The Young Men and the Sea #3
“I’m Reg, and this is Anthony,” Reg said, holding out his hand to shake while swallowing his sandwich with determination.
Anthony knew that having carbs in the stomach could help counteract seasickness, so he thought this could be a good move.
“And I’m hoping you won’t ask too much about the boys because you won’t be able to tell anybody about them.
I mean, if you’re asked, I’m hoping you’ll be surprised to know we stayed under your benches and lifejackets the whole time. ”
“So surprised,” Eben said, his mouth quirking upward. “But go on.”
“Well, in a perfect world,” Reg said, “we’d have cell reception and we could tell our…
our party who’s going to help us with border patrol—the legal way, at least as far as Canada is concerned—to cross at the ferry and come get us in Victoria.
And then you’d stop in Seattle and fuel up.
” He frowned. “Do you have a slip in Seattle, or would you have to rent one, or―”
“I’d dock a little south,” their friend said, smiling a bit. “This is a small boat, and Seattle is a big harbor. I prefer smaller crowds.” He was leaning against the console, keeping his eye on the horizon and making sure the boat was chugging in the right direction.
“You’re really not going to dump us into the sea?” Anthony asked, suddenly suspicious.
Eben laughed a little and shook his head.
“No,” he said quietly. “I… some people would. Some people would have turned you in to whomever was on the dock this morning. But I always swore I’d do something good if the world put me in that situation.
So here I am, doing something good. I suspect—” He cocked his head at the both of them.
“—that that’s how you both came here as well? ”
Reg nodded earnestly, and Anthony shrugged.
“No?” Eben asked turning toward him.
“No,” Ilia said, surprising them all that he was paying attention.
“He came because Reg came. It’s adorable.
” He paused. “Mr. Roy, uhm, Reg isn’t going to ask, or if he does, we’ll be out to sea first. I’ll ask.
I have no pride. Could you dock at Seattle and then take us to Canada?
It doesn’t have to be Victoria Island. I promise, we’ll go to the authorities to ask nicely to come in, but…
.” His voice wobbled. “We’re in this mess because of my family, you understand.
But now we’re all in this mess, and he’s sick, and―”
Reg stood quickly and came to sit down next to the boy, wrapping his arm around Ilia’s thin shoulders. Usually irrepressible, it was obvious that worry and the terrible night had taken their toll, and Ilia buried his face against Reg’s shoulder and wept.
Eben stared at him for a second, obviously at a loss, and then he turned to Anthony.
“It’s a plan,” he said simply. “But I can’t go with you.
I take care of my father—I had to get a friend to watch him so I could take the boat out for a break.
I really can’t be gone until tomorrow. If I get you to Seattle, I can show you how to pilot well enough to get to Canada, and then I can get a ride home. ”
“Can you at least leave your address?” Anthony asked. “So we can get you back your boat?”
“Just leave it in the slip in Tillamook,” Fields said, shrugging philosophically. “I go out every so often to clear my head, take a breather.” Unconsciously he patted the console. “Saw you guys, and the rest is history.” He gave Anthony a rather sweet smile. “Is that what happened to you?”
Anthony stared at Reg, comforting Ilia, fighting his own seasickness, working so hard to keep the two boys calm and find some way to take care of kids he was under no obligation to help.
Well, except for his own deep sense of rightness, a thing Anthony was starting to think was the sexiest goddamned quality he’d ever seen in a human.
“One foot in front of the other,” he confirmed thoughtfully. “And now we’re all miles from home.”
“Aw, son,” Eben said. “My wife…. God. I miss her so much. Trust me when I say you’re home. When your person is here, you’re home.”
Anthony nodded. “Well, I must trust you—I’m about to let you pilot us along the coastline and then abandon us in Seattle.
Can you help me make Reynaldo comfortable?
I think if we stack the life jackets and the tarps we can keep him warm and cushion him a little.
” He sighed. “I’m glad we’ve got some medicine, but it’s going to be a really shitty day for that kid. ”
“And then, young man, I’ll teach you how to sail.” He glanced at Reg, whose face was almost whiter than Reynaldo’s. “Although sadly, your friend there doesn’t look like it’s his bag.”
“Next time, we’ll remember Dramamine,” Anthony said, and suddenly he was dying for there to be a next time. He wanted the boys safe and Reg at home and all their moments together to be a grand adventure, but without the fear and the worry.
Eben pretty much hit the nail on the head. As long as they were together, they would be home, and home could be the whole wide world, couldn’t it?