Deceived - Laura S. Wharton Page 0,23
that’s all. You like honey in your tea, right? What is that, a British thing or something?” As he tried to steer the conversation away from his injury, he jumped down to the aft cabin once again to dig out a clean shirt before bouncing back up into the cockpit to demonstrate to Jenny that he felt fine.
“Yes, honey would be great, if you have it.” Jenny stepped into the cockpit, still rubbing her arms for warmth.
Once again, Sam dove below and rummaged in the drawers before finding a red zippered sweatshirt with a hood on it, which he tossed up to Jenny. She gratefully accepted it and followed Sam to the galley. She settled into the cozy dinette settee to get warm while he made her a cup of tea.
The propane stove’s warmth heated the cabin to a comfortable temperature. Sam had to pitch his earlier burnt attempt at eggs, so he proceeded to crack several more while toasting some English muffins under the broiler. He placed a bowl and small grater in front of Jenny.
“Here; make yourself useful,” he said as he handed Jenny a block of cheddar. While she grated the cheese, he deftly chopped an onion and sautéed it in a little bit of oil. He found three red potatoes, which he chopped up into small cubes, and threw them in the pan with the onion, turned off the broiler, and sat down across from Jenny for a few minutes while they cooked.
“Are you thinking about sailing today, Jen?” Sam took a long sip from his cup.
“I thought I might see what will happen when I go aboard. Stormy Monday was really Lee’s pride and joy, but we had some good times aboard. I don’t know if I can be on her without him.”
“Jenny, when it’s time, you will. Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, Sam. This is one of those things I have to do. I am thinking about selling the boat. I want to see how I feel about that when I step aboard.”
“Jenny, it’s probably too soon to start thinking about selling. I mean, what if you miss the boat in a few months when you feel…better? Then what?”
Jenny looked into her mug of tea. “Sam, from a financial standpoint, I don’t think I can manage to keep the boat and the condo, and I am not like you. I don’t think I would be happy living aboard the boat.”
Seeing that the potatoes were cooking nicely, Sam stirred the eggs and added them to the pan, plus a few spices, then the cheese. He covered the concoction with a lid, pulled the muffins out from the oven, and readied two plates.
“This is what I call my lazy-man boat omelet. Had I known I was going to have company for breakfast, I would have gotten some other things ready or something. This okay for you?” Sam handed her a loaded plate.
Jenny laughed. “And just who all did you think was going to eat this much? Thank you! This looks wonderful. Um, am I supposed to eat it with my fingers?”
“Oh, sorry. Forks and napkins are behind you.” He pointed to the backrest of her seat, which opened up, revealing a jumble of utensils, paper goods, and rarely used cooking items like a garlic roaster, in addition to small power tools.
“Sam, you really should take a weekend and organize this boat. Lee always said everything had its place on a boat. Power tools and forks definitely do not go together.”
“I know, I know; I need to do that one weekend.” He didn’t want to tell her his boat was more organized before the night Lee was killed. “You need anything else?” He pointed to her plate.
“No, this is…yum! I didn’t know you could cook like this. Is there more hot water for tea?”
“Sure; help yourself.” Sam watched Jenny as she poured more hot water into her cup and dumped a heap of honey in. “Like a little tea with your honey?” he ribbed her.
“A little,” she smiled, and returned to the table. “So you don’t think I should put the boat on the market, do you Sam?”
“It’s up to you, Jen. I don’t know what your situation is; I only know that it’s a big decision that maybe you better wait on for a few months. Maybe see if you can enjoy it this summer, you know. It might help you get your mind off of…things. Has Chuck’s wife called you? She said