by Unknown
Lindsey smiled to know that so many people cared about her. She sent them each a text to let them know she was still alive and enjoying herself. But, she refused the urge to find comfort outside of herself and continued her day of solitude.
*****
Sinking down into the comfort of her hotel bed, Lindsey realized that she wasn’t lonely. In fact, she thought, “I like my own company. I need to spend time with myself more often.”
Lindsey had breakfast and was standing in the lobby at 6:45 am the next day. She scanned the lobby and saw couples, families, and large groups milling around, waiting to meet up with their instructors.
In an instant, Lindsey felt like a freak because she had no one with her. “These people must be thinking that I’m a heartless, anti-social, bitch who can’t keep a man; to be going on a sailing adventure all by myself.”
The loneliness was sinking in again, and Lindsey was trapped in a mental prison, one that she created herself. For truth be told, people barely noticed her.
They were wrapped up in setting out on their own adventure. They too were feeling a little nervous about whether or not they looked stupid in what they were wearing, how they’ll perform on the boat, and all manner of other concerns. The little woman standing alone in the lobby barely registered a thought, if they noticed her at all.
“Lindsey Grantham?”
“Yes, I’m Lindsey,” she said crisply; snapping out of her self-disparaging thoughts.
“Hi, I’m Randal Moore, but people call me Randy, I’ll be your instructor for the weekend.”
“Hi, Randy, a pleasure to meet you.”
“Same here, follow me and we’ll get started on your sailing training. So what made you decide that you wanted to learn how to sail?” Randy said as he led Lindsey out of the hotel lobby and toward the classrooms near the dock.
Looking at Randy, a gorgeous, tall, muscular but slim, tanned, blonde, sailor that she’ll probably never see again after this weekend, Lindsey decided, to be honest.
“I have a date with a guy that owns a sailboat and he thinks I know how to sail!” Lindsey said in a way that told Randy that she felt pathetic and desperate because of her reasons for wanting to learn to sail.
Randy gently touched Lindsey’s elbow and whispered. “Hey, don’t feel like you’re the only one. I’ve taught many men to sail after they posted an online profile that said they were sailors.”
“Shut-up!” Lindsey said in utter shock and delight.
“Many guys post photos in front of their buddy’s boat because they think they look handsome and adventurous. Then they attract a woman that sails or one that wants to learn to sail, and now the poor fella has to go out and actually become a sailor. It happens more often than you think Lindsey.”
Lindsey giggled like a little girl and appreciated that Randy didn’t judge her, and how he made her laugh. Randy, feeling good about seeing his pretty student smile, said to himself; “this is going to be a good weekend. Teaching this woman to sail should be fun. As long as she doesn’t get all cranky when she’s tired and stressed.”
As if reading his mind, Lindsey looks up at Randy and gives another little smile. She was contented with her assigned instructor.
“She’s either going to be a whiny baby or a “ride-or-die chick”, who’ll be game for whatever, and roll with the punches,” Randy thought, returning his own smile.
Lindsey walked quietly beside her handsome teacher, matching him stride for stride, unaware that he was sizing her up.
“Please let her be a ride-or-die-chick because that whiny baby Michael that I had last week nearly made me want to give up teaching sailing.” Randy thought to himself.
Having reached a fork in the trail leading from the hotel, Randy stopped where the road split.
“So Lindsey, we’re at a fork in the road, and it’s up to you as to which road we take from here.”
“I choose that one!” Lindsey enthusiastically said as she pointed to the road leading to the dock.
Randy laughed hardily. “No, no,” he said. “I mean I decide which road you’re prepared to take from here, but I have to give you a pop quiz to make my decision.”
“Right here?” Lindsey asked in a panic.
“No pressure, but right here, right now—what do you call the front of the boat?”
“The Bow,” Lindsey replied in a way that sounded more like a question.
“The right, left, and back of the boat?”
“Starboard, port, and stern,” Lindsey said more confidently.
“What’s the name of the front sail?”
“The jib.”
“The back, larger sail and those colored strips hanging of the two sails?”
“The mainsail and telltales.”
“What would I say if I wanted you to let the sails out and in?”
“I would use the line, not the rope, there are no ropes on a boat, to ease out the sail, or trim in the sail! Lindsey yelled while doing her happy dance. Confident that she was right.
“Congratulations Lindsey, we’re going to bypass the classroom and go straight to the dock; your boat is waiting.” Randy beamed at his student.
“Yes!” Lindsey said with a skip and a hop as she speed walked to boat number 11.
“You’ll be learning to sail on this twenty-two-foot boat, called a J/22. It was introduced to the sailboat racing world in 1983 and since then it’s become a world class racing boat. Sail Newport and the University of Charleston have made it a very popular boat for teaching sailing and it’s a very safe boat.”
“Okay sounds good”
“The first thing you should remember is to always put on your Personal Flotation Device or PFD, you may know it as a life jacket or life vest. It doesn’t matter how well you can swim, always—safety first! Got it?”
“Sir, yes Sir, Captain,” Lindsey said with a snap to attention and a really bad military salute, which garnered a laugh from Randy.
Regaining his composure, Randy said; “here’s your self-inflating, low profile, life jacket. It allows you to move freely, but if you fall in the water it will automatically inflate. If for some reason it doesn’t just blow into this tube to inflate it manually.”
“Okay?” Lindsey said as if to ask. “Why would I fall in the water and will something eat me if I do? How dangerous is sailing anyway?”
“You look nervous all of a sudden, don’t be. I just have to go over safety precautions in case there’s an emergency, but there won’t be any emergencies. We’re going to be fine! Here’s a radio, it’s set to channel 17 to talk with those nice folks in that yellow building over there in the communications base. They keep watch over who’s where.
Randy took Lindsey aboard the boat and continued his safety talk. Lindsey began to feel unsure that she could remember all of the information she was learning, so she repeated the important parts back to herself.
“You’ll hear me talking to the communications base and them talking to me from time to time to keep an update on where we are. There’s also a GPS tracker in the boat and on my radio and both of our PFDs.”
“If you say so,” a skeptical Lindsey said. It’s strange how safety briefings can make a person feel terrified of all the bad things that could happen.
“Nothing bad will happen to us. I promise you’re safe with me. I’ve been sailing since I was two-years-old. I’m a certified instructor and a licensed captain, I’ve sailed in races all over the world and have even sailed around the world. I also did a stint in the Special Forces so you’re safe. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Good, because you freaked me out a little bit. The look on your face said I’m outta here, a minute ago.” Randy laughed as he helped Lindsey get into her PFD.
“No, I’m okay, all of this safety stuff and seeing how big the lake actually is, made me a little scared, but now that I know I got Rambo for my sailing Instructor, I’m fine.” Randy laughed loudly at the Rambo reference to his military training.
&nb
sp; After getting a degree in business, Randy decided to do six years in the Army’s Special Forces; serving in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Aside from his fit physique, you wouldn’t know that he’s a lethal warfighting machine by his laid back demeanor.
Lindsey did feel safe and liked Randy all the more. It was a warm day with a good breeze. Lindsey and Randy both were enjoying the day and the sailing. They took turns working each position on the boat.
Lindsey started out controlling the jib sheet, with Randy on the main sheet and the tiller—steering the boat. After an hour they switched positions.
Lindsey took to sailing like she’d been doing it her whole life. She felt strong, confident, in control, and exhilarated as she handled the boat. She loved the feeling of working with nature to carry herself, and Randy, where they wanted to go. By the time they trimmed the sails to eat lunch Lindsey, was feeling happy with her decision to learn to sail.
“You’re a natural sailor Lindsey. I really hope that you continue to sail. You’re only forty-five-minutes away in San Antonio, you could come, rent a boat, and sail anytime you wanted to after today.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I think I do like sailing. This might be a hobby that I keep.”
“Have you done anything like this before Lindsey?” Randy asked as he popped a forkful of kale and strawberry salad into his mouth?
“Sailing, no, never.”
“No I mean learned something new for a man you’re dating?”
Dropping her head in shame, Lindsey said, “Unfortunately yes.” As she looked up to see Randy’s reaction to her answer.
“Hey no judgment, I’m just taking the opportunity to learn a little something about women. You may have guessed it already, but I’m clueless about women. That’s kind of sad for a 41-year-old man. Don’t you think?”
“No, not really—yes a little.” Lindsey sheepishly replied with a laugh. Randy laughed too at her almost tactful way of answering. “Women are complicated, just like me, Randy. We’re all doing our best to figure it out before we’re too old for it to matter.”
“Are you getting the pressure from your family to get married and have babies? Because I sure am. I think at this point my mom wants a grandbaby so badly she wouldn’t care who I married.”
“I think my mom still cares that I find the right man, so to speak, but she’s pretty desperate, and frankly so am I. I’m thirty-eight and I really want to have a baby and I’m running out of time. And I also can’t believe I just told you that.”
“No worries. I’ll share something with you. I want to get married and have a family pretty badly too, but I can’t meet a woman that doesn’t want to change me into someone else.”
“So what’s wrong with you that everybody wants to change?”
Jessie laughed at Lindsey’s question.
“Well I like making a living at teaching sailing, and three or four times a year I’m away from home for a few days or a month delivering boats that have to be sailed across the country or across the globe is the main problem.
At times I make great money, but when the economy is down and people don’t have money for sailing and sailboats I have little to no income.”
“Well that just means you have to have a larger nest egg than most people, but it sounds easy enough to live with.”
“Well, women like stability and men who like to wear suits and have drive and ambition to move up in the world. I’m just happy to be alive and to have time to enjoy what life has to offer.”
“You sound like a great guy Randy. So what’s wrong with you that you can’t keep a woman? You have a drinking or drug problem, PTSD, can’t get it up, are you a lazy jerk that lives like a slob, what?”
“No, no, nope, and hell no!”
“I think I just haven’t met a woman that likes what I have to offer. I’m no better and no worse than the average man. I’m sure I’d drive a woman a little crazy and she’ll drive me a little crazy but if we fight fair when we disagree we should be fine—just like my mom and dad. They’ve been married for thirty-five years.”
“Wow, impressive, my parents just celebrated forty years. And you’re right about fighting fair. I think if two people always maintain love and respect for each other they’ll never go to bed angry and never hit below the belt when they disagree.”
“You’re right Lindsey. Hey, you sound like the perfect woman. What do you say we get married? I’m a Captain, I can marry us as long as we’re on a boat. What do you say?”
“Let’s do it!” Lindsey and Randy shared a laugh then decided to sail a little further before going back to port.
“Great job sailing today, You’re really learning how to control the boat and keep it out of the no-go-zone. By the time that you leave here you will definitely be able to sail on your own Lindsey.”
Lindsey offered up a confident grin and a modest, “thank you,” in response.
Then she continued to tug on the halyard to douse the jib for overnight storage, as she listened to Randy talk. His words felt genuine and reassuring. She made note that she liked the sound of his voice and his low-key manner.
Finishing up with the jib, Lindsey moved to the mainsail and lowered it for storage too, while Randy secured the boat to the dock and the tiller to the stern. Neither wanted the day to end.
*****
The pair continued to make small talk until they reached the hotel door. “Hey, do you want to grab something to eat?” Randy asked.
Lindsey looked down at her soiled, sweaty clothes, then back up at Randy, with a look of disgust on her face.
“Oh, no one cares how you look. Trust me, in the cafeteria here, they’re used to sailors coming in dirty and smelly from a day on the water.”
“Okay, I’m game. Just give me a minute to wash my face and hands.”
A few minutes later when Randy and Lindsey met back up, in front of the hotel cafeteria, she could see that Randy freshened up too. His curly hair was freshly wet and messy in a beach-boy way, and the sweat shine was washed off his face. She also noticed that he had the same scent that she was wearing, the fragrance of the hotel’s liquid soap.
“You smell nice,” Randy said.
“So do you,” said Lindsey, with an elbow to Randy’s ribs for his sarcasm.
The pair ate dinner in the way that two work colleagues might do while traveling on business. No long and admiring looks, no attempts at making a good impression. Just honest conversation for the sake of talking.
After dinner, they parted ways in the hotel lobby with a business-like handshake. On the way home, Randy returned his best friend’s call. The sound of the ringing phone was broken by, “Dude, how was your day with the new student?”
“Hey Jake,” Randy smiled into the phone the way a schoolboy might when talking about a girl, “it was good, it was real good!”
“What? No way man.”
“Yeah, my student turned out to be a very interesting, intelligent, and beautiful woman from San Antonio.”
“Dude that’s only forty-five minutes away. Are you goin’ for it or what?”
“No, Jake, she’s my student. Besides, I don’t want to ruin it. We have this connection. I mean she’s really opening up to me and I’m telling her stuff that I can’t believe I’m saying. But it feels good, you know what I mean?”
“Oh my God Dude, she Katrina’d you. You’ve been Katrina’d. That’s how Katrina got me! Being with her was so easy, then the next thing I knew we were a couple.” Jake said in an excited, animated, high-pitch voice.
Randy laughed hysterically then said, “Jake I haven’t been Katrina’d, that’s not even a thing.”
“Okay, whatever you say, Dude. Listen, Katrina’s going to a girl’s night out thing tonight. You want to hang out or something?”
“I’m sorry Jake, I’m exhausted and I have an early day tomorrow. But I do have time to meet you online for some Call of Duty, though. But for only an hour man, don’t be begging me to stay on after an hour.”
Ja
ke laughed a giddy, little boy’s laugh then said, “Okay, okay, send me an invite when you’re online Dude—later.”
“Later Jake,” Randy said before hanging up.
****
Lindsey Skyped with her nephew Robbie to tell him all about her sailing adventure, she also filled her sister in on how cute her instructor is.
She had a brief call with Jessie, but hardly heard a word that he said because she was too preoccupied with comparing Jessie to her instructor Randy.
Lindsey spent the rest of her evening in her room—enjoying her own company, before falling asleep.
The next morning, Lindsey popped down to the lobby at 6:45 am again. By seven, she and Randy were walking out to boat number 11, ready to start their day.
Having docked the boat on her own the previous day, Randy allowed Lindsey to get them underway.
Lindsey hoisted the mainsail as Randy untied the boat from the dock. Then she gently steered the tiller, taking number 11 around the other boats and onto the open lake.
“Hoist the jib,” Lindsey called out to Randy, knowing this would help them to gain more speed. Lindsey enjoyed being at the helm and in charge of the boat. She felt thrilled to be sailing a boat using her newly acquired skills.
“Hey Randy, I’m sailing, I’m really freakin’ sailing!” Lindsey yelled into the wind.
“Yes, you are Darlin’, yes you are.” The little J/22 was heeling on its port side, so Lindsey and Randy shifted their weight to the high side of the boat to feel the full power and speed of the wind.
Lindsey felt a little pang of nervousness, having the port side of the boat in the water to the point where water was splashing into the cockpit, but she was enjoying the speed and the rush of adrenaline so she called out no adjustments. They rode the wind all morning.
“Captain, you getting hungry? What do you say we trim the sails and break for lunch?” Randy asked.
“Hey Randy, trim the sails, we’re going to break for lunch,” Lindsey called out, with a grin, feeling a little power drunk from being at the helm.
