corners of his mouth turned down, but he said nothing.
Collin began to fidget. Sure, he was outdoors and they were moving, but there was nowhere to go, really. He turned his face into the wind and closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the warm, salty air in long, deep breaths.
The silence was broken by the Captain’s baritone voice. “My name is Gordon Sewell. Welcome aboard the Admiral Risty .”
Collin’s eyes popped open, and he turned his head toward the sound, as if surprised. He saw the Captain’s outstretched hand and grasped it. “Collin Cook. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Was that fast enough for you, Mr. Cook?”
“Oh, yes, yes. Very fast. Very fast indeed.”
“Worth $15,000?”
“The money. Do you need me to pay you the rest now?”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking.” The Captain chuckled, an amused smile spreading across his jet black face.
Captain Sewell’s warmth eased the tension, but Collin’s face was still twisted in confusion.
“Look, man, it’s none of my business. I get paid to take people sailing. You pay me lots, we go sailing fast. No problem. My crew and I can go fast, as you have seen now.”
“Yes, and I thank you for that. Fantastic job.” Collin regarded him cautiously.
The Captain returned his gaze with a look of concern. A moment later he said, “You know, I see some crazy stuff sometimes. Crazy stuff. Lots of it. It seems to find this place.” Then with a flash of his white teeth, he added, “Like you.”
“What do you mean, like me? I’m not crazy.”
“No? You sure about that, man? You jump out of that taxi all excited and willing to pay big money to get off the island. You think that’s not crazy?”
“When you put it that way, sure it seems crazy. But I’m not. I’m quite normal. I just want to sail to Jamaica.”
“Yeah, man. That’s right. You just need to sail to Jamaica right now, and you need me to forget I ever saw you. Cops come speeding up behind you. Yeah, that’s not crazy.”
“OK. I needed to get off the island, and I’m willing to pay $15,000 to do so. I’ve got my reasons, even if it seems a bit crazy.” Collin felt the need to deflect the attention from himself and move to another topic. “What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen?”
With only a moment’s pause, the veteran seafarer came back with a story. In his heavy Caribbean accent, the Captain unwound a tale. “I lost a boat to pirates once. That was crazy. They came up, two of them speedy boats. One on each side. They yelling and screaming. They was crazy, I knew it right away. I just do what they say.” The Captain looked off in the distance, gazing at nothing in particular but squinting toward the horizon. “They look through my boat, searching for drugs or money or other stuff they can use. Then they burn it. Burn it, I say. Just like that.”
“How’d you get away?”
“I used the dinghy. They let me and my crew get in the dinghy– four grown men in a tiny rubber boat in the middle of the ocean. That was a bad day, man.” He chuckled, but behind the chuckle was a grimace. He drew in his breath through clinched teeth, shaking his head. “Yeah, that was a crazy bad day.”
Collin searched for the right thing to say, but before he knew it, he was uttering the words, “Wow. That must’ve sucked.”
The Captain’s countenance dropped; then his gaze turned to Collin and fixated on his mouth for a moment. His face grew tense as he surveyed Collin. He squinted hard and bit his lip. All of a sudden, he let out a boisterous laugh. “You damn right, man! That really sucked! Like you wouldn’t believe, it sucked!” he blurted out between chortles.
The two men laughed together for several minutes. Collin laughed because the Captain was laughing. He laughed harder when he realized how horribly wrong this exchange could have gone. The laughter didn’t come easily at first. He hadn’t laughed much in the past ten months.
Once the jocularity subsided,
Collin began to fidget. Sure, he was outdoors and they were moving, but there was nowhere to go, really. He turned his face into the wind and closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the warm, salty air in long, deep breaths.
The silence was broken by the Captain’s baritone voice. “My name is Gordon Sewell. Welcome aboard the Admiral Risty .”
Collin’s eyes popped open, and he turned his head toward the sound, as if surprised. He saw the Captain’s outstretched hand and grasped it. “Collin Cook. Pleasure to meet you.”
“Was that fast enough for you, Mr. Cook?”
“Oh, yes, yes. Very fast. Very fast indeed.”
“Worth $15,000?”
“The money. Do you need me to pay you the rest now?”
“No, that’s not what I’m asking.” The Captain chuckled, an amused smile spreading across his jet black face.
Captain Sewell’s warmth eased the tension, but Collin’s face was still twisted in confusion.
“Look, man, it’s none of my business. I get paid to take people sailing. You pay me lots, we go sailing fast. No problem. My crew and I can go fast, as you have seen now.”
“Yes, and I thank you for that. Fantastic job.” Collin regarded him cautiously.
The Captain returned his gaze with a look of concern. A moment later he said, “You know, I see some crazy stuff sometimes. Crazy stuff. Lots of it. It seems to find this place.” Then with a flash of his white teeth, he added, “Like you.”
“What do you mean, like me? I’m not crazy.”
“No? You sure about that, man? You jump out of that taxi all excited and willing to pay big money to get off the island. You think that’s not crazy?”
“When you put it that way, sure it seems crazy. But I’m not. I’m quite normal. I just want to sail to Jamaica.”
“Yeah, man. That’s right. You just need to sail to Jamaica right now, and you need me to forget I ever saw you. Cops come speeding up behind you. Yeah, that’s not crazy.”
“OK. I needed to get off the island, and I’m willing to pay $15,000 to do so. I’ve got my reasons, even if it seems a bit crazy.” Collin felt the need to deflect the attention from himself and move to another topic. “What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen?”
With only a moment’s pause, the veteran seafarer came back with a story. In his heavy Caribbean accent, the Captain unwound a tale. “I lost a boat to pirates once. That was crazy. They came up, two of them speedy boats. One on each side. They yelling and screaming. They was crazy, I knew it right away. I just do what they say.” The Captain looked off in the distance, gazing at nothing in particular but squinting toward the horizon. “They look through my boat, searching for drugs or money or other stuff they can use. Then they burn it. Burn it, I say. Just like that.”
“How’d you get away?”
“I used the dinghy. They let me and my crew get in the dinghy– four grown men in a tiny rubber boat in the middle of the ocean. That was a bad day, man.” He chuckled, but behind the chuckle was a grimace. He drew in his breath through clinched teeth, shaking his head. “Yeah, that was a crazy bad day.”
Collin searched for the right thing to say, but before he knew it, he was uttering the words, “Wow. That must’ve sucked.”
The Captain’s countenance dropped; then his gaze turned to Collin and fixated on his mouth for a moment. His face grew tense as he surveyed Collin. He squinted hard and bit his lip. All of a sudden, he let out a boisterous laugh. “You damn right, man! That really sucked! Like you wouldn’t believe, it sucked!” he blurted out between chortles.
The two men laughed together for several minutes. Collin laughed because the Captain was laughing. He laughed harder when he realized how horribly wrong this exchange could have gone. The laughter didn’t come easily at first. He hadn’t laughed much in the past ten months.
Once the jocularity subsided,
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