Mina stands on the dock holding her large white sun hat to her head. It’s a windy, cloudless day and she doesn’t want it to go flying off her head into the Pacific Ocean. Her long white pencil dress falls below her knees. She’s happy with the last minute wardrobe change. She was going to wear a flowy flare dress that would have blown all over in the wind. A pencil thin belt sits high on her waist and it matches the black band on her sun hat.
She can feel a slight heat from the sun on her exposed forearms but it is muted by the cool, constant breeze. There’s several men she hired, loading the ship for her. First her luggage is brought to the master suite, then the food is taken to the kitchen.
Yvette is in there, ensuring the fresh lobsters are tucked away nicely in a bath of water. Yvette did most of the shopping and it includes luxuries such as Waygu steaks, black truffles, and fois gras. Mina wonders how she got her hands on the fois gras because it’s illegal to purchase in California. There are only two ways of getting it. Either Yvette went out of state to buy it, or she had a restaurant friend sell her some. Mina bets on the latter because she can’t visualize her sister going out of state just for fatty duck liver.
Barrett arrives along with his crew, a tall surfer-looking man with long blond hair tied in a ponytail. He wears a faded black Billabong shirt and tropical Tommy Bahama shorts with black Crocs. Barrett introduces him as his co-captain, Fisher. No last name is given and Mina doesn’t ask because Barrett moves on to introduce his engineer.
Andres is his name. He stands a little shorter than both Fisher and Barrett. His full black hair is streaked with grey. His tanned face and sleak appearance screams a man who knows too much about women. He has big dark eyes and a luxurious voice that flows from his mouth like melted chocolate, sweet and thick. Andres wears a simple short-sleeved button-up shirt and tan slacks.
“Buenos dias, Senorita,” he says as he takes Mina’s hand. It’s a gentle gesture and he leans slightly as he brings her hand up to his lips. It’s a light kiss, one out of respect, not one of lust and passion. Still, Mina senses a rawness to him, a passion that sits close to the surface, willing to be unleashed.
She can’t help but grin with delight. “Good morning to you too. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her attention shifts to the men hauling a large, rectangular box onto the yacht. It takes two of them to bring it on board.
“To the helm with that, please,” Barrett instructs. Another two men are hauling a second, similar but smaller box that looks just as heavy. “Up to the help with that as well.”
The men grumble their acknowledgment as they pass. Mina wants to ask what he’s brining onboard but Barrett seems to read her mind. “Engineering tools, and navigation instruments. Andres never goes on a trip without the proper equipment. Right, Andres?” He pats Andres on the back with a heavy hand. The man smiles and responds in Spanish.
“And that?” she points to what looks like a birdcage covered in a black cloth. Barrett has been holding it by the handle on top, nonchalantly like a briefcase.
“Oh this?” He raises it up as if she can suddenly see it clearer. “My emotional support animal. Just a little nightingale with the most beautiful of voices. Worry not, I will keep him covered at all appropriate hours of slumber. And he will stay in my quarters, yes?”
Mina never pegged someone as burly as Captain Barrett Rodrigo to need an emotional support anything. She wants to call him out on his bullshit but refrains. It’s just a tiny bird and he’s already promised to keep it in his room.
She forces a smile. “Well then, I’ll let you guys get familiar with the yacht before we head out.”
She moves aside, a gesture signaling the end of the conversation and they make their way onto the ship. Marcel arrives a few minutes later and she’s grateful to see him. He’s rolling a black carry-on style luggage and suit bag strapped to the handle. The butterflies flutter in her stomach with excitement. It's partly because she’ll be able to spend so much time with him and partly because of the adventure.
He places a thoughtful kiss on her cheek and says, “You look lovely.”
She smiles up at him. “So do you.” And she means it. Marcel wears his clothes well. He’s never overly done like he spent hours in front of a mirror. To her, he looks wonderful, even in the ordinary navy polo shirt and slacks he’s wearing.
“Marcel, you don’t know how happy I am that you’re coming with us,” she says, threading her arm in his. “You can pretty much pick whatever room you want. Yvette’s already claimed the other master suite though.”
“It doesn’t matter to me, I can sleep out here on the deck,” he says looking over the plush couches and armchairs.
“Don’t be silly, you’ll get sunburned.” She giggles like she’s fifteen again and now she feels silly. “You tease me.”
He draws close and says in a low tone, “Maybe I don’t tease you enough. Maybe I let you have your way too often and that's the problem.”
Her breath hitches and she wants to throw her arms around his neck and shower him with kisses for being so sexy. Instead, the moment is killed when Yvette walks on deck wearing a pink bikini under a white see-through coverup. Big, dark Juicy Couture glasses cover her eyes and her lips are tinted in a pink gloss that matches her bikini and nails.
“Marcel,” she says in a near-high pitch voice like she’s so happy to see him. She throws her arms around him like she hasn’t seen him in ages. “I haven’t seen you forever.”
He twirls her around like she’s a five-year-old cousin and now they’re both laughing like old friends reunited at some stupid reunion. “It’s been almost a year, hasn’t it? You look as beautiful as ever.” He puts on just enough flattery to get a blush from Yvette but not enough to stir Mina into jealousy.
“Oh stop it. I’m getting old. Twenty-eight and I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. At least I can always tan about it today and think about it tomorrow, like Scarlet O’Hara.”
Mina smirks. Yvette is an old movie aficionado with an ever-growing collection. Right now she's channeling her inner Vivien Leigh instead of her usual Rita Hayward. Too bad the men she dates don’t feel the same about her taste in movies, otherwise they'd understand her more. Or at least have something to talk about.
She turns her attention to Mina, “The kitchen is all set and I even got popcorn for movie night.”
“Sounds like a date," Mina says, knowing that popcorn and movies are a staple for her sister. Popcorn in all flavors, that is.
“Movie night?” Marcel asks as they head into the main living space. The furnishings are modern and sleek. The walls are covered in windows and gives the space a larger appearance than what it actually is. In fact, the entire yacht is designed this way. It's like the ship is one with the sea and you can reach out and touch it from your place on the couch through all the windows.
“Yes, and I brought my favorites which I will say now, you are not obligated to sit through, but if you do, I can’t promise that I won’t act out the scenes."
Mina chimes in, “We also have Starlink so there’s internet and streaming if you prefer to watch something more up-to-date. Every bedroom has a flatscreen and plenty of drawer space for your clothes.”
“But none of that will work once we get passed the ice wall.” The voice comes from Barrett who is climbing down the stairs. He looks oversized for the stairwell, a husky man in a small space but he glided down like a linebacker would, running downfield.
“Captain Barrett Rodrigo,” he says, extending his hand out to Marcel.
“Nice to meet you, I’m Marcel,” he replies meeting Barrett with a firm handshake.
Barrett says a quick “hello” with a smile to Yvette. He moves his attention to Mina. “Now that the pleasantries are over, we are ready to set sail whenever you are, Mina.” Captain Rodrigo says.
“Good, let's go then, Captain.”
He yells to Fisher to get ready to go. Fisher is outside, running around on deck removing the ties that bind the yacht to the pier. Barrett makes his way back up the stairs and out of sight. Mina assumes Andres is with him or somewhere doing whatever it is he does.
She’s not sure if she needs three employees to run a yacht this size. It isn’t the biggest on the seas but also isn’t the smallest. She’ll have to inform Evelyn to fit sailing instructions into her schedule later. She’s not going to be forced to continue hiring someone to sail them around every time.
“How about a drink before I get my sunbathing on?” Yvette says. “I can make a killer jalapeno margarita and I thought I saw the perfect bottle of Milagro tequila in the bar.”
“Sounds like the start of a perfect day. I’m going to go drop my bags off in one of those bedrooms and I’ll meet you ladies in about five minutes.”
Mina and Yvette go into the next room. There's a full bar on one side, opposite a large corner couch that sits against a wall of windows. The yacht starts to move slowly through the water.
“Looks like we’re off,” Yvette says with a squeal of excitement. She grabs the cutting board and a utility knife from a drawer in the bar. In a glass bowl near the bar’s small sink sits a bowl of fresh oranges, lemons, limes, and jalapenos. She gets to slicing up a jalapeno while Mina takes a seat across from her.
Mina doesn’t care much for mixed drinks although the bar is stocked with every liquor she could think of for all her sister’s concoctions. She’s more of a wine drinker, a champagne drinker.
There’s a bag of ice in the mini-fridge and Yvette scoops a few handfuls into three mason jars. Then she slices a lime in half and rubs the juice of one half along the rim of the jars before dipping each into the margarita salt. She tosses several slices of jalapeno into each one and grabs hold of the counter to steady herself.
“Whoo, I forget how ships move sometimes. Feels weird at first, doesn’t it?”
Mina nods, “Well hopefully the ocean’s not too crazy. I think most of the hurricanes have past for the season already. We might get some rain. It’s a forty percent chance on Weather.com.”
Yvette squeezes the cut limes into the jars and pours a few shots of tequila in each. “I think one more for Marcel,” Mina says, “he has a higher tolerance for liquor. and likes his drinks on the strong side.”
Yvette pours another shot into his jar. “Sis,” she says in serious tone, “are you at all worried about this? I mean, I am grateful you asked me to come. This is like a vacation for me, but three weeks just to see someone’s setup, and I know this ship wasn’t in the clearance rack. I mean, damn, it’s luxury all around.” She waves her hand around at the bar and the modern, sleek decor.
“It’s worth it,” Mina says, “it’s worth it to me for more than just my reputation. I’m going to get exclusive rights to that hair, Yvette. It’s going to dominate the market. If I can increase my supply, no, when I increase the supply, everyone will want it and everyone will be willing to pay a fortune for it.”
Yvette passes her a mason jar. “Yeah but, is the hair worth it? I mean, can’t you get hair just as good from India or China? You’ve found suppliers willing to meet your quality demands. I’m sure you can find more and it won’t require you to sail across the ocean to get it, either.”
Mina takes a sip. The tangy margarita dances in her mouth mixed with the salt. There’s a slight burn at the end from the jalapeno. “Oh, this is good.”
Footsteps draw close and within seconds, Marcel appears. “I see you ladies started without me.”
“Of course not,” Mina says as Yvette places his drink on the bar couter. “I only did a taste test to see if I need to fire the bartender or not.”
Yvette rolls her eyes with a grin, “cheers,” she says as she lifts her mason jar.
“To my two favorite people in the whole world. There’s no one on earth I wound’t want to be with right now than the two of you,” Mina says. The glasses clank against each other. They each take a long drink.
“Come on, lets go out on deck to watch us sail away.”
Mina leads them out the door and they walk to the stern of the yacht. Yvette finds a lounge chair to lay down on. Marcel leans against the railing, looking out at the pier as it grows further away from them. The wind has picked up, but not by much. Mina holds her hat to her head while she leans against the railing next to Marcel. She gazes down at the dark green water and can’t see a thing in it other than sparse floating seaweed and ocean bubbles.
With a clear blue sky overhead, a few seagulls bid them goodbye with their calls. They fly toward the pier to pick scraps of food from the trashcans on the beach. It’s a perfect day for sailing. A perfect day for adventure.