Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
“Well, hi. I hope Penny didn't tell you all the bad parts!” I said. “Would you like a drink?”
“Actually we're headed back to Midsummer. Ma wants a hot shower and supper, but you
are welcome to come over for a drink later if you like?” His television shaped, gold rimmed
glasses reflected the dying tropical sun as he sat down and pushed off. I looked at Penny
and caught her eye. She smiled boldly.
“Perhaps we will bring a bottle of port over later for a nightcap,” I yelled, grinning back.
“Just bring yourselves!” yelled Elizabeth over the noise of the outboard engine, “We'll
keep some dessert for you!”
We rowed over a couple of hours later after eating a light supper of rice and some fish that
we had dived up earlier. We took the bottle of sherry we had bought from Oahu. Kevin and
Elizabeth were charming hosts and talked proudly of their hometown in Vancouver Island.
He was a successful fisherman and had a large trawler in which he netted great quantities of
sockeye salmon in the summer months. Elizabeth must obviously have been quite a looker
when younger. She smoked incessantly now and had a heavy hand with the bottle, the ef-
fects of which had played most heavily on her current looks. Still, she was bubbly and fun.
She took an immediate liking to Gavin and I. Penny and her brother, Craig, were attentive
and laughed a little too much at our exploits, almost as though they found our company a
welcome change from their family's.
Gavin was in top form, well fortified with sherry, and was angling after Penny for all he
was worth. I usually kept quiet in these situations, as he did most of the talking anyway. I
was also smarting from some of his remarks on how bossy I had become and how disad-
vantaged he was when it came to women, as I had the boat.
Craig was shy. I believe he was younger, and he seemed almost bullied by his sister. She
was also bigger than him. He was the introvert and, I could tell, rather sensitive. He blushed
easily, was good-looking in a pretty way, and had wavy, blonde hair and deep cornflour
blue eyes that gazed intently upon you, and then would flit shyly away. I ought to warn him
of the crew on Neptune's Chariot; they would not leave him alone!
We swapped yarns about our trips, boats, and cruising in general. It was agreed: there was
no better lifestyle! We talked about Neptune's Chariot, and they howled with laughter at
Gavin's comic and rather lurid description of the evening that we had been rescued. We
also talked about the American couple, Steve and Linda, and how we felt that he was a
bit odd. Kevin was amazed at my luck in finding the spring in the deserted workshop. He
knew quite a lot about engines and felt that the spring wouldn't last too long. He advised
saving it for the channel out. We also discussed the dramatic events of the near death fall
of the Swedish couple's daughter. Elizabeth had heard from the crew on Southern Star that
