Dangerous Shores: Book Three; The End of the Road

by Christine Conaway

  Fifteen minutes later, Hannah Ellen and Olivia were back in the cockpit wrapped in beach towels and Alan and Frank went to the bow.

  By the time they all had returned to the cockpit, Ellen had put on her swim suit and armed with a bottle of simple green and the deck brush she went back to the bow. She had scrubbed her way aft on both sides. Hannah had removed the seat cushions and scrubbed the cockpit. They filled the other two tubs that Hannah had brought up and set them on the cabin top in line with the first and tied them all together. If they didn’t lose all the water from the wave action, the first calm day they would scrub all the bedding.

  The wind continued at ten to fifteen knots, but that was as strong as it blew. With the water catcher folded and in the cockpit, Alan raised both sails and they continued on headed north up the coast of Mexico. They had no intentions of stopping anywhere until they reached San Diego. The rain had come exactly when they needed it and Olivia said it was because she had been praying for it every night.

  Not one of the adults was going to crush her beliefs and say differently. Right after they left the Dry Tortugas, they decided their individual views on religion or politics were subjects to be left behind. Having different views would only lead to strained relationships on such a small boat and so they really knew nothing of each other’s beliefs. So far it had worked out well for them.

  Hannah had made homemade soup from the freeze dried meat and vegetables. Now having ample water, she felt they could make use of some of the dehydrated and freeze dried foods. The soup went over well with the cornbread.

  After dinner Olivia sat between Alan and Hannah. She looked first at Hannah and then around the cockpit, “We didn’t thank God for the water. We all needed it and God sent it, but we didn’t say thanks. Why is that?”

  Hannah chose to answer, “Well, I guess we were going to leave it up to you. We are probably not as close to God as you are.”

  “Did you know that Christmas is coming soon? If you are not nice you won’t get any presents. Did you know that?”

  They looked at each other in silence. Finally, Ellen said, “Christmas? Has it been that long?”

  “We celebrated Thanksgiving in Panama and we’ve been out here for…how long?”

  “Look in the book. Don’t you write the dates down when you do sights?” Alan asked.

  “Right.” Frank said and open the log book up. He had been writing down the date, or what he thought the date was since leaving Colon. “Well, it looks like Olivia is right. Christmas is just around the corner. I guess we better see what we can do to celebrate it. And you little girl, isn’t it time for bed?’

  “Aw, I guess so,” she said and as if reminded that she was indeed tired a yawn escaped. She laughed into her hand and gave them all a hug goodnight.

  Hannah went below with Olivia to get her settled. When it was time to tuck her in and give her a hug Hannah marveled how good, clean little girls smelled. She was reminded of how bad they all must have stunk, but no one had said anything. They all washed up with saltwater every day, but obviously using freshwater had made a difference.

  Within minutes of being tucked in, Olivia’s breathing slowed and she was asleep.

  Hannah went back up top. The other three were sitting and talking quietly among themselves. She addressed Frank, “Okay, Olivia didn’t see your look of panic but I did. What’s up?”

  “Olivia is right. Christmas is in four days. This is December twenty-first. I can’t believe I didn’t see it. Every day I write the date but it never dawned on me Christmas was even this month. I haven’t celebrated it since Amanda died. It’s always been just another day. What are we going to do?”

  “I never have Christmas either except to send gifts to my friend’s kids back home. Usually I’m hanging out on the boat somewhere.”

  “I always get stuck working somewhere on Christmas and my Dad forgot years ago what Christmas was. We never celebrated it either.” Alan admitted.

  As one they looked at Hannah. She was doing her best not to cry and Alan pulled her close. “Let me guess you always have a big Christmas and get lots of gifts.”

  Hannah shook her head no, “Mom and I always went out on the boat and spent a few days together. We weren’t much on buying gifts. We would make each other something and have a nice barbeque.”

  “Well what are we going to do for Olivia?” Frank wanted to know. “I think the best we can do is get to the farm and then worry about Christmas.”

  “It feels like we’ll never get there. We’ve been like three months and we’re where? Mexico?” Alan sounded petulant even to his own ears and ducked his head embarrassed.

  “That’s a good guess Alan. We are, but in another 10 days or so we should be in San Diego. We’re going to have to stay closer to land than I like but it will keep us out of the southerly current.”

  “So, let me suggest we plan Christmas for after we get to San Diego. Olivia won’t know the difference and for us adults…well we’re old enough we don’t need a present exchange or anything.” `1`1

  “Ellen, you underestimate her. She knows exactly what day it is. Every day she writes in the journal you gave her. Olivia is not your normal seven-year-old.”

  Ellen was getting ready to answer when she saw Hannah stiffen and rub her stomach. “Are you okay? What’s the matter?”

  Hannah smiled and nodded, “I think I just felt the baby move.”

  “Oh my gosh can I feel?” Ellen asked, but didn’t wait for Hannah to answer. She moved across the cockpit and put her hand on Hannah’s stomach. “Is that it?” she asked when she felt a little ripple under the skin. She moved her hand around but didn’t feel it again.

  “Well, that’s a Christmas present in itself.” Alan said. “I guess the best thing to do is talk to Olivia and explain about not having Christmas this year or at least putting it off until we get to the farm. She’s smart enough to know how hard it would be to have it out here.”

  “I’ll do it.” Hannah offered.

  “As much as I hate to I’d like to bring up the fuel situation. We’ve had to use the motor an awful lot and as much as I’d like to not go there, we have to stop somewhere and try to find some fuel. We can’t just put a tarp up and catch some, so we need to go to land. I had really hoped to run into Chuck and his guys somewhere along the way, but I guess that isn’t going to happen so it will have to be up to us to find it. The trip up the California coast will be the hardest part of the journey with the current and the wind both against us.”

  “We need to get a better patch on the hull while we’re at it too. I noticed I either need to replace the one we have or do something more permanent.”

  “With the beating we’re going to take up the coast I suggest something more permanent, but let’s see how it is in San Diego before we do anything.” Frank had been keeping an eye on Ellen’s repairs and more than once she had to add more tape to the inside as well as the outside. Without something more permanent, he wasn’t sure how well the crack in the hull would survive the beating.

  Chapter Nine - Camp Pendleton Marina

  The next ten days were hell on all of them. Poor Hannah and Olivia were both seasick. And had been for three days. The wind, contrary to normal blew out of the southwest turning the ocean into a rolling bed of foam. The tops blew off the waves and the water churned around them. Frank had tried tacking but the beating to their hull had taken had opened the crack up exactly as he had predicted.

  Ellen had tried a complete new patch but they had run out of the industrial tape and plain old duct tape wouldn’t stick on the wet fiberglass.

  Ellen came back to the cockpit and unclipped her harness from the tether. “Damn, I don’t know why we didn’t fix it properly when we had the opportunity in Flamenco!”

  “It wasn’t leaking then so it was out of sight out of mind. We’ll take care of it when we get to San Diego. Or where ever we decide to put in. You might want to pull your chart out because we should start seeing the coastline sometim
e after sunrise.”

  Ellen glared up at the gray sky, squinting to see through the rain. It had been falling for the past two days making all of them miserable. Everything inside the boat was damp, including their bedding. With Hannah and Olivia down, Ellen was doing more than her share, taking on the cooking duties as well as her turn at the helm.

  Alan had made up a drink from packaged Jell-O and water to keep Olivia and Hannah hydrated as well as giving them some nutrition no matter how little the drink contained. Two days of solid vomiting was beginning to take its toll on the both of them. He was especially concerned with Hannah because of the baby. Not only was she losing precious fluids orally, but the baby was depleting her system even farther.

  He went topside to talk to Frank and Ellen. “I’m worried. They’re both dehydrated and neither can keep anything down. I just gave them both some more Jell-O water.”

  “What else can we do?” Ellen asked, at first she had thought the flu had caught up to them, but Alan assured them it was not the flu.

  “Until we get to shore, there is no stopping the movement of the boat. We’re laying in the trough and it can’t be helped. The hull won’t take the pounding when we tack out so we have no choice. If it helps at all we’ll be on shore by tomorrow.” Frank told him. “That’s the best I can offer.”

  Alan had been sitting studying his clenched hands. He looked at Frank expectantly. “Tomorrow? Are you sure?”

  Frank pointed over Alan’s shoulder. “There is the coast right there. That’s why the ride is so rough. We are angling in and hopefully I’ve planned right and we’ll enter the boat basin about full daylight.

  “Well that is great news. Just knowing we’re going to be stopped soon may help both of them. I guess I’ll go and give them the good news.” He left and went below.

  “What do you think we’ll find when we get there?”

  Frank thought for a few seconds and answered, “I’m hoping to find Chuck and his boys. I guess I’ve been harboring the idea that things were okay in California. That the lights would be on and life was going on as usual. That we’ve been on some kind of a wild goose chase.”

  Ellen laughed, “Yeah? Well get out of my dreams then, because that’s exactly the recurring dream I’ve been having. We sail into port and there are power boats running in and out of the marina and cars on the highway. Street lights all work and people are not killing each other.”

  They sat in silence for several minutes thinking on what Ellen had said. If the lights were indeed on, and life was rolling along at a normal pace; what did that mean for them? Would someone be waiting for them with warrants for arrests? Could they be accused of kidnapping Olivia? There were so many unknowns.

  “At least the wind is dying down. It should make our trip in a little more comfortable.” Ellen was behind the wheel while Frank was stretched out in the cockpit. Neither of them had been getting much sleep, but they preferred to spend their time at the helm working in tandem. They would take turns navigating and sleeping. Whenever one of them grew sleepy they would change places. They found themselves talking far more than sleeping.

  She thought Frank was asleep when he remained silent for an extended length of time. He surprised her when he spoke.

  “Have you thought of the possibility of Olivia and Hannah having the flu? We are coming up on flu season, but what if Olivia has been harboring a germ or virus and it is just now, for some reason exposing itself?”

  “I have thought of that. However, she was exposed to the plague if we understood her father correctly, not the flu. They have flu or symptoms of being seasick; nothing more. Because if it is more, then we are all finished. I don’t want to even think that it could be more.”

  He had his eyes closed listening to her, “I don’t think I could stand losing one more person from my life.” Frank cleared his throat, “When I lost my wife Amanda, I closed myself off to feelings. I buried myself in self-pity. It was all ‘oh poor me’ and what I lost, when in reality it should have been poor Amanda; she lost everything. To this day I am not sure I ever loved her enough or at least as much as she deserved. I shall always regret that, but it doesn’t and can’t govern the rest of my life. Rest assured there is no one on this earth that I put in front of all of you. Not even myself. When we finally get to this farm of yours, then and only then will it be time for us as a couple. That’s if you feel the same as I do.”

  Ellen sniffed and wiped her eyes. Listening to him talk and the words he’d said had expressed her feelings exactly. She could not ever remember someone else’s words making the hair on her arms tingle. It was like listening to Adele or Jordan sing, completely mesmerizing her. She didn’t know what she could say to him that would carry as much feeling as he had instilled with his words.

  “Sounds wonderful to me.” Then she started to laugh… “Oh my God, I am so sorry. I really suck at expressing myself.”

  “Yes you do. Good thing I have tough skin because you would have destroyed a weaker person.” He was laughing between his words. “You suck big time and I can see why you’re not married.”

  “Don’t push it buddy. I’ve never been married because I’d never found the right person. I always thought you had to have more respect, trust and faith in someone than you had in yourself before you could love them. They had to be stronger than me in more ways than just arm wrestling or providing for my needs. I want a man around because I want him there, not because I have to have him or need him. I don’t need a provider. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I need a partner; someone I can walk beside. I need the other half of myself.”

  “Well see…you can express yourself quite well if you don’t think before you speak. There’s plenty of time for us no matter what we find on shore.”

  “Well I for one am ready to start walking and leave this boat behind. Now you better get some rest. Morning is just over the horizon.” In her mind Ellen began planning the next step. She didn’t want to think of San Diego or what could happen there. She’d leave it until it did happen. She was more interested in the trip from the Washington coast to her family home in the middle of Whatcom county.

  Ellen was lost in thought and watching the water in front of them when Alan put his head out the companion way opening.

  “Good news guys. Hannah just woke up and said she’s hungry. Maybe it’s because the ride is better.”

  Ellen let a sigh escape. Hannah wanting food was a great sign. She was sure that both girls only had a bad case of being seasick, but Frank’s words had still made her wonder and worry. They had been very lucky with regards to all their health problems or lack of them and she prayed everyday they would all stay healthy.

  “Keep it light, maybe just some broth and crackers to start.”

  Alan laughed softly, “You women, that’s exactly what she said. I just wanted you to know that she’s finally on the mend.”

  She should have been tired. She had finished her watch and was well into Frank’s but she didn’t feel tired and he had stayed awake talking to her. He’d finally fallen asleep and had barely moved the past couple of hours. She could see the sun as it cast its rays over the hills and peaks of the Californian coastline.

  Ellen wasn’t quite sure which way Frank wanted to go in and normally she would have simply set a course and followed it, but this was Franks old stomping grounds and he knew not only the waters around San Diego, but the marinas and the many islands surrounding the bay. Back when he was in boot camp he had been stationed at Pendleton and he had learned to sail in these waters.

  An island was rising out of the bay fog on their port side and she decided it was time to wake Frank.

  She hesitated because once he was awake, their day would really begin. There would be decisions to make and plans to follow. He had said they were going into the marina at Camp Pendleton only to find fuel and get out. She wondered if it could be that easy.

  “Frank, it’s time to wake up. I think we’re almost there.”

  Frank stret
ched, yawned and opened his eyes. “It’s morning already?”

  “It is. It’s after seven and I’m not sure where exactly we’re going. I’ve passed a couple of smaller islands and it looks like we’re coming into the bay.”

  “It looks like or we are?” Frank sat up and looked around. “No sign of life anywhere?”

  “Nope. Do you want to try the radio and see if you can raise the guys? I realize they meant when we get home, but maybe they’re still here or at least in the area somewhere.”

  “We can try but if someone other than them hears us we could be bringing a mountain of trouble down on our heads.”

  “True, but if they are the ones to hear us we could probably get our fuel from them and not even have to go to shore.”

  “I really wished we had planned this better and made our arrival time in the middle of the night.” Frank said. He was staring off to the west, where a pall of smoke hung on the horizon. “But then we would have been dealing with the fog and without radar and a depth sounder we would have been in trouble. So, I guess it is what it is. We go in like we own the place, find our fuel and get the hell out as quick as possible.”

  They were too far out to see if the haze of smoke came from the city itself or from the hills surrounding it. Without firefighting equipment, the hills around San Diego would burn until they ran out of fuel. Fires from the previous summer had already decimated so much of the Californian countryside that even with firefighters and the proper equipment, so many families had been displaced and most had lost everything.

  “What about anchoring until later in the day?”

  “You don’t realize how early the fog rolls in around here. We’re lucky to have this amount of visibility. I’ve seen days on end where it never lifted at all.” He seemed to be thinking on what she had said and with a sigh of resignation he continued, “Nope. It’s better if we use the sails until we absolutely have to use the motor. Then we get the sails dropped and motor in. Hopefully there are boats in the marina full of fuel or we’re going to be in trouble.”