Page 48 of The Second Chance in the Mediterranean
“Liar!” I shoved Seb, and his weight shifted, unbalancing our whole lounge float. Seb gripped the edge for a comically long moment before splashing into the water. He disappeared completely, and I leaned over the edge of the floaty, looking for him.
The far edge rocketed up, tipping me over into the water face-first.
We played like that for a while, knocking each other off, rating everyone’s rope swings, and Roy wandered over in Rodrigo and knocked against us for a while, chatting.
The sounds of an outboard engine crept closer, and when Seb shifted, I looked up too. Toby drove the dinghy, motoring up to the gangway with two other passengers.
“Where’s he been?” I wondered.
“He told me he was going hiking.”
Toby navigated around our float lines and pulled the tender alongside the gangway. A man hopped out and tied off and then helped a woman step out of the dinghy.
“Everyone, this is Nan and Bryce. Since none of you lot were willing to go hiking with me this morning, I had to make some new friends. Come on, I promised them lunch, and you should hear their story.”
Seb and I glanced at each other. He shrugged, and leaned over to tug the line and pull us in.
Twenty-Two
Despite having a day off,we all needed to eat. Roy and I pulled out platters of meats and cheeses and laid them on the outdoor dining table.
Nan and Bryce, still wet from the rope swing, joined us for lunch. The two Americans were a bit younger than I was, and very polite, thanking us for the food and gushing over what fun they were having. They both looked around atThemiswide-eyed, and Toby promised them a tour once we’d all dried off.
“What do you both do in Corfu?” Seb asked.
“We work on a sailing yacht,” Nan said, “but a much smaller one.”
“Oh, like one of the charter boats?” Bok asked.
Nan took a bite of her sandwich and Bryce chimed in. “No, it’s privately owned. We don’t do any charters, but we’re a full live-aboard crew. The owners fly in for a few weeks at a time, then we sail the boat somewhere ourselves, and they fly back in again.”
“So it’s just the two of you?” Seb’s eyebrow ticked up. “Is that hard?”
“Not really.” Bryce slung an arm around the back of Nan’s chair. “We’re used to it by now. It’s been, what?” He looked at Nan. “Three years now?”
“How often does your owner fly in?” I asked.
“Maybe about half the time. He gives us a pretty free rein to get the boat where he wants it, so we usually have a week or two to make the sail, depending. They just flew out four days ago, and the weather looks pretty good to leave Monday for our next stop, which is Sicily, and then the owner flies in to meet us in one week.”
“That’s pretty good. I’m assuming you do all the maintenance and stuff yourselves. It’s like you are cruising but with fancier guests regularly.”
“Yeah, it kind of is.” Bryce laughed.
“And you guys”—Seb pointed back and forth between them—“are a couple?”
“Yeah. Boats this size typically look for a couple to run it. A captain and a chef.”
My eyes met Seb’s across the table. He leaned forward, his interest sparked.
“I think it’s the opposite in our industry,” I said hastily. “Having couples leads to unnecessary drama. You know, breakups and picking sides. That kind of thing.”
Or worse. Sailing was an isolating experience, and that could be exploited. Mia, a sailor I’d met in French Polynesia, had made a few comments that led us—the crew ofEik—to believe her ex-husband had been abusive.
Bryce nodded, thinking. “For us, it’s better because we are a team. If couples have longevity and if we’re proven to work together, then it’s a pretty good gig. We originally met while working for a charter company. We did work as a couple on crewed charters for a while, but since I’ve got a background in racing, we got a job offer from a former charter guest who went on to buy his own boat, and the rest is history.”
I wondered if they had made sacrifices. Nan wasn’t a trained chef like me, but had she given up something to follow Bryce? Had he?
Working as a captain on a private boat was Seb’s dream job, but did he have other requirements? A certain size boat, or a destination?
