A Simple Life: Chapter 55 (Patreon)

Despite my backpack over my shoulders and shopping bags in both hands I barely even touch touch the gangway as I float up to the deck of Grandpa’s home.

“Grandpa.”  I call, my spirit still soaring from the call I’d received earlier.  “Grandpa are you home?”  What I see brings my spirit crashing right back down to earth.  There in a hammock lays my Grandpa.  His body was so still.  His tanned flesh had an ashen hue.  His left hand hangs limply over the edge of the hammock with a paperback novel open on the deck below where it had dropped.  My shopping bags hit the deck and I bolt for him.  “GRANDPA!”

“Hrm?”  He stirs to life.  He coughs and smacks his dry lips and blinks his heavy lids open. “Mmm, Buttercup?”

I throw my arms around him and hug him him with all my strength.

“Heyyy, there he is.”  He hugs me back in that way only he had.

“I-I-I thought I lost you!”

“Still some wind in these sails my boy.”  He kisses my cheek.  “I’m okay Avery.”

“Whoo!  D-Don’t scare me like that.”

Slipping from his arms I pick up the book and set it on the little table he had beside him then head back to start picking up the stuff I’d dropped.  He swings his legs over the side and half sits, half lays sideways across the hammock.  Rubbing his face he gathers his senses and, unfortunately, finds a cig and lights it up.  “A few too many dark and stormy’s last night.  Ugh.  The ol’ body don’t bounce back like it once did.”

“Had a good time then?”

“Yeah.  It was fun.”  He looks at me.  “What’s all this.”

I stand and hold out the grocery bags.  “Supper!  I got a rotisserie chicken, some thai noodle salad, some chickpea salad, some mixed veg, and I got the deli to do me up a bunch of sushi special.”

“I love grocery store sushi!”

“I know.”  I giggle.  “And I got some pie and ice cream for dessert.”

“Truly a feast.”

“I’m gonna put the ice cream in the freezer.”  After a couple of failed attempts to get out of the hammock Grandpa finds his feet and follows me inside.  As I lay out our meal I tease him.  “I bought us some wine too.  Might want to hold off on that tonight though.”

“Wine!?”  He walks up to check out the bottle.  “Well, this is a special occasion.  When did you start drinking wine?”

My smile is impossible to hold back.  “Last night.”

He looks at me with a knowing twinkle in his eyes.  “Oh?  It was a good date then?”

“Oh Grandpa.  It was WONDERFUL!  She is WONDERFUL!”  I don’t even know what to say next.  I just want to blurt it all out at once.  Unable to hold back I cut straight to the most important bit.  “She said she loved me Grandpa!  She said it!”

“Wha!?  Oh!  That’s…sudden.”

I giggle.  “I know!  She didn’t mean to say it.  It slipped out totally by accident.”

A smile slowly spreads across his face.  “It slipped through her guard, huh?  This could be serious.”

“Yeah.”  I swoon back against the fridge.  “And I love her too Grandpa.  I love her!  I LOVE HER!!!  She’s…just…everything.”

He laughs.  “That sounds like love alright.”

“I told her so.  It felt good.  It felt right.  It felt like how you always said it would be.”

“A romantic after my own heart.  Aw Avery.”  He comes to me.  “I am so happy that it…”  He stops as he gets to arm’s length.  His smile fades and he brings his fingers up to my cheek, just below my left eye.  “Avery.  Did Winona do this to you?”

“No.”  I push his hand away, annoyed that he was bringing the mood down.  “She wouldn’t do that.  She’s so nice to me Grandpa.”

“Jack?”

“Don’t worry about it Grandpa.”

His voice becomes even more grave.  “Was it your Dad?”

I shake my head.  “I haven’t seen him in a long time.”

A flash of hurt crosses his face and he pets the side of my head.  “It was Jack, wasn’t it?  He and Lauren popped by earlier with the big news.  Avery, you can’t let him…”

“It was my f-fault.”  I cut in, hoping to bring the topic to an end quickly.  “I-I-I threw the f-first punch.”

“What?”  The look of disappointment on his face hits me harder than a thousand Jack’s ever could and strikes to my very core.  “You did that?”

“Um…um…h-h-he said something m-mean about W-Winona.”

“Oh Buttercup.”  He says sorrowfully.  “You always stand up for your girl when you need to but you don’t start the fight.  Avery…you aren’t like them.  You’re better than that.”

“I know.”  I bow my head, tears welling.  “I’m s-s-sorry Grandpa.”

“Aw my boy.”  He pulls me into an embrace and cups my head against his shoulder.  Holding me tight he whispers.  “Did you really throw the first punch?”

“No Sir.”  I sniffle.  “Not really.”

“Okay.  Shhh.  It’s okay Avery.”  He pulls back and looks into my eyes, his warm palm against the side of my eye as it might heal me.  “I’ll talk to him.”

“Noooo!  No Grandpa.  You’ll just make it worse.”

“Avery, this stops now.  I thought it already had.”

“It d-did.”  I say.  “He hasn’t.  Not in a long time.  He had a b-bad day.”  Before he can reply I cut in again.  “I-I’ll handle it Grandpa.”  I sniffle.  “I-I’m a man now.  I-I can stand up for m-myself.”

“Avery…”

“Please.  Let me.”  I take a deep breath.  “I-I can handle it Grandpa.”

Concern etched in his wrinkles he gives me a nod.  “If this happens one more time…”

“It won’t.  I-I’ll deal with it.”  With pleading eyes I look up into his.  “Can we please talk about Winona instead?  Please?  I’m too happy to be sad right now.”

His concern melts.  He gently holds my one cheek and kisses the other then steps back.  “I’m happy you’re happy.”  Taking up the bottle of wine he studies it.  “Shiraz?  Here I would have put you down as a Pinot man.”

I smile.  “What’s the difference?”

“Damned if I know.”

I giggle.  “Hey.  C-Can we take Bella out tonight?”

“Forecast is clear.  She’s fit and ready.  I don’t see why not.  Light’s fading though, you better get to it matey.”  He says.  “I got this.”

“Yes!”

As Grandpa busies himself with the meal I am going through the checklist to get the ship ready to launch.  Before long I skip back down to the dock to decouple the power and water then let loose all but one mooring.  Back on board I get everything started up and ready and after releasing the final moor line I am back in the wheelhouse at the humongous wheel taking her out at a crawl.  This part was always so cool.  Because she used to be a commercial fishing trawler Bella was an absolute beast compared to the other more elegant yachts in the port.  Up here looking down over everyone else I couldn’t help but feel powerful and important.  I wave at a family at the end of the dock and give the kids a mighty toot of the horn which gets them laughing and jumping all around.  I am smiling as I pull the Anna Bella out into open waters.

Once out into the endless Pacific I push the throttle forward and the ship’s rumbling diesel engines roar with power.  I then turn us southward.  There was a nice little cove down near Ehkolie’s ‘tail’ that was an ideal anchorage.  If we were lucky enough to get the place to ourselves it was the darkest, privatest, most peaceful place I knew.

Grandpa climbs up into the bridge and checks over a few things, at this point more from old habit than any actual need.  He puts a can of cola into the drink holder at my side then cracks a beer and lounges back into one of the sofas.

“Moshe Cove?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice.” He says.  “Better step on it.”

“Sails to full.  Aye aye!”  With the green and mountainous island off to our left and nothing but ocean and a rosy sky to our right I push her full throttle, taking her to a blistering 12 knots.  Blistering for Bella at least.  Those yachts back in port would be leaving us in their wakes at a canter.  Bella was solid and reliable but she wasn’t going to get you anywhere in a hurry.

He takes a sip, stretches out, and wiggles his toes.  “So?”

I grin, already knowing.  “So?”

“The party.  The date.  Winona!”

“What about them?”  I ask innocently.

“What about them.”  He chuckles.  “If’n ya don’t want ta be keel hauled fer insubordination ye better start talkin matey.”

I giggle.  “Aye aye Cap’n.”

Chapter 56