Scene 33
PART II...Scene Thirty-three...Where is he?
Time: Morning, Sunday, April 28, 1946
Place: The marina and Sal's
Storyteller: Janet
I ride my bike to the marina and park in Sal's lot, wondering if they ate lobster last night. Why didn't the folks buy me a car for my birthday? I learned to drive, thanks to Paul.
Betty sneaks up on me and asks, "What are you doing here, besides chewing juicy fruit gum? It makes you look cheap."
"Why are you so grumpy? I'm looking for William, but his slip is empty. Thought we could exercise before breakfast."
"Bike riding isn't just transportation, Janet. It's exercise."
"What's wrong? Your eyes look puffy. Didn't he give you a nice birthday present? Lobster?"
Betty lifts her chin to show me the rock.
"It's blinding me in the sunlight. Beautiful. Your birthday stone. Mom and I were hoping for a ring."
"Me, too."
"Are you okay? Where's his boat?"
"Don't know. Let's drink tea and watch the horizon."
I order the biggest breakfast on the menu, with a crescent roll like the moon last night. "Where's the orange marmalade?"
She passes it across the table before squeezing lemon into her tea. Her eyes are definitely puffy.
"Have a fight?" I get nosy.
"Of course not. Call me silly or paranoid..."
"I'll call you silly, because I don't know what paranoid means. Spit it out, Betty."
"Okay, okay. He only has a part time job and his home isn't exactly nailed down. He could sail off into the sunset and never return, leaving me with only gemstones."
"Don't ever say or even think that again. He can't leave us. We need him." I look at the ocean. "There's a dot on the horizon." I point.
The two of us stare at the dot until it becomes a boat, then a sailboat, then..."Isn't that William's sloop?" Betty asks.
"Yes, it most certainly is!" We run to his slip.
He sees us and holds up fish. When he gets closer, I'll be able to tell if it's yellow-tail snapper, my favorite. A dolphin is following the boat...playing...jumping.
Betty hollers, "Will you marry me on July 4th?"
He yells back, "Yes!" The dolphin jumps again.
In a few minutes, they are hugging and kissing as if I'm not even here.
Betty comes up for air and says, "We'll trade this necklace in for a ring."
"Never," he replies. "That's your birthday present. We'll go to Troxell's and buy rings."
I run to tell Sal, then return with a message. "He said to get over there right now for champagne."
Time: Morning, Sunday, April 28, 1946
Place: The marina and Sal's
Storyteller: Janet
I ride my bike to the marina and park in Sal's lot, wondering if they ate lobster last night. Why didn't the folks buy me a car for my birthday? I learned to drive, thanks to Paul.
Betty sneaks up on me and asks, "What are you doing here, besides chewing juicy fruit gum? It makes you look cheap."
"Why are you so grumpy? I'm looking for William, but his slip is empty. Thought we could exercise before breakfast."
"Bike riding isn't just transportation, Janet. It's exercise."
"What's wrong? Your eyes look puffy. Didn't he give you a nice birthday present? Lobster?"
Betty lifts her chin to show me the rock.
"It's blinding me in the sunlight. Beautiful. Your birthday stone. Mom and I were hoping for a ring."
"Me, too."
"Are you okay? Where's his boat?"
"Don't know. Let's drink tea and watch the horizon."
I order the biggest breakfast on the menu, with a crescent roll like the moon last night. "Where's the orange marmalade?"
She passes it across the table before squeezing lemon into her tea. Her eyes are definitely puffy.
"Have a fight?" I get nosy.
"Of course not. Call me silly or paranoid..."
"I'll call you silly, because I don't know what paranoid means. Spit it out, Betty."
"Okay, okay. He only has a part time job and his home isn't exactly nailed down. He could sail off into the sunset and never return, leaving me with only gemstones."
"Don't ever say or even think that again. He can't leave us. We need him." I look at the ocean. "There's a dot on the horizon." I point.
The two of us stare at the dot until it becomes a boat, then a sailboat, then..."Isn't that William's sloop?" Betty asks.
"Yes, it most certainly is!" We run to his slip.
He sees us and holds up fish. When he gets closer, I'll be able to tell if it's yellow-tail snapper, my favorite. A dolphin is following the boat...playing...jumping.
Betty hollers, "Will you marry me on July 4th?"
He yells back, "Yes!" The dolphin jumps again.
In a few minutes, they are hugging and kissing as if I'm not even here.
Betty comes up for air and says, "We'll trade this necklace in for a ring."
"Never," he replies. "That's your birthday present. We'll go to Troxell's and buy rings."
I run to tell Sal, then return with a message. "He said to get over there right now for champagne."