Smooth Sailing

June 3, 1952

June 3, 1952

Melvin Morrison was in desperate need of a vacation. For the last few years, he had been working overtime as one of the executives at Sterling & Morrison Sailboats, and he figured that he deserved a day off for once. His wife and son needed him, and he needed a break from paperwork and meetings. It was the best choice for everyone.

Melvin slept late that day, confident that Maurice could handle the company on his own for the day. He had taken over when Maurice had the flu last November, so Maurice owed him one anyways. At about seven o'clock, however, Opal bolted out of bed. "What's the matter?" Melvin asked, still half asleep. "Can't we sleep in?"

"I need to make sure that Edward's getting ready for school," Opal said.

"Edward's old enough to get ready on his own," Melvin said. "Have a little faith in him."

"What if he hurts himself?" Opal asked.

Ever since the doctors had told Opal five years earlier that her son had cerebral palsy, she had been like this. Sometimes his wife's overprotectiveness toward Edward frustrated Melvin, but he knew that it was because she loved him. "Has that ever happened before?" Melvin asked.

"No, but it could," Opal said. "I have to know that Edward's okay. I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't check on him." She left the room, and Melvin went back to bed. Today was his day off, and he didn't want to wake up early if he didn't have to.

When Melvin woke up again, Edward was gone, and Opal was busy folding laundry. "Do you need any help?" Melvin asked.

"I thought that you were taking a day off today," Opal said.

"It just looked like you had a lot of laundry to fold, and I thought that I could help," Melvin said.

"It's okay, Melvin," Opal said. "I know that you need some time to relax."

"No, Opal, I want to help you," Melvin said. Opal seemed skeptical, but Melvin ended up helping her anyways, and by noon, the two of them had finished all of the work that needed to be done around the house. Honestly, Melvin was beginning to realize that he was bored without any work to do. At least doing chores gave him something to do.

After they finished, Melvin and Opal decided to go out for lunch. Opal drove the two of them to Tiffany's, and they split a cheeseburger and a milkshake. Opal asked him about how things were going at Sterling & Morrison, and although Melvin didn't particularly want to talk about it, he answered her questions. Opal told Melvin about Edward's doctor appointment the day before and a conversation that she had with Sally Reinhart, and he did his best to listen. The two of them stayed there for a while, simply enjoying each other's company.

When Melvin and Opal returned home, Opal decided to lie down and read a book, and Melvin watched TV for a few hours. Around three o'clock, the bus arrived at the stop in front of the Morrisons' house, and Opal immediately ran outside to get Edward. "Opal, that's really not necessary," Melvin said. "Edward can walk to the house."

"I need to help him," Opal insisted. A few minutes later, Opal and Edward returned to the house, and Edward immediately got started on his homework. He quickly finished his reading and math, and when Edward asked if he could watch TV with Melvin, he came up with an even better idea.

"Edward, how would you like to learn how to sail?" Melvin asked.

Before Edward could answer, Opal said, "Melvin, that's not a good idea."

"Why not?" Melvin said. "I bet that Edward would enjoy sailing."

"His legs aren't strong enough to handle that," Opal said.