Page 16 of The Sailor in Polynesia
“It’s really interesting how the Marquesas Islands are so different from the Tuamotus.”
“Yeah, it was like a jungle out there. Here is more like a tropical paradise.”
We sipped our drinks and stared out at the blue water around us.
Lila changed the topic. “Okay, it was so weird to see Jonas last night. He was so nervous! It was like he’d forgotten how to be a normal socializing adult.”
I giggled, my cheeks pinking. “Aw, I know. I feel bad for him and I don’t know how to make him more comfortable. He definitely has his sweet moments, but...”
She nodded firmly. “Even Eivind teased him last night after he got back from taking you home. I told Eivind to butt out, that he was only making it worse.” She turned to face me. “Did you know he’s divorced too?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Nah, yeah. A few years ago. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I gather that it’s part of the reason why the boys took off sailing.”
“Divorce is tough.” I stared off into the distance and picked at my koozie.
“What happened between you and your husband? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“It’s fine,” I said, brushing her concern away. “Cruising, or even just sailing, can make or break a couple, and it broke us. Things were already bad before we left Mexico, but they got worse quickly.”
Lila shivered. “You make it sound so ominous.” She chewed on her lip and gazed out atEik. “That makes me worry sometimes. Like, I haven’t known Eivind all that long, so what if that happens to us?”
“I don’t think the length of time you know someone has anything to do with it. I knew Liam for years. We weren’t close, but we had mutual friends our first few semesters in college and hung out together at the same parties. Then we dated for a year, got engaged, married a little while later.” I shook my head. “You think you know someone so well, but even after years, you can learn new things. Or they can change.” The wrinkles of concern on Lila’s brow had smoothed out a little bit. “You and Eivind have been through a lot together already. Crossing the Pacific is no small feat.”
She gave me a small smile in sympathy and then cocked her head. “Do you regret going cruising?”
I smiled weakly. “Well, I wouldn’t be here. I think it was good we did. Maybe you need to bring out the worst in people sometimes.”
Lila winced and looked at me carefully. “That sounds painful.”
I didn’t really want to talk about how my marriage had deteriorated. While I didn’t regret cruising, I wondered what the experience would be like with a partner who was gentler, kinder, and who looked out for me. I changed the subject.
“How about Marcella and Elayna? Do they like cruising?”
“Well, Marcella is going to leave us soon—she’s had enough of the sailing aspect. She’d rather be in the galley cooking up fancy meals. Elayna loves it, but she’s a bit of a party girl. I think she wouldn’t even be on the boat any longer if she hadn’t...” Lila hesitated. “Well, if she hadn’t had a thing for Jonas.”
“I can understand that. They are both attractive.”
“Yeah. I think sometimes it’s inevitable with these remote islands and lack of a social scene that crew members can become bedfellows. I mean, look what happened with Eivind and me after all. And, well”—she leaned in conspiratorially—“Jonas and Elayna do have some history.”
“Oh?”
“Apparently, Elayna had a crush on Jonas, and for a while, they were not a couple exactly, but hooking up. It came to a head after the Panama Canal. Jonas just doesn’t feel that way about her, and Elayna was a little crushed.”
“I thought there was some tension between them.”
There must have been something in the way I said it because Lila hastily clarified, “It’s not like that really. Jonas just wasn’t interested in her like that, and Elayna accepted it but is still getting over it, and perhaps she’s a little upset with herself for getting into this situation. With you around and Jonas so obviously fangirling over you...” She rolled her eyes. “I’m feeling really gossipy right now. Sorry.”
“I would imagine it’s hard to have five people in a small space and not a lot of options for socializing. And also, no internet.”
“Nah, yeah. My mum’s not thrilled that she doesn’t hear from me regularly. It’s like being out at sea in that respect.” She thinks for a moment. “Actually, I kind of like that.”
“It is nice to disconnect. But, yeah, my family hates it too.”
“You know what’s worse? Having slow and shitty internet. Like, I would much rather have no internet over slow internet.”
“I know! Me too! Nothing is more frustrating than a web page taking forever to load.”
