The old sailor watched as Janice splashed her feet around in the water off the ladder on the back end of the sixty-foot boat.
"A penny for your
thoughts?" the Captain said.
"Oh, hi, Luke. How's the leg today?"
"Couldn't be
better. How's Granite doing?"
"Take a look for
yourself," replied a darkly tanned Janice.
"Never seen a Shepherd
take to saltwater like that one," Luke Perry said in a chipper voice.
"But I guess he's a lot like me in a way.
When you're back from the dead, it's a whole new ball game."
"I can't believe how
well he's doing," said Janice.
"Miracles never cease,
I guess. This eighty-degree water can't
hurt."
"I guess not,"
Janice said matter-of-factly.
"What's wrong,
Janice?"
"Oh, nothing."
"Come on. You can talk to old Luke. You've been all quiet and into yourself
since we hit the Bahamas. You get some
bad chow in Panama? What's wrong? The water too blue for ya?"
"Hardly. It's perfect. Really."
"Out of tequila?"
"Fat chance."
"Then why the sad
face?"
Janice kicked at the water
with the tips of her delicate toes.
"Promise not to
tell?"
"Who would I tell? Ain't nobody on this big ol' barge except
you, me and your Dad."
"I know."
"So-o-o?"
"You met Eddie. I mean, well, of course you met him,"
she began to apologize.
"I got enough stitches
across my forehead to say that I met him head on! So what's the point?"
"No offense intended,
Luke, but you were lucky to get out of this with your life."
"True. We all were for Pete's sake. You, me, Jonathan. His secretary and that pilot.
Your Dad, Mike Nelson, Granite.
All of us."
"Right."
"So what's the
problem?"
Janice just sighed and
kicked at the water some more.
"Come on, kiddo. Talk to me."
"Well, I know this must
sound silly, but, but…"
"But what?" Luke asked.
"I didn't see Eddie
die."
Luke took in a deep breath
before answering the troubled woman.
"Me either, but you
heard what Mike said."
"Yeah," Janice
said. "I did."
"Don't you believe
him?"
"Yeah, I guess,"
Janice said, unconvinced.
"Janice, they searched
that place for a week, and didn't find a thing. Not a trace. It's a nasty
stretch of water, believe me. I crossed
it everyday on my way out of Ilwaco for years when I ran my fishing boat. You lose your ass in the mouth of the
Columbia, nobody's gonna ever find it again."
"I'm sure you're
right."
"You don't sound too
sure," said Luke sadly.
"I just wish I could
have seen it for myself."
"Me too, kiddo, me too,
but I didn't, and that's all right with me.
Because I do know what the
ocean can do to a soul, bad and good.
That's why we're here, remember?"
"Right."
"We cashed in all of our
chips; your dad's trailer, my place, your retirement fund and we bought this
boat and decided to sail the Seven Seas.
If you don't like this one, I'll pull up anchor right now, and we can
head off to wherever you want to go."
"You live
to be on the water, don't you, Luke?"
"It's in my blood, what
can I say?"
"What about dad?"
"He's still running
away, but I think he's getting closer to being able to live with himself,"
said Luke. "It would help a lot if
you would join him."
"You really think he's
going to be okay here?" asked Janice.
"Beats Nebraska, don't
it?"
"Amen, Captain. Amen."
"I'm going to go and
check on the old fart. You gonna join
us?" asked Luke with one eyebrow arched high, raising his scar even
higher.
"Be right there,
Luke," said Janice. "And
Luke?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks."
"Anytime, kiddo."
Luke turned and walked toward
the front of the boat.
Janice continued to twirl
her toes in the warm saltwater, as Granite turned around and started swimming
back towards her. The smile on his face
was worth a thousand words, although he hadn't 'talked' to her since the beach
episode. Maybe he was just happy to be
a dog again. She sighed in resignation
to herself.
"You really are dead,
aren't you, Eddie?" she muttered to herself, as she watched Granite paddle
toward the stern of their boat.
"Eddie…?"