Noah & Navid

Chapter 5- July 4th

"Noah! I take that!" Navid took the bag from me as we walked across the steamy pavement through the marina. He kissed my forehead as he slid the bag from my fingers. 

I'd taken it from the backseat of his car as he made his way around to open my door. It was my way of showing I didn't need him treating me like a damsel. He seemed slightly annoyed at my gesture.

"We will be on water for a few hours so please go to pee here now," He said as we paused by a set of public restrooms. 

I followed him inside and he pointed towards the private stalls, but I joined him at the urinals along the wall which had little dividers between them.

"You prefer to use these?" he asked with surprise.

"Yeah, I'm... a guy," I said softly. 

It was awkward peeing next to him. We hadn't done that before. He kept his eyes on me and it made it difficult at first. I started to wish I had gone inside one of the stalls, but finally I was able to start as he was shaking off the last of his.

"You suck on your lip when you piss," he noted with that smile that said I fascinated him.

"I do? I guess it helps me concentrate when a hot guy is staring at me," I smiled and tried to look away.

We were the last to arrive to the small boat that was kind of like a long table surrounded by a U-shaped bench along the insides of a white shell with a white covering over it. It was filled with 10 guys; some that I recognized and others that I didn't.

The sun was setting over Alamitos Bay as the cool, Pacific breeze swept in. 

Aram and Bashir were seated on the end of one side and they jumped up with smiles to let us slide in. Navid went in next to another Persian looking guy I didn't know and then pulled me in close to his side as he greeted the other men on the boat. 

Aram squeezed in next to me and said something to Navid without acknowledging me.

I was starting to get used to being a silent guest among a group of Persian men. I didn't feel unwelcome and always jumped at the chance to be under Navid's arm, but they didn't speak in English to accommodate me. I was not their equal.

Navid looked over to check on me every few minutes, but never apologized for me being left out. This was how things were done in his culture. 

Sometimes it was just a winking smile and other times he would whisper something sweet in English or offer me a game on his phone. He never said it, but he made it clear he expected me to only communicate with him. It was how things were done. I was not part of the group, but belonged to him.

I watched the seabirds swoon down to check out something on the dock and then fly off in uniform urgency as the group of men buzzed on in what sounded like a raucous set of jokes. An older, hispanic man in a tight polo shirt came aboard then and asked if we were all here.

He gave us a speech about boat safety and showed Bashir how to work the wheel and accelerate. He pointed out the life preservers packed neatly under our seats and then did a quick lecture about drinking responsibly on the water. 

He showed us a timer that would beep when we we had fifteen minutes to bring the boat back, and then untied us from the dock and got off. He pushed our boat out into the open water and waved goodbye.

Bashir navigated us through the small canals of Naples as the two other non-Persian guys on the boat arose and began to unpack the food. 

The table soon filled with trays of bakery items, meats, side dishes, and desserts. It hit me that I was non-Persian as well and I tugged at Navid's shirt and asked if I should help them. Was serving something the silent partners did?