Fish Perfume (Cozy Harbor Marina Series) (5 page)

Tuesday morning the alarm went off at 4:00 and I jumped right in the shower. I’m still trying to get the fish stench off me. It’s probably all gone by now, but being the paranoid person I am, I feel like I still reek.

Since it was going to be a hot one today and I was going clamming with Mac later, I put on a pink tank top and my gray swim shorts. I put my hair up in a clip, pulled on my only pair of sneakers left, and headed to the office. The morning was a little busy, but not too bad. I decided to sneak over to the Snack Shack for an early lunch.

I was glad no one was in the Shack when I got there because I wanted to ask Mo how her date went on Sunday night.

Mo turned and saw me when I walked in. She said, “Hey, girl. What can I getcha?”

“Any lunch specials today?”

“Yep. I have a roast beef wrap with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and horseradish sauce.”

“You’re making my stomach growl. I’ll have that and an iced tea.”

“Comin’ right up.”

“Hey, Mo, how was your date Sunday night?”

She leaned on the counter and said, “Between you and me, it was a disaster. The only thing good about it was the food. That steakhouse at Foxwoods was great, one of the best meals I’ve ever had.”

“What happened?”

“Well, I knew right away when I saw that car salesman, he wasn’t goin’ to start my motor runnin’ anytime soon. First of all, he was really short. I coulda’ put my cocktail on his head. But I thought, don’t judge a book by the cover, so I decided to stick out the dinner. We chatted okay durin’ the meal, but I could tell he was a big bullshitter. One lie after another. You know how I could tell he was lyin’? His mouth was movin’. He must have thought I fell off a turnip truck or somethin’. I didn’t try to argue with him because I knew I was never gonna see him again, so why put forth the energy. The worst part of the night, though, was when we finished eatin’. He slid right next to me in the booth and turned into an octopus. Then he suggested we get a room. The clincher was when he started talkin’ about how he wanted to give me all his man juice.”

“Oh my God. That’s disgusting.”

She nodded her head. “You’re tellin’ me. I was off like a dirty shirt. I was bookin’ through the casino to the valet parkin’ area so fast that my high-heel mules were shootin’ off sparks. I didn’t even say goodnight.”

Mo shook her head in wonder. “My perv radar must be malfunctionin’. I’ve been chattin’ with him for about a month on the ’Net. I guess you never know.”

I sympathized, “That’s too bad. Are you going to keep dating online?”

“I’m not givin’ up yet. I know a few gals who have met really nice people online. Besides, it’s entertainin’.”

“You’re a brave woman, Mo.”

By the time she served me my wrap, the Shack was starting to fill up with the lunchtime crowd.

After I finished every bite, I returned to the office. I wanted to finish up a little paperwork before I went clamming with Mac. Afternoons always seem a little calmer at the marina. I felt comfortable leaving Journey by herself since she was quite capable of handling things. I went to tell her I was leaving.

Journey was in another original outfit. Today she had on a tight black T-shirt and a green-and-blue plaid, short, kilt-type mini-skirt. She had pink knee socks on with black high-top sneakers.

“Hey, Journey, I’m taking a few hours off to go clamming with Mac.”

“No problem, Meggie. I’ve got things covered here.”

“I’ll be back before you leave,” I said, and walked out the back door toward C dock.

Mac was already sitting in his boat waiting for me, and I climbed aboard the
My Marie
. It was a beautiful sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. The water was flat calm. We headed out of the marina and crossed the deepwater channel to the tidal flat. Beyond the tidal flat sat a salt marsh, then a barrier beach, and then the Atlantic Ocean. Lucky for us, we hit the tide just right. During low tide on the flat, you can get out of the boat, and the water will only be up to your knees, perfect for clamming.

“Well, young lady, would you like a rake or are you going to do it the old-fashioned way?”

Excited, I said, “The old-fashioned way.

The old-fashioned way was when you use your feet to dig down in the sand and feel for the clams with your toes.

Mac picked up one of the rakes. “I can’t do it with my feet anymore; it’s too hard on my arthritis,” he said.

We worked in harmony for about an hour. Between the two of us, we filled up a bucket. Since the tide was coming in, we decided to get in the boat and go for a little ride up Point Judith Pond, a large salt pond with South Kingstown on the west side and Narragansett on the east. It starts up in Wakefield and goes all the way down to Galilee Harbor, which opens up to the Atlantic Ocean. There are several small islands in the middle of the pond, and two larger islands, Harbor Island and Great Island, on the east side of the pond.

We headed up the pond, passing several boats and some enormous, beautiful homes on the shoreline. I was glad to see, though, that some of the small original beach cottages still remained.

Mac shook his head in dismay, “I can’t believe some of these homes. It used to be all small summer cottages along here. In the last twenty years, people have snatched them up, torn them down, and built these large year-round monstrosities.”

“I noticed that, too, Mac. It’s more built-up since I was last here.”

He said, “Well, I guess some people would call it progress, but I liked it the way it used to be.”

“It’s still beautiful, Mac. I see there are a lot of osprey nests on the poles.”

“Oh yes, in fact, some people deliberately put poles up in their yards hoping that osprey will build nests in them.”

As we continued up the pond, we saw a lot of other beautiful birds including egrets, cormorants, mallard ducks, mute swans, and, of course, sea gulls. We passed by a few of the summer camps for kids located on the pond. We went around six small sailboats and watched instructors teaching campers how to sail.

“Meggie, did you know that ospreys mate for life?”

“No. That’s romantic,” I said. I thought to myself, I’m such a loser. I’m twenty-eight with no boyfriend. Now I find out even all the birds have mates.

As if reading my mind, Mac asked, “Did you leave a boyfriend at home?”

“No. I had a boyfriend, but he broke up with me and is dating someone else.”

“Well, honey, his loss is some lucky guy’s gain. You’re a beautiful, sweet girl, Meggie; I’m sure there is a great fella out there for you.”

“I hope so. How did you meet Marie?”

He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye and said, “Well, the day I met Marie was the luckiest day of my life. It was just after I got home at the end of the war. I was a Seabee in the Navy during World War II.”

“What’s a Seabee?”

“Well, the Seabees was a nickname given to our battalion of construction engineers. We built airfields on islands all over the Pacific, among other things. Anyway, a buddy of mine’s sister worked at the Veterans Hospital, and she wanted him to come to a benefit they were having for the disabled vets. He bought a couple of tickets, and I went along with him. It was a dance. They had a big band and a buffet, with every kind of food you can imagine. I was still trying to gain back the weight that I had lost overseas, so I headed right for the buffet. All the people working the benefit were volunteers.”

“As I approached the table, I saw this beautiful girl serving food. She stopped me in my tracks. I just had to look at her for a while and appreciate her beauty. She had shoulder-length, shiny dark hair, and lovely, big blue eyes. I always told her she had blueberry eyes. She was a petite little thing with a big warm smile. I had dated different girls before the war, and a few since I got back, but I never had the kind of reaction I had when I saw Marie. A feeling of warmth and happiness came over me. I had been home from the war a few months, but when I looked at Marie, I finally felt that I was
really
home. I knew instantly that she would be my anchor. I let her fill my plate up with food, and then I asked her out for a date. We were happily married forty-eight years when she died. Oh, we had some tough times after our Billy was killed in Vietnam, but we always had each other to hang on to.”

Sadly I said, “That must have been so hard for you both.”

“It broke our hearts. We both loved that boy so much. We wanted to have lots of children, but God only blessed us with one. He was such a good boy. Marie loved children.”

“I remember her well. She was so nice to us when we came up here to visit. She would come down to the marina with a tin of cookies and hand them out to all the kids. She made the best chocolate chip cookies. My brothers used to rave about them.”

“How did you feel about your old boyfriend? Did you love him?”

“I thought I did at the time. After we broke up, I realized I cared about him, but I probably didn’t love him. I think if I really loved him, I would miss him, and I don’t. I never felt the way you did about Marie. I was comfortable with him, but I never got butterflies in my stomach when I saw him. When he would walk in my house, my only thought was would he want to watch hockey or basketball. He did me a favor breaking up with me. You were lucky. You had the real deal, Mac. My parents have the real deal. I won’t settle for anything but that.”

“Good girl. Maybe you’ll meet someone up here. You should find yourself a nice Rhode Island boy.”

I gave him a wink and said, “I’m with the best guy in Rhode Island right now.”

He laughed and said, “You sure know how to make an old man feel young again. There are a few nice boys at the marina. Have you met any of them?”

“I’ve met Tony Maroni and I ran into Ian Brady. I remembered Ian from when I was a kid.”

“Tony’s a nice guy. Ian I’ve known since the day he was born. Now there is a boy worthy of you, Meggie. He comes from a good family, and he’s a stand-up guy. He’s very well thought of around here. You two would be great with each other. You’re both good people with big hearts.”

“Well, don’t get your hopes up. He probably isn’t interested. He probably still thinks of me as twelve years old and klutzy. I bet he thinks of me as a sister.”

“I’m an old man, Meggie, but not a blind man. I can guarantee you that Ian Brady doesn’t see you as a twelve-year-old. Ian’s not stupid. He’s probably just biding his time and waiting for the right moment to ask you out.”

As we pulled into the marina, we saw Ian on
The Stalwart
getting fuel. He looked over at us and waved. Mac and I waved back. I glanced at Mac who had a big smile on his face, and I could feel the blood rush up to mine. It doesn’t take much to make me blush. I hate that about myself.

He nodded his head and with a twinkle in his eyes said, “I have a good feeling about you two.”

I blushed again and changed the subject. “Mac, you know I still haven’t heard from my Gram. I know my mother will call again this weekend, and she’ll have a fit if I don’t have some news.”

“I’m sure your Gram will call soon, honey. Try not to worry.”

“Thanks for a great afternoon. It helped take my mind off Gram. I hope you’ll ask me again.”

“I’d cook the clams for you tonight, but it’s my poker night with the guys. You take some, though.”

I took some clams to steam for dinner, and Mac took the rest.

“Meggie, how about we go again next Tuesday afternoon?”

“I’d love to. You know people will begin to talk Mac,” I said jokingly.

“Maybe it will make the young fellas jealous,” he said.

We both laughed, and I took the clams up to the cottage to put in the fridge for later.

I then made my way over to the store to check on things, do some paperwork, and call some suppliers. I caught onto things faster and more easily than I thought. Maybe I inherited some marina gene. After all, I’m the fourth generation in my family to work at the marina. After I closed up shop, I decided to go for a walk down to the beach. I needed to start getting more exercise. I’ve been eating all of Mo’s good food for breakfast and lunch. I didn’t want to gain a lot of weight this summer. My mom always said, “A moment on the lips, ten years on the hips.”

This is one of my favorite times of day, especially at the beach. All the daytime beachgoers were gone, and there were just a few people walking their dogs or just taking a stroll. I walked to the left and continued all the way to the rocks. This side of the channel was called Jerusalem, and the other side was Galilee. Galilee was a fishing village and home to not only large fishing vessels, but to the Block Island ferries. It was a popular spot for tourists. People stop and buy fried clams or chowder from the restaurants, then sit on the rocks and watch the boats come in and out of the channel. I sat on the rocks for a while enjoying the passing boats and the view, which included the Point Judith lighthouse. The sun was getting ready to set, so I headed back home.

The phone was ringing when I opened the door. I ran to answer it, dreading the likelihood that it was my mother.

“Meggie, it’s Gram. How are you? How are things going?”

Thank God. Just in the nick of time.

“Oh, Gram, I’ve been so worried about you. Where are you?”

“Oh honey, I’m fine. I’m in San Diego visiting an old friend of mine. I haven’t called because we took a cruise to the Channel Islands and I just got back today.”

“Mom’s really worried. I thought it would be her calling from New Zealand. She threatened to come home and track you down.”

“Well, I’m sorry to have caused such a fuss.”

“You were just so sketchy about your plans, and it was so unlike you to take off like that.”

“I didn’t want to say too much about the trip and make a big deal about it, just in case I changed my mind and came home early. But, that isn’t going to happen; I’m having the time of my life.”

I asked her, “Who’s this friend you’re visiting?”

“Well, it’s a very old friend of mine I knew before I got married. We ran into each other in Newport last winter and got reacquainted. My friend lives in San Diego and invited me for a visit. I needed a change, and here I am having more fun than I’ve had in years. So, you can tell your mother not to worry. I promise I’ll call more often. How are things at the marina?”