Page 72 of The Sailor in Polynesia
I felt the dinghy bump intoWelina.
We broke apart to whistles and catcalls. Jonas reached down to help his brother tie up toWelina, and I welcomed everyone on board. Lila threw her arms around me in a tight hug. Eivind kissed both of my cheeks. And Elayna fumbled for a moment, her smile not quite reaching her eyes, but she recovered enough to give me a brief hug.
They crowded into my cockpit and I gestured for them to sit. Jonas pulled me down to sit next to him, my bent leg overlapping his thigh, and his palm resting on the inside of my leg.
“How was your trip home?” Lila asked me.
“It was really good to see my family, of course. Everyone came in: my aunts and uncles, most of my cousins who live on the West Coast.” We talked for a while about my family and my flights, and what they had been up to in the meantime.
Eivind leaned back, resting his arm behind Lila. “You are just in time. Tomorrow night they have a dance show at the hotel on the water.” He pointed at the resort further into the bay. “They only do it once a week, so we should go.”
“Yes!” Elayna exclaimed. “I hear the dancing show is not to be missed.”
“A special treat, then.” Jonas smiled.
“Okay.” Elayna patted her thighs. “We made you a special welcome home dinner, Jonas. Let’s get back toEik.”
Jonas and I looked at each other. We hadn’t talked about tonight, but with a sinking feeling, I realized he needed to go back to his boat. The same thought was on his face: disappointment. He should catch up with his crew right now.
I followed Jonas back into my cabin while he packed. The ache in my chest was stupid; we’d shared a bed one night since I came back from the States. Jonas had his own boat and I had mine.
Jonas slung his bag over his shoulder and crowded me against the wall. I tilted my chin up as he pressed against me, my eyes focused on his lips. “I do not want to sleep without you tonight.”
I huffed a laugh. “Addicted already?”
“Ja.” His lips lightly brushed mine.
I took a deep breath and gently pushed him away. “Come on. I’ll be here tomorrow and your crew is excited to have you back.”
* * *
That night I had a quiet dinner in my cockpit. Despite having resupplied the boat, cooking a full dinner by myself in the quiet ofWelinaactually seemed pathetic. Maybe it was the contrast of my loud, rambunctious family, or maybe it was being torn from Jonas so quickly. I moped over a plate of cheese and crackers instead. The sounds of ruckus and laughter formEikdrifted over to me while I sat alone, bobbing in the Pacific Ocean.
Twenty-Seven
“You and Jonas seem cozy now.” Lila nudged me with her hip. We were taking a first pass through the buffet line and filling our plates with some local delicacies, some I’d heard of before and some I hadn’t.
I blushed. “Yeah, I guess we are.”
“Did absence make the heart grow fonder?”
“Something like that.”
We wove our way through the tables lit with tiki torches in the open air. There was a small band playing, a mix of men and women, Tahitians wearing traditional costume and dress. The women wore intricate woven headdresses made of dried fibers and flowers, bandeau tops, and lush vibrant skirts made of leaves. The men were shirtless, built, and heavily tattooed, wearing pareos and braided bands on their biceps and calves.
While we ate, we caught up on the activities Eivind and the rest of the crew had done on the island.
“You can hike through the pineapple plantations to a viewpoint overlooking the bay. It is pretty high up,” Eivind said.
“We also went to the juice factory,” Lila chimed in. “They make a juice mix in a carton, perhaps you saw it at the store? It has alcohol in it already, and vanilla. It is too sweet, a hangover waiting to happen.”
“Where is Elayna?” Eivind asked. She hadn’t returned from the buffet yet.
Lila swallowed her bite of food. “Is that her by the bar?”
We all looked to see Elayna chatting with a tourist at the bar. She was already at the bottom of her drink, and as we watched, the bartender replaced it with another.
Jonas and Eivind exchanged glances. “She needs to eat,” Jonas said. He started to get up from the table, but Lila stopped him.
