Steve
I feel as if everything is going faster. Time was rushing by the closer it comes to the time for us to sail. When I woke up Monday morning, I felt a sense of urgency to get up, do something, prepare for something, to take care of last minute anything.
Mercy hugged me and whispered, "Relax, everything is taken care of. You have wonderful people who will take care of everything while you're gone. They can call you anytime, and can even e-mail you with pictures or other information, if you need it. Just relax, Honey, everything will be fine."
I felt a little better, but I still had that sense of urgency.
After a quick shower, I was out on the patio with a cup of coffee when Glenda walked in. She said, "When Tiny and Ruth are gone, it's really different around here. I know he'll be back Tuesday night, but he sure is missed. I kind of miss that nutty Chuck, too. He's some kind of troubleshooter for government law enforcement, isn't he? He's gone a lot, but when he's here with all of his women, life seems better. I'm going to enjoy being with him on our trip."
The patio soon filled with the other people of our extended family, as we all prepared for the day. When people left for work, I used one of the computers in Sue's office to check my e-mail and to answer some. While I was finishing, Debbie IMd me with a note to call her ASAP.
"Hey, Deb, what's going on?"
She said, "I just wanted to tell you that you need to remember to check and answer your e-mail at least once a day while you're gone. I'm glad to see you doing it at home before you go so you will feel comfortable doing it when you're sailing."
"I'm not totally lost when I'm out of the office," I said, with a chuckle. "I'll be sure to keep up, but remember, you can call me right away if something comes up that you need an immediate answer for."
"Steve," Debbie said, with exasperation in her voice, "Tiny, Phil, and Abe will all be here, so don't worry, everything will be fine. Let us worry about you guys, and you forget about worrying about us."
Chuck had been at breakfast, and was still at a table when I came back out. He waved me over to him and said, "I've made up my mind what to name the boat. I need someone to paint it on the sides and stern."
I asked, "So what are going to name it?"
Chuck said, "I know it'll sound kind of lame, but I want to call it "Lucky Lady."
"That's not bad, but why the 'Lucky Lady'?"
He said with a smile, "That boat has always felt like an elegant lady to me and the way things have gone for me, I need to tell the world how lucky I've been. Now, every one of my women can think that the boat is named after her."
I laughed, "Yes, Chuck, they are all lucky ladies. I like it, nice, simple, and easy to remember."
Mercy and Missy came out of the house, looking at Chuck and each said, "I like it, Chuck. The Lucky Lady is perfect for your boat."
I'm always amazed how they do that. Chuck looked at them with a raised eyebrow and said, "Wandering around in my head again, huh?"
Missy blushed, but Mercy said, "Well, you're usually all closed up. You lock everyone out and we can't see you at all. When you're open, we run around in there like little kids getting away with something."
Chuck said, "Careful in there, you may find things you don't want to know about."
Missy said, "You have some dark doors that don't want to open, so I know there is a lot inside of you that you won't or can't get rid of. Lisa is the same way. You two have a dark side."
I told the two, "You two are infringing on Chuck's good humor. Let him be."
I turned to Chuck and said, "Let's get Sue and go over to the boat so we can accept the work. We need to be back a little after noon to pick Dewey up out at the airpark. He'll want to go over to the boat later, but you don't have to go then."
Chuck was nodding, "This is the girls' last day at the employment office. They are busy saying their goodbyes and making sure everything is covered during their leave of absence. Tomorrow, we'll get everything on board for the trip and leave on Wednesday. I'm getting really excited too. I could barely sleep last night thinking about it."
I nodded, "I'm the same way, Chuck. I keep feeling I'm forgetting something, and that there is more to do. I'm sure you're the same way."
Chuck said, "Actually, I'm totally free. The Marshal Service has me on recovery leave for ninety days, so I'm really well taken care of. Wanda is taking vacation that she's saved up for over ten years, so she has all the time she needs too. She's staying here and will meet us in Ireland with John."
Steve cocked his head and said, "The next time you remodel the boat, you need to build a heliport on the deck. You could have one of the little helicopters on board to get you around when you are in port. It could be an advantage for emergencies too."
Chuck thought about it a minute, then said, "Yeah, we could do that but if something happened out at sea, a helicopter wouldn't help much. I really don't think we need one."
"OK," I said, "Let's get going and out to the boat."
I found Sue in the office and told her we needed to go over and accept the work on the boat. She said, "Get Mercy and Kathy. They had as much to do with the design as everyone else. They'll go with you and have Chuck sign for everything. I thought we should pay for the mods as they are for us and Dewey. Chuck really didn't need to do anything to the boat to make it habitable for him and his family."
"Did you hear what Chuck is naming the boat?"
Sue looked up at me questioningly.
"Lucky Lady," I said.
Sue giggled, "That fits him. He has so many ladies and the man is lucky, isn't he?"
I told her, "He says he's always thought of the boat as an elegant lady and he thinks he has been lucky to have a boat like that, as well as all of his other luck."
"That fits alright," Sue said. "When you get over to the yacht club, have John, the charter captain, call the painter so it gets done today. The paint should be dry by tomorrow so it can be sealed."
I went to find Kathy and Mercy. They were busy stacking up kids' clothes to take to the boat. I announced, "I'm going to the boat to accept the work. Sue asked me to take you two along to make sure everything is as you ordered. We need to go now so we can get back early."
Kathy pointed at a stack of boxes and said, "Put these in one of those cardboard boxes and we'll take them over now. This should be the last of the kids' clothes. I think we're ready."
I put the clothes in the box and put the box in the truck. Chuck was waiting for us on the patio with Lisa. We were off to the yacht club and were there in just over a half-hour. I found John, the charter captain, and asked him to have the name painted on the boat. He said he would do that and register the name with the Coast Guard.
Before John could leave, I saw Chuck talking to John, telling him something. John just nodded and smiled before he left.
Inside the boat, the girls checked all of the modifications and were gushing over the excellence of the work the Magellan crew had done. Chuck signed off the work and handed the men a check, plus a hundred-dollar bill to each of the crew. He said, "Thank you, gentlemen. Your boss gave me a deal on the work and said if I paid on delivery, he would cut me a ten percent break. I think this covers it. If not, have your boss send me a corrected invoice. He finished with, "Thank you," as he handed the crew members their tip.
I told Chuck, "Sue said we were supposed to pay for the modifications."
Chuck asked, "Why, it's my boat? I wanted the mods done too so my friends could accompany me. If this works out, I have some more trips I want to make. Come on, let's get back home so you can wait for Dewey. I have to run by the office for a few minutes before long, then Lisa and I are going to play in the studio for a few minutes."
Back at the house, we all scattered to do those things that needed to be done. Inside the living room was a stack of guitar cases ready to take to the boat. Too bad I didn't know they were going or I could have taken them this morning. At least the kids were planning on continuing their lessons and practicing while they were gone. I'll bet we'll have some nice concerts while we're out.
Noting the time, I took a cart to the beauty shop next door to have my hair cut one last time for a while. I was wearing my hair long enough that if I did miss a haircut or two, no one would notice. But it always feels good to be trimmed up nice.
Back at the house, I looked for Sue in her office and asked her, "Did we get the kids all of their international immunizations? Do we need to get any too?"
Sue said, "They're all done. I had the doc check our stuff and we're fine. Everyone is taken care of. I made sure Chuck's ladies all had their shots too. You might call over there to see if Julie needs to see a doc or needs any immunizations."
I called Chuck's house and one of Chinese girls answered. I told her what I wanted to know and she said she would find Julie and ask her. She would call me back with the answer. The little girls were amazing. They spoke such proper English and seemed to be very knowledgeable. I am a little surprised that Chuck is bringing them with him, but then it probably was his women that were bringing them.
After lunch, I called out to the airpark to see if they had heard from Dewey. Star said, "He'll be here right at two. If you want, I can call you when he's on final approach."
"No, Star, I'll be there at two, so no need to call. I'll come out early to say hi to everyone. We're leaving Wednesday, you know."
"How could I not know, Steve," Star said, sarcastically. "It seems like everyone is going on that trip, you and Chuck and all of your women and all of Chuck's women. The place will be lonely while you-all are gone. I'm glad you're getting to go though, as you probably need the break."
I took off for the airpark shortly after the call and used the time before Dewey was to arrive to say hi to Wes, Gene, and Jimmy in the hangars. I was speaking to Star, who was on duty, when we heard Dewey's G5 call for landing instructions.
I watched the aircraft set down and come to a stop before pulling onto the taxiway and coming toward the charter office.
When the aircraft stopped, the ground techs slid chocks under the wheels and began opening the fueling door and the luggage compartment.
The door to the plane opened and the stairway let down. First out were Sheila and Sheena, then the three kids, Shirley and Sharon, and finally, Dewey. I got hugs from everyone, including Dewey, and we all put the luggage into the truck. Sheila said, "We shipped all our clothes for the trip earlier and Sue said it was already on board. I can't wait to see the newly remodeled boat; I'll bet it's a beauty."
Dewey asked, "It is still just "Boat" or did Chuck name it?"
I told Dewey, "It's appropriately named, "Lucky Lady."
Dewey just nodded, "That's appropriate. The man is lucky, but lady as in singular, doesn't work out."
I told him, "Chuck thinks of the boat as an elegant lady and says it has been a lucky happening every day since."
Dewey said, "Sure, I can see that. It's Chuck's Lucky Lady. A good name."
We went to the house first, where all of the women were fawning over each other. Dewey's kids wanted to know where our kids were and were instructed to relax until the others got out of class in a few minutes.
I told Dewey, "If you want to go to the boat, let's do it now. I'll load these guitars so we get them over there and we'll go. How about you ladies; who's going with us?"
Mercy, Kathy, Sheila, and Sheena all wanted to go and were out the door and quickly into my pickup. We made a fast trip to the yacht club and while Dewey and I carried guitars to the storage locker below deck, the girls began their tour. When we finished being pack mules, Dewey and I checked out the modifications. He was very pleased and said, "The cabin is as big as ours on my boat. This is going to work out great. I like the way the area off the galley and dining area is arranged. It looks like a giant family room with two TV areas and the area in the back where the keyboard is for the kids to play music. You all put a lot of thought into this. You did a great job putting the room dividers so that you don't even realize where the masts are."
I said, "Your clothes are all in the closets and the kids clothes are all in the kids' bunkrooms. Come on, let's check those out."
We walked down to the crew area and went into the bunkrooms that had been specially modified for the kids. The boys' room was neat and orderly, as was the girls'. There would be plenty of room and they would also have an almost private area in the crew's lounge with a big TV and a table to play games on. I showed Dewey the group of games that were in the locker there, so he would know the kids had plenty to do when the weather was bad.
Back up in the main salon on the main deck, I showed Dewey the inside helm area and how nice it was. He was impressed with the array of video screens stretched out in front of the wheel. He said, "This boat is really computerized, isn't it? What happens if the computer crashes?"
I said, "This thing has three redundancies. The first redundancy is on all the time and if the first goes bad, the second takes the place of the first and third starts up to assume the place of the second. The redundant computers will analyze the computer that is down and instruct us what to do to repair it. We have a full set of parts to repair the equipment as necessary. The same goes for all of the communications equipment, as well as the radar and collision avoidance systems. The computer system monitors everything and reports by constant update. I think we'll be taken care of."
Dewey said, "And if all else fails, we sail the boat the way we used to, by compass and handheld GPS. We're hardly roughing it, are we?"
We traveled back to the house to begin an afternoon of visiting and drinking. Dewey and I were having a great time when Charlie arrived and helped us drink some beer. Chuck and family showed up and were very loud and rowdy with the excitement of leaving soon.
My sister and brother were probably feeling a little left out, so I told them, "How about you two taking a week each and using Chuck's Key West house? The number is by the phone in the kitchen, so give his lady down there a call and go down for a week. You guys will enjoy it. Go together or one couple at a time, but take a break."
Chuck said, "You know what we'll do when we get back. I want to take the boat down to Costa Rica to show off. When we get back, whoever wants to go can sail down there with me and I'll show you the island that will soon be our new vacation destination."
I said, "Oh boy, we get to go to the island too? That will really get my juices roaring. If you have enough land on that island, perhaps we can build another house for my family."
"The big house is big enough for all of us. If you want your own private area, we can build you a house too. You have to see it first, then you can make up your mind. The place is really nice."
The lady who gave Chuck the island, Julie, was sitting with Chuck and she said, "The place has never been full, so you people could do something that has never been done. The people on the island will have a great time if you all fill up the house. I think Miguel would really love to build more homes on the island. He always wants us to have more workers there. He thinks we need more people so we can farm and garden more. As it is, we barely eat up what we can grow. The garden grows vegetables and fruit all year round."
I asked, "How's the wind out on your island? Do you get a constant breeze?"
"Sure," Julie said. "You know how the ocean is. There is always a constant breeze blowing, why do you ask?"
"One of the things we are building and experimenting with is power generating wind turbines," I said. "I don't know what your power demand is, but if you have enough of the turbines, you can supply a lot of power to a lot of people."
Julie said, "Oh my, that would save a lot of money on fuel for the generators. We have the big generator and two small backups for when storms knock out our mains. Wind generators would be great to take up for the diesel generators."
I told Chuck, "You need to take Dennis or Hans down to your island and let them estimate what it would take to supply all of your power by wind. Just another way to help you out."
Chuck said, "I think I need to haul about a dozen or so carts down there too. They have manual hand trucks and use tractor and wagons even for small trips. They have a jeep and a pickup truck but no other small transportation. I'll buy a bunch of carts and take them down. I'll bet Miguel and the other folks on the island will love them."
Julie said, "We don't have paths and roads everywhere like you do here. You'll need the carts to be rugged and almost be an off-road type."
I said, "We have carts with bigger tires for sandy areas and we even have carts with tracks on them to go over rocks and bad terrain. I'll bet we have something that will work."
Julie commented, "You folks have a wealth of things to help us out on the island. I'll bet if we fix it up the way you're talking, you can sell a lot of the other island people the same set up. The other islands have always followed our lead and I'm sure they will again."
Dewey chimed in, "I installed four of the big wind turbines at my place out in the San Juan islands. I have enough power to run my entire household, plus sell quite a bit of power back to the local grid."
Chuck told Dewey, "They have several households, plus the animal barns, and most important is their water desalination plant. They use some brackish water from deep wells for irrigation and could probably use it for showers, but the water plant keeps them taken care of. They also have a system of cisterns that store a lot of water."
Dewey said, "Sounds like someone with some engineering know how created everything down there."
Julie smiled, "My late husband was quite the engineer and builder. He loved to create things and made a lot of improvements over the years."
We had a very nice supper, then Chuck and his family left for home, probably to get the last of everything ready to take to the boat. Before Chuck and his entourage left, Julie and Sue huddled up for a bit and Sue told her she would come for her in the morning and they would shop for everything she would need. I found out later that Julie needed some more deck shoes and wanted to buy some more clothes to wear on the boat, along with a couple of nice dresses for the Riviera.
It was early, only about eight, when a big black Suburban pulled up on the street and four guys in black suits got out. I almost laughed as the four men had Oakley sunglasses on even though it was getting dark. The men in black have struck.
I went out to intercept them and find out what they wanted as they all took their sunglasses off. The one man showed me some identification and said, "United States of America, Secret Service." It had his picture on the card with a telephone number at the bottom of the card. The man asked, "Is this the place where we can find Charles Johnson?"
Without thinking I said, "We don't have a Charles Johnson around here."
He looked at me antagonistically, and said, "This isn't anything bad but I have to talk to him. You might know him as Chuck Johnson."
"Oh, yeah, I know Chuck Johnson. What do you want him for?"
"We have to meet with him for a few minutes is all. Can you get him or direct us to where he would be?"
I said, "Hang on, let me call for you."
As soon as I called Chuck's cell number, he answered, "Johnson."
"Chuck, you have visitors over here at the patio. Four guys with Secret Service IDs, all dressed in black."
"Great, just what I need. I'll come find out what they want, tell them to wait for me there. You don't have to be nice to them."
I smiled and thought I was probably better than that and said, "Would you men like to come inside and have some iced tea or coffee while you wait?"
The guy said, "Thank you" and waved for the others to follow him. They came in single file, doing a head swivel head routine, checking the place out. I gestured toward an empty table with four chairs and the man nodded to his men and they all sat.
"Iced tea or coffee," I asked.
The man said, "Iced tea would be good."
My ladies had observed and heard and instantly made up glasses of iced tea. They served the men then went back to the kitchen.
Chuck came roaring up in a cart and was inside before the dust settled. He came to the table and looked at the four men. "You guys clean up nice. You must be over the night in the woods?"
The lead guy said, "I need to talk to you a few minutes, but do you mind if we finish this tea first?"
Chuck pulled up a chair and sat with the men. They talked about nothing important except one part when they said the load on two buses had been delivered to Colorado as planned. Chuck just nodded.
When the men were done with the tea, the five of them walked outside the patio toward their car. The man was talking in low tones when Chuck began, "Christ, can't you guys even let someone that is banged up heal before you want me to go somewhere else? Look at my head, the stitches aren't even out yet. Both of my partners are injured and one is probably going to be out of the service. What the hell can you want now?"
There was a long conversation then Chuck used his cell phone and made a call. I heard him ask, "Do you still have that spotter scope that you got from John?" There was a pause, then he said, "I'll be home in a minute. I need to talk to you."
Chuck took off with the Suburban following him.
Oh well, I suppose I'll find out what's going on. The rest of the evening was spent chatting with the other folks and listening to Henry and Susan talk about using the Key West house.
At bed time, Mercy was antsy and said, "Chuck and Lisa are all closed up again. Even Mom felt something was going on and it isn't pretty again. What has Chuck got himself into?"
"Don't worry, Mercy. The man can take care of himself. Let us relax you, and let you think about the great trip we'll have."
Mickey, Sue, and Kathy were all over Mercy, while Juanita gave me all of her wonderful warm voluptuous attention. I can tell you we were all very relaxed and fell asleep in each other's arms.
Tuesday morning began in a very loving manner. Mickey was sitting on my chest, looking down at me. She said, "Look here, Buster, you're slacking. When we finished with Mercy, you were supposed to be poised waiting to pounce. But no," she dragged the no out to a long nooooo. "You were already asleep. Well, you need to make amends right now. I need you, Steve, I need you real bad."
I lifted Mickey up and let her fit herself on my morning wood. She gently eased herself up and down until she was completely consuming me. Mickey was easy, because she was coming by the time I was fully seated. The girl has a hair trigger.
This, of course, caused the others to want some attention and soon, I had loved the other four and was nothing but a body sack full of Jell-O. I was worn out, but I was very happy and very satisfied."
By the time I got out to the patio, Glenda and Martin were two of many who had beaten me there this morning. Glenda asked, "Were the natives restless this morning? There was some good groaning going on from your area."
Mercy was with me and said, "He did have to perform his husbandly duties this morning. Of course, he has to do that times five, now so it takes a while."
Glenda laughed and Shawna said, "Sounds like I should send Charlie over to relieve the man. He only has me to put up with in the morning, and I can suck a load out of him before he opens his eyes. Good ole' Stump usually enjoys waking up and grabbing me, before asking, "Was it good for you?"
Glenda scoffed, "Typical man. Do them real good in the morning and they think they deserve it."
Shawna said, "Oh he does, Glenda, Stump just about pounds me through the mattress, that's why I always have a tough time walking straight in the morning. That, and all the slime running down my leg."
"Shawna, clean up that potty mouth." Charlie said, acting like he was disgusted.
Dewey asked, "Where's Chuck, even his women aren't here?"
I nodded and heard carts. It was Chuck's household. As they came into the patio, it was evident Chuck and Lisa weren't there. Brandy announced, "They come and get him now, they don't just call. They took Chuck and Lisa with them last night. Chuck said he'd be back tonight and not to worry. I guess I won't worry."
We had a lot of last minute stuff to do today, and those leaving tomorrow began doing what was needed to be done. I made two more trips to the boat during the day and then went with Sue, Sheila, Brandy, and Glenda for a huge truckload of meat and fresh vegetables. We put most of the meat into the freezer and the fresh veggies into the fridge. This was like the omen, the last stuff to load. I checked to make sure there was plenty of booze and beer. We were loaded for a three-month binge.
I walked the outside deck, checked all the lockers, and then toured the bottom deck, the engine room, the desalination room, and even turned on the computers in the office to make sure the satcom system was working. We were ready. Dewey had followed me around and had double-checked everything with me. He said, "You know we're over-checking everything. When we usually sail, we make up our minds in the morning and are sailing by the afternoon. We're worrying too much. Come up to the salon and enjoy a beer with me."
We did that and were sitting there when the girls came up and sat with us. Sue said, "All we have to do is to come over in the morning and cast off. We're as ready as we'll ever be. I think we're going over everything so much because of the three families going together. Let's get out of here. I still have to take Julie shopping."
We were back home early enough that I convinced Dewey to go to the gym and work out with me. A couple of the women went with us and did their routines too. Back on the patio, Dewey said, "I guess there's only one more night to party on land. Let's act like real sailors and have some fun."
We didn't have many drinking buddies in the afternoon, but by five, we had a turnout. Henry was having a good time, as was Nancy. Between the two of them, I hope they can find their way home. Susan and Kevin were having too many also, which meant they were getting lovey dovey and were soon gone to take care of their itch.
When the crowd began dissipating, Sue asked the few who remained, "How about the hot tub tonight. What do you say, Charlie, want to have a bubble bath?"
Glenda stayed at our place to watch all the kids of the people still here who left for the hot tub.
Hank and Debbie, Charlie and Shawna, Jim and Sandy, Dewey with Sheila and Sheena, along with me and my ladies, were all eager to enjoy some playtime in the tub. We were having a great time when Henry and Nancy, along with Susan and Kevin showed up. They didn't even hesitate and joined right in. Once I was just about to plug someone from the rear, when I realized it was Susan. She just smiled at me as I passed her by to try another entrance. Dewey was going nuts with Shawna as she had him munching on her ever-flowing pussy.
We had a great time and ended up going back to the patio for some more drinks. This was a good bon voyage party. Too bad Chuck wasn't with us. Hope he was back in time tomorrow morning. I guess we can't leave without the owner of the boat. But then, he knows how to catch up to us.
The group finally went home about eleven and my family found ourselves relaxing in each other's arms. Mickey was being playful and wanted to keep sampling the other ladies. Sue was all for it, and was soon swapped around sharing pleasure with them.
The rest of us slipped off to dreamland, excited about sailing tomorrow.
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious
Additional Helicopter Knowledge by Rotorhead
Last one through - Deenara2000