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Parker laughed even harder. “No. He got an enema as the Tarpon dragged him backward, but he was fine. Instinct finally kicked in, and he let go of his pole. We rounded and picked him up. He was laughing as he boarded the boat,” Parker told me between bouts of laughter I wiped the tears of laughter from my face as I took another sip of my drink.
“Want a refill?” Parker asked.
“Sure.”
He returned a few minutes later with another drink. I took a sip and decided we should leave no later than 5:00 a.m.; that gave us three hours to travel and an early start to fish. I found myself secretly hoping Parker would catch a giant Tarpon. I packed my camera, not wanting to use my phone if a good catch came along.
All packed and ready to go, we loaded what little dishes were in the dishwasher, cleaned up the lanai a bit, and went into my room to retire for the night.
Olivia
“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” Maya Angelou
The alarm blared at four-thirty, waking me with a startle. I rubbed my eyes and thought, damn, this is early. Parker rolled over and put his arm across me; I relaxed and closed my eyes for a few more minutes.
Waking to the alarm again, I threw the covers off, rinsed my face, brushed my teeth and hair, and then padded to the kitchen to start the coffee. I heard Parker stir and start the shower, so checked my email while I waited for him and the coffee to be done. We both drank two cups of coffee and headed over to his place. We’d already loaded the boat with everything needed, so while Parker warmed up the engine, I ensured everything was secure. Then we were off, and excitement built up as we broke through the water slowly; in the no-wake zone.
The sun started to rise on the horizon.
The thirty-five-foot Grady White was a beautiful vessel. It had twin 450 horsepower Mercury and white outboards that purred upon starting. There was a walkaround Cuddy cabin with a hard top, two captains’ chairs, and two removable fighting chairs, one on each side of the stern.
I was impressed with the electronics; there were more upgraded bells and whistles than a Boeing 747 cockpit. The sleeper cabin slept four easily, had a fully loaded kitchen and bath, and included two live wells, one for bait and the other for the day’s catch.
I was impressed with the boat, unlike the yacht, it was sporty and beautiful. Excitement built as we purred through the waterways to the open sea. Content after walking around and checking everything out, I settled on the seat next to him.
“Parker, I love the sleeper cabin and its décor of blues and hazy colors with a splash of salmon to add spice.” I told him when I sat down, the breeze was picking up a bit as I moved the hair from my eyes.
Luckily, according to the local weather channels, we had a clear day ahead of us.
***
I sat back and relaxed, feeling safe in Parker’s hands, drinking my coffee, and looking out at the vast body of water before us. My hair blew in the breeze, so I put it on top of my head in a mess of spikes sticking out. I wore a jacket for now; it was still chilly from the night. Parker sported a baseball cap from the club, with a windbreaker and jeans on. He sipped his coffee as he pointed out different things along our journey. Looking back, I could see our town fade away to nothing in no time at all. I smiled over at him as he asked me to take the wheel so he could hit the head. Shaking my head and laughing, I got up and took over as captain. Making a short time of it, Parker was back to take over.
The sun was shining brightly, so I put on my Ray-Bansunglasses. I looked over at Parker. “Want a bagel? I brought cream cheese and beach plum jam.”
He smiled. “Sure, if you’re making yourself one, I’ll take one too.”
“What do you want on yours?”
“Just cream cheese, please.”
“Okay.” I got up, went to the galley, toasted two bagels, and smothered them in cream cheese. I added beach plum jam to mine and returned to the captain with his breakfast. He smiled and thanked me as he took the bagel. We ate the sweet, spicy Everything bagel with its cheesy filling and drank a mimosa. We saw a school of dolphins jumping in and out of the water in our wake. I took a ton of pictures as they jumped out of the water. I got some good shots and was getting more excited by the minute. I spotted some eagles sitting on a milepost that had nested there, along with some seagulls. I took pictures of Parker smiling at the captain’s wheel, some of him being silly, and he took some of me at the wheel. I got a selfie of us smiling from ear to ear as we held up our mimosas; I sent that one to El.
He texted back:
Beautiful girl, love looks good
on you both. Xx
I laughed as I read the text to Parker.
“Love does look good on you, babe,” Parker said; I blushed a deep red and swatted his ass.
“Love looks good on you, too, babe.” I emphasized the babe and laughed. He draped his arm around my shoulders as we rolled into a spot near where we appeared to be out of the other boaters’ way.
Resting a bit, we relaxed and had another mimosa. We snacked on fresh fruit that floated in the goblets. After the third mimosa, I decided to get some sun before the fishing began. We had about an hour before we arrived in Boca Grande.
After relaxing in the sun, I rejoined Parker in the captain’s chair. I found the name “Hole in One” so right and I loved it. I wondered about changing the name of my mom’s boat. What was the old saying, that the new owner shouldn’t name the boat or change the name? I couldn’t remember but would investigate it. Like the house, I’d like to have the boat named differently to become my own.
