Moon Dancer 3

Moon Dancer, 3

One day, about a month after moving in, I found Madge looking at the picture of Sue with her hair blowing in the wind. I wrapped around her from behind, but she shrugged me off. "She really was beautiful. And smart." I felt a chill. Something didn't sound right.

"What's up?"

She was quiet for a very long time. "Am I just a substitute? A bed filler?"

"What brought this on?"

"You have all these memories of her. Pictures, mementos, she comes up in conversations I have with your friends. The boat. I feel I'm competing with a ghost."

"Come with me." I led her out to her studio.

Her Studio.

"I won't deny I have twenty something years of memories of myself and Sue. I can't... I won't change that. But I haven't been able to add one more memory in the last six years. Except moments of sadness or grief." I looked around. Paintings and sketches everywhere. She really is good. "Now I am building new memories. With

you

. With Mike. Like in here - this is where I'll have seen your paintings as they developed. You are unique, I've never known anyone like you, and I am in love with you. With

You!

"

And then I remembered

The Boat

. Moon Dancer was no longer in the family.

~~~

Two weeks earlier we took a long weekend as a good bye cruise for the boat. I would have liked to make it longer, but Mike started school the next Monday. So we did a trip down the Narrows into the South Sound. Mike almost broke his neck looking up as we passed under the bridges.

We spent the first night in Oro Bay. I explained to Mike I met his mother here when she came swimming over. He asked for all the details. He's a kid, he wants to know. So I gave him a sanitized version of that evening. To Madge's relief. Saturday we dropped towards the Nisqually Delta where there was a huge gathering of sea birds feeding on smelt or herring.

Just after noon the Coast Guard put out a call to all vessels around the Nisqually Delta to watch for a kayaker missing since the night before. We were the only boat I could see, so that meant us.

Moon Dancer has radar, although I hadn't used it much lately. I turned it on, then gave Marge and Mike binoculars and had them searching while I motored along slowly. Mike asked why we were doing this and I explained there was someone missing out here and If I didn't try finding them and found out later I just drove past them I'd never be able to live with myself. He just nodded.

We circled the area for over an hour with Marge up in the bow, Mike sitting on the cabin roof, and I watching the radar when Marge yelled there was something over in the brush. Radar wasn't seeing it for all the ground noise. Mike called he could see it. It looked like a boat. I idled the engine, picked up my own glasses and checked. I looked a bit like a kayak with a big lump in the middle. The water was too shallow for me getting closer.

Right away I was on the radio to Coast Guard, giving my position and what we thought we saw. It couldn't have been more than fifteen minutes for a Sherriff's helicopter to be overhead. Marge and Mike were pointing into the brush and I was on the radio talking to the pilot.

They confirmed it was a man in a kayak, but couldn't reach him because of the brush. Another fifteen minutes and a Thurston County Sheriff's boat came racing up. They pulled into the brush and reached him. With nothing else to do, we stayed. Hell, I wanted to know how he was.

He was still alive. We heard later - his wife called me - he had suffered a heart attack and drifted into the brush. He couldn't move. He thought he would die in there. How he even lived close to twenty hours, through the night, and well into the next day - I guess he must have been in pretty good shape. Well, except for his heart. She thanked us profusely, said he was just forty six and had two kids.

After that it just felt time to take the boat home. We pulled in after dark, cleaned out our stuff, I hosed her down one last time and then handed the keys to the Yacht Broker. He'd waited for us, said a news crew were looking for the boat involved in the rescue. "Yeah, told 'em I heard that was a boat out of Totem Marina. Kinda figured that's how you'd want it."

~~~

"Marge, in all our time on the water, Sue and I never saved someone. We. You, and Mike, and I, we did. How's that for a memory of our own?"

~~~

Like any family, we settled into our routines. Mike had school, fifth grade; math, English, social studies. Subjects I hadn't thought about for, decades. He has his own school computer but also has to do written homework at night. Yeah, I wasn't used to that. Mike had asked to have the back bedroom, the one that I used as an office, because it was closer to the second bathroom. So, we set him up.

They'd brought all of Mikes bedroom, including his desk, posters and hobby stuff. The kid felt right at home.

Marge was wrapping up her final month at the agency, but as she said they were switching over to a newer and different system. They could have kept her, she knew that system, but she suspected the agency had hired a young kid just out of college at half her salary. She said there were a bunch of new interns around the office.

Now me, I'd been thinking of retiring. I had my thirty years vested in the Union retirement plan, I qualified for Social Security, and I sure wasn't getting younger. I wanted to enjoy my time with them. Both of them.

Like I said Sue and I never had kids. My only relatives were cousins I might see twice a year. Maybe. If they had kids... I didn't pay much attention. It was the same for Sue and her family.

But now I had a kid. yeah, I know, he wasn't mine. But I liked him. Quiet and smart, wanted to learn. If I was working on something in the yard he was there. Fixing something in the garage - yup, by my side. Kid learned how to take apart and put back a lawn mower engine.

But it was the Jaguar that had most of his attention. It had been Sue's car. '77 XJ-6 C. Black over black with wire wheels, black leather interior. Converted to a five speed manual transmission. Rare, but not super valuable. Not really to my taste, I preferred a mid 90s Mustang, but I wasn't going to get rid of it. To me it evoked everything about Sue. Her taste, sense of value, and her wild side when we'd go driving in the hills.

For a big car, she could make it dance through the twisties. I'd hang on and grit my teeth. She'd be laughing. I do still miss her.

But I'd take it out for a spin every week or so. Mike rode with me whenever he could.

~~~

As Marge spent less time at the agency, she devoted more in her studio. I'd look in when I could but didn't want to disturb her. Fortunately she could see me through the windows and if it was okay she'd wave me in. It wasn't often during the week simply because I was still working.

~~~

It's funny how adding one more body to a household changes everything. When it was just me and Sue we could come and go as we pleased. Just leave a note or make a phone call and go. And then it was just me, hell I didn't even have to leave a note.

But now I had Marge and Mike. Because of traffic she had to head for Seattle at seven just to guarantee being at work by nine. And unless she could leave early, not get home until almost seven. Good thing she was almost finished with that. So it was up to me getting the kid off to school. Lucky for me he'd been getting himself ready for a while. I'd just drop him off on my way to work. There was a Boys and Girls club next door for after school until I picked him up.

I had

almost

forgotten how nice having a woman next to me in bed was. Snuggling against her, wrapping an arm around her, spooning her while I sniffed her hair, god that is so... nice isn't enough of a word. Making love was that - loving. Of course we had to be quiet because of Mike just down the hall. But that only meant slow deep loving with Marge (and I) gritting her teeth as she came.

First of November and Marge no longer had to fight traffic north. She slept in. She rose at seven and took a leisurely shower. Step into the kitchen and announced "Today is a holiday! Mitch, call in sick. Mike, you're playing hooky. I want to go to the zoo, and then the art museum, and then a leisure dinner on the waterfront."

So we did. We hit the zoo when it opened, oohed and aawwed at everything, pointed out details the others may have missed, and jumped when a Polar Bear charged the glass.

The Art Museum was closed. Wrong day for us, so we just dropped over to the Glass Museum and watched the Glass Blowers in action. Of course Mike was fascinated and had a chance to ask one of them a few questions. I wanted to go up the hill to the Automobile Museum, but Marge said I could do that on my birthday.

My birthday, I hadn't thought about that much. Guys at the shop would get me a cake and we'd take a long lunch. But It was just me at night.

~~~

Ninety nine percent of life is doing the same thing everyday. You get up, shit, shower, shave. Go to work. Come home. Spend a little time with the wife (if you have one), do your after dinner chores. Collapse in front of the idiot box. Go to bed.

Rinse, repeat.

But. I had decided when I had my thirty in, I would retire. So the night after our holiday I called a conference.

Marge and I with coffee, Mike had orange juice - the kid didn't like colas (so far), gathered at the kitchen table. "I've decided to retire March first. I'll have my thirty years in the pension fund, and to tell you the truth, I'm tired of working."

Marge looked over at Mike, then back at me. "Okay." And they got up, left the room, not another word. So I'm sitting there, thinking that's it? Okay? Damn.

"SURPRISE!!" They scared the shit out of me. "Your boss's wife, Angie, called last week to tell me you'd put your papers in. I bought the cake three days ago. I was beginning to think I'd have to toss it." Mike handed me a card 'Happy Almost Retirement'. Hand made by him.

I think I got something in my eye. Maybe glitter off the card.

~~~

My birthday is November 30th. Mom always said thank you for waiting until after Thanksgiving. The guys at the shop made a really big deal because this would be my last one with them. The boss and his wife, hell, the whole office staff came down. Nothing got done that afternoon. Marge had dinner waiting when I got home, shooed me up for a shower. Told me dress was shorts and Hawaiian shirt.

She had dinner spread out on the coffee table in the living room; pizza and wine. Mike got a small glass. Hawaiian music playing. After we finished dinner, Marge sent Mike to the kitchen, he came back with a small cake. And then Mike gave me a card he had made. "

Happy Birthday POPS

"

Pops? When did I become Pops? I gave that kid the biggest hug he'd ever had. Until he called 'Uncle'.

Then Marge stood and said it was her turn. She had Mike and I follow her. Under the pictures of Sue was something covered in cloth. I hadn't noticed it before. I was standing with a hand on Mikes shoulder when she pulled away the cloth. It was a picture of Moon Dancer under sail! And I thought I could see Sue sitting in the cockpit waving. I must have squeezed his shoulder pretty hard because he yelled."Ow!"

I don't know how long I stood there before she asked if I liked it. She went on to say she'd gone over to the marina trying to get an idea of what the boat looked like under sail. "Mitch, Honey, did I do something wrong? I can change it"

It must have been that last part that shook me awake. "God no. It's, perfect. How did you...? I mean, you've never seen her sailing. I mean from off her. How?"

"Mr. Kinney, the Broker, showed me pictures of similar boats. So, I made this. And yes, I added Sue. Just for you."

I had to sit. I didn't cry, but I did come close. Then I remembered Mike. "Hey, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" He nodded.

~~~

No, I didn't get to the Auto Museum on my birthday, but we did go the following weekend.

It's a big place with three floors of cars with ramps between floors and more cars on them. Well it is a car museum. This time the main show floor featured Mustangs of all eras including some customs and a few racers. I spent a lot of time studying a '95 in dark green with a tan interior. Sweet. Sure they had some of the latest models, but they do nothing for me. It's the smooth curves of the '95 for me.

We moved through the museum, Mike running ahead to look at one car, then another.

Marge put up a good front, but cars weren't her thing. And then she saw Topolino. Little Mouse. A Fiat 500 built in 1953. A little black thing two people could barely squeeze into, but she loved it.

We did everything, the slot cars, the sim racing,(they both beat my time. I said I let them). We had lunch at the upstairs cafe where we could look down on a few million dollars worth of steel. On the way out we passed an original Mini in the parking lot. This is when Mike stopped.

If you know Minis, they're just a box with a little nose and four small wheels. He wanted to know all about it, but I don't know a lot and the owner was nowhere in sight. His mom suggested he do an online search. Works for me.

But then... the owner came out. A nice friendly guy. Chuck. Introduced himself and asked if we had questions. Well that was it with Mike; he wanted to know everything about the car. Chuck popped the hood to show us the engine. Mike asked where the transmission was. "Under the engine." Chuck told him. "It shares oil with the engine. Smart engineering to save space."

The next thing I hear is Chuck offering rides around the parking area. I passed, Mike couldn't get in fast enough. They went spinning off. I do mean spinning. Chuck had that little car twisting and turning around. Like a Go Kart, flat to the ground. Probably never went over thirty.

When he got back he asked if I were certain I didn't want a ride. I shook my head after watching that demo,I think I'd have been heaving. He turned to Madge. "Wanna try? Can you drive a stick?" She looked uncertain, but got behind the wheel. Fifteen minutes later she climbed out and proclaimed. "I

need

one of these. I haven't had this much fun behind a wheel in ages."

~~~

Within days I had learned the complete history of Minis from inception in the 1950s, to racing history to the last one being built in 2005. Damn that's a long run. Guess who explained it all. I can see him wanting one in a few years. His mother wants one now.

~~~

Marge hit the ground running with her painting. I looked in one day and she had half a dozen canvas spread around. When I asked how she could be so fast she said, "I've dozens, maybe a hundred ideas I've sketched over the years, I just never had the time to follow through. Now I do." I asked about sales, I mean that is something I know nothing about. "I'm placing work in a couple galleries, we'll see how they do."

~~~

What do you give someone you are just getting to know? That was my Christmas dilemma. Jewelry? I never saw her wearing any, her ear lobes weren't even punched for ear rings. Art supplies? Not a chance, I wouldn't know what to get. So I asked Angie, the Boss's wife, for advice. And I followed it.

Mike was different, I went to his mother for ideas. "Give him a baseball and a mitt.

Throw in a few shirts and jeans." And that was done.

~~~

A few days before Christmas Marge found me sitting in front of the pictures of Sue. "You still miss her." A statement, not a question. All I could do was nod. The tears were that close. She wrapped around me from behind. "It's okay. You loved her then, still do. But you also love me now."

The thing was that as I looked at her painting of Moon Dancer, I could

See

Sue waving. Sure, I knew it was just a few strokes of a brush, but in my mind that was Sue.

"She once said that even though she was good with numbers she never counted the days. She took them as they came. My only regret is we never made that cruise to Mexico. She was cheated of that."

In my mind I decided to make the most of every day with Margaret and Michael.

~~~

We invited Marge's parent's over for Christmas. They arrived the afternoon of the 24th, tired from the drive across the state yet eager to catch up with Margaret and Michael. Imagine my surprise when I see he's

older than me!

My height and slim, with gray hair. And his wife looked to be in her early fifties, brunette and the same hazel eyes as Marge. Hmm, is Marge pre-disposed to May-September relationships? Adam and Janet are just the nicest folks I've ever met. He met me with a firm hand shake and a direct look into my eyes, she with a warm hug.

~~~

I offered a sight seeing trip of Tacoma, including the Glass and Auto Museums on the day after Christmas, But they passed. "We appreciate the offer, and maybe another time, but we want to spend all the time we can with Maggie and Michael." Adam told me. I can understand that. They had only three days to visit, a storm was forecast on the 28th in the mountains and the likelihood of passes being closed was high.

I did spend time with Adam during their visit, as he said; "I love my daughter, but I have just so much to say, and then I'm done." He'd retired just the year before after more than fifty years at the food processing plant. "I started there in High School. During harvest the plant hired every kid willing to work. Back then almost everything was moved around by hand. Forklifts were only for the heaviest loads. So we all got lots of exercise, well the boys did. The girls worked the sorting and packing lines. Maggie worked there her high school years too. She saved most of her money towards college, but some went to her car."

About then Marge (Maggie?) came in. "That was an old Toyota. A little Corolla. I had it all through college. The two years at Walla Walla I drove back and forth three days a week. Forty miles each way. Then drove it to Seattle. I finally sold it after my first check from the agency. Let's see... it had a hundred forty thousand miles when I bought it, two hundred and sixty two thousand, one hundred and nine miles when I sold it. And I made one hundred twenty five dollars on the sale. I kinda miss that little car."

She wandered off again, so I asked Adam about Marge and art. "She was always drawing. I think she may have been scribbling before she good talk." He smiled. "I have a picture she did in fifth or sixth grade. Hard to remember now. We have a bluff that's along the river next to town. A couple blocks from our house. Anyway she did this picture and I swear some professional did it. She got that rock just right. They had it posted at the school most of the year. I had to argue hard to get it from them. It's framed and in our den."

~~~

I tried sleeping in Christmas morning, but between Marge nudging me every five minutes and Mike telling me I had to hurry so we could open presents... well, that just wasn't going to happen.

Marge and Janet had coffee and waffles ready and as soon as I appeared Marge put a couple eggs and sausage on the skillet. Adam was in the living room, staying out of the way. I'd barely finished my first cup when breakfast was shoved, yes shoved, in front of me. "Hurry up, we're waiting on you and Mike is bouncing off the walls."

~~~

The only kids I've been around at Christmas were my cousin's and they were toddlers, so I had no idea..."Pops! C'mon!" So I just took my plate with me. Hey, I'm not wasting waffles and sausage.

I'd no sooner sat then Marge slipped a box under my plate and onto my lap. "Don't open that yet." Said with a smile. She does have a beautiful smile. I kept on eating.

She gave Mike a box and told him to open it. Shirts. That kid had the most disappointed look. "Mom's playing with him." I thought. She handed her folks what had to be a picture, from the way it was wrapped.