”Mm?” A voice sounded right in her ear, almost making her hit the overhead.
”Jesus, would you not do that?” Kerry yelped. ”You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days, Dar.”
”You called me,” Dar complained. ”It’s not my fault I was right here.” She poked her head into the small galley. ”What’s that?”
Kerry handed her the card, and retrieved the tray.
Dar studied the writing, and felt a smile edge across her face. ”It’s from Dad. Wow.”
”Open wide.” Kerry offered her a truffle, which she obediently accepted. ”He’s such a sweetie.”
”Mmm...hf.” Dar nodded, chewing.
”Now I know where his daughter gets it from,” Kerry teased gently, catching Dar in mid chew as a faint blush colored her skin.
”Heh.”
Dar sighed. ”My reputation’s in tatters.” She swallowed.
”Mmm…that’s good.” Her eyes brightened, and she sniffed after the tray. ”More?”
Kerry poured the champagne, and handed her lover a glass, then produced another truffle, which disappeared immediately. ”Hey, chew it, okay?” She took a sip of the alcohol, and nibbled a sweet, enjoying the contrasting tastes. She looked down as a scrabbling of claws indicated Chino’s approach, and watched as the puppy stumbled down the stairs, and barked at her. ”Hello, honey.”
”Yawp!” Chino sniffed around Dar’s legs, then sat down on her foot. ”Urrr..”
Dar chuckled. ”Thanks Chino. I needed a foot warmer.” She took a swallow of her drink, and let it trickle down her throat, then she nudged Kerry. ”You hoarding those?”
Kerry put a truffle in her mouth, then bit down lightly, and raised her eyebrows. ”Srof?”
Dar tilted her head down, and took the proffered half, brushing her lips against Kerry’s teasingly. ”This is starting out to be a great day already.”
Kerry grinned happily, then she turned as she heard voices outside.
”Well, I think we’re about to get things going...awp.”
Dar put her glass down, and laced her fingers through Kerry’s hair, drawing her closer and into a heartfelt, passionate kiss. They separated after a long stretch of heartbeats and looked at each other. Dar put a 352
Melissa Good
warm hand on Kerry’s cheek. ”I love you,” she said, simply.
”I love you too,” Kerry answered, her voice a little hoarse. ”Thank you for doing this, Dar. It means a lot to me.”
Dar smiled, and rubbed her thumb against Kerry’s soft cheek. ”I know.” Her eyes shifted to the door. ”Guess we’d better get going. I think I hear Duks.”
Kerry hugged her for a moment, then released her, and followed her up the steps to the deck.
Sure enough, familiar figures were lining the dock, weirdly shadowed in the ochre security lights. ”Morning.” Dar lifted a hand, stifling a grin as Duks put his hands on his hips and glared at her.
”You know, Dar, it’s a very good thing I am a forgiving sort.” He shook his head. ”You could not have had a sunset affair, eh?”
”Wrong ocean for that.” Dar put a bridge down and tugged the lines taut as their guests came aboard. ”Go on up into the front. We need to take some supplies on board.” She gave the waiting staff, carrying insulated coolers a nod. ”Thanks for coming. Hello, Maria.”
”Buenos Dias, Dar, Kerrisita.” Maria gave her vermillion headscarf a tug, and handed Kerry a small box. ”I know you are telling me not to get any gifts, but you take this anyhow.”
“Thanks, Maria.” Kerry took the box, then gave the secretary a hug.
”Thanks for coming, We really appreciate it.”
”Thank you for asking me.” Maria smiled. ”My family, they think I am having a, how you say, an affair, to be sneaking away so early.”
Kerry walked with her to the bow to join Duks and Mari, who were seated on the cushion, whispering to each other. ”They don’t really, do they?” Kerry asked, a little embarrassed. ”I mean, we didn’t think about how annoying it would be for everyone else to drag their butts out here before dawn. It’s about the time we usually get up.”
”Oh it figures. ” Mari laughed. ”You know, I should have realized if my overachieving, typical type of a friend Dar there found a match, it’d have to be someone who was as much into self-torture as she was.”
”What do you do so early in the morning?” Maria asked, curiously, as she seated herself on a cushion.
”Well.” Kerry glanced over as Duks and Mari started sniggering.
”Actually, we go out running.” She stuck her tongue out a little at them.
They both groaned. Maria hid a laugh behind a small hand.
DAR WATCHED THE island staff stow the food, and waited for the two Hispanic waiters to leave before she investigated the contents, snagging a corn muffin and some butter, gaining an instantly attentive Labrador puppy glued to her foot. She split the muffin, then cracked open the hot, insulated dish, and scooped out a bit of the scrambled eggs it contained, and put some on each half. Then she settled down for a moment’s peace, glad to let Kerry do the social honors for the time being.
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The rocking of the boat soothed her as she chewed, allowing her nerves to settle. It wasn’t the ceremony that was bothering her, she realized. It was that she was about to expose a very personal side of herself to someone other than Kerry.
Ugh. Dar sighed. Well, get a grip rugrat, after this whole thing, they suspected you had a marshmallow center anyway. She shared her muffin with Chino, then took a breath and went back up on deck, carrying a thermal carafe of coffee and a stack of purple Styrofoam cups.
Purple Styrofoam. Where in the hell did these people get stuff like that? She’d asked for plain foam, and gotten a face from Clemente as though she’d asked for paper frigging plates. He’d wanted to provide a china service for the coffee. So this was his compromise, she supposed, shaking her head.
”Hey, Dar.”
A voice called from the docks. She turned to see Colleen, dressed in neatly pressed tan walking shorts and a crisp white polo with a tall, heavyset man in a sweatshirt and cutoffs who she guessed was the pastor. ”Morning.” She waited for them to cross the gangplank, and gave them a reserved smile. ”If you want to bring this up front, Colleen, I’ll get the engines started.” She glanced at the pastor. ”Welcome aboard.”
The man stuck a hand out, which Dar was now free to grasp since Colleen had helpfully snatched the coffee and cups from her. ”Hello, you must be Dar.”
Dar inclined her head, favorably impressed with his friendly face and firm handshake. ”That’s right, is it Pastor Robert?”
He laughed. ”Sure, it’s better than Pappy Bob, which is what my nephews call me.” He cleared his throat a little. ”It’s a pleasure to meet you. From the way Kerry talks about you, I had a feeling she’d found someone special.” He smiled a little at Dar's discomfited look. I’ve known Kerry since she was a little girl.”
A hint of warmth crept into Dar’s eyes. ”I bet you know some stories, then.” She eased the subject away from herself. ”Was she a scamp?”
”Ooohhh, yes, a boat...er...load.” He started laughing. ”And yes, she certainly was, especially when she was in my Sunday school classes.”
”Mm... We should talk.” Dar bestowed a grin on him, her eyes twinkling with mischief. ”G’wan up front. I’m going to take us out.” She paused. ”Thanks for making it out here. I can’t tell you how much this means to Kerry,” she hesitated, ”and me.”
He beamed. ”It’s my pleasure, and I’m an early riser anyway. The thought of doing this as the sun came up out on the beautiful Atlantic under God’s own canopy, it’s perfect.”