Dancing With Devia (12 page)

She would be back again soon.  Tomorrow night, and the night after, and the night after…until he was totally hers.

Julian was starting to feel better about himself and everything in general.
He started smiling and whistling again.
He started to pick up his life.
His neighbours were delighted to see him starting to take an interest again.  They watched as he mowed the lawn. They watched as he carried on. Always alone, living alone¸ working alone, except for the nightly visits from his wife’s friend, Devia.  Something that everyone around him never spoke to him about.  After all, it was his life and nothing for them to discuss.  If he was happy, they were.
It was his little secret, and they respected that secret.
A man was entitled to loving, no matter who he was.  That Devia woman, seemed to be a good friend to him.
She seemed to be helping him.
Day by day, things slowly improved for him and time passed.

It was almost a year after his family had died.
And although his heart was still in tatters he was starting to feel that life could begin again.
  He went to bed with his trusted friend Jack Daniels every night, only to help him sleep.  It helped him make it through his days sometimes too.
It was strange, he had never believed in the afterlife, and yet, he felt as though his Crystal were still with him.
He felt her presence around him.
He felt her love still.
He had the most lucid dreams about her, and they made him happy.  Almost like he hadn’t lost her at all.

***

He whistled as he worked on his boat.  The rigging was secure.
He hated yacht owners that let their rigging and lines clank when the wind blew.
It was just a sign that they didn’t have a clue about sailing.
He liked his tied, secured, tight, and quiet.
He was a true sailor.
He liked things done properly.
He had returned to work recently and had gone out with a few clients.  Nothing special, just a few odd day trips here and there. Now that the life insurance had kicked in from his wife’s death, the house had been paid off.  The remainder of the life insurance was a sizeable lump sum that was now in a savings account in the bank.  It was ironic, because with all that money in the bank, life would have been perfect if Crystal and the kids were still around.

Today he had a family coming on board the boat.
A mature couple were giving their daughter a birthday treat.
He had already seen the surprise birthday cards and presents they had had delivered to the boat, ready to surprise her when they went sailing.
He smiled at their joy and yet he was saddened in his heart.  His daughter, Mary, would never make it to see her twenty fifth birthday.
Not now.
He felt a stabbing pain and put down his rope.
He looked out to the horizon at the birds swooping in the sky.
The morning sunlight was dappled on the surface of the waves and it sparkled and glittered with the movement, the reflections of the birds as they skimmed near the surface.

A movement caught his eye and he looked along the marina.
Over in the distance, Devia was sitting having a drink in the café by the entrance.
She had a clear view of him.  He waved to acknowledge her presence and she waved back.
They rarely talked any more.
Not since he had told her to leave him alone and to get out of his house.  Seeing her with Crystal’s red dress pressed up against her that day had almost killed him.  When he had first walked in, he had thought it
was
Crystal.

‘
She’s a funny one, that one.’
He thought to himself.
‘Always around, always alone.  Didn’t she have a life? A guy she could spend time with?’
She was always there.
Alone.
Waiting.
Watching.
He momentarily felt sorry for her and for whomever she was waiting for.  Whoever he was, he would have a nutcase on his hands, if he weren’t careful.  She had tried to take over his life both before and after Crystal’s passing.
He shuddered at the thought.

A group had arrived and started to walk down the docks, happy and laughing as they chatted and he guessed it was his party.
He stood up from his kneeling position and smiled as they approached.

“The Anders family?”
He said with a smile as he held out his hand to welcome them aboard.

“Yes.
That’s us.”
They all grinned.  He helped the wife and daughter on board and waited for the man to join them.
The daughter’s presents had all been hidden in a
closet
so she wouldn’t see them when he showed the entire family all the cabins on board.
He loved showing people around the boat, because they were always appreciative of the design, the décor, and the luxurious surroundings.
The pictures in the holiday brochure never did the boat justice and so people were always bowled over and delighted by what they saw when they got there.
He gave them the safety briefing
and
told them what to do in an emergency, even if he were incapacitated.
He was supposed to do this from the time that he had taken Devia out.
It had become part of the general briefing since then.  He joked
with the family
that it would take an elephant tranquili
z
er to incapacitate him, not realising how close to the truth he really was.

They made themselves comfortable as he got the boat underway.
When they were out of the harbour and into open ocean
,
he let the father take the helm.
He showed him how to steer the boat, how to navigate, and what to look for on the horizon.
He stood by his side as he watched the man’s joy at feeling the boat cut through the waves.
The man stood
tall
and delighted as his wife took pictures of him.
His body language saying that he was very proud, a sailor no less.
Julian delighted in his pleasure, delighted in the family and their unity.
He felt the stab of pain in his heart again and looked out to the horizon to stop his eyes tearing up in front of them.

“Are you ok?”  A woman’s voice said, by his side.

He turned to her, his green eyes bright and wet with tears.
He smiled and crinkled up his eyes as he did so.  It was the daughter standing next to him.
Such a beautiful, delicate young thing, her blonde hair trailing in the breeze behind her, wisps blowing in to her clear blue eyes.  She lifted her hand up to hold the tendrils of hair out of her eyes as he spoke.

“No Miss, just something in my eye.”

“Hmmm, it looked like more than that to me.”  She said, concern in her eyes.

He was touched she had noticed and also a little embarrassed too.  He smiled brightly at her, although his private pain remained.

“Hell no.
Oh Look!”  He said, pointing to the horizon, “A pod of dolphins.” 

She squealed with joy, which took him totally by surprise and he laughed with her.  Julian went back to the helm and gave the father a set of his binoculars before relieving him of his sailing duties so he could join his wife, and daughter, who was now jumping up and down squealing like a five year old and pointing. It was hard not to be caught up in their excitement and family’s obvious bond.

“How about we get a little closer.
Would you like that?
I can’t take you to them, but I can get us a little closer.” They all nodded, the daughter clapped her hands and was still squealing with happiness.

He turned the boat into the direction of the pod and within a few minutes they were about fifty feet from them.  He slowed the boat to idle, to let his party  hear them better.
They could hear their whistles and clicks as they played together.

A few frisky and curious male dolphins from the pod broke formation and came to leap out of the water alongside the boat.
They were putting on a very good show.
Julian smiled. He couldn’t have arranged it better if he had paid them.  The Anders’s must have taken hundreds of photographs.
The males of the pods were so happy, leaping and twisting in the air, coming down with big splashes.
He stopped the boat engine entirely, until only the sound of the lapping waves on the hull was heard.
The boat was just gently drifting with the waves. A few dolphins came up to the side to see if he had any fish, but he didn’t. He never fed them, and always encouraged others not to do so too, tempting as it might be. These were wild creatures. It would do no good to train them to rely on humans.
But they sure knew how to beg.

“What do they want?”

“Food, mainly, but they are very curious too.”

“Can we feed them?”

“Oh no.  We don’t do that.  As it is, we shouldn’t be this close, but as they came to us. It’s ok.
Over there,” he said pointing to some dorsal fins in the waves, “are the females, notice how they are keeping their distance?”  She nodded.

“That is most likely because they may have young with them.”

“Nice,” she said, squinting into the distance.
He passed his binoculars to her and she took them for a clearer view.
“Oh there are!”
She suddenly exclaimed.
“What a great birthday this is Mum and Dad!  Just the best!” she shouted.  He smiled at her again.
The pod started to move away and when they were a safe distance, Julian started up the engine again, and they were again underway.

He took them to a local island and helped them ashore.  As they went exploring he set up the sun umbrella and chairs for them.  He brought out the picnic
basket
as well as the cooler box with the drinks, and placed it under the shade of the umbrella.
He suddenly felt a shadow fall over him, as though a cloud had entered his space. He stood up and looked around.  He felt uneasy
,
so he checked along the beach, sensing someone was watching
.
  He was unsure why or how anyone could be watching and couldn’t see anything or another living soul.  He shook off the feeling and carried on with his tasks.
It was about an hour later when the family returned to where he was waiting.
He had been sitting with his back against the rock, watching the sea, and his boat.

When they came back, he leapt into action and started serving them drinks, and food.  They tucked in and thoroughly enjoyed their time together on the beach.
He took pictures of them and they dragged him into a few of the photos too.
Pictures were taken of the Mum and Dad, the Mum and daughter, and then some of the two men.  Almost as an afterthought, a few photos were taken of the daughter and him.
Then they attempted to take a picture with all of them, using the camera self-timer.  Just as the picture was about to be taken, the camera fell sideways.
They all ran forward to catch the camera, making it the best picture of all, their faces all showing fright and arms out to catch it.
They all agreed it was the funniest one too.  All in all, he started feeling like he was on holiday with some Japanese tourists, but he took it in stride.

Back on board, the parents gave the daughter her birthday presents.  When they sang Happy Birthday he joined in, but kept quiet at the name part.
He realised he didn’t know her name, only the family’s last name.
As they sang the rest of the birthday song, he learned her name was Sophie.  She looked just like he imagined a Sophie would look. Sophisticated, young, fresh, the girl next-door, and so sweet, that she would be sweeter than maple syrup.
She was so loveable.  It was hard not to like her.
He smiled at her as they all sang.  For a split second, he felt like he was part of their family and it jolted him back to reality.
He suddenly stopped singing and turned away to busy himself with something.

Back at the marina, they all hugged him goodbye and thanked him for a fabulous day.  They asked if they could book him again.  He said, of course, he would be delighted to sail them wherever they wanted to go.
The parents asked if he would consider a week sailing trip the next time and he laughed as he said
,

“
b
ook me for as long as you want, and I am all yours.”  He noticed that Sophie looked at him sideways, with a smile, as he said this, and his heart suddenly jumped and skipped a beat, which confused him.

He waved them off as they left and went back in the boat, but before he did so, he looked at the seat where Devia would normally sit.
She wasn’t there.
He thought it strange, and briefly wondered where she was, but then forgot about it and carried on with his work.