Eta Carinae Pt. 10

We caught a ton of fish! We had about 6 red snappers in the live well, or chili peppers as they're also called, and we had to decide on what to take. Two smaller fish got a reprieve and went back in. We had a good day of fishing and we returned back to the launch. The launch had a fish cleaning station. I want 2 whole clean fish for the dish I was going to cook for dinner. Mac wanted some fillets.

"You need a fillet knife?" I asked.

"Yeah." I handed him the fillet knife he made me.

"Wow! This is something!" He said thumbing the edge and bending it on the cleaning stand.

"Another one of Ed's knives. He made it out of a band saw blade. He took half the steel off to make it that thin." I offered.

He took his fish and with precision slices, had 4 nice fillets. He cleaned off the knife, put it in the sheath, and handed it to me.

"That's one hell of a knife!" He admired.

"My Uncle Ed is one hell of a guy!" I said proudly.

We bagged up the catch and brought the boat back to storage. We had a nice chat on the way home. It was one hell of a day!

*****

We entered the house, said some 'hellos' and we put the catch in the refrigerator. We went back into the living room and Elaine suggested that we fix some drinks for ourselves. We looked at each other and shrugged; who's to argue? Elaine had moved all the liquor on top of a small cabinet she had found, to make it less awkward than the kitchen. Mac chose the 10-year-old Glenfiddich. I thought about one of my 'grimey martinis', but I chose the scotch. I guess I'm following the 'big dog', but I think he's worth following! We went and sat down on the sectional. We moved the other 'leg' of the sectional into the 'L' part to make a conversation pit of sorts. I was facing Paige and Mac, Elaine. They asked us how everything went and we spent half an hour talking about the day. Mac appeared to have a really good time. I think recreation has been lacking in his life.

The girls told us about their day. They went to some kind of spa thing that Elaine had won at work. They soaked in some kind of mud that cures all ills, or some such; and had facials, pedicures, and some other stuff. I don't get it, but I'm not going to 'poo poo' it either. Maybe, someday, I'll understand the 'pamper' thing! Sitting on a tray on the coffee table was a bottle of wine, about half full.

"We have had an opportunity to have a long talk today," Elaine said after a pause.

"Oh, would you like to share?" I said in humor.

"We had a long talk about relationships. We had a long talk about how you can't control where the heart goes." Elaine said.

"After a long 'heart to heart', we both realized the true nature of our respective relationships," Paige said looking directly at me. My stress level went up ten notches.

"What do you mean by true nature?" I asked Paige.

Her head tilted to the side.

My blood pressure hit 100 psi! I suddenly felt like the Terminator trying to pick the right answer for the situation! I was frozen with my mouth half open.

"Deev, tell me how you feel and think?" Elaine asked gently.

"Remember in my senior year in college, when I played a whole inning behind the plate with my pants split open? And my left ass cheek ended up on all social media on the west coast?" I said, feeling like I pissed myself! She laughed. I took a big sip of scotch. I had to catch my breath, but the 'glow' going down felt good! I shot a glance toward Mac and he looked like he was being held up! I withdrew my cigarette case, opened it, and offered Mac.

"Indeed!" He said as he picked up a cigarette.

The cigarette was another nice 'edge off'!

"Deev, you do know you're among friends? You're with like-minded people with absolutely no judgment whatsoever! I'm digesting this too! I was so terrified of this happening! On the other hand, I have always thought there must be others like us. Mac and I have had this discussion about finding those in unconventional relationships, like ours. I'm not talking about those weird pieces you see on the news some socially inept 40-year-old who still plays Pokemon and sleeps with his mother or some deranged pair of brother and sister that go on a crime spree!" Paige added.

We all had a laugh. It was much needed to break the tension.

"When did you start to suspect?" I asked Paige.

"Oh, a couple of months ago."

"What was it that you 'keyed' on?"

"More than anything else, you two are too much alike! You both move and act like you're choreographed. There's never disagreement, argument, or harsh words. Then there's movement. Members of the same family tend to have the same habits in movement." She professed.

"Anything else?" I said laughing.

"It's also quite clear to me that you do anything to protect her."

I smiled. It seemed like the tension was lifting.

"Anybody hungry? I'm starved!" Mac announced.

Everyone was on board with that! We decided pizza would turn the trick! I ordered one of the extra large brick oven pizzas from down the street.

They have their own delivery service that's super quick. I went into the kitchen to grab some plates, napkins, etc. Paige appeared in the kitchen, at the doorway.

"Please, don't torture me! I call a cease-fire!" I said with exasperation.

"Well, I actually came in here to see if you were OK." She said with a softness I haven't seen. I furrowed my eyebrows in suspicion.

"I'm not being 'Lucy'! I'm not going to pull the football away!"

I laughed. "I'm 'tactical' as Mac would say."

"You're much more fragile than you let on. Just to let you know, of all people this could have happened with, I'm glad it was both of you." She remarked.

I looked at her. I guess I have to get used to this. We loaded a tray and I picked it up.

"Poetry huh?" She said with an evil grin. I know I turned red. I felt a Niacin flush and my jaw dropped. She kissed my cheek. "Come on." She ordered.

We sat down and I passed out the plates.

"You told her about the poetry?" I said to Ele. She flashed a cute grin and shrugged.

"You know what's going to happen? Paige is going to tell Mac about it the ask 'why don't you ever do that with me?'. Then, the next time Mac and I get together, he'll be all 'What the fuck, dude! Poetry? That's what she'll want now! You're fucking things up!'"

Everyone laughed. Mac raised a glass.

"Don't worry, you're in the clear." He said with a nod.

The pizza arrived and we set to eating. The pizza was better than usual, at least it seemed so. We talked. I was able to talk without continually having to 'wash' my thoughts through the mental 'sterilizer' before anything left my mouth. Mac and I had beer with the pizza. The girls stayed with the wine. I felt a level of relaxation that I honestly never felt before. I have been wound pretty tight since ninth grade!

Mac and I started in with scotch, to go with our beer. I was feeling it. I was getting a little 'dopey' and I think it really surprised Elaine, in a positive way.

"Let me ask you something Mac, what did you do in Afghanistan? Just broad strokes, I know there's a lot of stuff you can't talk about." I asked.

He took a sip of a whisky and a sip of beer. "At first, it was finding 'allied' and 'enemy' warlords. With the allied warlords, we could 'pacify' the region. At first, I thought we were getting rid of the Taliban, turning power over to the government, and making a better life for these people! Well, it turned out to be about dope! Who's heroin is going to hit our streets!" He explained, in disgust. He gave a dopey grin. He was feeling no pain!

"So you don't think the world is going to hold hands and sing kumbaya anytime soon?" I joked.

He affected a flat, stupid grin. "Not today."

Conversation wandered. Paige and Mac talked about their exploits in Germany, England, and Scotland. For once, I got to talk about growing up and my life in general.

"So it was that trip to Berlin you two took after you graduated 'senior school'?" I asked.

"Yeah. I was on summer leave from the academy, so we hooked up in Berlin and drove all over the fuckin' place! Had a blast!"

"In more ways than one." I said with a mischievous grin.

"Yeah, I thing we finally opened pandora's box that summer." He said. Paige hugged his arm.

Midnight was upon us. Mac wasn't drunk, but definitely compromised.

"It's too late to catch a train. You two are staying here tonight! Dude, you are not 'tactical'!"

I shooed everyone off the large part of the sectional, moved the cushions off, and pulled out the fold away.

"You'll notice it's a sleeping platform with welded straps and a double-thickness futon! It's comfortable!"

They both sat on it and gave me the nod. I brought out all the blankets and pillows. We went into our room and closed the door halfway. We were both emotionally exhausted. What a fuckin' day!

*****

My eyes popped open around 2:30 that morning. I was really thirsty! I walked into the living room toward the kitchen, and the ever-vigilant Mac pulled his face out of Paige's orange mane, which she calls 'hair', and turned his head toward me. I brought my hand up, the 'drink' sign and continued into the kitchen. He appeared beside me. I brought down 2 tumblers and pulled the water pitcher out of the refrigerator.

"Cold or tap?" I grunted.

"Colds fine."

I grabbed the bottle of Tylenol and laid out 4. We downed those and took a leak. At least the morning will be easier.

I got up around 7, which was really sleeping in for me! I did a quick shower, shave, and went to the kitchen. I was a little dry and weak, but not too bad. Then again, I didn't drink that much. I'm still kind of a lightweight! I told him there was everything he needed to shower in the main bathroom and indulge. I had water on for coffee. Elaine was out of her shower and dressed. Mac was standing at the kitchen wall. I went to the office to retrieve my tablet and on the way back, I saw Paige pulling her pants on.

"I think I'm going blind. I saw Paige pulling her blouse on!" I announced entering the kitchen. Paige was sitting at the table.

"Don't start." She admonished.

"Now it feels like my face will melt, like in Raiders of the Lost Ark!" I jabbed.

She flipped me off.

"Are they always like this?" Mac asked Elaine.

She rolled her eyes. "Constantly! You would think they were brother and sister!" He laughed.

I made a big, rolled omelet and everyone got a good-sized piece. I buy fresh squeezed OJ at the whole foods market by the half gallon. It was quite popular this morning! Some toast and potatoes filled out the menu. We had just poured fresh cups of coffee from the third press pot this morning. By the end of breakfast, everyone had come back to life. We moved out into the living room.

"Elaine and I have a couple of major trips planned for the summer. I'm wondering if you both would like to join us?" I asked.

"You mean to spend time with people who you can be yourself, and not worry about being judged?......naa!"

"Arschloch!" I spat, throwing a pillow. I got up and retrieved my tablet. I sat down and opened up the bookmarked page I had in google maps.

"This part of the estuary is just sloughs and has these little resorts and marinas. I figure we can put in here by Antioch; we just motor upstream until we get tired. Along the way, excellent fishing! You in?"

"Definitely!" He answered.

"I figure the weekend after next. We can email back and forth on the logistics."

I actually felt pretty good and thought about a bike ride later on. We talked into early afternoon. They both had to go and get ready for the week. I guess Mac was finally reporting for duty. Elaine and I opted for a walk in Presidio Park rather than a bike ride.

"How are you doing with all this?" I asked.

"Definitely a 'turn of a friendly card' as Ed would say"

It's going to take a bit of getting used to!" She said looking at me.

"Are you going to be able to lower your 'claws and stinger' to allow someone in?"

"Yeah, I think so. Something about this seems very 'right'." I observed.

*****

The following week I buried myself in my Fiverr projects, some general household stuff, and putting extra time in with my workout. I figured I owed for my overindulgence. I smoke about 8 cigarettes a week and I often think that's too much! Elaine had an unusually high amount of packages this week. I put them on her end of the credenza behind us in the office. Every time I pass that globe on my file cabinet, I tell myself I have 'to make the world right!', and turn the world's north pole up, but never do.

Mac and I emailed back and forth a few times exchanging ideas for the forthcoming adventure. We were pretty well outfitted with picnic stuff, all they needed to provide was what they wanted to drink and eat. Bait, gas, and whatnot we'd square up on the pier. I was actually really looking forward to this. I called Ed, he's not much of an email and text kind of guy, and asked him if he still had the trolling motor that came with the boat. He never installed it, by my request. I wasn't sure how all of this would pan and I wanted to give him the option of selling it. It was still there, and his electrical guy, Darrell, rebuilt the lower motor unit. He had everything he needed at the shop to press on new seals, etc. Ed also wanted to go through the truck suspension and make sure all's well. We scheduled for early next week.

It was Friday already! I had a good workout with a long bike ride in the morning. I'm in good shape but need help with the definition. I thought to ask Mac. He looks like he knows something about getting in shape! I had gone to the market to find something for dinner. I picked up some chicken for fajitas tonight and some other stuff to get us through the weekend. There's an actual 'produce store' close to the organic foods store that gets some very choice stuff in. One of the really hot items this time is strawberries! They're locally grown, picked, and shipped when they're ripe! I've never had anything like them! Down in this shopping area was a Ghirardelli chocolate shop. Ghirardelli chocolate is a San Francisco icon and good chocolate from what I'm told. I thought I would stop in and find out if they had chocolate for strawberries and light white wine. The woman at the counter had just a concoction, imagine that! It was a creamy dark that should compliment the berries. Maybe I can get a better understanding of this 'chocolate' thing!

Elaine arrived home a bit later than usual, and she looked pretty haggard. We have an agreement: I don't ask and she doesn't talk about work. She did stop by her gym and worked out. It seems to be a 'cure' for many ills! I fixed dinner, we ate and cleaned up. I decided to forgo the berries tonight, and throw her in the Jacuzzi. After she was 'tenderized' in the bath, I got her on the message table. She put on a tee-shirt and a robe and sat with me on the couch. I was watching a Giants game. After an hour or so, she was drifting off. I took her to bed, got in with her and screwed around on the computer for a bit.

I have given considerable thought to the concept of altruism. I think that no matter how hard I try to give without any expectation of return is impossible. I have given anonymously and I realized that 'feeling good' was a return in itself. Ahhh, so fuckin' what! I'm trying.

I was up around 5 as usual and the phone rang at about 7. It was Mac. He asked me if I wanted to do a workout today. Elaine said 'go', it would give her time to get caught up. I drove to the high school that he sent over on the phone. It was in the multitude of suburbs around the Richmond area. Mac was in the parking lot beside his truck. He had on a red muscle shirt with USMC on it. He tossed me one.

"We're doing a warm-up with a group getting in shape for boot camp. We'll go to the gym after."

We went down to the field and I was introduced to Staff Sargent Reynolds and Sargent Bissen. I fell in with the group. I could see by the various stomach sizes that there was probably a considerable amount of Call of Duty and pizza rolls! Staff Sergent Reynolds called us to attention, did an about-face, and said that the 'detail' was formed and ready for 'PT'. We started with a number of stretches, performed to a count, then into calisthenics. The Marines don't have 'jumping jacks'. The exercise is 'side straddle hops'. I guess being a 'jumping jack' doesn't fit in too well with the Marine image! We performed cherry pickers, windmills, etc. We did a total of 12 exercises. Next up were stomach crunches. I did 55 in 2 minutes. I was told that maxed points on the Marine PFT. Next up, were pull-ups. I was at rep 15 and I pulled myself up and Sargent Bissen said 'kip'. He explained that I can't raise my knees past my waist pulling up. I managed to rack out 23. I was showing off a bit.

The recruit group was going running and Mac headed off to the gym. He lead me into the racketball court. He pulled out 2 racketball rackets and some eye protection. He handed me a racket.

"You play?" He asked, bouncing the ball.

"I have. I know the fundamentals." I said. I had a sinking feeling I was going to get my ass whipped!

"OK then. Let's volley a bit."

We started with slow 'softball' stuff and then we were really slamming! We started a game. He was good! He had me running all over the place! He had this one shot where he would hit the 'coffin corner'. The ball strikes in the corner of two walls. The ball would just fall on the floor after hitting the second wall. It sucked! We started best 2 out of 3, we ended up tied.

"Want to go for 3 out of 5?" He chuffed as he bounced the ball.

"Sure. I got some of your action figured. I can go 12 innings with my legs on fire!" I huffed out firmly. He smiled.

"Well are we going volley or are we going to stand here with our dicks in our hand!" I said with a grin. He lobbed the ball against the wall and the game was on.

It was a close game, but he won!

Next, we took a quick rinse in the shower and we were going to swim. It was a high school pool so it wasn't that large. We did 10 laps. We got out of the pool, dried off and he said "We're going for a run.". Behind the school was a paved hiking-running-biking trail. He started out and set a brisk pace. I felt like I was in spring training again.

"How far are we going?" I chuffed out.

"Three miles." He answered nonchalantly.

I hadn't been running in a while and I could feel it. I don't have to breathe as hard on a bike. About 2 miles in, I started to get a cramp. I was falling back.

"What?" He asked breathing hard.

"Cramp"

"Lace your fingers together and put them behind your head!

The cramp lessened. Mac started singing a Marine running cadence and had me join in. That forced me to breathe deeper. Pretty cool! We finished up the run and we were warming down. I finally sat on a bench and rehydrated.

"Singing cadence makes you breath. Also sound cool!" He said with a grin.

"My call on you was correct. You're a hard dick, and not some sort of 'non-hacker', 'candy ass'." He said with a bit of satisfaction.

"What's a hard dick in your opinion?"

"Having the sand to accomplish the task. I know I wore your ass out in racketball, but you did the run. We, you and I, tend to be wary and suspicious by nature. Add in the 'unique nature' of our relationships, one has to be very careful." He said with seriousness.

"I agree one hundred percent!" I replied.

"There were some items outstanding with you. Although I trust Pooge's insights and assessments, I needed to find out some things on my own. It may seem that we have each other over a barrel, but we don't. I can guarantee you I have the upper hand!" He said flatly. "With that being said, I think you have your shit together! I think I can trust you on my 6!" He offered