prepare the pulleys, Bo…”
“Here come the tugs, sir…”
“Drop sails,” Will called bluntly. “Drop aft anchor and slow us a little more…”
“Dropping aft anchor!”
“Anchors away!” multiple voices hollered, and he fought a smile.
“Crew!” Jared hollered. “Everyone on the sails, now… let’s go!”
Calista moved to go help – and Will stopped her.
“Not you, hon,” he said gently. “They’ve got it, and it’s all for show right now. We’re coasting in slowly, and the tugs always come out to guide us in.”
“Yet another performance?” Calista laughed softly, smiling up at him in understanding.
“Gotta make it look good, right?” he grinned at her, leaning forward to kiss her tenderly. “I mean, people love a good drama… so we give them drama.”
“Slow us down!” he hollered once more – and nearly laughed when Jared rolled his eyes. Calista chuckled beside him, now that she understood that this was mostly for show.
His heart nearly burst with joy as she wrapped an arm around his waist, standing there with him at the helm, like she’d been destined to be there with him all along. This was the best feeling in the world, a feeling of completion, and it was staggering.
“Hoist the aft anchor and prep the mooring lines, crew…” he called out, before stepping past Calista to pick upa hidden radio out of a box. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, smiling.
“Harbor command, this is ‘The Happy Pappy’ready for mooring and I see you are on your way to us. We are raising anchor and ready for mooring.”
“We see you, sir.”
“Is there anything you need from us?”
“Anchors up, sails stowed, and we’ll bring you in slowly.”
“You have our thanks…”
“So now what, oh fierce and dangerous pirate?” Calista smiled up at him, as he resumed his stance at the wheel and wobbling slightly as a tugboat bumped them in the water. Her eyes widened, but this was a drill he’d done repeatedly.
“Why don’t you check out the tugs,” he offered, remembering the first time he’d seen one.
The small ships had rows of cushions, sometimes tires, strapped to the side, allowing a ‘bounce’ between the vessels, just before the lines were tossed and they were pulled or pushed into place near the pier. It was always humbling to see the tiny craft pushing another into place, and knew it would be something none of the visitors would forget.
“We’ll be on land before you know it, sweetheart.”
“Then we go home?” she invited softly, smiling at him as she raised on her toes to kiss him gently. “I need to email my agent, my sister, and maybe we can take a walk along the beach tonight…”
“We’ll go home,” he promised.
It felt strange to say the words aloud, silently realizing that there would still be a period of their worlds fitting together before it felt ‘normal’. She had struggled when first arriving onship – and now it was his turn.
