Nobody's Dying Tonight

He pulled himself back from the wallow of self-pity he had stumbled into and got his mind right. "This isn't over." He thought. "Not by a long shot and you had better get ready or you'll piss away your life as well as your boat and gear."

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Chapter 14

He saw the basket rising with Jen inside. Mike watched as the basket ascended to the helicopter then began to approach the boat once again, his last trip.

The captain followed him with the spotlight again. This time he just floated onto the boat. The tide's rise was unrelenting, and the boat was taking on the added water and settling more and more by the stern.

Mike climbed aboard. "You ready Cap?" He asked.

"Just about Mike but first I want to thank you. Without a doubt, you are by far the bravest man that I have met in person thus far in my life. You're amazing. God Bless you. Now let's get moving huh?"

"Kind words Cap. As they say, just doing my job. But to tell you the truth," Mike said as he wiped the seawater out of his eyes "my next job is going to a lot drier and involve a whole lot less jumping out of helicopters!"

They both laughed. Gallows humor for sure but, he needed the endorphins.

Mike slipped back into the water and the captain grabbed his bags and floated off his boat, leaving it for the last time. He didn't look back, intentionally. "No going back." He thought.

Mike started the swim toward the helicopter, towing the captain behind him. The captain frog-kicked his legs to help their way through the water. As they drew closer, the noise rose exponentially and wind from the rotors churned the water and stung his face with spray. He was glad he thought to put on his wetsuit. The water wasn't cold but, he was a cold-water baby and anything less than 90 degrees was chilly.

Before he knew it, they were under the helicopter and the basket was descending toward them. The basket hit the water and he and Mike swam to it. Mike helped him in. The last time he rode up to a helicopter was in training. He hung from a hook attached to his web gear. He was riding in style this time, by comparison.

He looked up as he rose and saw the deck of the helicopter getting closer. He came up even to the floor of the helicopter and the Petty Officer running the hoist shouted out. "Stay put, I will pull you in and get you out."

The basket was pulled into the helicopter and the Petty Officer helped him climb out. He was immediately sat down on a web chair on the side of the helicopter. He looked over Jen and Laurine. "Are you ok?" He asked each as he reached over and checked that the safety belt was latched.

Jen nodded and Laurine grabbed him and hugged him hard. "Yes. Thank you for saving us." She said. He felt a flush of embarrassment. "Saved your life?" he thought. "I'm the idiot that put you in harm's way in the first place." He just smiled and stroked her hair with his hand.

He grabbed the Petty Officer's hand. "Thank you." He said. "I know it's not nearly enough but, it's all I have left right now."

"Don't worry about a thing Cap. We'll have you ashore in Provo in no time."

He watched as the wire went down again and saw Mike get into the basket and start the ride up. Just as was done for him, the Petty Officer pulled Mike in and secured the basket.

The captain took this moment to stick his head onto the flight deck and spoke to both the pilots. "I can't begin to find the words to express my gratitude." He said. "Words are not nearly enough. But Thank you, Thank you, Thank you."

He saw that the female voice belonged to a Lieutenant. She was the co-pilot and was busy working the radio, the light, and all the other admin type chores so the pilot could concentrate entirely on flying the machine.

As the crew finished housekeeping in the back, securing all their gear, the pilot kicked the rotor pedal, pulled up on the collective and pushed over on the cyclic and got the helicopter flying South West toward Provo.

"We spoke with Provo Air Center. He's an FBO on the executive side of the airport." The copilot told them. "They have an overnight clerk that will meet us. We've worked with the air center before and told the Director what was happening. She's is not on the island but, has made several calls and arranged for a car and rooms at a local hotel. We'll call her when we get on the ground and get all the details for you."

He was amazed at how helpful everyone was. A moment ago, he was a dumbass sailor, hanging on to a sinking boat and now, people he had never met were awake in the middle of the night and taking actions for his benefit. It was like nothing he had experienced before.

The helicopter flew on and they picked up the lights of Provo as they made their way to the airport and in 15 minutes they were transported from death's door to dry land and safety.

Chapter 15

The Petty Officer opened the side door and stepped out. "Ok, I'm going to get you out and walk you over to the air center. Let's start with you miss." And he reached out and took Jen's hand. Jen, then Laurine, followed the Petty Officer off the helicopter. The captain followed next.

When they were all gathered on the right side of the machine, the Petty Officer waved for them to follow him and he led them clear of the tail rotor and over to the doors of the air center.

As advertised, a man came to the doors and opened them and let them in. He immediately felt terrible. Here they were, soaking wet and looking like something the cat refused to drag in standing in an ornate hall with polished marble floors, glass tables, and art on the walls, along with all the accoutrements of a high dollar FBO in a resort town.

He grabbed his bag and headed for the men's locker room and the women did the same, heading for the women's locker room.

He spoke to the night manager. "Thank you for taking us in. We'll do our best to keep from trashing the place. We'll put on some dry clothes then head for the hotel if we can."

Yes, please. Dry off and put on dry clothes. I've spoken with Immigration. They understand your situation. The superintendent said he would get you settled tomorrow."

He lowered his head and spoke close to the captain's ear. "He's going to waive fees and just let you arrange for flights home. He doesn't want to add to your burden any further."

"That is well appreciated." He answered. Karma was at work and he knew that he was way out on credit to the positive side and would have a lot of pay back to make up. He was already thinking of ways to do that as he headed to the locker room.

He peeled off his wet suit and threw it in the shower. He stepped in as well and turned the water on. "Funny," He thought, "I just spent hours fighting to get out of the water."

He showered the salt water off his body and rinsed his hair. He was moving mechanically, not really thinking about where he was or what he was doing. The night's events kept running through his head. He ran through scenario after scenario trying to change the outcome with a series of "ifs" but he always came back to where he started, standing in a shower in Provo with his boat torn apart on a reef. Try as he would, the ending always remained the same.

He stepped out and toweled off and shook the water out of his wetsuit, rolled it up and, stuffed it at the bottom of his wet bag and headed back out to the lobby.

The women were still in the locker room. He smiled "Guess it will always take women longer." The night clerk approached him. "If you have a moment, the manager would like to call to check on you and find out what is needed for you and your guests."

"I'm so overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness." He replied. "Yes, let's call so we are not keeping her up all night." It was close to 1 AM now and did not want to put out his benefactors any more than he needed to.

The night clerk walked back over speaking into a cell phone. He handed the phone to the captain when he reached him. "I have her on the line now. Here you are." He said as he passed the phone over to him.

He took a deep breath as he took hold of the phone. He blew out hard then placed the phone up to his ear and spoke. "Hello, before I begin, I want to thank you on behalf of myself and my crew. You've been extremely helpful and generous. I am so humbled."

"Good evening Captain. My name is Linda. Lt. Jackson told me about your misfortune. You are most welcome. We all need to pitch in and help at times like these." She replied. "I am so happy that you and your guests are safe. Now let's see what we can do to find you a place to stay tonight while you determine your next steps."

"Thank you again Ms. Linda. I'm sure the ladies are exhausted. Truth be told, I'm starting to fade myself." He added.

"Well let's not lose any time getting you taken care of." She answered. "I contacted a friend that manages a hotel in town. He has agreed to put you and your guests up. I told him about the accident, and he can give you a very substantial discount but, this is a resort so please don't mention your good deal. The holiday makers may get a bit upset as you could understand."

"Of course." He replied. "I'll make sure we don't impose on his hospitality."

"Is there anything else you need for tonight?" She asked. "We can get you out to a store in the morning if you need to shop for clothing or essentials."

"Again, thank you." He answered. "I think we are ok. We managed to pack some clothes and gear before we left the boat. I'll make sure to check with the ladies when then get done cleaning up."

"Alright then." Linda said. "Let's get you over to the hotel."

"And let you get to bed tonight." He replied

"Yes" She laughed. "I guess I'm getting a bit tired myself."

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Chapter 16

Jen walked out of the locker room several minutes later and approached him. He had been so busy during the rescue that he hadn't thought much about her or her claim of being faultless in the crash. He knew he had plotted a clean course. We should have passed safely by the island miles to the north of the reef. He put it out of his mind for now.

"Do we have somewhere to stay tonight?" She asked.

"Yes. The manager here has arranged rooms for us." He replied tight lipped. He knew he still had a duty to her and to make sure she was taken care of until she could get herself a flight back home but, he was angry. Angry with her for the events of the night. Angry with himself for second guessing and keeping her aboard when her behavior became more and more irrational. He knew it was time to put her ashore, but he decided to continue with her to Puerto Rico despite his better judgement and he paid the price for overruling himself.

"Oh good." She said." 'l'll work on a getting a flight out tomorrow."

"I think that would be wise." He allowed

"It wasn't my fault." She blurted out. "It must have been an uncharted reef or something. I was on course."

"This isn't the time Jen." He said, looking at her hard and doing his best to keep his voice low and even when his instinct was sending him signals that were anything but reasonable. "It wasn't an uncharted reef but, I am not going to debrief this right now. We can speak about it in the morning but quit saying it wasn't your fault. You were at the helm. Your primary duty is to maintain a lookout. I think it's fair to say that you failed at that, huh. So, let's just leave it at that for now."

Her cheeks flushed crimson and she looked away. She was starting her disturbing obsession again, talking to herself as she walked in a circle and bit on her thumb.

"How in the hell did I let her stay on the boat this long?" He thought. "She is certifiable!" And he suppressed his urge to just grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her.

"You're talking to yourself again." He told her. "It's not helpful."

She quieted and continued her circling in silence.

Laurine had come out of the locker room and was walking toward them. When she saw Jen talking to herself, she steered a wide course and walked up to him keeping well clear of cloud of mania engulfing Jen.

"Is she alright?" She asked him.

"Who knows." He spit. "Was she ever? Are you alright?" He added more softly.

Laurine lowered her eyes. "Yes. I'm still shaking but I'm much better now. How are you?"

He turned to her. He smiled. There was no joy in his smile. It was a smile of resignation to his fate. "Yes Laurine. I'm alright. I am so sorry for this. I hope someday you can forgive me for putting your life in such danger but, I cannot blame you if it takes a while."

"It wasn't you." She said with a bit more force than he expected. "I got up early for my watch and went up to check on things with Jen. When I got up to the salon, she wasn't at the helm, she was sitting at the table eating the chocolate spread out of the jar with her fingers!"

His mouth dropped open and he shook his head in disbelief but, he knew it was probably true. He remembered a similar occurrence he had witnessed. In his case he was walking down to his cabin. The port hull was his and he had installed shelves in the passageway to hold dry food and supplies. As he was coming down the steps, he saw her standing at the shelves with her arm jammed up to her elbow in a box of Frosted Flakes. He had called out her name and she jumped and turned toward him with her eyes wide. He wondered now, was that a look of shame or was that a look of fear at being caught?

She was slim -- skinny truly and it had become apparent that she was obsessed with food; not eating, then binging when she thought no one was watching. He remembered how she would always complain of having eaten too much and not being able to run and exercise while on passage.

He shook his head clearing it and coming back to the present.

"Laurine, can you have her get ready to go please? I just don't want to go anywhere near her right now. I'll arrange for our ride to the hotel."

"Of course." She said. "Maybe it's better if you give her some room." She nodded. "I'll get her ready."

He spoke to the night clerk and asked him to call for the taxi. After that he went over to his bag and organized his gear. He also took a towel from his bag and was walking around trying to dry up the puddles of salt water they had left all over the otherwise spotless lobby.

"Don't worry about that captain." The night man said. "The cleaning crew comes in at 6. They clean the floor as part of their daily work. We'll take care of it."

The taxi came and they loaded up and drove to the hotel in relative silence. The driver tried to make small talk but, no one really felt like chit chat. They were coming down from their adrenaline charge and were feeling the fatigue of the total weight of the night's events. His mind kept spiraling through the last several hours playing a movie loop over and over in his head. Regardless of how many times he rewound that image, it always turned out the same.

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Chapter 17

Several minutes later they arrived at the resort hotel. It looked like a place that he wouldn't normally reserve -- it was very upscale and screamed of high dollar in a country where high dollar resorts were the norm.

He spoke with the counter man who had been in touch with the Manager and was expecting us. He asked him to get two rooms. One for him and one for the women. He got the keys and looked over to the pool area where the two women sat at a table.

He was happy that his phone made it through dry and operable. He checked his messages and saw both text and voice messages from his older children waiting for him. He opened a text from his son and saw that he was trying to reach him. The same for his oldest daughter. He wondered how they had found out so soon.

He opened his voice mail and heard his son's voice. "Hey, the coast guard called and said your EPRIB went off. Call me!"

The messages from his daughter were much the same.

It was just after 2 AM but he decided to call anyway. If the Coast Guard called, they must be worried. He selected his son from his favorites list and pressed the button to call. He heard it ringing on the other side and on the second ring he heard his son "What's going on? Are you ok?"

"I'm Ok." He said. "I'm in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos. The boat is gone."

There was a long silence then his son spoke. "Damn. I was worried that there was a problem. I got a call from the Coast Guard about 10. They wanted to know if I knew your travel plans and if you might have set off the EPIRB inadvertently."

Then he remembered that he had listed each of them as points of contact on the beacon registration. He had sent out an email to both of them before he left Mayaguana letting them know his plans and that he was heading to Puerto Rico and left them an ETA and the name of the marina that he was heading to.

"I told them that you were heading south to San Juan and that if your EPIRB was on, I was certain that it wasn't an accident. So, I asked them to kindly go find you."

"Thank you for that. We needed it." He said.

"What happened?" His son asked. His son had come with him on his first trip after buying the boat and felt a sense of ownership.

He related the events of the night, leaving out nothing and not sugar coating anything.

"What are you going to do now?" His son asked.

"I'll look to fly back to the states tomorrow -- well later on today or the next day. After that, I have no idea." He replied. His plans were defined, and he was supposed to be cruising for the next couple of years. With the boat gone, he wondered about his future as well.

"Call me when you get back." He said. "Do you want me to contact anyone for you?"

"Thank you, No." He replied. "I think these calls have to be made in person. I'll call your sister next. The Coast Guard contacted her too so I'm sure she wants to know what's going on."

"Ok, we'll talk more when you bet back. I'm glad you're not dead." He quipped.

He allowed himself a smile -- "Me too." He agreed.

He called his daughter next and the call was much the same. She was nervous and had called her brother several times. Like her brother she found the story nearly unbelievable. It was something that happened to someone else on the news or in the movies, not to your dad!

He apologized for turning her life upside down and worrying her so badly then thanked her for saving his life. Both she and her brother had responded right away and confirmed his whereabouts. That had allowed the Coast Guard to dispatch rescue. Had they been delayed; he could only wonder how the outcome may have changed.

He told her that he would get back in touch with his flight information when he settled it and closed the call thanking her again.

He stood alone for a moment tabbing through emails, and texts absentmindedly. He saw Jen walking toward him from the corner of his eye.

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Chapter 18

Jen spoke as he approached. "I've been checking flights. There's nothing for me to do here and I quite frankly I think you both are acting strangely so I am going to fly out today."

He looked at her. He was incredulous that her first thought was that Laurine and he were acting strangely. He did his best to keep his face neutral but the look on Jen's face told him that he wasn't doing an effective job. "That's probably for the best. There's nothing that I want from you and the sooner you just go -- anywhere -- is fine with me." He said flatly, his anger just below the surface and held in check only by his force of will.

"I may need to contact you once I put the claim in with the insurance company. I'll use email if I do. I can't think of any reason why you would need to contact me and quite frankly I would prefer that you don't contact me but, if you must, please use email. I don't want to speak to you. I'd be happy to just see the back of you and never hear your name again." He added and he noted that he was getting a bit more animated. He took a breath to calm himself, he needed to stay calm and focused. The sooner she was gone the better. It was better not to argue and just get her out of his sight before he wrung her neck like a chicken. The picture flashed in his head and he congratulated himself on his control for not acting out his vision.