Come Alive Ch. 11

The new chart table was palatial, yet even so, Taggart missed being able to see the view ahead while sitting below. He shrugged it off - 'Just one of those things' - he told himself, then he pulled his logbook from the shelf. He'd decided the day before to keep just one log for his journey to Paris, though technically he should have started a new log when he took delivery of Time Bandits; now he needed to make his third entry for this 'first day' onboard the new boat...

...but then his sat-phone chirped and he looked at the display.

"Mike? Who's Mike?"

He opened the text and read through it - twice - then put away his phone...his stomach suddenly awash in flames.

He sighed, opened the log, and started writing.

"Log entry: SV Time Bandits, 7 August, local time 0330 hrs, position North 54 22 50 East 10 10 06, OAT 49 degrees F, sea temp 55F, now tied up in large marina just NE of Kiel Canal East Entrance. Arrived about five hours ahead of plotted time; the new 'Bandits' sails like a gazelle, truly magic and very fast on a beam-reach. Several encounters with military aircraft throughout the day; on two occasions what I assume were maritime patrol aircraft came down for a visit, but they lost interest when we hoisted the Stars and Stripes. One encounter with a Russian Sukhoi was less interesting; they buzzed us repeatedly, and once I thought they were lining up to attack. We heard on the VHF that some kind of large convoy is coming from the Baltic/East and is going to transit as a group, and that Russian submarines are converging on the area. We may not be able to transit tomorrow as I'd hoped, as the canal does not accept reservations for time slots and we have no idea how big this convoy is. Still, we've heard that wait times are still minimal, transit times are still in the 8-10 hour range, and so with luck, we'll be in the North Sea later today, hopefully by late evening. If not, we may be stuck here a while."

He closed the book and looked at the cover as Dina stepped over from the galley...

"You look like you are lost in thought," she said. "Is something wrong?"

"No, just thinking about how many miles are recorded in here," he said, patting the cover. "It might make for interesting reading material a few years down the road."

"What do you include in these entries; you seem to write sometimes very much?"

"Oh, you know, the basics, like speed over ground, wind speed, and I try to include a short narrative of important things that happened during the leg. Even maintenance chores...and sometimes I just wax poetic..."

"You mean you include bullshit?"

"Oh, Hell yes. Some days you need hip-waders to get through it all. What are you making over there?"

"Oh, I was just trying to figure out where everything is. If I am lucky, we will have fresh bread in time for lunch."

"Did you get a chance to spend some time with Britt?"

"Yes, a little. Her flight is still scheduled at 0930 tomorrow. I'd like her to take Eva when she leaves."

Taggart didn't say anything, just let her ramble on.

"Do you agree with that?" she added.

"I am uneasy with anyone pregnant and on a sailboat," he said.

"So, I make you uneasy, too?"

"I think you should go home until we make it to the Dutch canal system. That way, we won't have to worry about ocean crossings and rough weather - because, frankly, the North Sea has a bad reputation for a reason. Besides, I don't want to see anything happen to the spud," he said, rubbing her belly."

"We will have to see what the forecast looks like," she said.

He knew enough to let that one slide, but he opened his phone to check. "Okay."

"So, you are fine with Eva going tomorrow?"

"I'll leave that up to you and Britt if you don't mind. This is a medical decision, after all is said and done? At least, to me it seems like it should be."

She seemed satisfied with that and let the matter rest. Then: "I think Britt misses her boy?"

"Understandable."

"She wants him to come home for a short visit."

"Probably a good idea."

"Really? That surprises me?"

"Oh? Why?"

"I thought you wanted him here, with us...that's all."

"He has a life in Bergen, Dina, and I don't ever take that for granted. His mother, but also his friends and teachers. I was just thinking that maybe it's a good idea that he stays grounded in that world, too, because all this," he added, his arms arcing to embrace Dina and their immediate surroundings - including Time Bandits, "may begin to feel like normal, and it just isn't."

She sighed. "I suppose you are correct."

"You suppose?" he sighed. "Hell, every kid in school has just one objective in life - to not be in school. Rolf can't appreciate school yet, few kids ever do - at least not until it's too late - but to be away from all that, on a boat...?"

"He won't be away, Henry. Not completely. Remember, I'll be helping him with his assignments?"

He held up his hands. "Okay. I surrender."

"I see the point you are trying to make. You agree he should go home for a few days. Shall I try to get him on the same flight with his mother?"

"No, I'd like him here when we transit the canal."

"Okay. Just an idea, but we could stay here in this marina for a few days. It is pleasant enough here, no?"

He thought about that as he looked over the weather forecasts on his phone - which showed heavy rain for the next several days - and with that piece of the puzzle filled-in, he sighed. "Crappy weather next week. So, do you want to sail in crappy weather or be tied up here - in crappy weather?"

She shrugged. "I am ready to walk around some, no matter the weather."

"Okay, get him on the flight if you can, let Britt and Rolf decide on a return date."

"You are decisive, aren't you?"

"Well, I'm with you on this one. I could use a walk or two, and I know Clyde would love it."

"That dog...I swear I think the two of you are growing closer with each new day."

"Hey, great minds think alike."

"What, like bark twice when it's time to find a bush?"

"Precisely," Taggart said, his hands spread wide. "Who can argue with superior logic?"

"If you start barking, Henry, I will..."

"You will what? Go get my collar and leash?"

She sighed, then turned serious - and he could tell she had been saving this for last. "I think I should go home with them, Henry. I have paperwork at the hospital that I need to attend to, as well as a few personal matters."

"I see."

"It should only be for a day or two. I hate to leave you alone..."

"I won't be alone," Taggart said, scratching Clyde's chin.

"I see."

Taggart stood and grabbed Clyde's leash. "Ready for a perambulation of significant magnitude, old top?" Taggart bellowed in his best Henry Higgins.

Clyde looked at Taggart, then at Dina - then he sneezed once before he cut a nice fart on his way up the companionway steps.

"Man, he's a class act. How do you top an exit like that?"

She shook her head as she pinched off her nose: "And just think...the two of you are growing more and more alike with each new day."

"Ain't life wonderful?" he said as he got up from the cart table - and not quite accidentally floating an air-muffin as he stood. "You know what?" he said, grinning, "I couldn't have timed that one more perfectly if I tried."

"Are you saying...?"

"Exactly, yes, I am indeed."

He stepped off Bandits and turned to Clyde. "You really are a good boy, but if I were you I'd be careful."

"Whoof!"

"Because for some reason women really don't like the way farts smell."

"Whoof!"

"Yeah, I know, and I'm not sure why, but I've always thought it must be a character defect of some sort."

"Whoof! - Whoof!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Don't get your panties in a wad," Taggart said as he picked up Clyde and helped him to the pier. "That's a good looking bush over there, fella... No? Well, that's okay, I have a feeling we shouldn't go back until the air clears a little..."

+++++

It took two taxis to haul everyone to the airport shuttle, though Taggart and Clyde said their goodbyes on the street just outside the marina. Henry smiled as he looked at this most unlikely family as they drove off, and then he looked down at Clyde.

Clyde stood staring at the beige taxis until they disappeared, and even then his will to remain in this spot seemed resolute.

Then he looked up at Henry and sighed.

"Yeah, I know. Gonna be a rough couple of days."

Clyde turned and began walking back out the pier to the boat, but he stopped once and sniffed the air. "Whoof-whoof!"

Taggart followed him to a clump of bushes, then picked up after him before resuming their walk out to the boat.

There were times, he admitted as he climbed into the cockpit when the first Time Bandit had felt too big for one person - but this new boat was preposterously large by any standard. Still, there were things he needed to work on, some new additions down at the chart table to be made as well. He'd left the original Zodiac on Bandit because it was just too small, so today's errand was to head out and find a newer, bigger inflatable - which meant a new, bigger outboard motor too. And folding bicycles! He'd need three of those, for now - too. He found a dealer for inflatables not too far away and tried to muster the will to move - but now, alone for the first time in months - he found himself almost paralyzed with indecision...like he suddenly had no idea how to go about the least little thing without Dina there by his side...

"So, this is what marriage leads to, eh Clyde? Emotional Alzheimer's? I feel like I'm in kindergarten again - like I've gone and lost my mommy."

Clyde walked to the aft cabin and barked.

"Yeah, I hear you. When the going gets rough, the tough go to sleep."

He laid down and Clyde came in and laid along his left side, his front paws draped over Henry's left arm and his chin resting on Henry's incision. Their eyes met and Taggart scratched the top of the pup's head - at least he did until he felt his eyelids growing heavy...

When his eyes opened he was standing in a field.

Green grass, maybe ankle-high, stretched all around, almost as far as he could see. Not far to his left and up a shallow incline, he saw that this side of the field was lined by trees; to his right and straight ahead he saw water beyond the far reaches of the field. He turned around and discovered he was on a road - of sorts - but really the road was a little more than two white sandy ruts that cut across the field. Beyond the field, foothills - then mountains. Huge, jagged snow-covered mountains.

He heard a low, guttural growl and looked down. Clyde was sitting there, the pup's limpid brown eyes fixed on his own, but Taggart could tell that Clyde was not at all happy. The hair on the back of his neck was on end and his tail was tucked in tight, and Taggart could see his nostrils flaring - a sure sign that something - or someone - was nearby.

"What is it, boy? What do you smell?"

A shadow passed in front of them, then another and another, but when he looked up there was nothing to see - just a pure greenish-blue sky...yet...

"That's not the moon," Taggart said as his eyes took in the sight overhead. "It looks like a greenish Jupiter, only with Saturn's rings."

Clyde's eyes followed Taggart's, and when he saw the planet he howled and began circling Taggart's legs...until Henry knelt beside the pup and held out his hand. "That's nothing to worry about, old boy - just a very weird planet in a very weird dream..."

Then it hit him...it was light out but there was no sun in this sky...just this one huge planet overhead. He held out his hand and looked for a shadow - but saw nothing even remotely resembling anything like a shadow.

Then the three shadows raced across the field again and he looked up and around and Clyde was really howling now - running in circles again, but the circle growing tighter and tighter before him as he watched...

Then...a gust of wind. Cold, icy cold. Cold, like fingers in the dead of winter, cold gripping his heart. Clyde, stopped now and standing still, locked in a point.

Taggart followed the point with his eyes until they came to rest on a hazy white light coming from deep within the forest off to their left.

Clyde growled. A deep growl that came from a place like fear, or maybe anger.

"Yes, I see it boy."

The glow came from someplace as yet unseen, but it had to be at least hundreds of yards in from the edge of the field because the pulsing glow was massive - yet the source remained invisible. Then...the three shadows raced to the edge of the field and disappeared into the forest. Seconds later the glow disappeared.

"I'm not sure I like this dream, boy. Maybe we should wake up now?"

His wrist buzzed, and now he heard a chirping sound...

"Oxygen saturation low!" a voice in the darkness said.

"Unstable heart rhythm detected," the voice continued.

"Seek medical attention! Repeat, seek medical attention! If you do not respond to this alarm I will call emergency services!"

He opened an eye and raised his wrist and looked at his watch.

"Siri!? Would you please go straight to Hell?"

"I'm sorry, but that is an unknown response. I will call emergency services in 15 seconds if the alarm is not canceled."

He scrolled down the message on the watch-face and hit the 'Dismiss' button, then sat up.

Clyde jumped off the berth and began growling just as he had in the dream, only now he was pointing at something unseen but in the front of the boat.

"Clyde?"

Growl.

"Clyde, you want to go outside?"

Growl.

"Clyde, how about some nice salmon, and maybe a t-bone steak, too?"

The pup turned at that, then his tail started thumping on the cabin walls.

"I thought that would get your attention," Taggart said. "But...wait a minute..." Taggart said as he realized that Clyde had been pointing in the same direction now as he had been in the field.

"Something ain't right."

He looked at his watch again, figured he'd been asleep for about two hours.

He looked up, saw the overhead hatch was dappled with spreading rain drops...

Then his phone rang.

"Henry?"

"No, this is Henry."

"Henry, stop it."

"Must I? You know how much I like pushing buttons."

"Henry, we've had some trouble."

He shifted gears. "Okay, what's happened?"

"Well, it seems like air travel is disrupted today, all over Europe. Our flight to Oslo is canceled, but we are on standby for a flight to Stavanger, then on to Bergen."

"Is anyone talking about why..."

"Yes, the Russia stuff again. There was an incident last night, somewhere over the Black Sea. Apparently, all air travel was stopped around 0400, but some flights are resuming. All flights to America are booked solid, but the planes to Europe are empty."

"Ah. This might be a good time to invest in property over here."

"Henry, please?"

"Yeah, sorry. Clyde made me say that. So, when is this new flight scheduled?"

"Ten thirty."

"And if it doesn't go, then what?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you. What should we do?"

"Come back here. You can't sit around an airport with no place to stay."

"Henry, this feels a little strange to me. Well, to all of us here. The news is not normal, very restrained."

"Probably a very good time to be careful what you say, for everyone. Just remember, Dina, you can't think clearly if you panic. Keep focused on short term goals."

"Do I sound panicked?"

"A little. How's Rolf handling things?"

"Fine so far."

"Okay, let him handle getting a ride back here if the flight doesn't go, but stick to him like glue."

"Okay. How are you doing?"

"Got down here and fell asleep."

"I thought you might. You got about thirty minutes of sleep last night."

"Ah, that explains it."

"And Henry?"

"Yes?"

"Eva is beside herself. She did not want to leave you; she is very afraid of never seeing you again."

"Understood."

"Is that all you have to say about the matter?"

"No, but I told you this was more a matter for the two of you, for you and Britt, to figure out."

"But we are not psychiatrists, Henry!"

"Well, I'm not exactly Sigmund Fucking Freud, Dina, at least I wasn't the last time I looked. What do you want me to say to her, anyway? Grow up?"

"That might help, yes."

"No, Dina, that wouldn't and you know it. The only thing to tell her is the truth, and that has to be the only reason. It's safer there in Bergen, medically speaking, for both her and the babies."

"I'm looking at her now, Henry. She's hysterical, really, and acting quite beside herself, making a scene, really."

"Could I speak to Rolf, please?"

"Yes, of course." He heard her call for him, her the phone bouncing around, then he was on.

"Rolf? How's it hangin'?"

"Down past my knees."

"Right. What's up with Eva?"

"She feels like my mother and Dina are ganging up on her, that they are ignoring her feelings?"

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I think she is a little correct, Henry, but I am not sure why this is so."

"Yeah? Well, I am. I tell you what, Rolf. I want you to go over to her right now and kiss her - hard - on the lips. Maybe slip her a little tongue, too. And before she slaps you, tell her I told you to do it, and for her to listen to you from now on. If she gives you any trouble, hand her the phone and let her speak to me."

"Henry, no, this is crazy!"

"Yes, of course, it is! Life is completely crazy, Rolf! Now...do it!"

"But..."

"No buts, Rolf. Just do it, right now."

He heard the commotion that followed, the kiss, Dina's outraged shriek, Britt's flummoxed outrage - but not one peep from Eva as Rolf told her to listen to him from now on.

"Rolf?"

"Yes, Henry?"

"Everything's cool now, right?"

"Yessir!"

"Good man. Remember, when I'm not around you're going to have to take charge. But try to do things the way I would, okay?"

"Yes, Henry. Would you like to speak to Dina again?"

"Not really, but I don't think I can avoid it this time, do you?"

"No sir."

"Okay, shipmate. I'll talk to you later."

"I love you, Henry."

"I love you too, kid."

Then: "Henry! What on earth did you tell Rolf to do!?"

"Dina? Call me if there's trouble with the flight, okay. Otherwise, call me when you get in tonight."

"Well, okay, but..."

"Adios, and take care," he said before he cut the connection. Then he turned to Clyde. "Geesh, Dude. What is it about marriage that turns some people's minds to mush?"

"Whoof!"

"You got that right, Amigo. Truer words were never spoken."

+++++

Taggart found the recommended radio dealer nearby and looked over their inventory; when he talked to the owner the man seemed less than enthusiastic until Taggart voiced what he had in mind and the necessary time frame - and who had recommended he come to this shop. "I'm sorry, I don't speak German," he added with a shrug. "I hope I'm being clear?"

"So, you know how to re-program the 7100 to pick-up military transmissions?" the man asked.

Taggart shrugged.

"But these are encrypted channels, are they not?"

"Most of 'em, yes."

"And you know the encryption protocols?"

Again, Taggart just shrugged - which spoke volumes as far as the dealer was concerned.

"Why do you want such equipment on your vessel?"

"Because I like to know what's going on, and where. What I need to know is do you have the units in stock, and can you help me install them tomorrow."

"Do you plan on using the backstay as your antenna?"

"Yes, the necessary connections were installed at the factory, including a copper foil ground plane."

"Ah, so all we need is an antenna tuner, correct."

"Yes. So, to be clear, I need the ICOM 803 SSB, the 605 VHF, and the 7100 transceiver. Tomorrow works for you?"

"What time would you like my crew to arrive?"