Page 21 of Awake in Cheshire Bay
“No.”
And the game continued until we got into the bigger boats, the granddaddies of the meek sailors. The kind of boats you stared at as it pulled into the harbour. There were two of these grand vessels docked.
I took a chance and pointed to the smaller of the two. “That?”
“No. That one.”
That one was at least a hundred feet long, and I suspected it had to back into the dock as it was pointed toward the opening of the inlet. It had two visible levels, all with darkened windows. The sleek exterior with red canvas deck chairs sent my imagination running wild with curiosity over what the inside was like, and the type of occupants it carried across the ocean.
“You’ve been on that?”
He nodded and there was a flicker of change behind his eyes. “Like mine.”
“Like yours?” My jaw unhinged at the knowledge I’d been correct. Antonio wasn’t just a developer; he was a mega-rich developer. “You own one of these?”
The guy was beyond loaded. Wow. It was crazy how I hadn’t truly suspected as much all along. He did arrive with his own flight crew, after all.
“Grand Divertmento.”
What? Oh, right. “That’s what you named your boat? What does divertmento mean?”
“Big fun, bad name.” He shook his head as he laughed.
Big fun? Yeah, it was funny, a horrible name mind you, but funny. Mind you, I could relate - my pub name wasn’t much better – Amber’s Ale. “Where do you cruise to?”
“Mediterranean Sea.”
Jiminy Crickets. My geography knowledge was fairly limited, but I knew where that was. Damn. What would it be like to sail on that sea?
“That’s on my bucket list of places to visit when I’m old and retired.”
“Better when young.”
“Perhaps, but I’d need the money to get there. That’ll come in about twenty years.” Unless I struck it rich in a lottery I never played.
“May be,” he broke it into two distinct words, “some day soon.”
I laughed, and let the words fall out of my mouth, and cocked my head to the left. “You going to be the one to take me?”
“Why not? It be good.”
I swallowed and tried to contain my stare. Surely, he was only saying it to be polite.
“Do you not like travel?”
“I’d love to, I don’t have the means to travel. The furthest I’ve been to is the mainland, to Vancouver. Otherwise, I’ve been on this island all my life, even though I have a passport, which I need in case I travel to Seattle.”
Eric sometimes flew over there, and every once in a while, I’ve wanted to catch a flight just to go and see what Seattle looks like. Some day I’ll find it in me to actually buy a ticket.
“All your life?”
I nodded. I didn’t want for much though. Everything I needed was tucked into this small section of the planet. “Where’s the best place you’ve ever been?”
He rubbed his chin, and we started our walk toward the shore, as waves gently slapped against the dock. “Greece is beautiful.”
“I can only imagine.”
“Some day, I will show off.” His fingers entwined with mine.