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“Edward’s got other friends.”
Edward had plenty of sailing buddies. Dave might be the best, and Garrett the second best on the island, but there’d be plenty of others Edward could call on. Tanner Boating had a loyal sailor following, even if that following didn’t extend to Mark these days.
“You’d really do that for me?”
“Yeah, and I’ve got a third and fourth, but we still need a fifth. But might be hard to find one, this close to race time,” Garrett said.
“I have a fifth. But she’s a novice. Are you up for helping her learn?”
Garrett shrugged. “I’m game if you are.”
* * *
WHEN MARK GOT back to the condos with Garrett in tow, he found Laura furiously vacuuming her condo. She cut the switch and glanced up, seemingly surprised to see them.
“Who’s your friend?” Laura asked, a bit cool.
“Our third sailor, and he’s going to bring two more soon,” Mark announced proudly. Laura stood there, apparently still unsure. He got the feeling he’d done something wrong, but he didn’t know what it was. “Garrett, this is Laura. Laura, Garrett. You still up for sailing?”
Laura hesitated a beat, which wasn’t lost on Mark. Yesterday, she was so excited about sailing she could barely contain herself, and today she was a little lukewarm. “Uh. Sure. Yeah.” Laura gave Garrett a weak smile. “You’re Dave’s brother.”
“Yes, that’s right. But don’t hold me to anything that jerk does.” Garrett shook Laura’s hand as she laughed a little. Mark could see whatever tension was in the room loosen a bit. “I dragged this guy outta bed this morning to tell him I’d join your crew, if he’ll let me.”
Laura suddenly looked happy. “Oh! So that’s where you went!”
“Sorry. Uh, yeah, I went to Garrett’s.” Mark fidgeted. He guessed he should’ve left a note. Now he realized why she was miffed. He’d up and left her in an empty condo. Nice move, Casanova. But she was focused on Garrett.
“Did Mark warn you I know nothing about sailing?” she asked.
“He might have mentioned that.”
“Think you guys can teach me?”
“It depends,” Garrett said. “How badly do you want it?”
* * *
AFTER SIX WEEKS on the boat, every day, day in and day out, Laura was beginning to think that maybe she’d signed up for too much. Her arms ached, her hands felt raw and her back muscles screamed for mercy. Maybe she’d been too quick to assume she could do this, even as Garrett and Mark tried to patiently teach her the ropes—literally. Garrett’s sailing friends, Tim and Gretchen, also helped, rounding out their crew of five.
Still, she hadn’t fallen overboard or let a line go this time, and she was slowly but surely starting to feel more comfortable on board. At least she’d learned all the jargon and could follow orders, which was more than her first day. And her base tan had settled in, so no more burns and no more peeling, even though she still religiously slathered on sunscreen.
She’d overstayed her initial trip, but instead of extending her condo rental, Mark had asked her to stay with him. It had been a delicious six weeks, passing in a blur, and she’d had the time of her life. They spent every day, shoulder to shoulder, on the open water.
Laura hadn’t even cared about cashing in another small 401(k). She’d worry about getting a job, about going back to reality, after the race. She both looked forward to the race, for Mark’s sake, but also dreaded it because it would mean facing up to the problems she’d been avoiding.
She’d have to make a decision soon—in the next week or so—when she planned to leave. Staying would mean taking more money out of savings. She hadn’t planned on draining all her retirement savings, but maybe she’d have to. Yet, the idea of going back to San Francisco made her feel weak-kneed. She wasn’t ready.
And then there was another nagging little problem.
She was late. Laura tried not to think about it too hard. After all, her period was never regular, not for as long as she could remember. She’d skip them all the time with no consequences. She hadn’t even known she was pregnant until week seven, only because a missed period was never cause for alarm.
This time, it was most likely just another skipped period, or maybe her body had not quite gotten back to normal after the miscarriage. Laura couldn’t even wrap her mind around the possibility that she might be pregnant. After that ill-advised first night, she and Mark had been religiously using condoms, and while she knew it was technically possible to get pregnant from one time, she felt her body, her defective body, certainly couldn’t do that.
