Page 53 of Adrift

“Damn. Is that one of those long-life battery packs?” Zane motions to Easton’s phone.

“Yeah. I hate running out of battery.” Easton nods. “I turned my phone off this morning, though.”

“Good. Can you turn it on now for just a second? I want to airdrop some charts.” Zane motions. “I’ve only got twenty percent left. The charts might come in handy. I’m a nerd, and at night I like to look at the ocean chart of where we are so I can figure out where to take guests fishing or if there is anything interesting to see. Since Rocky wanted to go deep-sea fishing, I downloaded a bunch.”

“Yeah, go for it.” Easton turns his phone on.

Calvin grunts. His arms flex holding the reel.

“Got them?” asks Zane.

“Got them.” Easton turns off his phone and puts it back inside his vest.

Zane stares at his phone, sighs, and turns it off.

“Girlfriend?” Easton asks.

“What?” Zane runs his fingers through his hair.

“You were sighing at your phone. I thought maybe it was a picture of your girlfriend.”

Zane laughs. “I guess, in a way. It’s a boat for sale back in Fort Lauderdale. I thought I’d have enough money to buy it after this cruise. And now, well, either we’re out of work or we’re?—”

Easton cuts him off. “Don’t say it.”

I hold in a shaky breath. “You’re upset about a boat when the captain died trying to save our lives?”

“Ho, ho, wait a minute there, Haley. We don’t know that the captain died. He might have gotten the system running, and he could be in the third life raft right now. You’ve got to have some faith. The worst thing doesn’t always happen.” Zane places his hand on my knee.

And I have to laugh, because really? “We’re sitting in a raft in the middle of the ocean.”

“Positivity can make a situation a lot different.” Zane nods at me. “I don’t suppose that’s one of those satellite phones?” He cocks his head at Easton.

“No, I’m not a serial upgrader. That’s my dad’s habit.” Easton looks at his phone.

“Could you figure out where we are on the charts?” I raise my eyebrows at Zane. If he wants positivity, I’m not sure I can give it to him. But I can change the subject. I’m a pro at avoidance.

“Not yet. I’m writing our headings every hour, though. I need something to chart off of.”

“Where are you writing it down?” I ask.

“There’s a small notebook and a waterproof pen in the box.” He pulls it out, and there’s a list of directions and speed. “Calvin did it overnight.”

I’m not sure why this makes me feel better, but it does. He hands the notebook to me. Zane’s writing is tiny, messy but legible. The notations overnight, in Calvin’s handwriting, are more like a typewriter. They are so precise I find it hard to imagine they came from a human hand. “Are we still going the same direction?”

Zane checks the compass. “Yes. But we’re getting there a lot faster with whatever Calvin’s got on his line.”

“Too bad we didn’t find an aquatic horse to tow our line yesterday. We might have caught up with the others.” I drape the towel on the support behind me. It’s damp from picking up the spray yesterday.

Hours go by. I don’t want to talk or think. But nature is calling me and she’s not going to wait. I’ve noticed both Easton and Zane sneaking over to the opposite side of Calvin.

Zane takes the reel from Calvin, and a while later, he passes it back.

Nothing about this is going to be graceful. Or easy. And I’m not sure what I should do.

Zane makes another trip to the window. “Sorry,” he says to me when he sits back down.

“I just need to figure out how to do that myself.”

---