Mary and Alvin

A Day At The Sea

You sit tight there till I get us clear," he told her. He untied the boat from the dock and pushed off .Mary was surprised to see how much the boat moved from a simple shove. Alvin moved to the wheel and slowly steered away from the dock and out into the channel.

As they moved over the still water, Mary watched the town glide by. She could see up Main Street all the way to the Post Office, then the trees of the park blocked her view. Dozens of boats were tied to moorings in the harbor, but Alvin slipped past them, seemingly without effort. The harbor widened and Mary's focus shifted from the scenery onshore to the open water ahead. She had been nervous about going out on the small boat, but Alvin's skill and confidence calmed her.

"Alright," Alvin said," You can help me out here a bit." He stood up and gestured for Mary to slide behind the wheel. "All you need to do is hold on to it and don't let it turn. No harder than keeping your car on the road."

Despite his assurance, Mary gripped the wheel tightly. She watched as he sprang about the boat, and in a moment, she was excited to see the sails unfurl and fill with wind. She could feel the boat accelerate, but Alvin was right there. He slipped behind her and reached around, putting his hands on hers.

"Loosen up, dear, she ain't going to run away from you," he said. She relaxed her hands, and together they steered the boat into a great turn to the right. To starboard, she would learn. She leaned back against Alvin and could feel his warm breath on the side of her face. Together, they spun the wheel and the boat tipped, turning left. To port.

"Well, half hour as a sailor, and First Mate Mary learned to tack!" Alvin said, with obvious delight in his voice. "Now hold on, things will get bumpy here."

Mary could see the water ahead grow rougher, the waves larger. "We are about to cross the ledge," Alvin explained, "the water beneath us is going to drop from about twenty feet to about a hundred. You can probably guess that changes things a mite."

A minute later, the boat began to shake as it hit the rough water. Mary took her hands from the wheel and let Alvin maneuvered, swinging back and forth until he found a calmer course and they settled into a gentle rocking motion.

"You alright, dear?" he asked, "You look a touch pale."

"I'm alright." she replied. There had been a moment when she thought she might vomit, but as the boat settled down, so had her stomach. "I hope you have a bathroom, though."

"The head is right through there," he said, gesturing towards the cabin.

She walked across the deck in small careful steps and descended into the cabin. It was roomier than she expected. There was a small galley, the door to the head and a pair of bunks. She stopped and considered the situation in which she had placed herself. She was far from shore, and moving further away, alone with a man she had just met. Still, she felt safe and comfortable being out with him. She used the head and returned to the deck.

Alvin watched her climbing out of the cabin. She looked up at him and smiled and he smiled back. She turned and leaned against the hull. He tacked back and forth in long swoops, watching her hair fly back and forth in the wind as he shifted directions.

Mary saw something moving through the water ahead of them. Soon, she saw a second shape, then more, perhaps half a dozen. It was hard to tell as they disappeared under the water and resurfaced.

"Alvin, look! What are those?"

Alvin stood and leaned to port. He saw the shapes in the water. "Those are dolphins," he shouted to her over the wind. Mary watched in amazement as Alvin veered alongside of them.

"Can you get closer?" she asked.

"No, have to keep some distance for their safety."

"Oh, right."

The dolphins moved away, while Alvin kept a straight course, letting them run.

"I can't believe we saw that," Mary said, "thank you!"

Alvin laughed. "Ain't like I planned it. I'd of got you whales if I had."

She stepped back to the stern and sat beside him. He draped his arm over her shoulder and looked at her. She wondered if he wanted to kiss her, and realized that she wanted him to, but he just grinned and asked her if she was enjoying her sail.

"Very much so," she said. He thought about kissing her, but he figured it was too soon, that he might scare her away.

They sat, side by side, and sailed on. Mary watched an island grow larger in front of them. Alvin maneuvered closer to it, and before long, the boat entered into a calm cove and slowed until it came to a stop. They were surrounded by rocky shores, topped with towering pines.

Alvin disappeared into the cabin. Mary leaned her head back and closed her eyes. She breathed deep and took in the combined scents of sea and pine. She would remember that scent all her life.

Alvin reemerged with a large tray. Mary scooted back on the bench and he set it between them. She was surprised at what he had prepared for them. There were cubes of cheese, sliced summer sausage, crackers, olives and for some reason, a little pile of green beans.

"Lovely," she said, "but what are these?" she asked, picking up a bean.

"You never had dilly beans?" He grinned and shook his head. She bit into the bean.

"Oh, it's yummy!"

"I'm making you a Mainer, that's all there is to it," he said.

He'd also brought two bottles of sparkling water. They sat and ate, and watched as a large flock of gulls gathered overhead.

"They'll steal right from your hands if you aren't careful," Alvin warned her.

They sat quietly and ate, listening to the sounds of the gulls and the surf. When they finished, Alvin took the remains of their meal back to the galley. When he returned Mary was standing in the middle of the deck.

"That a was a really lovely lunch, thank you" she said as he stepped towards her. He placed his hands on her waist and she turned her face up to his. They each hesitated a moment, and then their lips touched. After one brief kiss, Alvin raised his head and looked again into those mesmerizing eyes. Mary drew in a deep breath and leaned forward, draping her arms over his broad shoulders, eagerly seeking his lips once more. They kissed again, lingering this time.

Mary took a half step back. She was a little bit frightened by how fast things were progressing. She touched the side of Alvin's face and gave his lips a quick peck, then sat back down. Without a word, he sat beside her and started the engine. They cruised out of the cove and back out to open water. The main sail caught the wind, and Alvin killed the engine.

Mary leaned back against Alvin, and he hugged her to his side. He set a southwesterly course, cutting across the bay. A huge oil tanker loomed ahead of them, but Alvin easily veered around it. They approached the mainland shore and lost the wind. Mary was enraptured watching Alvin deftly make the smallest adjustments to the sails until they caught it again, and they began to glide slowly up the shoreline.

Mary grew drowsy in the afternoon sun. But she would always remember bits of the sail back to Londonderry. Passing a lobster boat as it pulled up it's traps. An osprey diving into the waves and rising again clutching it's feast. A group of small children waving at them from a dock.

Alvin would always remember it as well, but it was not the ordinary sights he had seen many times on the water, but the presence of the beautiful girl in his arms that he would never forget.

Finally, as the sun dropped lower in the sky, they made the turn back into Londonderry harbor. Alvin turned on the motor and dropped the sails. As they approached Faulkner's Wharf, he quickly spun the boat around. For a moment, Mary thought they would crash, but they came to a stop with the hull only inches from the dock.

"Here's where you can help me," Alvin told her. "Hop up on the dock. I'm going to throw you a rope and I want you to just wind it around that cleat."