The Great Escape

"Thank you, thank you for helping me. I'm afraid I embarrassed myself back there. I'm sorry I ruined your first day on the boat. I'm sure you will enjoy it. It's a beautiful boat, handles well,...."

"Shh, shh, shh, it's okay. Don't worry about all that. It sounds like you need to concentrate on you and your husband."

"Yes, you're right. You're very kind." Cora was recovering a bit from the shock. She had been on a high, absolutely knowing he would be on the Catalina, and now she felt like she had fallen off a high cliff. She managed to say goodbye to the nice lady and made her way back to her car. She sat there for a while, wondering where to go, what to do, and then realized she never had figured out what to say to Tim if she had found him. What could she say? She had cheated on him, she had had a full-blown affair, she didn't deserve any forgiveness. She finally put the car into gear and slowly drove away.

Chapter Four: Tim's Story Cont'd.

Better weather did come to Bridgeport. On the last day of February, The Great Escape motored away from the Cedar Creek marina, headed to the Big Apple and points south. Tim was nervous; they had been stuck at the marina near Bridgeport for three days and he knew he had quickly lost some of his new motor cruising skills. Perhaps worse, boating through the New York City river system was challenging for even experienced sailors, and Tim was far from that. Lucinda tried to reassure him.

"Tim, my dad and I have done this trip, actually this exact trip in this boat. A few years ago, we motored down to Liberty Island and anchored near there for two nights. We went to see some parade of ships through New York harbor. We can do this."

"Lucinda, who captained the boat on that trip? Who was responsible for the decisions? Managing currents, tides, big ship traffic? No offense, but it was your dad, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're right, but seriously, if we take it slow and really, really carefully, we will be fine. While we were sitting in Bridgeport, I put together a plan that shows us going down Long Island Sound, thru Frog's Neck and into the East River. Look, I've got the times for slack tide, the channel for commercial traffic so we can talk to the big ships, the time to go through Hell's Gate, the current forecasts for the East River. I knew you would be nervous, so I tried to detail the whole thing. And Tim, this is the hardest part of the whole trip. South of New York, it'll be a piece of cake. You'll be a veteran motorhead then."

Lucinda was right, but so was Tim. He stayed nervous all the way through New York, but not so nervous that he missed marveling at everything: the undersides of the immense bridges they cruised under, the sheer number of other watercraft, from the scary ferries that seemed to ignore everyone else to the garbage scows that seemed to be everywhere he looked. The East River got choppy as they passed Roosevelt Island, but it widened again downstream of the island and Tim got to enjoy staring at the Manhattan skyscrapers. As The Great Escape safely motored from the mouth of the East River into New York harbor, Tim finally relaxed a bit and gave Lucinda a big hug of thanks. She jumped when he touched her, and only then did he realize how tense the New York passage had been for her.

"Thank you, Lucinda. You've done a great job today and you are truly a remarkable teaching Captain. I owe you even more now, including a great dinner when we get a little further south."

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's both of us pay attention: there's a lot of traffic out here in the harbor and we're pretty small." Tim did pay attention, constantly looking around for any boat or ship traffic that might endanger them. But he also took time to stare at the Manhattan skyline and the Statue of Liberty as they closed in on Liberty Island. Lucinda guided them close to the island and then headed south, getting closer to New Jersey, until she put the diesel into neutral and started the anchoring process. Tim helped, Lucinda knew what she was doing, and he did learn the basics of anchoring. After the anchor was down and Lucinda let out enough scope, she shut off the engine and finally relaxed at the end of a long, stressful day.

Tim fixed a simple supper for the two of them: pasta with meat sauce, some parmesan cheese toast and a salad. He was thinking about desert, but Lucinda was nodding in her seat. He got her up and pushed her toward the head and then to bed. She was asleep before he got the table and galley cleared up. He hadn't had the stressful day she had, so he sat there, a bit antsy and wishing he could go for a run. He finally fixed a cup of coffee and studied the boat's manual some more. He was thinking he would never master The Great Escape, when he realized he had made a poor pun and went to bed.

Cora was up and fixing breakfast the next morning before Tim stirred. By the time he came up from the cabin, she was eating and pointing at the coffee and pancakes she had fixed for him.

"You certainly recovered quickly. The way you collapsed into bed last night, I thought you might sleep in this morning."

"Nope. Today is the first of March, a new month, and a new beginning for both of us. I'm ready to go, get this vessel headed south to warm weather and less stress. I swear I thought some of those garbage scows yesterday wanted to ram us and haul us out to sea."

"Uhh, ok, Captain, my Captain, where to today? And can we plan to dock tonight or even earlier? As much as I love The Great Escape, I need to get off and stretch my legs a bit."

"You decide. You need to start making the plans and figuring out the logistics. I'll clean up while you look at the charts and plan our day. Then we can have another cup of coffee and review your plan. Make sense?"

"Yeah, you're right. Ok, I'm on it, and thanks for breakfast."

A bit later, or actually more than an hour later, Tim had a cruising plan and called out to Lucinda to come review it. She had fallen asleep again, but she stirred when he called, and she wandered up to the salon to look at his plan. He fixed more coffee for both of them and looked over her shoulder as she studied his marks on the New Jersey shoreline chart.

"Not bad," she said. "But I think you are a little optimistic about how fast we will cruise. It's already almost ten and we need to weigh anchor and put it in its locker before we leave. And maybe we should do one more approach to Liberty Island. Seeing the Statue of Liberty from your own boat is a great experience that you don't get to do many times in your life."

"Wow, for a young woman, that sounds like serious advice."

"Yeah, it's really what my dad always said when we were somewhere in The Fine that he wanted us to remember."

"The Fine?"

"Well, The Sherry Fine. The Great Escape's old name. My mom was always embarrassed when dad called it The Sherry Fine, so we usually shortened it to just The Fine. Anyway, let's look at the chart again and plan on departure from Liberty Island at noon. Okay First Mate?"

"Okay, Captain. I'll figure out a new marina to head for and call them. Then we can weigh the anchor and get on our way." And that's what they did. Tim stared at the Statue of Liberty and thought of his own new liberty, whether he wanted it or not, as they motored slowly near Liberty Island. Then they headed south toward, as Lucinda said, warm weather and less stress.

Chapter Five: Cora's Story Cont'd.

On that same first of March, almost two weeks since Tim had disappeared, Cora woke up and, as she always did, reached across the bed to touch Tim. Of course, he wasn't there. Even as she reached across, she knew she wouldn't find him there. He was gone; she had to get used to that.

Her daughters had called last Sunday, after they had talked to Tim. Mom and girls spent most of the call either crying or taking turns crying. Cora confessed she had done a horrible thing, but she still loved their dad, and she would do anything to get him back. But she couldn't make any progress if she couldn't find him. The girls didn't share Tim's new phone number, but Callie did tell Cora that they could get in touch with him if necessary. Cora asked if they would pass on a message. They agreed and later that day she texted them with a message she asked them to read to their dad.

The text read: Tim, I love you and I am so sorry I have failed you. I don't deserve forgiveness, but I hope you will let me speak to you, to try to start making up to you after my horrible failure. With all my love, Cora

Since then, she had not heard back from the girls, and no communication from Tim. She knew she had to do better with her searching for him. She checked their credit cards every day, and their bank accounts every week. She thought about calling John LaFont again, but that seemed like a dead end. She had been thinking about hiring a private investigator but kept putting that off. It seemed sleazy, especially since she suspected that it had to have been a private investigator who filmed the video of her and Mark in his apartment. But she was running out of ideas, so she finally did some online research and chose a company to call.

"Apex Investigators, how may I help you?"

"Uhh, hi, uh, do you do searches for missing persons?"

"Yes, we do, that is one of our specialties. Can you tell me a bit about your situation?"

"Yes, well, uh, my husband has left me, and I want to find him. He is not 'missing' like the police would look for him, but I want to find him and talk to him."

"Okay, let's make an appointment and you can come in and we can discuss the kind of search we would need to do. The first meeting is complimentary, but it would be helpful if you can bring a recent photo and as much information as you have about where he might have gone." Cora made an appointment for the next Monday morning, March 3, and relaxed a bit. She had gotten good vibes from her initial call with Apex and looked forward to the first meeting.

Cora met with the Apex investigator, actually a couple, John and Mary Golden, who seemed sympathetic and confident that they could find Tim pretty quickly. They got as much info as Cora had about possibilities, collected a retainer, and promised to be back in touch within a week. With some reluctance and lots of embarrassment, Cora told them about her "situation" with Mark Hanson. That led to probing questions from the Goldens, and with even more embarrassment, Cora gave them the CD. Mary Golden explained that they might be able to use it to identify the person who sent it to Tim and that might lead to info about where he was and with whom.

"With whom?!!" Cora could barely finish that thought. She had never even considered that Tim might have disappeared with someone else, that he might have been having an affair, that he might be in love with someone else. She sat there in some shock, trying to breathe, wrestling with that horrible possibility: Was Tim cheating? Had he really run off with some other woman? He couldn't have, that was just not possible; he was in love with her. But she was rational enough to realize: she had been cheating and she loved Tim. Could he be a cheater too?

Eventually, she stumbled out of the Goldens' office. She sat for a while in her car, unable to process the horrible possibilities in her life. A month ago, she had it all: a great marriage, a good job, a nice, discreet affair that she was winding down. Now, she had to wonder, had she destroyed that marriage? She did some breathing exercises to calm her panic, and finally calmed down enough to drive to the hospital for her afternoon shift. Work helped her avoid thinking about her troubles. When she finished her shift, she signed out and headed home in the evening; no contact at all with Mark Hanson.

Chapter Six: Tim's Story Cont'd.

"Jesus Christ, I'm never doing that again," Tim groused as he sat in The Great Escape's salon, finally tied up at the Anacostia Marina on the Potamic River in Washington D.C.

"Oh, c'mon, it wasn't that bad. Well, New Jersy was kind of bad, but..." Lucinda started a rejoinder, but Tim was having none of it.

"Kind of bad? Fucking awful it was. Between the marinas that were closed, the horrible weather, bad navigation...."

"Hey, that...."

"I know, I know, the bad navigation was on me. I admit I totally screwed that. We should have done the C&D Canal instead of going down and around Delaware in the coldest March in the history of the world. But New Jersey...."

"Tim, stop with 'New Jersey,' okay? You wanted a stop in D.C and we're here. The cherry blossoms will be blooming soon, the weather is finally getting better, the.... You know what? You really have no right to complain. You're the one who decided to leave upstate New York in the middle of February. You were a sailor. You know you have to deal with bad weather sometimes. You should be happy we got here safely. We haven't killed each other, and the boat is in good shape. Be happy!"

"Yeah, you're right, I know all that. But just for the record, I didn't really choose to leave Albany. I felt like I had to leave."

"Okay, you're right about that, and I shouldn't have reminded you. But I will remind you: we're here, you want to see D.C. sights, go to some decent restaurants, relax, and recover from too many days on the water. And maybe relax enough to uh, you know, uh...."

"Yes, yes, yes. Great thought. How about this? I will get us a hotel for the night, a hotel with a giant shower, where we will try to use up all the hot water. Then we find a nice restaurant for dinner and then back to the hotel for some real relaxation. Maybe not a lot of rest, but that's okay, we can sleep late tomorrow. Deal?"

"Deal!" And off they went, to a nice hotel, a forever shower, an okay dinner, and then some fabulous relaxation together. Their relaxation together was so fabulous they stayed an extra night at the hotel, before they headed back to The Great Escape for some needed clean-up and maintenance.

Once the boat was secure, Tim started playing tourist in D.C.: the Smithsonian, the Air & Space, and on and on for almost a week. Lucinda was not nearly as interested in playing tourist, so they didn't really catch up with each other for a few days. And when they did, Lucinda had news.

"Tim, I called my dad."

"Yeah? How is he? Did his ankle heal okay?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, he's fine, he said to say hello. Um, he had some news for me. He, uh, he... Tim, listen, uh, Roy called him." Tim looked blank, and then Lucinda explained, "Roy, my old boyfriend, who left me, who went to Seattle, who's an asshole."

"Oh, yeah, that Roy. And?"

"And Roy wanted to know how to reach me. I got a new phone and number after he left, so he didn't have my number. My dad wouldn't give it to him, unless I said it was okay. Anyway, I thought about it all day today, and finally I called Roy. I was thinking it might give me some closure, you know? Well, it didn't. I mean, the call didn't. Didn't give me any closure, I mean."

"Lucinda, you're not making a lot of sense here. You called old boyfriend Roy and I guess the two of you talked. So: deep breath. Tell me what has you looking so confused."

"Tim, when Roy answered the phone and I said my name... Tim, he started crying. He said he was so sorry, and he missed me and he... Tim, he finally said he loved me. He never said that when we lived together. He said he wanted to come to wherever I am and get me and bring me back to Seattle and, and...."

"Lucinda, the 'M' word. Did he mention the 'M' word?"

"What? What do you mean? What's the 'M' word?

"Jesus, Lucinda, 'Marriage.' The 'M' word is marriage. Unless he's putting a giant rock on your left hand, it sounds to me like he is setting you up for the same arrangement as before: you get to be live-in bedmate and scullery girl."

"Uh, uh, no, Tim, he... I've never heard him like this. He really sounded kind of desperate, you know, like he finally realized how important I am to him. And I think I believe him."

"So what's the next step? He's not going to send you a ticket for you to fly all the way across the country on the strength of one phone call, is he?"

"No, no, Tim. He's flying here, to see me and plan our next step. Together."

"Lucinda, we have had an incredibly special time together the past few weeks. I mean, you have been a great ship's captain, a teacher, a, uh, okay, a great lover, a.... Lucinda, you have become a friend, a person I care about. If you and Roy are right for each other now, then I say God bless, and wish you all the happiness in the world. But, as your friend, I don't want to see you hurt. When we first met, you were pretty miserable, and that was because of Roy."

"I know, but I truly believe things are different now." They sat and looked at each other. Tim thinking: She really has been great for me, as much in bed, helping me feel like a man after what Cora did, as in her teaching me about the boat. I'm at least 20 years older than she is, and if this asshole Roy can make her happy, I have no right to hinder that. Lucinda thinking: I really do miss Roy. In my heart of hearts, I believe he loves me and wants us to be together.

Tim finally spoke, "I have a thought. How about I call Roy? I never mention what has gone on between us, but I introduce myself as your boat student, who has become like an older brother who really cares for you, who doesn't want to see you hurt again. And I suggest to him, if he really loves you and wants to make things right with you, that he brings you that rock I mentioned. I mean, a big rock, and the first thing he does when he sees you, he gets down on one knee and proposes."

"Gee, Tim, that's either really romantic or some kind of blackmail. I'm not sure which."

"No, no, no. Really neither. It's more of a test. If Roy is over being an asshole, and if he really is in love with you, well, then, the next step is getting engaged. I mean, you guys lived together already, so an engagement ring should be a no-brainer, right?"

"It would be pretty cool, for him to propose I mean, here on the Fine, uh The Great Escape I mean. What would you say to him? Can I listen in? You really think your calling him is a good idea? Geez, I sound like a love-sick teenager."

"Uh, yeah, you do, a little. And sure, you can listen in, BUT no comments, no weird faces, no.... Actually, you sit with your back to me, so I'm not affected by your making faces at me. Deal?"

"Okay. So when do you call him?"

"It's still early on the west coast, so how about right now? You have his number."

"Uh, uh, oh wow. Tim, this is a big step, I'm not sure...."

"Lucinda, it's time to, uh, you know, do something on the pot or get off the pot. Your Roy is either still an asshole and you need to be rid of him or he really has seen the light and figured out you're a great young woman and he will be ecstatic that your friend, me, is pushing him to get you a ring and propose. So, what's his number?" Lucinda looked out a porthole, thinking who knows what, and then reached for her phone. She read the number to Tim, and he dialed.

.... "Hello, this is Tim Peterson. Is this the Roy Brandes who know Lucinda...?"

"Yes, yes, she's fine.... Stop, stop, she's fine, I said. I'm the boat student she has been teaching for the past few weeks and we have become friends.... Geez, no, not that kind of friend. Listen, let me talk for a bit, ok? She has told me about your living together and then your leaving her, and then, today, your getting back in touch with her. I'm calling to tell you that she is scared to death. She is scared you are just going to take advantage of her again and.... Calm down, man. Listen, I'm trying to help you and her both. I think she wants to believe that you are serious about her and that you want to make things right. But you need to prove that to her. And I have a suggestion for you. You're flying to D.C. tomorrow, right? If you want to make the best possible impression on Lucinda, you should bring with you an engagement ring, with a rock as big as you can find. I think a diamond and a proposal will go a long way toward proving to her that you're not an asshole anymore and that you really love her."