Page 60 of The Sailor in Polynesia
“Oh yeah? Which documentary?”
“I don’t remember the name of it, but she was sailing, like, nonstop?”
Ronnie, Dawn’s middle child, piped up. “Just like Mia!”
“Well, no,” I said. “I don’t sail nonstop.”
“Why not?”
I laughed. “Okay, how long do you think it would take to sail around the world?”
Ronnie looked at the ceiling, kicking his legs under the table.
“Umm.” He bit his lip, and maybe it was because I hadn’t seen him in a few years, but it struck me suddenly how much he looked like his mom. “Three weeks?”
I widened my eyes. “Longer.”
He grinned at me. “Four weeks?”
I laughed and inched my finger toward his ribs. He giggled at the mere thought of being tickled, but then straightened up. “No, Aunt Mia.”
I put my finger away. “Longer than four weeks.”
“How long?”
I crinkled my eyes and thought. “It would probably take me seven or eight months.”
Ronnie’s eyes widened, and he looked at his dad for confirmation.
“I’d need a different boat, though, and a support team, and a lot of planning. It’s probably not the right time of year to start that kind of trip now.”
Across the table, Erica, who’d been listening, spoke up. “But youcoulddo it, right?”
I looked at my plate instead of meeting her eyes. A memory popped into my head of Hunter telling me that Erica wanted to come help me and “star” in my videos, even when we were in the hot boatyard, working on filthy projects and filming honest videos about how much things sucked. Hunter had been a little annoyed at me when I sent her a copy of Laura Dekker’s autobiography for Christmas.
“Of course I could.”
Twenty-Three
James and I got home from my parents’ house at a reasonable hour that night, and I messaged Jonas, crossing my fingers and hoping he wasn’t out at dinner or busy with his crew.
He answered by calling me with a video chat. I did the stupid thing where I fluffed my hair and checked my teeth before answering. When the call connected, I saw Jonas sitting in his bed, his hair pulled back and his face deeply shadowed by the harsh light.
“Hey, you’re in bed.”
“So are you. You had a good time with your family today?”
I filled him in on my day: shopping with James and spending the afternoon with Dawn and her family at Pike Place Market.
“What have you guys been doing today?”
“We went to theroulottesin town here.”
I shook my head at him. “I don’t know what that is.”
“In downtown Papeete, there are... I forget the English word.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “They are vans, and they serve food....”
“Oh, food trucks.”
