I listened to the engines rumbling behind and underneath me. I watched the bow swerving on wind-whipped waves, and had a sinking feeling that I would not get much sleep the next few days. “Yeah, but I probably won’t be able to sleep,” I replied. “I’m not planning on doing much diving anyway. I may not like it.”

“You’re not a diver?” He was quite surprised. “You plan on stumbling over Captain Morgan’s treasure or something?” He grinned.

“No, I don’t believe in hidden treasure. Gun is supposed to teach me how to dive. He said I could try it before going to classes or spending lots of money.”

“So...you’re not Certified?” he hesitated to say.

“What… Certified? I have to have a Certification?”

“Supposed to. But, hey, that’s Gun’s problem,” he said, putting the onus on Gun again. “Be careful, Tulip. Whatever you do, don’t ever hold your breath down there. What are you doing here if you’re no diver?”

The wind dried my eyes and whipped my hair straight back from my face. “Oh, me? I’m the guy who’s looking for sex and adventure.” I smiled. “Yeah, a few days ago Gun tells me, ‘Hey, I’m running this charter to the Bahamas. Doing a little diving and sport fishing, you interested? I’ll get you on for a special price.’ he said to me.” Jimmy tried to get a word in but I didn’t let him. “So, I asked Gun straight out, ‘Will there be women?’ That was the first thing I wanted to know. So he told me the last charter was equal men and women. Sure, I said. Why not? Especially after finding out it was only two-hundred dollars. How can you go wrong—three days in Paradise, women, accommodations?” We both smiled at the reference to accommodations and women, then I switched to Jim’s favorite subject, Jim. “So, Gun mentioned you were in the Navy?”

“Forty-five years!” He stared at me as though gauging my reaction. There was pride in his thin face and the stiffness of his spine. “Yep, I’ve covered a lot of ground. Just to give you an idea, I had a hand in the first spear-gun design for the Navy. And, I was in on the latest design, too!”

“Hm…wow, man.”

“Yeah… Never got any credit for it,” he said making an ironic smile with one side of his face, perhaps a mix of resentment and pride. “Yeah, the Big Wigs hog all the credit for those things.”

In the dawning light, with the rough sea splashing in the background I began feeling some of the old guy’s life, not more of his stories, but the real meaty feelings and pride as well as some of the disappointments. “Hey, Jim, I changed my mind. Can you steer while I find Gun?”

“Go ahead,” the man said, taking the helm.

Climbing down from the bridge my fingers failed to hold onto a slippery railing. And the next instant I almost fell off the ladder straight into the sea! My hand got jammed in a ladder rung while my whole body was twisting against the side of boat from one arm, then my elbow cracked against a steel cleat, stunning me and paralyzing my arm and shoulder for more terrifying seconds. I pictured myself swallowed by the immense churning waters below. It was a fright to know that I would die in that dark nothingness before they even realized I was gone!

I staggered from side to side getting back to Gun’s cabin, still spinning from near-death shock. On the way, though, there was a lattice curtain behind which were coming sexual noises; gasping, panting, rising and releasing of pleasurable sensations was punctuated by muffled utterances. There must be another berth behind the lattice, with people having sex. Was it Ally? It could not be Joni and Carl. Everyone else was sleeping below. It had to be Ally, perhaps doing it with one of the other Hammerheads. However, no one was addressing anyone that I could tell. I listened until I felt like a pervert, about thirty seconds, when my own peculiar level of voyeuristic curiosity was satisfied. That was the Sweet Spot all right! Then I withdrew.

However, if she was alone, offering the services of my own manhood could be the right thing. At least it wasn’t the worst idea I ever had. Or, the worst offer she might get.

Joni came around the corner, so I pretended to be walking in the opposite direction. As she heard the noises, she cracked a smile, and whispered, “So, what are you waiting for, Caleb? Get in there.” She grinned with her large happy face. I considered doing it for a moment, but felt lightheaded when thinking about the long night and the upcoming day and almost dying again a minute ago, so I opted for rest instead. Perhaps it was a last-minute fear of rejection. Besides, if something were meant to happen with Ally it would happen anyway without forcing the issue.

After Joni left, though, I reconsidered my decision not to offer myself to Ally. How, though? Call her name? Tap the lattice screen first? Um, excuse me, Ally, I heard you saying something, were you calling? Joni would know how to break the ice but she was gone now. As I approached again and heard more of Ally’s sounds, the intensity of her pleasure had begun to slow down, killing my own excitement and will as well.

When I did reach her berth, the boat suddenly rolled up on a huge wave and threw me up hard against the lattice curtain. It broke through, and landed me inside the closet-sized berth on top of an astounded Ally who was alone as expected.

“My God! I’m sorry!” I exclaimed.

“My God!” she shouted. “What are you doing?”

“Nothing!”

More waves hit the other side of the boat and I fell the opposite way back out of the bunk, plunking me on the deck outside and helped by a strong push from Ally herself who used her bare arms and legs to heave me off.

“Okay, okay...my God.” I picked myself off the pitching deck and scampered away.

Gun was dozing on his lower bunk with a plate of half-eaten food to his side, insects on it, and a battery-operated fan on his chest blowing in his face. I saw the bugs and got angry that he would leave food like that attracting bugs in the cabin. I flung the plate in the ocean Frisbee-style.

All the fatigue hit me at once and despite the heavy bouncing and splashing of the boat, I imagined falling asleep. Daylight lingered over the horizon. I knocked down a quick beer first, and decided to wake Gun. I had to nudge him hard before he awoke with a sudden jolt. “Sorry, Gun, I wasn’t sure how to get you up. How’s the best way?”

Gun rubbed his face and scalp up and down to orient himself. “Like that. That’s fine.” He checked the time, wondering.

“We might be near Bimini,” I told him. “Figured you’d want to know.”

“What are you doing? Why weren’t you sleeping?” he answered.

“No relief came until just now. That old guy is up there, Jim, the one who lost control of himself on the last trip, on deck, you know...”

“Yeah. I know. Have you been steering all night?” He sounded worried.

“Yeah, we should be in Cuban waters by now!” I joked. “Or else, we’re heading for Boston! I’m not sure anymore.”

“Better not be in Cuban waters,” Gun replied. “Why didn’t you get me up?”

“You asked me to help, so I did my best.”

He set up the Global Position Finder, pressing some buttons.

“SEARCHING FOR SATELLITES…” was the finder’s readout.

Gun explained the delay, “It’s a really old GPS. Takes a while to lock on the satellites for our position, speed, and whatnot.” He picked a piece of food out of his teeth and made a smacking mouth noise.

I got concerned as a more time went by. Gun shook his head, pessimistic. “ACQUIRING SATELLITES...” displayed the readout. Gun searched around the cabin for something.

“What are you looking for?” I asked.

“My food, what happened to my food?”

“I tossed it overboard. What are you leaving rotting food in the cabin for?”

“You tossed it?” He smirked.

“There were bugs on it. You leave food lying around? Don’t do that.”

“I always have food near me. I wake up for a minute and eat, then I go back to sleep. That way I don’t have to get out of bed.”

I shook my head at him. He was a man of few and simple needs, but what a slob living right next to me all this time. Looking at my bunk, I told him, “There are big cockroaches on this boat, I don’t want them in bed with me.”

Gun smiled. “In the galley I saw one this big.” He extended his thumb and index finger almost their full distance apart. The Magellan instrument beeped and he was shaking his head pessimistically again.

“What is it?” I said.

“Hmm. Right. Almost to Cat Cay. Let’s anchor somewhere.”

“Is that good?”

He sprung out of bed, put a few things in his shorts and climbed up the side of the boat while replying optimistically, “Not bad, Caleb, not that bad.”

Staggering drowsiness overcame me after that last beer, but I managed to floss, rubber tip and brush my teeth in cloudy water before passing out.

***