Big Boat

The battle was on, I felt the deep throbs periodically as whatever it was ran for awhile. Then George's line went down also, there we were, him on one side and me on the other.

Finally, with both of my arms on fire I got the fish to the surface. It felt like it took half a day but was probably 20-30 minutes. The younger helper kid was right there but no way in hell was I going to hand him that fishing rod.

He must have been thinking the damn fish was going to drag me over the side, because he looked like he was ready to grab me.

I looked down at the thing. It was one hell of a big Flounder.

"Nice Halibut." The skipper said.

"Nice?" The thing was monstrous!

"70, maybe 80 pounds." He grinned at me. George I guess had caught a big Lingcod that they let go, I was so busy I didn't even see that.

They took a picture of my smiling face leaning over the side of the boat with the huge fish laying there in the water, then the skipper leaned down and jerked the hook loose.

I didn't mind that one bit, my head would fit into it's mouth and I didn't really want the thing inside the boat with us.

"Want to see if you can get another one?" The skipped grinned.

"I think that will do just fine." I told him, rubbing my arms. I knew there was no way I could do that again for awhile. We spent some time playing with the "bait" fish, I must have caught a dozen of them. A few of them were orange, funny looking things.

George caught a shark that was maybe 3 feet long, the skipper used some long pliars on that one, it had quite a set of teeth.

We let them all go, except for one small one the skipper threw in a cooler full of ice.

"My dinner." He grinned.

We got to throw bait out for the sea gulls on the way back, we have sea gulls back home but these appeared larger and meaner than those.

One landed right on the back of the boat, letting out some racket. It only had one leg but that didn't seem to bother it very much. That one was taking Herring right out of my hands, kind of neat.

Back at the dock, George offered me a ride.

"The skipper has another client, no point in waiting for a car, let's just take mine." He said.

Up pulled a stretch limosine. We were in some port hundreds of miles away from home and this guy had a limosine waiting? I was already realizing that there was way more to this man than I knew, but I still had no idea who he was.

"You probably have some questions, right?" George asked me, reading my thoughts.

"Well, yes. I mean, you obviously know your way around and know a lot of people....?"

"Virginia and I are one of the cruise lines largest stockholders." He grinned at me.

"Oh." Now that did explain a lot of things.

"I was really strangling when your wife jumped up and did that. I mean, half naked like that and not even concerned, that was amazing, she probably saved my life. So I feel I owe you guys."

"Well, you don't, not really. I mean, anybody would....?"

"I am not sure of that, did you see the rest of them all standing there and just watching me choke?"

"Debs is a Doctor, so to her it's what she does." I said.

"Damn good thing for me, then. Plus your wife is certainly a very lovely lady." He grinned at me.

He stressed the word "lovely", I picked right up on that.

"Would you and your lady like to join us for dinner this evening?" George asked me.

"Sure, that sounds nice." It did, too. George seemed to be an OK guy, not really what a person might expect from someone who was probably a jillionaire.

+++

"How did you do, honey?" Debs asked me the moment I got back. I handed her the photo, her eyes got wide.

"You caught THAT? On that little pole thing you brought?" She looked at the picture in disbelief.

I almost told her yes, but I never have been able to fib to Debra very well.

"I used a deep sea rig they had on the boat." I told her.

"Oh. I was going to say...."

"Yea, I would still be out there." I laughed.

"Hey, I found out who your friend George is." I told Debs as soon as I got out of the shower.

She had been griping about me smelling like I died, holding her nose.

Probably that Octopus I used for bait.

"Oh? Who?"

"I guess he owns the damn boat, or at least most of it."

"Really?"

"Yea, that's what he told me."

"Wow, that explains the extra perks I guess."

"We are invited to dinner with them. It's in about two hours. Dress, he said." I said.

"Neat! This is beginning to be a real nice trip." Debs busied herself getting ready.

I got to sit and watch her do that, it's fun. Back home she is usually in the bedroom though, here in the little suite there was no place to go so she dressed herself right in front of me.

We have been married what? Getting onto four years now? And I still have not gotten tired of looking at my Debs.

It's fun watching your woman get dressed.

The dress she put on was one of just three nice outfits she brought with her, the bodice of this one was a little bit low cut so it displayed the tops of her nice round jugs quite nicely. No way in hell could she lean over in it.

I saw the problem instantly, Debra and I both have lost some weight, me about 25 pounds and a good dozen off of her.

She hadn't tried on this dress before packing it and it was pretty loose on her.

When she leaned forward and looked down at herself and there they hung, I started laughing.

"I better put on a bra." She told me.

"You don't have to on my account." I grinned, she just stuck her tongue out at me.

I got my sports coat, the one I had griped about taking but Debs had insisted. Good thing too, this dinner would be twice already that I needed it because George had told me the meal was "dress."

That's what they had said about the Captain's dinner also, I was hoping that would be the last one since I am a blue jeans and work shirt type of guy.

So with me all spiffed up in my slacks, sports shirt, string tie and jacket, and Debs in her pretty dress with a completely obvious black bra, off we went.

+++

"You look absolutely stunning, my dear." George stood and took both of Debra's hands in hers when we arrived. Then he placed her in the seat right next to him, which put me across the table next to Virginia.

I looked around, we were in a semi private dining area.

We did some chatting as the servers ran back and forth bringing different glasses of red wine, and some kind of five course meal of Lamb.

Each serving was also with a different type of red wine, the taste was interesting and the differences obvious. At the last, they had something they called "sweetbreads" which didn't look or taste like any kind of bread I ever tried.

That was all pretty fancy stuff, sauces for each meat dish and each plate had maybe two bites on it except for the main course.

The way they served it I was thinking a person could sit there, eat and drink all day and all night.

I did notice that George was paying one heck of a lot of attention to Debra but it didn't register on me at first.

"Such a lovely meal, perhaps the two of you would like to join us for a nightcap in our suite?" George glanced at me, then Debs.

I saw Debra blush, now I understood.

Then I felt Virginia's hand on my thigh, and it was WAY up my thigh! She gave me a gentle squeeze. I looked down at her, by down I mean she wasn't even five feet tall.

She had a look I think I remember on a woman's face, after all, it's been some time. A slow smile crossed her lips.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Debs reach down under the edge of the table, then George's hand appeared and he looked unhappy for just an instant.

"It's been a long day, I am pretty tired." I said, catching Debra's look. Her expression was completely blank.

George whispered something in her ear, she shook her head no and glanced up at me again. Virginia still had her hand on my thigh and she was wiggling her fingers, I reached down and trapped her hand before she could move it the other two inches.

"Very well. Perhaps another evening, then." George smiled and leaned back. No real expression on his face, either.

Debra and I said our thank you's for the lovely meal, then we escaped back to our room.

"I think they were trying to seduce us!" Debs said the instant we had the door shut.

"I darn near got a hand job, how did you do?" I said with a snort.

"George put his hand on my knee but I moved it." She said.

"Well, see honey? I told you we still have it going on." We were both giggling now.

"God. Virginia is just a twig, if she tried to handle what you have, it would break her in half!" Debs had tears in her eyes, I guess I did, too.

"And George is big enough he would flatten you!" I reached out and hugged Debra.

Which turned into rubbing Debra, which turned into...well, you know.

Debs and I may be getting old but we like to do stuff.

+++

I woke up in the middle of the night, needing to take a leak. Things were moving around pretty good, but I managed to find the john and not spray down the walls. The ship was doing a very slight long slow roll forward and back which made the floor feel funny. I looked out the little round window but it was pitch black outside.

I climbed back into the bed but no way could I sleep. Finally I got up.

"What are you doing, honey?" Debra asked me, still half asleep.

"I can't seem to doze off."

"Come back to bed. It's only 4 in the morning." She said.

"I don't think I can, I need some air."

"OK. let's go for a walk, maybe down in the bar we can get some tea?"

"OK." Debs dressed, we made our way to the deck. We went to the pool area, I noticed the pool was empty, there was a railing that pulled up from the deck, probably to keep people from falling in. There was a small bar, one tall man about 30 or so behind it looking bored.

No one else was around. We sat and ordered some tea, talked to the bartender.

I asked about the pool, he told me they drained it back to a tank when the ocean got rough, which it was. I didn't seem that rough, although we could feel the motion, it was slight and very slow. Sort of forward and then back, with a bit of side to side mixed in.

"We are in 30 MPH winds right now, even with a ship this large it's hard to keep her completely stable." He told us as he served us the tea.

"A person would think that the ship would roll more than it is, even being as big as this." I made some small talk, sipping the black tea.

"They use some kind of stabilizer mechanism, I am not sure how it works." He told us. That probably accounted for the funny hesitation feeling I kept getting.

"So, are you folks having fun?" The bartender asked later. We nodded, then I mentioned the nice dinner we had earlier with George and Virginia.

"Oh, I see." He smiled a knowing smile. I noticed the man kept glancing at Debra, I looked over and realized she had just pulled on a T-shirt and some slacks.

No bra which was quite clear, I must be getting old because I hadn't noticed. Debs has nice big nipples and they were rather obvious under the top she had on.

"I think this guy likes your boobs, babe." I whispered to her when he stepped out of ear range.

She glanced down, shrugged.

"So, what all is there to do on the ship?" I asked when he came back and poured us some refills. We had seen the brochures of course but I asked anyway.

"Well, there are games on the main deck, the pool and sunbathing when the weather cooperates, the spa where you can get a rubdown or use the hot tubs, the casino is fun sometimes. There will be a band in the lounge every evening, and in the show lounge there is a comedian that is pretty funny. Most people on this cruise are here to meet, and...you know...find...friends." He grinned broadly, glancing at Debra again.

Debra and I had it figured out by now.

+++

"Are we on a swinger's cruise?" Debs asked me the moment we got back to our suite.

"Beats me, you booked it. But yea, I think so. Say, what did George say to you right there at the last?" I asked.

"He told me that Virginia and he would very much like us to come to their cabin for the evening because he found me fascinating." She giggled.

"Well, I agree with him." I told her, getting a sweet smile.

"So you did book us on a swinger's cruise?" I chortled. God, this was funny. Why that never registered on me before, I don't know.

"Well, I didn't know. You just said it would be nice if there were no kids around to deal with."

"Well, I didn't have a clue, either."

"We can just relax and enjoy ourselves, it will be OK."

"What do I do if one of those old ladies start hitting on me? You know how women are when a handsome stud like me is around." I said with a smirk.

"Well, honey. I guess you will just have to figure that out."

"Hmmmmm...." I gave Debs my best evil grin.

"You do know I am a surgeon, right honey?" Debs laughed.

"You are just a nurse." I laughed.

Once again we got into some messing around but my poor old overworked stuff wasn't yet up to the task. I mean, we had already fiddled around a couple of times, at my age there are limits.

Debs still tasted just fine, however.

"I bet poor old George still has a woodie from you rubbing your boobs all over his back." I teased her some more as we lay there trying to go to sleep.

"Oh, yuk." She said.

+++

The next morning I looked out the little round window and saw we were in some kind of bay. The water looked like there wasn't a single wave on it.

Nothing seemed to be moving, we had stopped.

Great!

I got dressed, grabbed a coat because it looked kind of cold out. Then I grabbed my telescoping fishing pole, headed for the door.

"What are you doing?" Debs asked me, her eyes still filled with sleep.

"I want to go catch a fish." I answered.

"I don't think they are going to let you do that."

"Well, we will just see about that."

I heard her snickering as I shut the door.

There were a few people wandering around the deck when I got down there, most of them were either still in bed or at the bar I guess.

They did give me some funny looks but nobody said anything.

I barely made it to a spot I had seen earlier, I knew I could cast from there down to the water, and there was a neat railing so I wouldn't fall off. The ship was completely still and quiet, I knew we were at anquor.

I tossed the white rubber worm over the side, saw it hit the water and let the line run. For a few seconds I was thinking I would run out of line before it did hit, but then I felt the line go slack.

Just then I heard a noise behind me, it was a radio or something.

"You can't do that here, sir." A young man in uniform told me.

"Why not?" I asked, giving my lure a little jig.

"Because it's..." Just then the radio made another rasping sound. I managed to pick up "hilarious" and something about "standing by."

"All right, sir. You may go ahead, but just for a few minutes, OK?" He told me.

Cool. I jigged for awhile, nothing. Then I started to reel up and something grabbed the line.

"Oh, you got something!" The kid exclaimed.

Yea, no kidding. Whatever it was felt pretty big, finally after lots of tugging I looked down and saw it splashing around way down there.

Reeling a pretty good sized fish straight up and out of the water isn't easy, but I managed. The pole I was using was bent completely double, I expected it to break any moment but it didn't.

Finally I swung the thing up and over the railing.

A Bullhead.

Just like back home, another damned Bullhead. The thing was huge, maybe 5 pounds but still??

All the way to Alaska and I catch a Bullhead.

"What are you going to do with that, sir?" The young man asked me, eyeing it's row of very large sharp teeth.

For those of you who don't know what an ocean Bullhead is, it is mostly a head and mouth with sharp teeth, a pot belly which can hold things almost as big as it is and a little short tail, ugly as sin.

If you ever catch one, do NOT stick your fingers in it's mouth.

Ask me how I know sometime.

"Maybe you could have the chef prepare it for my dinner?" I wisecracked, getting a wide eyed look out of the young man.

I was kidding of course, I cooked one of those once maybe 15-20 years ago. Let's just say they have a "flavor" all their own.

"Naw, I will let it go." I stepped on it's head to keep it from biting me, got the hook loose and booted it over the side.

The kid looked relieved.

What the hell, I headed back to our room after tipping the kid a $5 bill. He seemed pleased, I figured that might let me get away with fishing someplace else.

Debs was sound asleep so I took a shower. She was awake when I came out of the tiny stall.

"Catch anything?" She asked.

"Yep. Just like back home, a danged Bullhead." I did some pretend pouting. She just laughed at me.

We got dressed and went down for breakfast.

+++

Captain Johansson came by as we ate, he again took Debra's hand and kissed it.

"Did you enjoy yourself this morning, sir?" He asked, turning to me with an amused look on his face.

OK. So now I knew who the kid had been talking to on his radio.

"Yes, but maybe next time you could park over a nice rocky bottom, OK?" I grinned at him.

He smiled broadly, looking a little bit like he was stifling a peal of laughter, nodded to us and left.

Later on, we again felt the ship begin to move, the Ocean was still filled with whitecaps but the huge rolling waves were absent so things felt fairly smooth.

I was thinking we had pulled into the cove to get out of the storm but I wasn't sure. In the bar, I stopped and stuffed a twenty into one of the one armed bandits, darned if I didn't hit two single bars and a five, which paided $100. I cashed out $160, a nice profit. We headed up onto the deck, by now the Sun was out again. Off in the distance behind I could see black clouds, so I was pretty sure I was right on why we had stopped.

On the Sun deck, the pool was still empty but several people were sitting around. The two old ladies we had seen up there before were once again topless.

"Are you going to sun bathe?" I asked Debs.

"Nope. I think I will stay covered up the rest of this trip." She grinned at me.

"Yea, good idea. If you go waving those puppies around, we will have every old coot on board up here hitting on you." That brought a giggle from Debs.

She pulled out her player and turned it on, leaned back. I saw what she was listening to, I had heard part of it myself.

"50 Shades of Gray" It is called.

"You are listening to a porno book?" I asked her.

"What, honey?" She asked, taking off her head piece.

"Porno book?" I pointed.

"Yea. It's a best seller." She grinned, then she went back to listening.

Good grief.

About a half hour later, sure enough, here came George and Virginia. She had on a bikini that would be scandalous on a 20 year old and she was at least sixty. George had on a pair of tight black trunks, those looked funny on him with his big hairy belly.

"Nice to see you folks this morning." He gave us both a grin and they plopped down right across from us. George was sitting on the edge of the deck chair, his legs spread so the crotch of his trunks bulged out right in front of me.

I had an urge to go get him a blanket or towel or something. That combined with his big pot belly and hair all over him was disconcerting.

The waiter came by almost instantly, George asked for one of those buckets of Tortilla chips with cheese melted on it.

Then Virginia slipped off her tiny top, it was plenty large enough because underneath it she had close to nothing at all but pointy pink nipples.

George grabbed some lotion and made a show out of liberally applying it to her and he didn't miss anything.

He even took her pointy little nipples between his fingertips and rolled them, which made her screw up her face.