Dreams Take Flight (18 page)

“What will next year look like, and how do you know it?”

“Because I’m living my future. Tomorrow will look like yesterday. Day after day, they’re all the same.”

“Autumn, why don’t you put a plan together for your future?”

“I would, but I don’t know what I want it to look like. I don’t know what I want to do.”

“That’s too bad, because if you don’t know what it will look like, you won’t recognize it if you find it.”

“I know, but I wouldn’t know how to start planning a future. I just wait for tomorrow to show up and then I deal with it.”

“Start tonight. I know it’s slow around here after midnight, so rather than reading a book, I want you to sit quietly and ask yourself what will make you happy. What would cause you to want to get up in the morning? Think about this stuff and let me know what you come up with.”

“All right,” Autumn said, sounding exhausted. “It can’t hurt anything.”

Autumn and Heather bade one another farewell. Heather didn’t waste any time getting home to prepare for a romantic overnight with Lucas. Autumn, on the other hand, was stuck at work trying to define what she wanted her life to look like.
What a daunting task,
she thought.
How many other people are in the same situation? How many are ever successful?
She’d already thought about such questions a million times, and had never been able to come to a conclusion. She thought that maybe she didn’t know what made her happy because she’d never experienced it.
Heather is expecting me to do something and will want to talk about what I discovered, so I had better do something.

Heather reflected on her conversation with Autumn, and knowing that she had no right to give anyone advice on planning a future. She was in a similar situation, after all. The difference between them was that Autumn allowed her situation to get her down while Heather simply dealt with it.

The minute Heather got home, she called Lucas and left a message on his new answering machine, letting him know that she would get off work around six and asking if she should meet him at his apartment or wait for him to swing by her place.

Lucas returned from his trip and immediately went to bed without setting an alarm. He began to join the conscious world around eleven in the morning. Once awake, he lay there in bed until every ounce of energy was restored and the only logical thing to do was to get up and begin the process of creating another day.

Following his morning routine, he cleaned the apartment, did a load of laundry, and went to the grocery store. With all of his responsibilities completed, his attention turned to Heather and the weekend. At three in the afternoon he decided to call Heather to finalize their weekend plans. With a phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, he called Heather.

“Gold Coast Aviation, how may I help you?”

“You can start by having dinner with me tonight.”

“Lucas, I was hoping for more than dinner.”

“Apparently you missed the word
start
. Anyway, I’ll see what I can do about that. I got your message. Can I pick you up at your apartment? When we return, you will probably prefer not to mess with picking up your car. What do you think?”

“I agree. Come Saturday night, I’m sure I’ll prefer not to mess with it.”

“Settled, my dear. I’ll be at your place by the time you get home tonight.”
I really wonder how far this relationship is going. I’m having fun now, but long term, I just don’t know.

Just like a finely tuned Swiss watch, Autumn pulled into the parking lot at Gold Coast to relieve Heather at 5:58 p.m.

Although not standing at the door to greet Autumn, Heather was ready to bolt as soon as Autumn reached the lobby. As Autumn stepped into the lobby, Heather began heading for the door.

“Autumn, how you doing tonight?”

“I’m OK. You?”

“I’m looking forward to my weekend with Lucas, that’s how I’m doing.”

“Bet you are,” responded Autumn in a condescending tone.

“Come on, Autumn; don’t sound like that. Did you work on that little project last night?”

“Yes, for what good it will do.”

“Don’t be discouraged if your future doesn’t become crystal clear overnight. I want to talk about this more next week, OK? Right now I need to get home.”

“We can talk about me if you wish, but I want to hear more about you and Lucas.”

“I’m not the kiss-and-tell kind of gal, but you have a good night—and thanks again for helping me out. We’ll talk next week. Right?”

“Sure, but if we don’t talk about your weekend, it likely won’t be a very exciting conversation. Go have fun and don’t worry about me.”

“Thanks again, Autumn. I owe you.”

Having said their good-byes, Heather and Autumn headed in opposite directions.

At a few minutes past six, Heather arrived home and, as advertised, Lucas was waiting patiently in his car with the top down, soaking up the sun. Before Heather could open the door to her own car, Lucas jumped out and pulled it open, extending his right hand to help Heather out. Together, the two grabbed Heather’s overnight case from the trunk of her car.

“What do you think, Heather? You ready to head south?”

“Yep! Let’s do it.”

With that, Lucas put Heather’s overnight case into his trunk, helped Heather into the passenger seat, and settled himself into the driver’s seat. Both buckled in, and their next adventure got underway.

“Tell me, Lucas, where are we going? I know you said the lake, but I didn’t ask which lake and you didn’t mention it.”

“Sorry about that. We’re headed for the Lake of the Ozarks. My plan is to head out Interstate 70 with a pit stop in Fulton. That’s about a two-hour run. Sound OK to you?”

“Sounds like a plan. How long will it take us to get to there?”

“Nonstop, it’s about a three-hour run, so it just depends on how long we take in Fulton.”

“That’s not a bad drive. That should put us there around nine thirty or ten. Where are we staying? Do we have reservations?” asked Heather.

“I guess I didn’t tell you much about this trip, did I?” he asked.

“Not really.”

“Well, we’re going to stay on my boat.”

“You have a boat?”

“Sure do. It’s a beauty. You’ll like it.”

“I bet. Tell me more!”

“For now, just trust me: you’ll like it. We’ll be there in a few hours and you can judge for yourself.”

“OK, but I have to admit you have my curiosity running in high gear.”
This Lucas guy is one giant mystery. He reminds me of Forest Gump and a box of chocolates—you never know what you are going to get. About the time I feel like I know him, he finds a way to convince me that I don’t. I would never have guessed we were spending the night on a boat, much less his
.
This will be another first—sex on a boat!

It was a beautiful evening. The temperature stayed in the upper seventies with clear skies. The two motored their way to the Lake of the Ozarks, arriving around ten in the evening. Their route took them along Highway 54, across the Bagnell Dam. As they crossed into the “strip,” they found traffic congested along a three-mile stretch lined with motels, restaurants, shops, bars, and all sorts of entertainment venues.

Approaching a small grocery store, Lucas announced his plan to stop and buy the supplies needed for their stay. Both went into the store and wandered the aisles, hoping to spot items of interest. Neither was disappointed in their bounty. Though planning to eat most of their meals out, their bags were brimming with snacks and beverages of all kinds. They loaded back into the car and drove a few more miles south.

“Heather,” Lucas said, “the marina is just ahead on the right side.” Lucas gestured toward the lake. “It’s dark, so don’t expect to see much. The rows of lights on the docks are pretty much it until daylight. There is the road,” Lucas added, pointing to a small, paved road leading down into the marina.

“Wow! This place is nice! These boats are huge! Is yours?”

“No, but it’s nice and accommodates my needs.”

“How do you do this? Do pilots make that much money?”

“We’re paid well. Plus, I’m a good money manager.”

“You must be damn good. Think you could manage mine?”
If I had any to manage,
she thought
.

Lucas gave another boat owner a friendly gesture without answering Heather. Pointing to a large boat in the last slip on the dock, Lucas said, “That’s our home for the evening.”

“Damn! How often do you come here?”
These surroundings speak volumes about this place. Without even stepping foot on his boat I am impressed. I don’t believe this. Are we on a reality show or something?

“Not often. I try to make it down about every three weeks or so. This is a quick trip this weekend because I haven’t been down for a while and need to run the systems.”
This is going to be a new experience for me; having someone on the boat with me, and a looker like Heather. I wonder how this is going to unfold.

Pointing to a large complex on a hill above the marina, Heather asked, “What is that?”

“It’s a combination motel and resort. We’re going to put our groceries away, turn the AC on, and then head up the hill and check out the bar while the boat cools down. I like this routine because it gives me an opportunity to settle down. I usually sleep like a baby after a trip to the bar.”

“Cool. I can’t believe this is your boat, and that I didn’t even know you had one, much less one like this!”

“I’m not that comfortable talking about my personal business.”

“That’s apparent.”

With supplies in hand, they both made their way to the dock where the boat was moored. The dock was cordoned off, so Lucas entered his code into the lock, allowing access to the dock. The place had a pleasing, comforting look.

Looking down the dock, one could see land running along the right side and rows of boats on the left. The dock was lit by yellow lights mounted above the walkway every fifty feet, the line of them running the length of the dock. The light was subtle but adequate. The boats were the pride of their owners, and often got more attention than the owners’ families and homes. The owners, subsequently, were finicky about visitors and generally didn’t like others touching their pride and joy.

Lucas’s boat was in the first or last slip, depending on the approach. Entering the last gate, as they had, put his boat directly ahead, making the distance from the car to the boat a short two hundred feet.

Lucas set his grocery bags down and then unzipped the back cover that protected the rear deck of the boat. Once on the boat, he asked Heather to pass her bags to him.

With the groceries on board, Lucas extended a hand to Heather to help her step from the dock onto the back deck of the boat. The rear of the boat had a cushioned seat that ran the width of the boat. A rail ran around the perimeter of the deck. The rail, had a cutout on each side of the boat for getting on and off the boat. A small door led down three steps into the cabin area.

At the bottom of the steps and to the left, Lucas explained, was the “head,” a nautical term for bathroom. Opposite the bathroom was a booth capable of seating four people. A small couch and “galley,” or kitchen, rounded out the left side of the cabin. All the way to the front of the cabin was a double bed. The walls were decorated to meet the taste of a single guy, which included several airplane pictures. Back on the deck, the controls, steering wheel, radio, and depth finder were elevated on the right side, permitting the captain to have a forward view through an upper windshield, complete with a windshield wiper in case a voyage included rain.

“Heather, let’s turn the AC on and then go get the luggage.”

“You take the lead and I’ll follow,” responded Heather.
This is one fucking awesome boat. Air-conditioning, a TV…this is a fucking house that floats.
The two made their way back to the car, grabbed their luggage, and returned to the boat. After unpacking all of the essentials and finishing preparing the cabin, their stay on the lake was ready to begin.

“Ready to go to the bar and indulge in a nightcap?” asked Lucas.

“Sure, I’m with you. Do we need to follow the driveway back to Highway 54, or is there a shortcut?”

“Oh, there’s a shortcut. There are steps right behind my car that lead straight to the bar. They make it easy.”

“
If I owned the bar, I’d make it easy too,” responded Heather.”
By the look of these boats, I think I’d provide a shuttle.

Lucas and Heather spent the next couple of hours in the bar, putting distance between themselves and their work as they allowed themselves to be absorbed by an environment designed for fun, relaxation, and romance.

The bar was perched on top of the hill, with large picture windows and a deck. There were two doors that led to an outside seating area on a deck that ran the width of the bar and then wrapped around the sides. The deck provided a romantic view of the lake and marina. The marina sat on the lake, and the only lighting on the dock were the yellow pedestrian lights mounted above the walkway. Because the lights were mounted above the walkway and under the cover of the roof, they were not directly visible from the bar, so the dock took on an ill-defined look from above. In the evening, the atmosphere was very warm and comfortable.

The motel sat on the hill directly above the marina. The hill was steep and mostly covered with pine trees, separating the marina parking lot and the motel. The motel was arranged like a resort, with a variety of activities right on the property, including three bars, a bowling alley, and a theater. All of the rooms had outside access, with yellow lights just outside each door. Like the marina, the motel had an aura of romance at night. The complex was built on multiple levels on the side of the hill, giving it an interesting look.

At around two in the morning, Lucas suggested they return to the boat and turn in. With the bar tab paid, they began their return pilgrimage down the steep, wooden steeps.

“Lucas, I think I’m living a dream. This place is beautiful. I can’t believe you only come here every three weeks. If this were my boat, I’d be here every weekend.”