Chapter 80: I Fuck A Widow

By the time I arrived at the Captain’s Lounge party, it was already in full swing. It was Wednesday night and it must have been a full moon or something; the place was packed! There were easily 75 or 80 people there, double the usual. With so many people there, it was nearly impossible to identify any friendly faces. I squeezed through the crowd to the bar. The same cutie as Monday waited on me. “What’ll it be Captain?” “Same as Monday. A generous pour of single malt scotch, two ice cubes.” When she handed it to me, I asked how much. She smiled sweetly and shook her head side-to-side. “You’re paid ahead, Sailor. No charge.” I winked at her as I dropped a $20 into her tip jar.

“By the way, darling. What’s your name?” “I’m Alice.” I took her hand and leaned over to kiss the back of it. Very old fashioned, very formal, very memorable for a 20-year-old girl. She blushed with deep pink cheeks and looked at her feet, smiling. “Nice to actually meet you, Alice. I’m in a party mood, so you’ll probably see me often tonight.” “Single malt, two rocks. I got you covered, Sailor. It’ll be my pleasure to service you tonight.” Just as the words left her mouth, she realized what that sounded like. “Oh, no. I mean, what I meant to say….” I guffawed, gave her a wink, and turned away to lessen her embarrassment.

Other than Alice, I had only met Carrie, the twins and Ida. It was doubtful that Charlotte would be there. She was probably with the family tending to funeral stuff. A quick survey of the room didn’t reveal any of the people I had met. The room was very crowded, at capacity, and stuffy. I jostled my way through the crowd to the outside screened porch for some fresh air.

The screened porch ran along one side of the building, hanging over the water with boats in slips beyond. Very picturesque. It had a few tables and chairs and, even though there were a couple on “No Smoking” signs, it was used as the smoking porch. There were two round tables, each filled with 5 or 6 people, and two picnic tables, one empty and the last table had only one person sitting there.

“Hi. Mind if I join you?” The attractive 40-something year old woman motioned to a chair. “Not at all. Please join me. I’m Amanda. You must be new to the marina. I don’t think I’ve seen you around.” “Hi, Amanda. Yes, I’m Sailor and I pulled in, uh, what day is today?” “Wednesday.” “Ah, yes. Wednesday. Guess I pulled in on Sunday. Stopping here for a week or so. But the ambiance here and the top-notch Captain’s Lounge might make me rethink my departure date.” “Watch out, Sailor. This marina has a reputation of being a Velcro marina, if you know what I mean. Boaters tend to stay here longer than planned.”

Amanda and I sat and made small talk for a bit.