Captain's Choice Ch. 11

This story was edited by ErikThread and DaveT with my thanks and appreciation. Any errors are mine alone. Previously posted on another site.

*****

Chapter 11 - The Beginning of the Rest of our Lives

Robert Samuel Hamelin was born very early on the morning of July 1st, Canada Day. He weighed in at 7lbs 5ozs and exhibited a dark head of hair and a healthy set of lungs. I had hoped for a son, but knew I would welcome either son or daughter. The gods had chosen to bless us with a son and the family name was now no longer in danger of dying out. I had been with Ardele through the mercifully short time after her water broke and when her contractions began near midnight.

When they brought him to us in the hospital room, I could see the look on Ardele's face was one of both love and delight. We had a healthy son, and when they came home in a day or so, my fatherhood would formally begin.

Right after the birth, I called Mother, waking her from a sound sleep, but rejoicing with me at the birth of a new life, a new Hamelin. She arrived less than an hour later, almost as excited as I was with our new arrival.

We had deliberately not booked any charters for the first two weeks of July so that I would be able to be with Ardele when her time came. Actually, it came ten days earlier than expected. When my wife and son were released from the hospital, we would be heading to the apartment for a couple of days to make sure we were ready to travel, then the drive to Campbell River, checking into the double motel room we had reserved for the two months. Mother would be staying with us in the second room.

My introduction to fatherhood was quite a shock. Ardele was breast feeding and that meant her getting up at all hours of the night to feed little Bobby. It took a toll on our sleep, but gradually she adjusted, and as she did, so did I. I was told mothers had ears for the smallest sounds from their newborns, but I found that I must have the same myself. The slightest squeak from our son and I was awake, wondering if he was all right. Mother thought it was quite funny. Ardele just wrapped her arms around me, kissed me, and told me how much she loved me. She was convinced I was going to be a great father.

***

Summer on the B.C. coast usually begins in early-to-mid July and can last through September. Last year, it began on July 9th and lasted into early October, a summer with almost continuous sunshine and little rain. The forest fire hazard was high through August until October when the fall rains returned.

This year, summer came in little pieces in June, then broke full-on in mid-July, just after we had arrived in Campbell River. The temperatures are always moderated by the presence of the water, and there are very few places in this country that are more comfortable than our coast in summer. It looked as though we would have another long, warm, sunny period for our charters.

We had rented a crib and playpen for Bobby, although he wasn't yet at the crawling stage. We bought the latest and greatest car seat for him, as well as a travel bassinette for the boat. We took him out as a test to see how he liked it, and within fifteen minutes he was fast asleep. It was little different in the SUV. He apparently could sleep almost anywhere, unless he was hungry. That was his mother's job.

I learned to change diapers, including the stinky, yucky brown ones, and did so willingly. I wanted to contribute whatever I could to help Del as we adjusted to parenthood. Discovering that Bobby liked the boat was a big benefit to my wife. She could get out and enjoy the outdoors once again and we spent a fair number of days cruising between charters with just the four of us. Mother was now a constant on Del's Choice, including the charters.

Ernie Tillman was back for a second season and dropped by shortly after we arrived. Dean and Brent had brought our boat up from Vancouver and he was over to see if I was there. Dean filled him in on the recent events since we had last seen him. He hadn't been able to make the wedding as he was visiting some friends in California at the time. He was delighted to hear that Ardele had given us a son and that all of us would be here for the summer.

I don't think we had been in the motel for more than a couple of hours when there was a knock on the door. Ernie stood there with a big bunch of roses and a grin as I welcomed him into the room.

"These are for Ardele," he said, "and congratulations to both of you on your wedding and your new son. You must be very happy."

"Thank you, Ernie," Ardele said, kissing his cheek. "They're lovely. Sit down and visit for a while. Bobby is asleep in his crib if you want to take a peek."

Ernie walked quietly over to the crib and looked on the little guy, peacefully unaware of the visitor.

"Wow, Pat, a son. How about that."

"Yeah," I agreed. "It's a bonus."

It was at that moment that there was a light knock on the adjoining door and Mother peeked in.

"Mom, come in and meet a friend and fellow charter operator. Ernie, this is my mother, Sarah Seaton. Mom, meet Ernie Tillman."

I'm not sure if Ardele noticed or not, but I did. Ernie's eyes locked onto my mother and she seemed to mesmerise him before he gathered his wits and took her hand gently in greeting.

"Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Seaton."

"Please, it's Sarah," she said, and I could almost swear she blushed.

Now my mother had been around Tom Thompson for several months and both Del and I had wondered if there wasn't something happening there. However, the look that I saw on her face and what seemed to pass between Ernie and her at their first meeting was entirely different.

"How's business, Ernie," I asked after an awkward silence.

"Great, Pat, and I owe you a lot for that. First of all, I got a couple of good deckhands for the summer just as you suggested. I had more candidates than I could handle, so I had to scramble to choose two I liked. I think I've made a couple of good choices."

"Good to hear," I nodded. "They can make you or break you if they aren't right. I've been lucky so far with good guys."

"Yeah, well your help last summer got me some business, and that got me some more business. It seems like your name is golden around here," he grinned.

"That's always good to hear," Ardele said. "You and Pat think alike. Look after the customers and they'll look after you. Word of mouth is always the best advertising."

"You got that right," Ernie said enthusiastically. "I'm not totally booked, but pretty close and if there are any last minute opportunities, I might be able to fit them in."

"Just the way you want it, Ernie," I said. "We booked a little light this summer because of the new baby, but Mom has signed on as our newest deckhand, so we've got lots of help both with the boat and the baby. Better yet, it looks like Bobby is going to be a pretty good sailor, too."

I offered Ernie a beer and he accepted, while Mother surprised me and declined a wine and asked for a beer, as well. She chose to sit near Ernie and when Bobby began to fuss and let Del know it was time for a feeding, they struck up their own conversations while I prepared to change our baby and Del prepared to do the rest.

"Did you see the look that passed between your mother and Ernie?" Del whispered.

"Yeah. What do you make of that?"

"I don't know. Something was going on, that's for sure."

I got on with the business of cleaning up Bobby's business and walked back into the living area.

"I'm just going down to see Ernie's boat. I won't be long," Mother announced.

"No rush, everything's under control here," I grinned.

How about that. I walked back to where Del was nursing our son and let her know the latest developments. I got a knowing smile in return. Knowing what, I wasn't so sure.

"Did you know that Ernie has his own plane?" Mother asked at supper that evening.

"No," I said. "I knew he was a pilot, but I didn't know he had a plane."

"He bought it last winter. It's a float plane ... a Cessna something. He's going to take me up to show me around the area."

Mother was trying very hard to make this sound like it was no big deal but wasn't quite pulling it off.

"That's nice," Ardele said. "It's very beautiful from the air on a clear day."

"I want to get some good shots with my Nikon if I can," my mother continued. "Apparently, I can open the window a bit if I need to."

"Don't fall out," I quipped.

"Don't worry, I plan to have my seat belt fastened very snugly when I'm aboard."

I looked at Ardele and waggled my eyebrows when I thought Mother wasn't looking. That got me a barely suppressed snicker.

***

Our first charter was Friday, July 19th, a party of six made up of three couples. It was a sightseeing charter with fishing as an afterthought. I had Dean back with me as deckhand this summer while Brent Dagg replaced Peter Masters. Peter had graduated and was now working full time for an outfitter and guide up north. Brent fit in well, but then I wasn't surprised. I had Dean interview him since they had to work closely together.

My mother was insistent that she would take Ardele's place as spare on this charter. The ages of our clients were about the same as her's, so she had no trouble fitting in with them. I also saw how much she enjoyed being on the boat and doing anything she could to help improve the satisfaction of our guests. At the end of the four days, she had developed a healthy glow and a perpetual smile that was contagious. Moreover, she had earned substantial tips and didn't know what to do with them.

"Give them to charity, take someone to dinner, buy some clothes," I suggested whimsically. "It doesn't matter what you do with the money except to keep track of it because it is taxable."

That put a quick end to the conversation and later I discovered that she took Dean and Brent to dinner one night.

"She takes to it like a duck to water," I told Del later that evening after our guests had left. "I guess it wouldn't hurt us to have another extra deckhand on board," I mused.

"Try and stop her," she chuckled. "She told me that she feels so alive when she is on the boat, especially up here. I think she's found real happiness in the past few months, Pat, and I think you had a lot to do with that."

"I did?"

"Of course. You forgave her and that changed everything. For you too, I think."

I thought about it briefly and realized she was right. It was as big a relief to me as it was to my mother. It wasn't just the right thing to do, it was an essential thing to do for my peace of mind.

Mother got her flight with Ernie and returned gushing with excitement about what she saw and how much she enjoyed every minute of the two-hour excursion. They spotted a pod of Orcas heading up one of the channels and Ernie dropped down to 300 feet to allow Mom to get some good close-ups.

Further north they saw a cruise ship carefully wending its way down Johnstone Straits, headed south toward Vancouver or Victoria. Mom couldn't wait to show us the pictures when she loaded them onto her laptop. I don't think my mother was aware of how often she referred to Ernie and how much fun he was to be with. As she wound down, she let it be known that she would be having dinner with Ernie Wednesday evening, so we were not to expect her then.

"Well, I certainly didn't anticipate this," I said when I had a private moment with Del. "She seems quite taken with Ernie and it's happened pretty quickly too."

"That's how it works sometimes," my wife smiled. "I was pretty taken with you almost right away. It took you a little while to notice, but eventually, you caught on."

"Yeah, well, you know ... the rule ... and all that," I mumbled, still wondering why I made up that stupid rule.

"It's probably not a bad rule in some cases, my love, but in our case, it just wasn't going to work."

"When you're right, you're right," I sighed. "I just hate all the time we wasted because of it."

"It wasn't wasted. You needed to be sure, just like I did. I didn't want to make another mistake and you didn't know what to expect. It was all new for you."

My bride is a very smart woman.

Ardele would be nursing Bobby for the rest of the year before weaning him onto the bottle. As far as making love, I would have to be patient for another month. Even then, it would be a matter of how comfortable she would be. Apparently it differed for every woman. I didn't find that surprising and having gone over six weeks already, I could hold on for another four. Ardele promised me she would be the first to let me know when the time was right.

If we were counting on my mother to baby-sit for us, we had to plan in advance. She was spending quite a bit of time with Ernie. Both Ardele and I agreed that it looked like it was getting serious between them, even though they had only met a month ago. However, Mom was available when I wanted to give Del a break and take her out to dinner. If Ernie was in town, I expected him to be at the motel when we returned.

On days when we were between tours, I would take Ardele and Bobby out on the boat if the weather was nice and they could get some fresh air away from the motel room or the marina. I could see that Ardele was getting itchy to get back on Del's Choice as crew, but we couldn't bring Bobby with us. We just had to bide our time until we were back in Vancouver.

It was a surprise when we learned that Ernie had sold his home in Port Hardy and bought a home on Willow Point, on the south edge of Campbell River. It made sense, since this was the area he wanted to run his charter business and the airport where he kept his plane was just up the hill from his new home.

Ernie had a housewarming party in mid-August and we were all invited to it. His new home was perched on a hillside in a good-sized wooded lot, with a view out over the north end of Georgia Strait and the entrance to Johnstone Strait. I'm sure he must have paid a handsome price for it. It was a lovely one level rancher with big picture windows facing the water.

He had a lot of acquaintances that joined the party that afternoon and evening. Some were in the airline business, some were like us, fellow charter operators, and some were old friends. It wasn't a big surprise that he was well liked by everyone. He was that kind of guy, easy to like. Mother was at his side almost constantly and it was now obvious that there was more than just friendship going on between them.

"How do you feel about that," Del asked me in a private moment.

"I feel good," I smiled. "I want her to be happy and if Ernie makes her happy, so be it. I guess I thought it might have been Tom, but I was wrong."

"I thought the same," Del nodded. "But there's no denying how she feels about Ernie."

"We might lose our babysitter if she moves in with him," I suggested.

"I suppose, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"How do you like Ernie's new home," Mother asked as she came over to us.

"Very nice, and such a wonderful view," Ardele said as I nodded my agreement

"I helped him pick it out," she grinned, making no effort to conceal her pride.

"Oh ... I didn't know that," I stammered. "Uhhm ... you and Ernie ... you seem to be ... close."

That brought about a big smile. "Yes, he's a wonderful man and we get along very, very well."

"I'm glad, Mom. You really love this part of the world, don't you?"

"Yes. I've had my fill of the big city and world travel. I'd forgotten how much I missed the west coast and the amazing scenery. I'll be content here for the rest of my life," she said with a sigh.

I hugged her to me and let her know I was happy that she was happy. Ardele joined us and we had a little group hug. It was a nice moment.

Ernie wandered over a minute or so later.

"I couldn't help noticing that nice moment with you three," he said. "I wanted to get in on the action." He was kidding, but then again, not.

Mother moved to his side instinctively and wrapped her arm around the big man's waist. Ernie was taller than me by a couple of inches, handsome and fit with a full head of grey hair. Bright blue eyes and a strong jaw gave him a look of authority and confidence that you couldn't miss.

"I guess you've figured out that your mother and I are good friends," Ernie said without hesitation.

"We noticed," I chuckled. "I hope you two are happy together." I was being presumptuous, but I didn't detect any hesitation on either his or mother's part when I said that.

"Pat, I hope this doesn't sound hokey or phoney, but I think of you as the son I never had. From the first day we met, you've been a big help and supporter of me and my business. You've also been a friend. And ... importantly ... I like your values, not to mention your choice of bride. Your mother and I have found so much in common and I'm hoping we have a future. Time will tell. Whatever happens, I won't forget how much you've done for me and made me feel welcome in your life." He extended his hand and shook mine firmly.

"Thank you, Ernie. I feel the same way. We are a lot alike in our thinking, especially about our business. As for Mom, I'm happy for both of you. I didn't know how much I needed someone like Ardele until I found her. We do so much better when we are together."

I could see tears forming in the corner of Mother's eyes and she came to me and hugged me, whispering "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom."

The smile on Ardele's face was enough to bring us back from a solemn moment and remind us this was a party.

Epilogue

Our son, Bobby, is growing in leaps and bounds right before our eyes. He can roll over now and is showing signs of getting ready to crawl. It doesn't matter if he is on land or on the boat, he is happy. I think we are close to when he will be sleeping through the night and I'm sure that will be a big relief to Ardele. She's taken to motherhood the way she approaches anything she really thinks is important: full blast. If she isn't online searching information, she's buying books. And, there's no doubt now that there will be another Hamelin coming along in the next two years.

Our business isn't anywhere near as full as it was last year, but that is by design. I wanted us to have a chance to get to know and bond with our son and I'm sure it was the right decision.

We finally settled with the insurance company over the loss of Captain's Choice. They didn't want to pay the full amount and their reasoning was that we didn't take adequate precautions to prevent the theft. They offered half payment and we immediately rejected it, supplying documents attesting to the potential resale value of the boat and the security measures at the marina.

I got fed up with arguing about it and called Sam Fowler, explained the situation and gave him his instructions: sic 'em. Sam was on the job immediately and within two weeks, had an agreement for settlement at the full amount.

He reminded them that there was specific wording in the insurance policy as to the value of the boat and that there was no wording to allow them to renegotiate. He suggested a court case would be costly and do them no credit when they lost. Sam was sure that their legal department advised them of the same and they were just trying us on to see if we would cave. We didn't and we got everything including Sam's costs. I didn't mind that a bit.

The final costs of transporting Del's Choice up to our part of the world and bringing it up to the specifications we envisioned came to just under $300,000. We retired the loan we took to pay for the boat and transport and had almost $200,000 left from the insurance claim. It's a nice contingency fund for us, gaining a modest interest in an investment account that Joel recommended.