Chapter 14
A s they rose from the car, Brody saw the marina’s manager enter into discussion with another customer.
He and Rae settled where the marina’s central building blocked the wind.
Brody had only been back a couple of times.
In the early years after he left for university, the place was too full of his uncle’s absence.
By the time he settled into Charlotte and his new roles as analyst and sailing master on Jacob’s boat, the Island Marina was just part of the life Brody had walked away from.
The marina held a happy lived-in atmosphere and smelled of wet canvas and fuel and fishing gear and salt. In the months after Brody bade the Outer Banks a bitter farewell, his finest and hardest dreams always started with a whiff of that sea-laden perfume.
Charlie Trafford, the marina’s manager for the past decade, glanced over long enough to show Brody wide eyes and an upraised finger. Brody waved back, then led Rae over to where the dockside walkway joined with the structure’s waterfront veranda. He heard Rae ask, “A doubloon for your thoughts.”
“I was remembering the last time Uncle Travis and I spoke.”
Rae settled her left hand next to his, just barely touching. But close enough for him to feel her warmth spread through his entire frame. She asked, “Will you tell me?”
Her closeness only made the recollection more vivid. “It was a day or so before I left for school. Travis was really sick, everything about him looked like he was melting. But whenever I asked, he always said it was just a bad chest cold. I should have, you know …”
Her hand shifted over so as to rest gently on top of his. “This isn’t about regrets. Besides, if Travis wanted you to worry, he’d have said something different. Right?” When Brody did not respond, she squeezed. “Tell me what he said.”
The words sang in the chill December breeze.
“He told me my fears were all based on a myth. I thought staying here meant keeping hold of everything that made this one day so special. What I didn’t understand was how I was caught up in this glorious tidal pool.
Beautiful, easy, floating and spinning, and loving every minute.
But sooner or later the tides would change and the pool would be flooded, and my life would never be the same. And down deep, I already knew this.”
He was silenced by Rae stepping away and shaking her head and brushing the windswept hair from her face. Brody thought she cleared her cheeks as well, but he couldn’t be certain. Then she pointed and said, “Here he comes.”
Charlie Trafford was the other face of island life, a gray-haired castaway with the air of a cheerful cynic.
His nose was heavily veined, his eyes red-rimmed and stained yellow.
But he knew boats, and he was an excellent judge of people.
And he was honest. Charlie liked to say he needed to love money a lot more than he did to steal.
Brody thought the marina’s owners had chosen well.
Charlie stumped over and made a noisy process of welcoming Brody.
Talking about old times, how much Charlie missed Brody’s uncle.
He welcomed Rae with the warmth of a natural salesman.
The marina was moving at a holiday pace.
A few people smiled in their direction, but mostly they got on with preparing for a day on the water.
Charlie dealt with any number of issues while he chatted, keeping a steady eye on his three dockhands as they filled chests with ice, pumped gas, handled a few rentals, brought him papers to check and sign.
Mostly, Brody drifted. The wind might as well have blown straight through him. The only thing keeping him firmly tethered to earth was Rae’s hand.
Finally, Rae said, “We need to accelerate.”
Brody told Charlie, “I’m interested in buying a boat. Ocean going. Thirty feet plus.”
Charlie’s gaze took on a keener slant. “Price?”
Brody shook his head. “First, let’s see if there’s anything worth considering.”
“Well, sure, we’ve got some fine craft here.
” Charlie led them down the last quai holding the longer-term berths.
He halted before a trio of weary craft, all of them over twenty years old and severely weathered.
Three couples appeared on the marina café’s rear deck and observed, trying hard to hide their desperation.
Brody did not bother to step on board. He offered Charlie his hand and said, “I appreciate your taking the time. It would have been nice to do business with my old place. But we’ll be heading for Radio Island. You understand.”
“Hang on, hang on.” Charlie slumped, offering a theatrical gesture for the sake of the watchful owners. “There’s no need to head out. We’ve got plenty—”
“You heard the lady,” Brody warned. “We’re on the clock here.”
Charlie followed them back down the pier. “What exactly does that mean?”
“I want to lease the boat now. If it passes an ocean trial,” he paused for emphasis, then added, “cash buy.”
Charlie studied the two of them a moment longer, then pointed to the marina’s furthest pier. “I might have just the thing.”
As soon as the vessel came into view, Brody announced, “This is perfect.”
Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Rae frowning, and knew she thought it was a foul way to start negotiations. But they didn’t have time for dickering.
“There’s nothing official,” Charlie said, cagey now. “But for the right price … what?”
Charlie stopped because Brody had offered the marina chief his hand a second time. “It’s a great boat, Charlie. And I appreciate you showing us what you have here. It clarifies what to aim for. But like the lady said, we don’t have time for any dance.”
Charlie backed away from Brody’s hand. “Now you just wait a second!”
But Brody was already starting toward the truck. “Come on, Rae. Let’s go see what they have at the Radio Island Marina. It’s larger, and they usually stock a few new—”
“I said wait, now. Just gimme long enough to make a call.”
“No call. Not yet.” Brody gave him stone.
“Let’s make sure we’re clear on terms. First, I lease the boat.
I’m asking for three days, but I’ll settle for two.
Give it an ocean trial. At the end of this time, the owner gives me a price.
Straight from the horse’s mouth. Owner to buyer.
I mean what I say, Charlie. It’s an up or down deal. I don’t dicker.”
Charlie’s inspection was tight now, almost approving. “I know they’re not coming down for the holidays because they told me. What if I could get you a lease through New Year’s Day?”
“Better still, long as the lease price goes toward the final purchase.”
He offered Brody a tight nod. “Let me see if I can reach them. Might as well let me run your card.” As he started away, he added, “Get a load of this. Little Brody Reames. All grown up.”
Soon as Charlie came back and confirmed the deal was moving forward, the marina chief became almost chatty.
He described the owners as his-and-hers hyperachievers.
They held down high-powered jobs in the Research Triangle Park west of Raleigh.
To celebrate the birth of their first child, they bought this boat and started making plans for early retirement so they could up stakes and sail around the world.
But their daughter hated the open water. Charlie described a four-year-old who had to be dragged kicking and screaming from the car. How she wept and begged not to be taken on board.
When they took overnight sails, just the two of them, a weekend proved more than enough time away from their little girl.
Then child number two came along, then dual promotions, and this past summer the boat never left the marina.
Charlie did the necessary engine maintenance, cleaned below the waterline, scrubbed the bilges, and was ready when the couple said it was too much boat to leave tied up dockside.
The engine had less than eighty hours run time, the electronics were state of the art.
On and on Charlie went, clearly loving the boat.
While Charlie nattered, Brody gave the craft a thorough check, from bow to sails to bilges.
All the while, Rae sat on the skipper’s chair, occasionally running her hand around the ship’s helm.
The stainless steel wheel measured a full five feet across.
When Charlie left to deal with another client, Rae asked, “Why do you like this boat so much?”
Brody leaned against the port gunnel and stared through the open hatch leading into the main cabin. “Some say the J Boat is the world’s best combination of racing craft and family cruisers.”
She shook the wheel, back and forth like a happy child. “Tell me why.”
“The J Class racing yachts originated in 1903. They were founded on what’s now known as the Universal Rule, a calculation of sail and keel and boat’s measurements.
It was invented by Nathaniel Herreshoff as a way to maximize speed and stability.
It’s a brilliant concept, Rae. A mathematically precise method of balancing … what?”
“I wish you could see yourself. Go on. Tell me more about old Nat’s rule.”
“You’re making fun.”
“I don’t care about the math, Brody. Talk to me about the boat.”
“The J/112e is a modern rendition of this same mathematical construct. It’s won every build award in the world. And for good reason. A boat this size can easily be handled by one sailor.”
Her hand froze. “That’s what you want, to head into the sunset like some lone water-bound cowboy?”
The solemn way she watched him now, the intense manner, pushed his heart into overdrive. Time slowed to where he could take careful note of the tiniest elements. A single moment captured by a lovely woman’s question. Not what she asked, but what she meant.
Brody tasted the tangy mix of seaweed and winter wind and marina, a flavor he had loved his entire life. It felt so good to speak of such things here. “Rae, I’ve never dreamed I might someday have a lady to share this with.”
It was her turn to go quiet. They might have stayed like that for hours. Days, even. Except Brody heard Charlie’s footsteps hurrying back down the pier. As they turned to greet him, he heard Rae murmur, “And that’s the right answer.”