Osmosis

by Susan X Meagher

  “Any place I pick will probably require shoes, but I’ll try to keep it casual.”

  “Thanks, Catherine. We’ll see you later.” She clicked off and smiled at Jamie. “Now what?”

  “Hmm … what would you do if you could do anything this afternoon?”

  “That’s easy. I’d go to opening day at PacBell Park.”

  Jamie slapped at her gently. “Why don’t you tell me things like this? You know I could have easily gotten us tickets!”

  “I know, I know. But I couldn’t have, and I hate to take advantage of your contacts and your money for things like that.” She shrugged, looking a little guilty. “I know you don’t like it, but I still feel that way.”

  Jamie hugged her, then rubbed her back. “No, I don’t like it, but I like you, so I guess I have to live with all of your awful habits.”

  “You bear it well,” Ryan said. She bent slightly and kissed the top of Jamie’s head.

  Eyes lighting up, Jamie said, “I’ve got a brilliant idea. It won’t cost much and I can guarantee some fast driving and a unique experience.”

  “Duh,” Ryan said, making a face. “When have I ever refused that combo?”

  When they got home, Jamie made a few phone calls without allowing Ryan to hear any of them. At 11:00, she went into Ryan’s room and said, “Dress warmly, but in layers. And bring a jacket.” She paused, eyes narrowed in thought. “And an extra set of clothes.”

  Ryan leaned back in her desk chair and gazed contemplatively at her partner. “Ooh, I love a mystery. Where could we be going that I might have to change? Hmm …” She scratched her head and said, “I hope it’s because you’re going to rip my clothes off me.”

  “Maybe, if you play your cards right. Now get ready! We’ll barely make it as it is!”

  Even though she didn’t know where they were going, Ryan drove Jamie’s car. She assumed they were going across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco, but Jamie had her turn at the exit for the Berkeley Marina. “Cool! We’re going sailing!”

  “No, we’re not,” Jamie said. “But you’re warm.”

  Ryan looked at her, her face showing puzzlement. “Uhm … I like to guess, but I have a feeling I’m missing some of the variables. It’s hard to solve an equation when you’re missing too many.”

  “I barely passed Algebra I, so you’re wasting your breath making math analogies,” Jamie said, smirking. “But you won’t have to guess for long. Park anywhere in here.”

  Ryan did and got out, spending a few seconds stretching. “Now where?”

  “Pick up our bag?” Jamie held up her splint, looking pathetic. “I’m injured.”

  Ryan draped an arm around her and hefted the bag with her other hand. “I know you are,” she said, speaking as she would to Caitlin. “And I think it’s just awful and terrible.”

  “Thank you.” Jamie smiled up at her and led her to the harbormaster’s office.

  “This looks like it’s gonna cost —”

  “Nope. It’s not. Really.” They went inside and Jamie smiled at the young man behind the desk. “Hi. I’d like the keys to slip number sixteen.”

  The clerk smiled back, his gaze lingering a little longer than Ryan liked. “Name?”

  “Evans. Jamie Evans.”

  “Could I see some I.D?” She showed him her driver’s license and he nodded, looked through a registration book, and then turned it around. “Sign right on the X, next to the slip number.”

  She complied, then gave Ryan a smile while the young man retrieved a set of keys. As he handed them over, he said, “She hasn’t been out this year, but we’ve been starting her every week. If you have any trouble, just let me know and I’ll come out and get ’er going for you, Jamie.”

  The combination of his familiar use of her name and the smile he gave Jamie, made Ryan want to rearrange his face.

  Oblivious, Jamie said, “Thanks,” waving goodbye in her typically friendly way that inevitably made men want to follow her around like puppies.

  As soon as they got outside, Ryan tucked her arm around Jamie possessively. “Jag-off can look all he wants, but I get to take you home.”

  Jamie looked up at her, puzzled by her attitude. “Did I miss something?”

  “Nah.” Ryan shook her head. “You never seem to notice how guys look at you. Bugs me sometimes.”

  “I bug you or the guys bug you?”

  “The guys.” Ryan grinned. “You can’t help being gorgeous.”

  “Yeah. That’s me. Since Jordan’s been unavailable, Ralph Lauren keeps calling.”

  “Go ahead, make fun. But I, and most of the men in the Bay Area, think you’re prime eye-candy.”

  Jamie reached out and squeezed Ryan’s hand. “I love every delusional thought in that pretty head.”

  Quickly over her disgruntlement, Ryan glanced around the docks, then back at Jamie. “Right now my head’s wondering what’s in slip sixteen.”

  “Go down this aisle and you’ll find out.”

  They turned and walked past a few boats, then Ryan stopped beside Jamie in front of a power boat. “Do you own this?”

  Jamie shrugged. “Kinda. One Saturday when we were tailgating at a Stanford football game, my dad and some of his friends from college decided to buy a boat. I think they’d all had too many Bloody Marys,” she said, laughing. “They’ve had it for a long time … maybe ten years. I don’t think we’ve been on it more than ten times. Why my father wanted another boat when he spent almost every weekend down in Pebble Beach is a mystery.”

  Ryan walked down the dock, coolly appraising the boat. “It looks … kinda small. I’d have pictured your father going in for something like…” she pointed at a bright red Cigarette boat berthed just a few slips away, “…that.” The sleek boat looked fast and dangerous, even just sitting placidly in the water.

  “No. He’s not really into power-boating. They bought this one for skiing. We took it up to Lake Tahoe a couple of times, ’cause I’m not dumb enough to ski in the bay.”

  “I am,” Ryan said, eyes dancing. “Or wake boarding. That’s what I’d really like to try.”

  “I’ll drive for you anytime, baby, but I am not getting into the bay without a full wetsuit, and I don’t own one.”

  “I own something you don’t?” Ryan clutched dramatically at her heart.

  With a wry grin, Jamie said, “Yes, you do. Probably a lot of things judging from the stuff I’ve seen in your closet. I’ve never yearned to open my own sporting goods store.”

  Ryan looked appraisingly out at the other crafts already out on the water. “I’d love to ski out here. You never see anyone doing it.”

  Jamie cocked her head and gazed at her partner for a long moment. “Does it ever occur to you that there’s a reason other people don’t do it?”

  “Nope.” Ryan gave her a happy smile. “I just figure I’m the first one who’s thought of it.”

  “Delusional, but gorgeous; that’s my girl. Now, help me take off the cockpit cover and we can rock.”

  Not wanting Jamie anywhere near the deck of the boat with her broken elbow, Ryan performed the task on her own. She stowed the cover as instructed and then held out a hand to help Jamie board safely. “I’ll cast off,” she said, jumping back out onto the dock.

  Watching Ryan’s child-like exuberance, Jamie smiled. “Okay. I’ll start ’er up.” She sat down in the white contoured bucket seat on the right-hand side, and adjusted it to her liking. When she turned the key, Ryan’s eyes grew wide.

  “Crap! How big are those engines?”

  Jamie cupped her hand over her ear. “What?”

  Realizing that her partner wouldn’t be able to hear her without a megaphone, Ryan made the hand signal for “Never mind.” Jamie let the boat idle for a while, then signaled Ryan, who released the docking lines and jumped aboard. “How big are the engines?” she asked, right into Jamie’s ear.

  “Engine. Just one. An inboard diesel 350,” Jamie said. “Small boat, big engine. You do the math.
”

  “Physics,” Ryan said, grinning toothily. “Water displacement, weight, force, thrust … that’s physics.”

  “That’s nice, honey. Now shut up, sit down, and hold on.”

  Ryan’s eyes bugged out, but she did as she was told, settling herself in the seat next to Jamie. A few moments later, she was grateful for the instruction—except for the shut up part—when Jamie smoothly guided the small boat out of the slip and put it into gear. Though they were moving relatively slowly, Ryan could feel the force of the powerful engine, and was almost drooling at the thought of being able to open it up once they were free of the marina.

  Jamie grinned when they left the calm, protected waters and she slowly eased the throttle forward. Ryan’s heart picked up at seeing the pleasure in her partner’s eyes at doing something a little risky. They were moving pretty quickly, the mist hitting them in the face and whipping their hair around—even though Ryan had tied hers back. “We can’t ski at this speed,” Ryan said, projecting her voice to be heard over the engine.

  “We’re not going skiing!” Jamie smiled and shook her head. “You’d get hypothermia in two minutes!”

  “Okay. Just riding around is fun. But you’ve gotta go faster to make me happy.”

  “Wanna drive?” Jamie asked nonchalantly, already knowing the answer.

  “Yeah!”

  “Have you ever driven a power boat?”

  “Nope. But I’m sure I could. How hard can it be?”

  Ryan was smiling so brightly, that Jamie ignored her lack of experience and cut the throttle to switch seats. “Now, don’t go nuts,” she warned. “I’m not sure whether this engine could flip the boat, and I don’t wanna find out.”

  Ryan scowled at her. “I’m not reckless. Just … reck-deficient.”

  “It responds very quickly,” Jamie said. “Doesn’t take much to change direction, so don’t over steer. You do know that the stern turns when you steer, don’t you?”

  “I forget what the stern is.” Ryan said with a grin. “Just let me play a little. I’ll go slow and see how it moves.”

  She did as she’d promised, keeping the boat at low speed while she eased it through a series of gentle, then sharp turns. Then she increased the speed to see how that changed the dynamics. “You could easily lose your tail-end at full throttle,” she said. “Easily.”

  “That’s the stern, by the way,” Jamie provided. “And it’s very easy to get into trouble with a small, fast boat. Add a little alcohol and you’ve got an express ticket to the trauma unit.”

  “You’ve had enough trauma for one lifetime,” Ryan said, making a sad face when she looked at Jamie’s splint. “I’ll be a good girl.”

  “You don’t have to be too good. Just don’t flip it.”

  “Can I go anywhere I want?”

  “Sure. But do me a favor and head down south. You’ll like it better there.”

  “Cool. We can go under the Bay Bridge.” Ryan headed for the massive structure and gazed up in wonder as they passed underneath it. “Cool! Way cool!” Frowning, she said, “Could use a little maintenance. I’m gonna cross my fingers next time we drive over it.”

  Ryan followed Jamie’s suggestion and continued to head south, picking up speed as they went. She kept increasing the speed until she began to doubt her ability to handle the boat, then backed off a hair. The thrill of the water flying in her face, the wind whipping her hair and clothes, and the thud of the boat hitting the small swells had Ryan giddy with happiness. “You sure do know how to give me a treat,” she yelled.

  “That’s my job,” Jamie yelled back.

  They continued hugging the coast until they approached the new ball park. “Looks so cool from this perspective!” Ryan marveled.

  “Slow down!”

  Ryan did, slowing until they could hear each other. “What?”

  “Pull into the cove.”

  Ryan grinned. “Really?”

  “Yeah. If we hang out here and turn on the radio, we can listen to the game and catch home runs.”

  “Cool!” Ryan slowly motored around, surprised at how many other people were doing the same thing.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, there aren’t any brakes, so go super slow. When you get to where you want to be, just put it in neutral. I’ll set the anchor when you’re ready.”

  Ryan looked at the stadium, then at the position of the other boats. There were sailboats and powerboats, and a row boat that made her wonder how in the heck it had gotten that far. She made a guess at how far a ball would have to travel to clear the low, right field fence, then said, “This is good.”

  Jamie got up and moved carefully to the bow, where she opened a small hatch. She grabbed the anchor and tossed it. “Just let the current position the boat properly to keep us still.” When she got back to the cockpit, she said, “Good job.”

  “You shouldn’t have been up there,” Ryan said. “I’m worried about your balance.”

  “I’m fine,” Jamie assured her as she sat and turned on the radio, tuning it to the station that carried the Giants. The announcer was talking about the park, noting that the visiting Dodgers were just about to take batting practice.

  “They won’t announce when a ball’s gonna reach the wall,” Ryan said, frowning. “Not like they will during the game.”

  “True. But why would you want to hear an announcer describing batting practice?”

  “So I’d know where to look to see a ball fly out.”

  Jamie looked at her, a little puzzled. “I guess you’ll just have to look up.” With a little help from Ryan, she took off her jacket then leaned her seat back. Looking up into the clear, blue sky, she sighed dramatically. “La dolce vita, eh?”

  “Oui,” Ryan said, grinning back. She lowered her seat as well, lacing her hands behind her head. “I guess I don’t mind some of your connections and some of your money.”

  “My dad has to pay his quarter share every month, whether he uses the boat or not, so all we have to do is fill ’er up when we get back.”

  “I don’t know how much that’ll cost, but it’s probably less than paying a scalper for tickets. I heard they were going for up to a thousand bucks.”

  “I probably could have had my dad get us a pair,” Jamie said, shooting a glance at her partner, “but I know you don’t like that.”

  “No, not so much. Although it was cool when he gave us the tickets his law firm had.”

  “I don’t think he has access to those like he used to, but I’m sure they’d jump through hoops to give them to him if he asked.”

  “That’s why I don’t like to ask.” Ryan took in the raised eyebrow. “He was powerful before, but now …” she shook her head, “he could get whatever he asked for.”

  “I hope he doesn’t abuse his power,” Jamie said idly. “I’m sure it’s hard not to.”

  They heard the crowd start to murmur, then people started to cheer. “Somebody must have hit one out,” Ryan said, craning her neck.

  “Cool. The crowd will tell us what’s happening. That’s as good as having an announcer.”

  They bobbed in the water, basking in the warm, sunny day. They could feel the excitement from the capacity crowd, and Ryan pointed out that pedestrians could stand just outside the stadium and watch the action through a large gate.

  The announcer’s voice was soothing and calm, and the sun was making Jamie so sleepy that she wished she’d had an extra coffee before they’d left. The Giants were taking batting practice and she vaguely heard the crowd start to roar, just as Ryan tried to stand up. Jamie’s quick reflexes, combined with Ryan’s difficulty in getting out of the small cockpit, allowed her to throw herself at Ryan and grab her jeans pocket an instant before Ryan tried to jump into the water.

  A ball made a splash about ten feet in front of their boat, and several nearby boats converged, trying to reach the ball before anyone else. Jamie yanked hard, pulling Ryan back down into her seat just a moment before another boat hit them just to t
he right of the bow. Their boat was pushed hard to the left, as they both shifted hard to the right. Hitting the gunwale with her right arm, Jamie yelped in pain.

  “Fuck!” Ryan cried. “Mother-fucker hit us!”

  “God damn it! If I hurt my good arm, somebody’s gonna pay!” Jamie cradled it close to her body.

  Ryan reached for her and carefully inspected her arm from wrist to shoulder, seeing nothing but a faint red mark. “Does it hurt?” she asked, moving it gently.

  Jamie rubbed the spot, testing it, then shook her head. “Not too much. I think it’s just a bruise.” She looked over and saw the passenger from the boat that hit them fighting over the ball with another man who’d jumped out of his boat, leaving it idling with no one in the captain’s seat. “What in the hell do these idiots think they’re doing?” She turned and punched Ryan hard on the shoulder. “What in the hell were you doing?”

  “Ow!” Looking thoroughly chastised, Ryan rubbed her shoulder. She shifted her eyes downward as she answered, “I was gonna jump in to get the ball.” She met Jamie’s eyes and said, “It was irresistible!”

  “Change seats,” Jamie said, nearly growling.

  Ryan got up and stood behind the two chairs, seeing and waving down a police boat. The officers acknowledged her, but first went to the two men who were still in the water. They helped the pilot of the large boat get back into his craft, then fished out the other man. The second man held the ball while the first tried to lean over and take it from him, reaching around the police officer to try and grab it.

  The policemen separated them, then began writing citations. Amid loud accusations and complaints, they cited each man then moved back to Jamie and Ryan. “What happened?” one officer asked.

  “When the ball landed, the guy in the navy blue Chris Craft zoomed in on it and hit us. He didn’t even stop to see if we were all right.” Jamie cast a look of disbelief at the offending pilot.

  “Where’d he hit you, ma’am?”

  “Just off the bow, on the starboard side. He was the give-way vessel!” she fumed. “I was at anchorage, you dim-wit,” Jamie shouted to the other boat. “Have you ever heard of the stand-on vessel!”