Sea Red, Sea Blue

by Jean James

  She had expected an apartment, but he parked at a tiny guesthouse hidden behind a large, attractive frame house.

  “The occupants of the main house travel a good part of the year, so you’ll have plenty of privacy. You can walk to our office from here.”

  The guesthouse, though not as nice as her apartment in Chicago, had lower rent than she had expected to pay in this expensive tourist town.

  “This will do perfectly.”

  “Fine, fine, Miss Katherine. Get yourself moved in and comfortable, and call me if you need anything. By the way, this week I’d like you to work in the office on Wednesday instead of Tuesday. That way you can work tomorrow at the condos and get used to things there. You should begin a real estate course here, too. You’ll want your Florida license as soon as possible so you can handle all our listings and sales.”

  “I’ll check into it.” Finally alone, Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure she liked her new boss. He had treated her like his personal property, and that made her uncomfortable. I am in real estate for now, and I’ll save as much money as I can. But I plan to find another career.

  She opened all the windows to air out the house, and then laughed at what she had done. No one in Chicago could do that at this time of year. The house wasn’t first class, but its beautiful foliage and privacy made up for any lack. She gave the house a quick cleaning and moved in her few belongings.

  Later, Katherine went to town for supplies and stopped to have the number changed on her cell phone. That action helped wipe out lingering remnants of fear about Chicago stalkers, or other elusive villains. She slept deeply and peacefully that night, and after a quick visit at the beach the next morning, she drove to her new job at the condos.

  A friendly woman in a loose-fitting cotton suit greeted Katherine warmly. “I’m Alice, and I’m guessing you’re my new sales partner. I sure am glad to have help. I’ve told Buzzy that one person can’t handle this alone.”

  “Are there many units left?”

  “Goodness, yes. The building’s only been open for a week.”

  By day’s end, Katherine was satisfied with the job and genuinely liked Alice. It helped to know she could stick out the job until she could plan another direction for her future.

  Her complacency nose-dived the next morning when she burst into the real estate office and took her new boss by surprise. He and a young man with a handsome, surly face were engaged in a passionate argument. Both of them looked disturbed by her sudden entrance.

  So much for getting to work early. I shouldn’t have skipped my beach visit this morning.

  Her boss eyed her suspiciously.

  “Miss Katherine, did you want something?”

  “Just work—and a desk would help, too,” she said lightly and with what she hoped was a pleasant smile. “I work in the office today, you know.”

  The friendly Buzzy instantly came to the fore, but the younger man’s heavy-lidded eyes glared at her. He didn’t wait for an introduction, but stormed out of the office.

  “That’s my son, Johnny. He handles our commercial properties. Been having problems.”

  Katherine nodded. “Yes. Commercial listings can be a headache.”

  She didn’t want him to know she had heard enough to realize the argument didn’t involve real estate. Ill-tempered Johnny wanted more money, right away, and Daddy told him to wait. She was in no hurry to meet this tall, athletic version of Buzzy.

  The ultra-friendly Buzzy draped his arm across her shoulders. “How do you like our little town? You don’t miss Chicago yet, do you?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ll find time soon to give you the grand tour. It will help you in your sales, and we can get better acquainted.”

  The arrival of sales associates saved Katherine from his further attentions.

  Buzzy assigned her a desk, explained her duties, and left her to work. Near lunchtime, he called her into his office. “Miss Katherine, you have one other duty I forgot to mention.”

  “Yes?” She braced herself.

  “On Friday evenings, after office hours, it will be your responsibility to come in and clean the office. Just vacuum and dust things so they’re fresh for Monday. It should take about thirty minutes, and I’ll pay you for a full extra hour. This job always falls to the newest person here,” he added apologetically and handed her a ring of keys. “The blue ones are door keys, and this orange one’s for the alarm. The alarm is set at both doors, so be sure to turn it off before you enter. Once you’re inside, you can turn the alarm back on if it makes you feel safer. There’s an inside switch by both doors for that purpose. I sometimes turn it on when I work here at night. Expect a loud test-buzz whenever you turn it on or off.”

  Her newest responsibility bothered her more than she cared to admit. She didn’t mind work, not even menial tasks like cleaning up after everyone, but Buzzy’s manner left her with a trapped feeling. Oh well, this is only temporary. I’ll soon find other work. I’m in Florida now and can stand anything for a while.

  Office business that day rolled along at a slow pace and left her plenty of time to contemplate the future. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the boats. With the coming weekend off, she could charter a boat for a day. She called the two numbers she had saved, but both boats had already booked parties.

  Later that day, Katherine discovered a yellowed business card on the office bulletin board that advertised another charter boat, Miss Iris, and its owner, Dale Townsend. She noted the address and made plans to go there after work. At quitting time, she drove directly to the marina and found a charter sign halfway down the docks next to an older boat. It looked decidedly less luxurious than the ones she had seen on Sunday. She actually liked it better. The faded sign matched the information on her business card, and a man worked on the boat.

  “Excuse me. Could you tell me the rate for chartering this boat for a day of fishing? I had hoped to get a boat for this Saturday or Sunday.”

  The man climbed out of the boat and removed his worn captain’s hat to disclose thick, white hair and eyes that must have viewed thousands of sunsets.

  “How many in your party, Ma’am?” he asked with a slow, pleasant drawl.

  “Only me. I’ve never done this kind of fishing. I don’t know anything about it.”

  “Ma’am, I can take you on Saturday for half-rate. I have a party of two goin’ out in the morning. Plenty of room for you. They’ve done a heap of fishin’ so you can watch them to see how it’s done. There’s nothin’ much to it, though.”

  “Do I need to bring anything?”

  “Your own lunch and drinks. We leave out of here early—five thirty.”

  “Thank you. I’ll be here.” Katherine felt like skipping back to her car and was still in that eager mood come morning as she dressed for work. Although a trip to the filling station ate up most of her spare time, she hurried to the beach for a quick visit.

  No cars had parked at her special beach location. She kicked off her shoes and ran down to the water’s edge like someone greeting an old friend too long neglected. She dipped her hands in the sun-glazed surf and threw sprays of water into the air. That felt so satisfying that she twirled around and began to kick water in every direction until she risked real danger of soaking her work clothes. She laughed at her foolishness.

  There was no time for a walk. She waved goodbye to the view and ran back up the beach feeling more than a little silly.

  A green Jeep was now parked beside her car. The single occupant hadn’t gotten out, but he was looking in her direction. No doubt, he had seen her juvenile display. He’d probably also seen her Illinois license tag and had laughed at the silly tourist. His tanned arm rested on the sill of his open window. Yes, he had laughed. She could see the smile still on his face.

  Katherine got into her car. What did it matter if someone laughed at her? Maybe she should have said hello. He looked familiar, and she had met quite a few people in the last few days. That notion increased her uneasi
ness, and she sped away amidst a fresh wave of embarrassment.

  4

  Her days flew by and Friday evening arrived too soon. Rather than clean the office around late working associates, she waited until six o’clock when no people were present before she attempted the task.

  She had barely started on the job before Buzzy breezed in. A more predatory Buzzy. She flew from one duty to the next, and she kept a vacuum cleaner between the two of them whenever possible. She skipped his private office and gave him no opportunity to pursue what so obviously filled his mind. He approached her while she put away the vacuum.

  “Miss Katherine, it’s not necessary for you to wear office clothes when you come here to clean. I’m sure shorts would feel more comfortable, and I hate to see you work this vigorously after a whole day at the condos. Take all the time you want, there’s no hurry. No one will come in on a Friday evening.”

  “Actually, I need to hurry. I have plans for tonight and don’t want to be late,” she said with feigned naiveté.

  That curbed his advances and it took only a minute to finish and call a hurried goodbye.

  This will never work out. What will I do next Friday? One thing for sure, I’ll lock the doors and set the alarm so at least I’m warned.

  Although she slept restlessly, she arrived at the Miss Iris before anyone else. She had tucked food and drinks into one small ice chest and had worn the most comfortable and covering clothes she could find.

  Two middle-aged men drove up as Captain Dale arrived. Everyone was friendly and polite, and she began to feel less concerned about her greenness. When the Miss Iris entered the Gulf waters, Katherine became too excited to fish. Most of the morning she rode on the bow and watched the boat cut through the water. Later in the day, she tried fishing. Everyone helped, and she had some success. When she tired of that pursuit, she took a seat beside Captain Dale and studied his every move.

  “Ma’am, would you take over here while I fix a couple of rods?”

  He stepped back from the wheel as if such a request was commonplace. She glanced out ahead and then back at him, not sure that she had heard him right.

  “I’ve never run a boat.”

  “Here, take the wheel and keep her headin’ straight on. Stay about the same distance from the shore. You’ll be fine.”

  She moved to the helm, almost shaky in her excitement as she took hold of the wheel. It didn’t steer like her car. She constantly overcorrected, but soon managed to keep a reasonably straight course and began to enjoy it. The captain paid her no attention and busied himself with other tasks.

  “Captain Dale, a boat coming up on our right is about to cross in front of us. Maybe you’d better take over, now.”

  “That’s our starboard side,” he explained and took the wheel again. “They have the right of way. If she were comin’ from the other side, you’d have it…but don’t ever trust that if you’re operatin’ a boat. Half of these boaters don’t know what they’re doin’.”

  “Are we very far out now?” she asked and studied the distant shoreline.

  “I’d say about a mile and a half.”

  “Do you have instruments to tell you that or is it just from experience?”

  “When you can set your bearings on something solid, you can usually tell the distance. Can you see the houses on shore well enough to count their windows?”

  “Yes.” She shaded her eyes and squinted towards the shoreline.

  “Can you see the windows clearly and can you count the trees?”

  “Not quite.” She studied the shore for a few more seconds. “Almost, but not quite.”

  “That makes us about a mile and a half out. If you could count the trees, it would be about a mile. If you could barely count the windows, it would be about two miles.”

  “How about three miles,” she asked and laughed.

  “You’d only be able to see where the water and shore meet.”

  “That’s great,” she said enthusiastically.

  “Yes, ma’am. Unless it’s foggy, or dark, or raining, or you’re out where you can’t see any land. It can get trickier.”

  “Do you always know your location when there’s no land in sight?”

  “I surely don’t. The finest instruments and charts can fail you, at times.”

  She began to realize the seriousness of operating a boat. She stayed beside him until the Miss Iris pulled into the slip that afternoon. In spite of her prevention measures, she was sunburned. She staggered onto the dock and watched proudly as they unloaded the day’s catch.

  A few people gathered around to watch, and she wanted to point at the fish and say, “I caught some of them. See that big kingfish…” She could now relate to the pride she had seen in other’s faces after a day of fishing. Although most of the fish went to Captain Dale, she and the two men did take a few.

  “Captain Dale, I have next Thursday off. Do you already have a party booked or could I have that day?” She asked breathlessly, brandishing a kingfish in one hand and her ice chest in the other.

  A slow grin spread over his face.

  “No ma’am, nothin’ set for Thursday. You’ll probably be the only party, but I’ll give you a good rate. Weekdays I charge less, anyhow.”

  “Thank you. I’ll see you then.”

  She waved goodbye to her two new fishing friends and climbed into her car. I am most certainly insane, she thought blissfully. I shouldn’t spend the money, but I have to go again.

  On her way home, she stopped at the library and chose some boating books. The day at sea had implanted some vague ideas regarding her future.

  In the morning, she drove to a church she had seen a couple of blocks from where the Miss Iris docked. It felt strange attending a new church where she didn’t know anyone, but everyone was so friendly she soon relaxed.

  The small, old-fashioned church lay so close to the bay she could smell the flowers and salt air through the half-open windows. That Sunday’s message on giving thanks, thrilled her with its fitness for celebrating her first full week in Naples. As the service progressed, she added a new reason for feeling thankful—on her very first try, she’d found a church home and already felt less alone in the world.

  When she walked to her car, she noticed a weathered, blue sedan parked a short ways down from the church parking lot. The person in the driver’s seat reminded her of her broker’s son, Johnny. At that instant he looked up, and Johnny’s glance met hers just as he drove off. She wished she hadn’t looked. He hadn’t been in church, and there was no one with him. Why had he parked there?

  By the time, she showed up at the condos the next morning, the memory of Johnny had fallen behind in the wake of her wonderful boat ride.

  “Good morning, Alice. You beat me to work. I stopped by the beach and couldn’t leave. It’s sublime this morning, so blue and still.”

  “Are you always this exuberant and sunburned, or just on Mondays?”

  Katherine laughed. “I fished on a charter boat all day Saturday. That’s the reason for the sunburn. The exuberance is because I think I’ve made a big decision.”

  “It isn’t a decision if you’re still thinking about it,” Alice reminded.

  “Then I’ve made a decision—a rather terrifyingly big decision.”

  “It must be. You haven’t even poured yourself a cup of coffee, yet. Wasn’t your move from Chicago to Florida decision enough to last you for a while? You haven’t decided to move back, have you?”

  “Actually, I may make it impossible to move back. I intend to buy a boat—a cabin cruiser.”

  “They must pay you more than they pay me.” She smiled and took a drink of coffee. “Go on, I have to hear this.”

  “I probably can’t afford it, and I haven’t found my boat yet, but when I do find it and buy it, I’ll be too broke to go anywhere, least of all, back to Chicago. I’ll probably need two jobs to pay for it.”

  “If it’s that important to you, don’t let anyone talk you out of it—not e
ven me. I expect a ride as soon as you get it.”

  The rest of Katherine’s plan, still in the formulating stage, involved vague ideas about using the boat commercially, the way Captain Dale did. Though it sounded preposterous, even to her, she could hardly wait to get her own boat and chalk up some experience.

  During all her spare time the next couple of days, she called on ads in the newspaper, viewed boats at private docks, and finally drove from marina to marina in her search.

  Johnny and his blue sedan didn’t show up again, but a new vehicle began to appear surprisingly often—a green Jeep like the one parked at the beach the morning she acted like a kindergartener. Evidently, her Chicago accident had left her paranoid. It was time to forget cars and concentrate on boats if she ever expected to own one.

  By the time she boarded the Miss Iris for her next outing, Katherine had a thorough knowledge of boat prices. She had found quite a few affordable boats, but not one that fit her exactly. When she settled on the seat beside Captain Dale, she knew this would be the last outing she could afford. She planned to ask many questions.

  “How old were you when you first ran a boat?” she asked as they headed down the bay.

  “Ma’am, I was just a kid, but I never worked steady on boats until I was thirteen. That’s when I quit school to help my daddy. There wasn’t much charterin’ back then, not much of anything back then, so we fished when we had no parties to take out.”

  “I guess Naples looked a lot different then.”

  “Just a spot along the Tamiami Trail, and most everyone went to Fort Myers to shop. I attended school barefoot in those days. You’d never see that now.”

  “I guess you’ve seen quite a few changes since you were a child.”

  “Yes ma’am. I’ve seen piles of money come into the area, and that’s what changed it.” He drifted off in thought for a few minutes. “I’m not so young, you know.” He laughed. “I don’t work much anymore, but I probably know this area as well, or better, than most anyone around. The channels, the mangrove islands, the currents—those don’t change as much as things on shore.”