TARA
"Now gather 'round, me hearties," Salty announces in a theatrical voice that makes Posey giggle. "Here's a tale that'll curl your toes."
Cameron comes to my side, sitting closer than necessary as we arrange ourselves in the boat's shaded interior.
Close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from his body.
Edison settles at Posey's feet. She sits with perfect posture, ready for story time like the proper little lady her grandmother raised her to be.
"I've lived on these waters my whole life," Salty begins. "About twenty years ago, the most amazing thing happened. I took this boat out, as usual, for my morning catch. I had a crew with me—two men. Bad weather. We drifted off course. Then, out of nowhere, we saw it."
"Saw what?" asks Posey, her eyes wide with anticipation.
"We saw a big gray whale."
"What did you do?"
"There was nothing to do," Salty says with a shrug. "The current kept pushing the boat toward the whale."
"Did the whale swim away?" asks Posey, sitting on the edge of her seat.
"No. The whale came closer. A wave knocked the boat. And I fell overboard."
"Overboard!?" we all say in unison.
"And sure enough, I ended up in the whale's mouth."
"The whale's mouth!?" exclaims Posey.
“At first, I didn't know it was the whale's mouth. I was disoriented. Pitch black. Then I felt something massive and slippery beneath me—its tongue, big as a dinner table. The entire space was pulsing around me like I was inside a giant heart. I could hear this thundering boom-boom, boom-boom echoing everywhere."
"How long were you inside the whale?" I ask.
Salty shrugs. "Maybe ten or fifteen seconds, but it felt like forever. The whole time, I'm thinking I'm about to be swallowed down into its belly. I started punching at that tongue, kicking against those throat muscles that kept trying to pull me down deeper."
"Then I felt the whole creature shudder, like it was gagging, and suddenly I saw light as it spat me out like a watermelon seed."
Cameron and I meet one another's gaze.
"I'm so glad you survived," says Posey, leaping up to hug him.
He put his arm around her. "God saved me that time. Your father the second time. Which means..."
"What?" asks Posey.
"That the next time, I'm out." Salty checks his watch. "I suppose we should head back before the tide changes. Don't want to keep your driver waiting with that fancy car of yours."
As Salty starts the engine, Posey moves to sit with Edison in front of us.
Cameron's knee brushes mine as we adjust to the boat's movement, and this time neither of us pulls away.
The return trip passes in comfortable quiet, the engine's steady hum mixing with the sound of waves and seagulls. Posey’s eyes close as she leans gently on Edison's flank.
Cameron also appears to be dozing. I steal glances at him, certain he's not looking.
But to my surprise, his eyes snap open. The air between us grows heavier with possibility, but then he closes them again.
As Nantucket's harbor comes into view, reality creeps back in.
