She pulls back and takes my hand. “Abby, these are the tomato plants I was telling you about. See? They’re nearly ready to eat!”
She directs my attention to a tiny garden wedged into the space directly in front of the boat. Liam has made a yard for her out of faded green wooden planks and some dirt. In addition to the two tomato plants, there are four bright pink geraniums in full bloom and violet wave petunias spilling over the sides.
“This is lovely!” I remark, letting her lead me to the planter.
She points, her voice an excited whisper. “Look. It’s my secret fairy garden.”
I crouch next to her and peek under one of the geraniums. There is a tiny wooden house with blue shutters and an open yellow door. I turn to her and gasp. “Does a real fairy live here?”
“Yes! Dad says she must have a sweet tooth because I found a candy wrapper in front of the house yesterday!”
“Are you serious?” I do my best to look shocked, and Olive gives me a proud nod.
“Well, this place is a little bit magic,” Olive says. “Have you ever seen a fairy?”
“No, I’m afraid not.”
“Me neither. They’re very tricky, but I will someday,” she says with a confident nod.
A shadow falls on the planter, and I look up to see Liam standing above us on the deck of the boat. “Hello, Abby. Welcome!”
I straighten up and give my eyes a moment to adjust to the sight of him. He looks very relaxed in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt instead of his usual work clothes. I can tell by his expression that he is thinking I look different as well, and I find myself hoping he thinks it’s a good change. But only because he’s a friend, and it’s perfectly okay to want to impress our friends.
“Hi, Liam.”
“Ready for an adventure?”
“I am. I was honestly so excited that I’ve been up since five-thirty.”
“This one here shares your enthusiasm, I’m afraid. She was up at the crack of dawn.”
I pick up the bags, and Olive leads me to the ladder. After I hand everything up to Liam, I climb up, feeling a little awkward, then stand back and watch while Liam and Olive make the final preparations to set off. He’s a whir of activity, and Olive seems thrilled to have me see her as his most capable first mate. He calls out for her to check the something and the other thing, which she quickly does, then hollers to him once the job is done. It occurs to me no matter how young we are, we all long to feel needed.
Liam is now behind the large wheel, while Olive plucks a captain’s hat off a hook and brings it to him. It has gold braiding circling it and an anchor on the front, above the blue brim. She tells me she bought it for her dad with her own money. I can see how proud she is, and when I glance up at him, he doesn’t have even a trace of embarrassment as he dons the white and blue cap.
“Thank you, my love,” he says, as he ruffles her hair. “Go get your sunglass clips, okay?”
Olive’s shoulders slump a little and Liam gives her a knowing smile. “You were hoping your old dad would forget, weren’t you?”
“Nuts,” she says, snapping her fingers before disappearing into the cabin.
I take a seat on the bench to the right of the wheel and stare out into the horizon. The sea is calm, and the sun is up enough that the gray is gone from the water.
“Abby, over there.” Liam points to the other side of the boat.
I stand in time to see a small pod of what look to be black dolphins making their way along the shore. I shield my eyes with one hand so I can watch them as they cut quickly through the water. The sight is such a delightful surprise that I find myself laughing. “What are they called?”
“Pilot whales. They’re looking for breakfast,” Liam says. “Probably a nice school of mackerel right around here. Maybe some squid.”
They all disappear under the surface, their tails flicking the air as they propel themselves down.
“Looks like they found something.”
I glance at Liam as he draws a deep breath and turns the shiny chrome wheel slightly to the left. He’s handsome in his cap and sunglasses, looking relaxed and content and somehow younger than when he’s working. I notice that he’s clean shaven and decide that must be the difference.
He turns to me and smiles. “Glad you decided to join us.”
“Me too.”
