We’d been childhood friends who had grown up together with a love of everything water. From sailing to fishing to just floating out in the bay, trying to get the fuck away from life. Chip would always have my back, like I’d always have his. I knew at times it was hard for him, being a black man who worked and lived in an overwhelmingly white state. No matter how many times you hoped and prayed things would change for people of color, there was always someone looking to knock him down. Still, Chip was a fighter, and one of the best men I’d ever had the privilege of knowing.
Chip came up alongside the cargo ship and got as close as he could to the ladder I would be climbing. With my backpack on and my adrenaline in overdrive, I made my way to the side of the boat.
I watched the swells and the roll of the cargo ship so that I could time my move. Josh, the deckhand on the pilot boat, was tethered to the boat and ready to help if I should need him. Like if I reached for the rope and missed it, falling between the two vessels.
“Fair seas,” Josh called out.
I gave him a thumbs up and stepped forward.
“This is why I can’t keep a girlfriend,” I mumbled as I grabbed the rope and made my way up the side of the vessel. There was an officer on watch at the top, and he greeted me in a heavy accent before motioning for me to follow him to the bridge.
Sometimes my job was made harder when no one onboard, not even the captain, spoke English. But we always managed to bring a ship in and out safely.
Once on the bridge, I smiled when I saw Smitty Smith. Yep, that was the guy’s name. Captain Smitty, as he was known.
“Captain, what are you doing on this vessel?”
He smiled. “I’m all over the place, Gannon.”
I laughed as I started taking the equipment out of my bag. “I can see that. How have you been?”
“I’ve been good. You ready for her?”
“Ready.”
He nodded. “She’s all yours. Take it easy with her.”
“Will do.”
I launched into the plan with the captain for bringing the vessel through the harbor and to the dock. Two tugs would be meeting us to ensure everything went smoothly. This was the part I loved. Navigating a giant beast through the congested waters of Penobscot Bay.
My phone buzzed in my back pocket and I ignored it. My family knew my work schedule and rarely texted or called during my shifts. So, whoever was texting could wait.
Another buzz came a few minutes later.
I pulled it out to see it was from Olivia. I hadn’t heard from her in a few months, which led me to believe she’d broken up with her latest boyfriend. “Christ,” I whispered as I quickly sent her a text.
Me: I’m working.
She immediately texted back.
Olivia: How about dinner? I miss you.
With a roll of my eyes, I replied, keeping it short and to the point.
Me: I don’t think so.
When I felt my phone buzz again, I ignored it.
Olivia and I had dated on and off for about eight months after I came back home to Seaside. I’d been up front with her from the beginning. Exactly like I had been with all the other women I’d dated in the past. I wasn’t interested in anything long term.
When she’d started to bitch about my job, my safety, and how I wasn’t seeing her enough, I knew it was time to break things off. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, I did. We had fun together. The sex was okay, but I couldn’t see things going any further. Not when my heart still belonged to Adelaide. I closed my eyes and could immediately picture her. It was as if she was standing right in front of me. Her light brown hair piled up loosely on top of her head in that way she always wore it. Those gray eyes staring back at me, so big and bright I could see the golden flecks in them.
The plan was always to wait for her. Someday she’d be back in Seaside. The last time I saw her—a few months back when her father had a heart attack—I knew I was still in love with her. We’d only had enough time to meet for a quick lunch since she’d needed to get back to her dad, but she was even more beautiful than the last time I’d seen her.
We’d kept in touch religiously for five years, writing, texting, and hooking up when we were both single and in Seaside. Then life got crazy, and the texts and calls came less and less. We still sent the occasional text to see how the other was doing and called each other on our birthdays—that was one thing we both never forgot to do. Since I’d been back in Seaside for good, though, something inside of me was missing…and I knew it was Adelaide. Countless nights I’d laid in bed and wondered if she felt the same. There were so many times I’d reached for my phone to call her, but I didn’t want to push her away, so I always stopped myself. I was living my dream, and I never wanted to take Adelaide’s away from her.