Chapter 16
16
T he attendants boarded Nana first, two young men on either side of her, each holding her elbow as they guided her along the wooden dock.
Greer chuckled. “I’m surprised your mother isn’t telling them she can do it on her own.”
Dean snorted heartily. “My mother pass up having two handsome, strapping young men hold her arms? Never. She is the worst flirt.”
Greer held on to his arm, this handsome, strapping older man. “Even when your dad was alive?”
“ Especially when my dad was alive. He always encouraged her. The old man—” He shook his head, eyes twinkling. “—didn’t have a jealous bone in his body. But her flirting was pretty mild. Dad, though, he never flirted. I think my mother would have shot him if he did.”
Bernice, overhearing the conversation, added, “She would have bobbitized him.”
Beside her, Ralph said, “Your word choice makes me shiver deep inside. Shooting would be better.”
Bernice just laughed.
They climbed onto the boat, and the younger generation, which meant those in their thirties and early forties, ascended the stairs, finding spots on the taut canvas stretched over the lower cabin, their feet dangling. It was a perfect spot for watching the sunset.
“Want to join them up top?” Dean asked.
Greer shook her head. “Let’s sit down here with your mother.”
Nana sat in the center of the front row, Bernice and Ralph next to her, Fabiola, Sylvia, and Ian on her other side. Dean guided Greer into the last two seats in the row.
A deckhand appeared with a tray of drinks. “With priority boarding,” she said, offering the tray, “you get a drink of your selection. We have chardonnay or merlot, as well as a margarita or beer.” A polite smile on her lips, she looked at down at Nana. “What would you like, madam?”
“Oh my.” Then Nana pointed. “I must have a margarita.”
The deckhand moved quickly along the row, and both Dean and Greer chose margaritas.
He leaned forward, holding up his glass to toast Nana. “To a fabulous cruise for our amazing mother.”
Nana giggled and gulped her margarita. Then she squeezed her eyes shut in a shudder of delight. “Oh my. That is so delicious, I might have two.”
“Your mother is utterly adorable.” Greer tapped her plastic glass to Dean’s. “Tell me how your parents met.”
“Dad was my mother’s best friend’s younger brother.”
Greer widened her eyes. “That’s a mouthful. How much younger?”
Humor glinted in his. “Two years. They’d only dated for a couple of months before they got married, but my mother had known him for years. She always said she was just waiting for him to grow up. And they had to rush. He was leaving for the Korean War. He’d already joined the Navy.”
“That must have been hard for your mom, her new husband going off to war.”
“Yeah. But it was so close to the end of the war by then.” He beamed a big smile. “And she was pregnant with Bernice even before he left.”
Greer gasped. “That must have been horrible, being pregnant and terrified your husband might never come home.”
Dean sobered. “She must have been terrified. At least until the war officially ended. He still didn’t come home right away, of course. But she always jokes about it, claiming she’d have had to kill him if he didn’t come home alive. But that’s her way. She’d rather make a joke.”
Greer slipped her arm through Dean’s and laced her fingers with his. “I truly think I’m in love with your mother. She’s such a delight.” Then she added, not letting any sadness creep into her voice, “My parents were always a bit staid. There certainly wasn’t as much laughter in my house as there must have been in yours.” Her father’s motto was that children should be seen but not heard. She’d learned to be very quiet, and no running allowed.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Then I’m glad you’re able to join us tonight. Because, believe me, my mother will keep you in stitches.”
She was more than glad. She was enchanted. By his mother, by his family. And most especially by him. But something kept her from giving him more than a smile. Maybe it was the thought of Conrad’s voicemail still waiting for her.
The boat pulled away from the dock, picking up speed, and before long the Mexican coastline glided by, until the hotels and high-rises of Puerto Vallarta disappeared behind them. As the sun dipped toward the horizon, its colors spread across the clouds, and the water grew choppy, the boat bouncing through the swells.
Not bothered in the least, Nana cried out with joy. “It’s like a roller coaster.”
Next to her, Fabiola said, “Just don’t get seasick, Nana.”
Her mother came back quickly with, “Right back at you. I remember you throwing up on the ferry to Tiburon when you were a little girl,” and suitably chastised Fabiola.
“Got her,” Dean said close to her Greer’s ear.
She shared a smile with him. “I love your mother’s witty repartee.”
As they powered farther out to sea, Greer finished her margarita. The sun dipped into the clouds and streaked the sky with color, purple, vermilion, yellow, and burnt orange.
“The sunset is so beautiful. Let’s go up to the top deck and stand by the railing,” she suggested.
“Sounds like an amazing idea.” Dean helped her to her feet as a deckhand came by to collect their empty glasses. With the boat pitching in the swells, it wasn’t as easy to walk as she’d thought. But grabbing the stair rail, she hauled herself up.
Behind her, Nana called out, “I want to go up there too.”
Dean held up a hand. “I can barely stand up myself. In fact, I might pitch right back down to you. So please stay down there on the seats. You can still see the sunset out the side.”
Greer turned slightly, and they both smiled at his mother’s smirk. But she didn’t get up, especially when Greer stumbled on the steps. “You really need sea legs on this one.” She white-knuckled the stair rail. “You’re doing much better than me.”
“I’ve got my dad’s sea legs,” Dean quipped, waving at his nieces and nephews sitting on the canvas, their feet dangling.
She made it to the cable railing and clutched it. Along with widening her stance to get a better footing, it was enough to steady her. Beside her, Dean did the same.
The wind blew through her hair. “I’m glad I brought along a shawl.” She picked at the fabric, which, when she’d chosen it, she thought might be too warm. With the wind chill out here, it was perfect.
“You can have my jacket if you get cold,” Dean offered chivalrously.
She sent him a smile with only her eyes. “Thank you, but I’ll be okay.”
Dean locked his gaze on her for a moment as she pulled strands of hair away from her lips. Then they both watched the colors deepen across the sky.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “If I wasn’t afraid I’d fall over, I’d take a few pictures.”
He took his phone from his pocket. “I’ll take the pictures and send them to you.” While he stood in a wide stance, Greer braced him with a hand on his shoulder as he snapped pictures of the gorgeous sunset.
When the sun touched the horizon, she could almost hear it sizzle. “Thank you. But I didn’t mean for you to take your life in your hands.” Though humor laced her voice, she didn’t want to think what would have happened if they’d hit a swell at that moment.
Ahead of them, a spit of land rose out of the ocean. Greer thought they’d gone far out to sea, but to her distant left, she could make out more coastline. They reached the island at deep twilight, another boat also arriving, probably with passengers from a different harbor. Since they had priority wristbands, they were called to disembark first.
After getting used to the rocking of the boat, Greer felt steadier on her feet as she made her way back to the stairs, though she still clung to the railing as she went down.
Nana said, “Wasn’t the sunset totally boss?”
Greer laughed, though she thought boss might be old slang rather than new. “Totally,” she agreed as she took her seat.
Departing the boat, their group joined a stream of passengers on the wooden jetty to shore. The island appeared to be a massive rock, with high cliffs and pathways leading left and right along the outer edge. Tiki torches blazed along the walkway to the shore, and tea lights illuminated the hillside trails.
Nana, just ahead of her, clapped her hands. “Look!” She pointed at a rock outcropping in the water. “There’s a mermaid.”
A young woman became visible in the twilight, her long hair a glossy black as it fell to her waist in thick curls. An iridescent costume covered her from breasts to feet, ending in the shimmering fins of a mermaid. Her sequined outfit sparkled in blues and greens as she waved at passersby.
Nana put her hands together in prayer. “Oh, please, take a picture of the mermaid.” And the beautiful young woman posed sweetly for Dean’s camera phone.
Directing some passengers to a path on the right, the attendants then herded their party to the left, following a trail of tea lights along the cliffside. More tiki torches burned over the water, wispy puffs of smoke rising into the air.
Fanciful creatures greeted them along the way. A leopard man in a mask that seemed molded to his face, then a tree man so realistic that she didn’t notice him until a branch brushed her arm. A caveman brandished a spear, and a troll invited them under a bridge.
The path wide enough for two, Greer slipped her arm through Dean’s. “I love all the creatures popping out everywhere. This place is marvelous.”
They climbed down rocky stairs, along more pathways, up more stairs, passing tables lit by tea lights stuffed into every nook and cranny. With the slightly uneven trail and steps, Greer was glad she’d worn low-heeled sandals.
A buffet lay near the bottom of yet another set of steps, this one overlooking a beach and a small bay. On the sand below, tables for two were only half filled, and more tables sat up on the cliffs with a glorious view of the ocean.
Bernice leaned in close to say something to the hostess, and the woman led them up a path to a long table on a large plateau, the cutlery already set, the tea lights flickering.
When Dean would have helped Greer to a seat, Bernice shook her finger at him, smiling devilishly. “Oh no. We’ve got a special table for you two down on the beach.”
“You didn’t,” Dean said.
Bernice winked at him. “Oh yes, I did, brother dear.” Then she waved a hand over the table. “Besides, there’s no room for you here.”
The hostess spoke up politely. “I will be happy to show you to your table, sir.”
Taking Greer’s hand, he grimaced. “Do you mind?”
While she adored his mother and had fallen in love with his family, she relished the time alone with Dean in the intimate beach setting. “I don’t mind at all.”
The hostess led them down flagstone steps to the sand. The table assigned to them lay far enough from the cliff that she could see Dean’s family above. Though she waved and called out, the shush of the waves against the shore whisked away her words.
After seating them, the hostess asked for their drink orders, and Dean said, “I hear you have a delicious pomegranate daiquiri.” When the woman nodded, he looked at Greer. “Is that good for you?”
“I’d love to try it.”
Alone again, Dean put his elbows on the table. “The dinner, the show, the drinks, everything is included.”
Greer was glad she didn’t have to tussle over the bill again. “It’s so lovely here. I thought I’d be cold since it was so windy on the boat. But it’s mild and even warm here by the bay.” The air was balmy, almost erotically sultry. “Oh look, there are rafts out there.”
Rowboats ferried couples out to wooden rafts bobbing on the water, the tables set for two.
After turning back to her, Dean said, “Now that’s romance personified. Shall I see if there’s another open raft?”
Greer gave a shake of her head, smiling. “I might actually get seasick out there.”
He puffed out a chuckle. “I don’t believe it.”
They gazed at each other for a long, sweet moment before she said, “Dining on the beach with you is romance personified. I don’t need anything else.”