Page 44 of The Sailor in Polynesia
“We all watch the sunset together. Usually, we have just eaten, and it is a very peaceful part of the night.”
I looked at him. “Will you stay and watch the sunset with me?”
He flashed me a smile. “Of course.”
Dinner finished, we sat back and watched the sunset, the clouds building layers of color. The ocean, normally a lapis blue, reflected the sunset back at us.
“You started sailing when you were young, ja?”
I nodded. “At summer camp. It was my favorite activity, and when I came home, my dad took me to the local sailing club. My brothers were a bit too undisciplined, and they got discouraged when I always beat them around the courses.”
Jonas grinned. “Even the older ones?”
“Even the older ones. They didn’t enjoy it quite like I did, so they hadn’t paid enough attention to really sail well.”
“But you kept up with it.”
“I did. What about you?”
“I always wanted to be out in the ocean. But I never got the opportunity to be out on a sailboat until I was older.”
“I can’t picture sailing as a popular sport in Norway, maybe because of the seasonality.”
He chuckled. “No, it is not. But it makes it more appreciated. The people who have boats take them out in the summer and really enjoy the sailing.”
I leaned my head back against the bench and looked at Jonas. He was watching me, legs bent and arm resting on the deck. “It must be beautiful there. I can’t even imagine what it’s like. I’ve been in the tropics too long.”
“It is frigid.”
“Will you go back?”
“Ja. But I will missEik. I will have to buy something smaller.”
The bottom of the sun touched the horizon, the gold melting into a puddle above the sea. Jonas extended his arm behind me, his fingertips barely grazing my bare shoulder.
We watched the sun dissolve until it disappeared.
“You should go sleep,” I said.
Jonas kissed my cheek and disappeared below.
My watch was peaceful, the moon setting midway through my shift. The stars stretched out overhead, tracing a path to Tahiti.
I occasionally tweaked the sails, responding to the wind and keeping us on course, but the winds were light enough that we cruised along without any major work.
A few minutes before one in the morning I saw flashes of red light in the salon, and it wasn’t long before Jonas was up. Wearing his harness and headlamp, he greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and then a big yawn as he sat.
He sipped from a mug while I told him about our sail plan. I let him play with the electronics a bit, check all the sails and lines before I disappeared below.
I pulled my harness off and brushed my teeth, bracing against the sway of the boat. To keep things simple, I stripped my pants off and climbed into bed in my shirt and underwear.
Sitting back on my heels, I looked at the bed. Jonas had slept here. A flattened palm on the sheet told me that the bed was no longer warm from his body. Like a weirdo, I pressed my face into the bed, one side and then the other. The right side, the side I usually slept on, smelled faintly of him.
I smiled and snuggled into the sheets. The rocking ofWelinaput me to sleep quickly.
* * *
I woke up in the morning with strong sunlight shining into my cabin. The boat creaked and groaned around me, sailing along well. I slid out of bed and, carrying a cup of coffee upstairs with me, joined Jonas.
