Mirror Mirror

Chapter 16

My Darling Rosa, the boat, bobbed easily in the water, as she waited for her rogue passengers to board.  Lacey took charge the minute they got on. Finding the spare keys stuffed in the front of the lifejacket, she told them to hold on.  The engine started smoothly on the first try, the buzzing grew louder, and then they started moving.

Esmerelda had quietly disappeared into the night.

The boat was fairly big, and Lacey was familiar with every inch of it.  She told them to have a quick look around so they would also know where they were-if anything went wrong.  The first place they started was at the aft.  They walked around slowly, touching and feeling their way around the dark boat.  Jarrod saw that there was indeed an enclosed cabin.  He rushed straight for it, and swung the tiny door open.  Stephen joined him inside.  He tugged at the piece of string dangling before him, and the insides turned bright.  There was a small narrow staircase leading down to the kitchen. 

The first thing Jarrod did, was check the fridge-it was empty, except for a few beers and some mineral water.  He shut the door with a dull thud, in disappointment.  There was a little stove on the counter, and a small, plastic sink near it, but they wouldn’t need it.  It had a little window too, and they were very fascinated by the way the things in there held their ground no matter which way the boat swayed.

A few feet into the kitchen, there was an inter-leading door that led to the sleeping section.  There was a neat row of cupboards, that Jarrod had to check-all he found were a couple of bikinis and a few robes- and a huge round bed that sat in the middle. There were odd shaped pillows strewn about it, and the sheets were rumpled.  The boys looked at each other and grinned.

 There was no doubt about what had gone on in there.  They pulled the door shut.  They wouldn’t be sleeping in there, no matter how tired they were. 

Going up again, they found Lacey at the wheel.  The boys looked at her in silent admiration.  She had dealt with the situation they were in, very well.  Stephen stared at her.  His feelings for her were growing with each passing minute.  He felt as though he’d known her for a lifetime.  There was something about the way she held herself, that had caught his attention.  She stood there, hands clasped firmly on the wheel, feet set slightly apart, her short hair, blowing on and around her face, the curly springs, straightening and spiraling in the wet, sprinkling wind the sea offered. 

He felt a strange stirring in the pit of his stomach as he watched her.  He swallowed hard, the blood rushing to his head, and she suddenly turned around and caught his eye.  She was grinning broadly, but it slowly faded as she realized that he had been staring at her.  She looked down self-consciously, her cheeks turning a flattering pink for the umpteenth time that night.  She was suddenly glad it was dark.

The wind whipped her hair about her face, and she brushed it back with one hand.  Stephen started walking towards her, then stopped, unsure of what he was going to say to her once he got there.  He hurriedly stuffed his hands into his pocket and turned around uneasily, looking for Jarrod, who was suddenly no longer standing beside him.

All the while, they both pretended like nothing out of the ordinary was happening between them.  Lacey tried to ignore what she was going through and tried, but failed, to concentrate on the darkened route ahead.

Stephen’s hand came out with the talisman, and he held it up towards the moonlight, letting it dangle for a moment before he stopped it.  He sat down on the life buoy that was nearby and stared at it, wondering how it would work when the time came to use it.

A loud moaning grabbed their attention, drawing them both out of their thoughts.  They turned around, to find Jarrod hanging halfway over the thin railing, making unimaginable sounds.  Stephen shoved the necklace back into his pocket and rushed over to where he was, only to stop when he heard him retch and vomit, once again over the rail.  He was acting like a drunken monkey falling off his branch, and Stephen found it funny, that after all the spinning sessions with Esmerelda, Jarrod would end up with sea-sickness after twenty minutes on the boat.  He thought he’d laugh it out, because if he let his fear get in the way, he could end up delaying the whole rescue.