John Casey - Spartina

“That’s what I’m talking about. The interim policy. I’m pretty certain I explained to you it would be a few days. That’ll be the ninth. Today is the sixth.”

Dick turned aside. If he looked at the guy’s face, he’d get mad. He took a breath and said, “So any damage before September ninth, I’m out of luck. After that I’m fine.”

“Yes.”

“So if Spartina is a total wreck, let’s say as of one minute past midnight September ninth, I get a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. One minute before and I get nothing.”

The guy said, “It does seem—”

“Yes or no,” Dick said. “Just tell me have I got it right?”

“Yes.”

“And where is this written down? I mean, where do I have this written down? Is it on that piece of paper you gave me?”

“Yes.”

“The ninth it is, then. That’s two days and five hours from now. If there is any doubt in your mind as to when any damage was sustained by my vessel, you be sure to check with Captain Ruy Texeira. You know Captain Texeira?”

“Yes, I do—”

“Good. I will be in radio contact with him or with one of his vessels, and you be sure you check with him, you verify with him that Spartina is well as of the first minute of the ninth of September. Now, if by some chance I’m not around to collect, you still owe that money to my family. Is that right?”

“Yes. You remember when I wrote the policy we discussed the eventuality that—”

“Good.”

Dick drove back to Galilee. Joxer’s plant was now fully bulwarked with sandbags on the south and east sides. Captain Texeira was still on board the Lydia P.

Dick asked him if he was taking her out.

Captain Texeira said he was. Dick said, “Good. I’m taking Spartina out. What channel will you be on?”

“Fifty-six.”

“Okay, good. I don’t receive the satellite picture, so if I can get the word from you I’ll be much obliged.”

Captain Texeira sat down. He was silent for a long time. At last he said, “You were in the Coast Guard in ’59.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Were you out in that little hurricane?”

“Yes, sir.”

“This will be bigger.” Captain Texeira’s head tilted forward, and the flesh of his face sagged.

Dick said, “Captain Texeira, there’s lots of reasons. My insurance starts in two days. I may seem to be running around like a chicken with its head cut off, but there’s one big reason. If I lose my boat, I’ll be a slave.”

Captain Texeira shook his head.

Dick said, “I’m not doing this because you’re doing it, you’re not talking me into it. I have my own reason, and I have my own boat. You can’t take me on your conscience.”

Captain Texeira nodded. Dick started to leave. Captain Texeira took him by the arm. “If you do get caught, don’t fight. You understand? More power isn’t the answer. The shape of your boat is the answer. If you punch hard against a big wave, it’s harder for her.

“If you let her yield, she’ll move right. The wave is a wall if you run at it. If you move with it, it’s a wave. But you used to have a temper — you used to like to get tough.”

Dick said, “Look. There’s one last thing. My insurance policy starts on the ninth. One tick after midnight. I plan to call you then so it’ll be on your log that Spartina ’s okay.”

Captain Texeira nodded.

Dick considered asking him to log in the message no matter what. At the last minute he kept quiet.

Dick shook hands with the old man and left the Lydia P.

D ick stopped at home just long enough to leave a list of chores with Charlie. He was in and out so fast May didn’t have time to ask questions. He filled his new thermos with coffee, took a six-pack of the boys’ Cokes.

He got Charlie to drive him to the yard and ferry him on board. He told Charlie to load the little skiff in the back of the pickup. The whole family was to go up to Eddie’s in case there was a flood. Charlie and Tom were to pull the plug on the big skiff and sink her in the creek filled with stones. Take as much stuff as they could in the car and the truck, but especially the books. If there was time Charlie and Tom could board up windows, but the main thing was to be up at Eddie’s before the storm hit.

It wasn’t until Dick climbed on board Spartina that Charlie seemed to realize what Dick planned to do.

Dick told him to get going. He wouldn’t let go, he just stood in the skiff and hung on to Spartina with a frown on his face.

“I haven’t got time to fool around,” Dick said. “If I leave now, I can keep up with Captain Texeira. I’m just doing what he’s doing.”

Charlie said, “I’ll come with you.”

“No,” Dick said. “Look — you get your mother and your brother up to Eddie’s. That’s your job. I’ll take care of the boat. That’s it, Charlie. I’ll see you in three days.”

The yard was in so much chaos it would have taken too long to top off Spartina ’s fuel tanks. Dick stopped at Joxer Goode’s. The Lydia P. was gone. Joxer hailed him and lugged out a sack. “Captain Texeira left this for you. It’s a survival raft. Strobe light, water supply, automatic distress transmitter.”

Dick said, “I see he expects the worst for me.”

“It’s for the regulations,” Joxer said. “If the insurance company asks if you were properly equipped …”

Dick signed for the fuel and stowed the survival raft in a locker in the wheelhouse. He backed Spartina ’s stern away from the pier and made a turn toward the breakwater. He felt her squat down with the push, then come up. He’d keep her light for a bit. When the sea kicked up some, he’d take on sea water in the lobster wells.

Beyond the breakwater the sea was calm. There was a slight swell, the troughs so wide it was almost imperceptible.

He suddenly felt exuberant. Spartina was only a few knots slower than the Lydia , and maybe two hours behind. It was true that in a day they’d be a hundred miles apart, but Captain Texeira would have figured on at least that as a margin of safety.

In another hour Dick had left Block Island off Spartina ’s starboard quarter. He could see Spartina ’s bow shadow racing across the water. Behind him the sunlight was shot with red. The long mare’s tails overhead were soft pink ribbons. He’d be okay, they’d do fine — so long as the engine kept at it. Sounded fine.

So he’d burn a full tank. An expense with no return. Small dues, especially if he’d be one of the few boats still able afterward.

He fastened the wheel, made a mug of soup, put two Hershey bars in his pocket, and came back to the wheel. He decided to save his thermos of coffee for the long night. It was darkening in the wheelhouse, though the surface of the sea still shone. He could just make out Elsie’s picture on the thermos. His mood was still up. So he’d laid up for a week or two in Elsie’s bed. What man would have said no? For the first time in quite a while he thought of her with pure, dumb pleasure. The light through the trees falling across the room. Her compact body magnified by her energy. Who landed who? She’d wanted him, and he now felt the flattery of her wish. Why not?

She wasn’t helpless, she knew what she wanted. She liked him, for God’s sakes. He let that in too, not just flattery, some comfort. She was a tough cookie, abrupt and full of quick turns. And curious as a seal. But she’d been good to him, nice to him, coaxed him right into the middle of her life. Why stand off from her? She wasn’t going to cling, that was clear, she was one to take care of herself.