Out to Sea. Part One.

Thanks martin bischoff!

Nathan was eavesdropping on a conversation in the other room. The tea kettle started bursting hot, angry steam that meshed with the air to form a stagnant, damp space that engulfed him. He turned his attention toward the stove and prepared a cup of tea. As Nathan left the kitchen, it was as if he was emerging from a humidity that was weighing him down and threatening to drag him in and suffocate his guilty pleasure and overwhelming glee. Nathan entered the sitting room, where Lindsay was just finishing up a phone call,

"King's. Room 309. Come soon."
Nathan handed Lindsay the cup of tea and started rubbing her back and asked, "Did you call the family?"
"Yes. I just got off the phone with Deb."
"And no one's coming?"
"No."
"You're absolutely sure no one's coming," Nathan said with a slight edge in his voice.
"Absolutely," Lindsay answered coolly.

Nathan stroked the top of Lindsay's head and slowed ran his fingers through her hair; he felt a chill envelope his body as he closed his eyes. He let the sensation fully swallow him, letting his head roll back and forth until it came to rest tilted toward the ceiling. He slowly dropped his head and when he opened his eyes he focused on the tips of his toes that were peeping out of yellow fuzzy slippers. Nathan wiggled his toes up and down and smiled with satisfaction as the soft, almost velvet like fabric teased, and cushioned and warmed his feet.

He raised his head to find Lindsay had left the room and he was alone in the sitting room of what he thought of as a mini mansion; nothing like the two bedroom apartment where he grew up. There he had a narrow room that barely fit a twin bed. It was a bed that Nathan painfully remembered sharing with his mother. Nathan would feel her crawl under his blanket after she turned and tossed until 4 in the morning and turned to find her husband's side of the bed empty. She would bury her face in his pillow until the tears stopped, then she would pull Nathan close to her and cradle him in the fetal position. Nathan missed his mother's arms around him. But he was a man now; he could take care of himself and his mother. After all this was a three bedroom, two bathroom, one story house with a huge back yard. Nathan wanted to have children soon. He knew his mother would like to have little ones to play with, to spoil, to enjoy. Nathan could give his mother the life she deserved in this home. Now that Lindsay's father was dead, they could finally start a life of their own: together.

Out to Sea. Part Two.

The wind was picking up and clouds were rolling in. From where Nathan stood at the window he could vaguely make out a deep orange sky outlined with pink as the sun raced to the the finish line and sunk below the horizon. He started to hear the rumbling rustle of the trees with their tops swaying violently in the wind, then the rain came showering against the window pane in staccato beats. This was the storm that was threatening to come for days and kept Nathan from taking the boat out. Nathan had a fascination with the ocean and was obsessively passionate about being in the water. He rediscovered his love for sailing when Lindsay's father gracious bought him a boat for all his hard work taking care of him in his old age. It was a very generous gift that Nathan accepted without a second thought.

"Oh Dad! You shouldn't have. This is too much, Nathan, you can't accept this," Lindsay gushed, as she and her father and Nathan stood on the docks ogling the new boat.
"Now, Lindsay, you have absolutely no say in this," Albert said sharply. "It's for the boy. He deserves it. It's his."
"Ha! Well, I won't be one to argue with that," Nathan said wrapping his arm around Albert's shoulder. "Since you said it first, I do deserve it. There I said it too, now it's your turn, say I deserve it, say it's mine" Nathan coaxed wrapping his other arm around Lindsay.
Lindsay blushed a little and buried her head in Nathan's chest.
"Fine! You win," Lindsay wrapped her arms around Nathans neck and he gently picked her up and swung her around. Nathan felt Lindsay's lips brush ever so lightly against his ear and he swore he heard her whisper something. Did she say, 'almost there'? He couldn't be sure.
"Now why don't you kids take her out. They say a storm's coming later this week. I want you guys to give it a test run before the rain hits. Now go on, you two, go on," Albert prompted them.
"No, Dad. You should come with us, we can't leave you here," Lindsay said.
"NO!" Albert stomped his walking stick before pointing it at Lindsay, "Look here lady, I want you and Nathan to enjoy this gift. I don't need to be around with you two kids out there doing God knows what. There's always next time. Now go. I'll wait at the club, in the bar."
Nathan knew once Albert set his mind to something, nothing could change it. "Come on Lindsay. Your father just wants us to break her in. He'll come next time. If we hurry we can sail out and see the sun set."
"Oh, alright. Dad if you insist, but stay at the bar. Don't go off exploring like you did the last time. We won't be long," Lindsay said as he gave her father a kiss on the forehead.

* * * * * *

Nathan looked out at the storm whipping the trees back and forth and smiled as he remembered pulling away from the dock with Lindsay on the very first time they went out on the boat. It was the happiest he had ever been in his entire life. He remembered wanting that feeling to last forever, just him and Lindsay leaving their old life behind to start anew, just the two of them, and maybe children. He was starting to feel that way again. Nathan remembered bobbing out in the open sea, sipping a glass of champagne, with front row seats to a deep orange sky, outlined with pink as the sun raced to the the finish line and sunk below the horizon.