Out to Sea
She climbed aboard the little boat during a storm. The wind was blowing rain sideways as the palm trees were swaying and flapping in the breeze. The sun was hard to find.
Her dog, that lab who was certifiable and yet so loyal and always at her heels jumped up off the dock that stuck out into the bay and onto the little craft. Olive, her yellow lab of about 65 pounds, was right behind her, always behind her, well sometimes in front. Her husband was sleeping right inside the house, snoring the morning away.
Why she climbed aboard her mini bateau, that tiny dinghy peacefully tethered at the end of the dock during the storm is unclear but there she was looking above and beyond. It seemed to her like she was forever looking for something, somewhere, somehow.
Well-dressed for the unpredictable weather she came with rain gear, sun screen, shorts under waterproof pants, a visor she had painted the colors of the Caribbean. Slipped over her back was a nap sack full of healthy and hearty snacks and a couple of pieces of chocolate, dark and only if not always dark. And tons of water for the venture. Lots of water. Water here, water there, water everywhere.
As she headed out, straight out to sea the wind picked up. She pulled the hood over her head to shield her from the chill, the bone-chilling wind and rain as it pelted her, her dog, the little boat. She put a life vest on her lab, that crazy lab that always reminded her of her mother from so long ago.
Oddly, she thought as she pondered her early morning sea-faring jaunt in the midst of a building Nor’easter, oddly she felt completely at ease. As the rain and wind danced and whipped up a wild concerto she remembered her friend, a friend who knew her well. She could hear that friend telling her, maybe even whispering in her ear as she closed the door from then to now, “You are different now. You have the skill.”
And, she knew what that meant. She had the skill to navigate, maneuver, turn to the left or to the right. She could take this pint-sized vessel which felt like a sturdy and safe weather-resistant skiff, cruiser, sometimes warship that she owned and loved out to her private island, just her and her dog during a storm and all would be well.
