I stirred from my sleep, then sat bolt upright in bed... SMOKE! I SMELL SMOKE, THE FUCKING SHIP IS ON FIRE!
I spring out of bed, in a panic, rushing toward the rear hatch to investigate! But as I reach the galley area, I stop dead in my tracks.
Ingrid spins around at the stove and says "Sorry! I scorched one of the pancakes"
There on the counter by the stove, was a stack of pancakes, a plate full of sausages patties and a pan full of homemade biscuits.
"Didn't know which you would prefer, Pancakes and sausage, or biscuits and gravy, so I made both" Ingrid said as she continued to stir the pan of gravy.
"She's got her heart set on making you fuck a fat chick" Bob mumbles as she shuffled down the hall behind me, "Looks and smells fantastic" she says as she darts into the head.
Tom comes staggering down the hall as well...
"Her Majesty the Queen is currently seated upon her throne" I say, pointing to the closed door of the head. Tom paces back and forth, clutching his junk as he waits his turn...
Bob exits the head, then pitter-pats her bare feet over and plops down in a chair beside me, as Tom springs into the head behind her.
"Did anyone happen to catch the number of that fucking bus that hit me....my head is throbbing!" Bob says as she leans on her elbows and rubs her temples.
"Here, drink this" Ingrid says as she sets a shot glass of brown liquid in front of Bob.
"What the fuck is this?" Bob asks, looking inside the glass.
"Hair of the dog" replies Ingrid "Best way I know of, to cure a hangover... drink another shot of what gave you the hangover"
"Oh, fuck no!" Bob said repulsed by even the smell...
"Drink it" Ingrid implored "My daddy was an alcoholic, drank himself into an early grave. This is one of the few lessons he taught me, seen it work many times. My little brother and I stole some whisky from the liquor cabinet once and tried to prove we was a grown up...got sicker than shit, and daddy beat our asses good when he found out... let us suffer a bad hangover for a while, before he taught us this cure...It worked, but that is why I won't drink whisky to this day!"
"Just tip your head back and let it slide down your throat...will burn like hell...but you WILL feel better in just a few minutes, promise"
Bob gingerly picked up the glass, placed it to her lips, then quickly threw her head back and tossed the brown liquid down her throat.
She coughed and gagged and made faces for a moment or two as she caught her breath. Sat there quietly for a bit... " Son-of-a bitch, that really worked, my head don't hurt no more!"
"Told you" Ingrid said with a knowing grin.
We all thoroughly enjoyed our breakfast buffet. Helped Ingrid clear the table, then wash the dishes before going topside to prepare to shove off.
Tom kept looking over at the tin building on the dock, where we fueled up last night.
"Wonder if that is some kind of country store?" he wondered aloud.
"I don't know, I never went inside....do you need something?" I ask
"Yeah, kinda forgot to pack something important before we left. would not mind checking to see if the old guy has some, before we leave. IF you don't mind".
"Easy enough to slip over there in the john boat, we can wait right here till you get back" I say
"Go by myself?" Tom asks hesitantly...
"Sure, boat is easy enough to handle, I'll show you how to start it, then all you have to do is flip the lever to put it in gear, twist the throttle to rev the engine, and off you go. Just do not forget that boats don't have any brakes, so slow way down, BEFORE you get to where you want to go, then just putt, putt, putt along...till you can kick it out of gear and float right up to the dock. Tie it to a mooring cleat securely...so that it will still be there when you get back.
Tom gives it some deep thought, then says "Okay, I'll do it"
I help Tom get into the small boat in the water...he fires the engine up, just as instructed. Puts it in gear and gingerly increases the throttle. Might take him all day to travel that short distance, but I can see him beaming with pride as he operates the small craft by himself.
He returns a brief time later, still smiling from ear to ear.
As he crawls out of the boat, he has a brown paper sack that he hands up to me, to hold.
"Found what you were looking for, I take it"
His grin was even wider as he said "Yes, and the old man just gave me a whole big box for free!"
"What is it? I asked
CONDOMS! Tom replied "144 of them"
"Ingrid won't hardly let me get near her without I have one on".
"Old man asked if I was diddling one of those girls on the boat. and when I said yes... He just handed me the whole freaking box, told me to do her one time for him! Wouldn't take any money for it!"
We set about preparing to head down the river.
Just as we were getting ready to untie the mooring lines and leave...
I hear my cell phone ringing....so I answer and hear; "GOD DAMMIT DAD, WHERE IN THE FUCK ARE YOU?"
"On the Mississippi about halfway between Memphis and Vicksburg"
"Well, you need to get your wrinkled old ass home, right fucking now! Mom is so pissed I wouldn't be surprised if you don't cause her to have a stroke!" My son yells angrily
."So, what has set her off ... THIS time? I ask
"You know Goddamn good and well, why she is pissed...You left us all here without any goddamn money! We have NOTHING, understand NOTHING, not a goddamn cent to fucking live on! He screams into the phone"
"I beg to differ Son, I made arrangements with the bank, before I left, to make sure that enough money was transferred into each of your accounts, to cover all of your normal monthly expenses...just like I always do."
"But it isn't enough, you old fuckwit, Bank said that all that money went to pay bills and won't let us have any more till next month. I need more money RIGHT FUCKING NOW! Mom needs more and Sis need more...just what the fuck do you expect us to do?"
"For starters, get a goddamn job! Sell some of that worthless shit you swore you just HAD to have...but have never used! HELL, you could open up a goddamn store with all of the crap you three have hoarded up!"
"Fuck that dad! I have an image to uphold! I am NOT doing fucking retail. I can't have my people thinking that I do not have money!"
"Well, keep on with the "attitude" and keep talking to me the way that you do, and I will call the bank and tell them to shut everyone's expense accounts down completely, let you three learn the real meaning of being broke...instead of merely inconvenienced!"
"Fuck you!" he Screamed...then the call ended.
"That sounded very intense" Tom says " Couldn't help but overhear, anything I can do to help?"
"Not really" I say "Just giving my family a nice heaping dose of reality; for a change...and they are not liking it one bit!
All they want me around for...is to be their personal; walking talking 24-hour ATM for them. So, I put them all on a budget, without telling them in advance....and they are all livid about it! It is unfortunate, but it is something that I feel, had to be done, and should have been done long ago. Because if I died tomorrow, they would all three, blow through every penny that I have worked so hard to make and be bankrupt in no time!"
"My dad and I started, then built up, a thriving auto parts business" I continue "When dad passed, with me being the only child, I inherited the business. Sure, I could have sold everything then and there and made a large profit. But I chose to expand and grow the business, instead... until eventually, there was a total of twenty-three stores in the chain."
"I have since sold off all of those stores, one by one but still get paid dividends and residuals from the profits that each store makes."
"I'm no multi-millionaire by any stretch of the imagination. But I have a nice healthy income stream, coming in every month...and if managed properly, it could take care of my entire family's needs for the rest of our lives"
"Every month, I invest a portion of that income, then divide up the rest, giving one fourth share to myself, my wife, my son, and my daughter, to do with as we wish.
Invariably, every month the other three will come back to me, begging for more money...and like a dumb ass, I give it to them! So, I've been trying to sink as much of my share into this ship as I can...just so that they couldn't get their hands on it readily."
"Well, that sucks," said Tom
"Yeah, what you were saying about family being the worst about fucking you over, certainly rings true with mine!"
We untie the ship...and begin heading back out into open waters, just as we are passing by the fuel dock, the old man comes out and waves to us yelling "Thanks, see you next trip!"
We all wave back, then Bob and Ingrid both slip their bikini tops off....and shake their bare breasts for the old man.
"Yippee!" The old man yells "That's what I'm talking about!"
Once we are clear of other boat traffic, out into the main channel once again. I call for Bob to come to me.
"What-cha need?" she asks