She Rises

A thrilling, heartfelt adventure.

Alex closed his eyes and smiled as Maureen's hair whipped him in the face. He stood beside her, breathing her in, his knees slightly bent to compensate for the pitch and roll of the Wayward Wind’s deck. The salt air smelled good, but nothing could compare to Maureen's hair. He reached out and put his hand on hers, "Loosen your grip. Your hands will get tired if you hold on so tightly."
Maureen loosened her grip on the spokes of the ship's wheel and flashed him a smile, her eyes brilliant blue in the morning light. He could actually see the little facets in her irises. Her cheeks were flushed with pleasure in the beauty of the day, the feel of control over the powerful vessel and, Alex liked to believe, in her company. Over the sound of the wind Maureen asked, "Can I give it some throttle?"
Alex said kindly, "You mean, can you give her some throttle. And sure, why not?"
They were making fifteen knots, the sea was calm and the hull wasn't straining in the least. Maureen pushed the throttle forward gradually and the deck canted another few degrees. Alex called over his shoulder, "Jack! Hey, Jack!"
That morning Jack had brought a lawn chair and a battery operated drill on board. He had promptly screwed the chair to the deck facing aft and had settled himself in it, preferring its comfort to the hard, built in benches. Alex had thought of calling him "Admiral Jack" since Jack expected he and Maureen to do all the work. That was fine with Alex. It was, after all, Jack’s boat. Jack called back, "Hey, what?"
“When are we going to see what this baby can do?”
"When you have enough money to replace the engine if this one blows up!"
Alex laughed and said, "Good point!"
Jack yelled, "Alex, could you give me a hand for sec? I need help untangling these damn fishing rods!"
Alex noticed that when they were on the water Jack liked to say damn a lot. He pointed off to port and said to Maureen, "When the tip of that headland lines up with that church tower bring her east-northeast, okay?"
Maureen smiled, said, "Aye aye, Skipper." and gave a little salute.
Alex was grinning from ear to ear as he walked aft and stepped around Jack's lawn chair. Jack, holding a fishing rod in each hand, passed one to Alex and said, "My mistake. I thought they were tangled." And, lowering his voice said, "The change in Maureen is remarkable." He took a look over his shoulder to make sure his granddaughter couldn't hear him and asked, "What did you do?"
Alex shrugged, leaned closer to Jack's good ear, and said, "I listened."
Jack patted him on the forearm and said, "You must be a good listener."
Maureen called from the wheel, "Hey, Skipper! There's a boat ahead!"
Alex joined Maureen and looked forward. Loudly enough for Jack to hear he said, “That's a lobster boat.” And lowering his voice, “And don't call me Skipper."
Jack called up to them, "What color is it?"
Maureen called back, "It's sort of an ugly, pea green with a banana yellow stripe!"
A moment later Jack joined them at the wheel. He said, "That's the Mullahey brothers! We might have something better than peanut butter sandwiches for lunch!" Turning to Alex he said, “Come within hailing distance."
Alex turned to Maureen and said in a mock official voice, "Come within hailing distance."
The chain of command had been established early on the Wayward Wind. Jack liked things run "Navy fashion". And, truth be told, Alex and Maureen greatly enjoyed it.

Anikate15 says:
The development of the characters throughout the novel is enrapturing. You share in their despair and their triumphs, their tears and their laughter. This book truly explores the complexities of human emotion, giving insight to the difficulties of grief and the courage of perseverance. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who seeks a thrilling and heartfelt adventure.