“Everything with your parents is complicated.” KT doesn’t hold much back. She never has. And after being tiptoed around because I’m the boss’s daughter, I always find her directness refreshing.
“So true.”
The sound of a car’s engine nears and a beat-up Mercedes chugs into the parking lot. We all get out of the car and meet Mr. Artega between the vehicles. He’s aged dramatically since I was here last, but haven’t we all? He used to be the janitor at Levi’s high school, and I met up with him a time or two when Levi and I would go ride bikes or skateboard there during the summer.
He’s always been small in stature, but now he’s also stooped with age, and I feel like I tower over him at five foot seven. I stuff my frustration over the condition of the property. This isn’t the right time to bring it up, and he’s not exactly in good enough health to keep up the marina and all its needs, which means it’s really my father who made this mistake. Or me for trusting my father. Hardly a surprise.
“Well, look at you,” he says, his moustache twitching as he speaks. “Didn’t you grow up pretty.”
I smile and shake his hand. “I don’t want to keep you, so I’ll get right to it. My friends and I would like to stay on the houseboats for the week, and I wanted to know which ones are fit for visitors.”
His bushy salt-and-pepper brows drop into a V. “Oh, well, now.” He turns toward the marina. “I don’t know. Let’s take a look.”
He moves slow and talks a lot about nothing, but the three of us follow him onto the main dock, where houseboats are lined up on either side.
He points to the first boat on the right. “Mabel Ann, here, she’s full of mold on accounta the leak in the roof.” He gestures left and ticks off three boats. “Linda Mae, Suzie Q, and Cora Lynn got electrical problems. You don’t wanna be foolin’ with no electrical problems on the water.” He points at two more boats on the right. “Sally Jean and Norma Claire ain’t got no furniture, so they won’t work for ya.”
Laiyla hadn’t thought she could feel any worse, but the condition of the houseboats was atrocious.
“Cecelia Rose’s got plumbing issues,” he went on. “Theresa Rene is being used for storage of water equipment, and Georgie Pie has cracked tanks.” They reach the end of the dock, and he faces the last boat in line with his hands on his hips. “Roxie Blue.” He nods, pulls a toothpick from a pocket, and sticks it into his mouth. “I reckon y’all could stay on Roxie Blue.”
Roxie Blue is ancient. I can’t tell where the faded paint ends and the rust begins. The canopies on the decks are torn and threadbare. “If I’m remembering correctly, this model Sunfish only has one bedroom.”
“Ah, yeah, but you got a pull-out in the salon and a screened-in porch. Plenty of room for three little fillies.”
My shoulders slump, and I close my eyes on a sigh. When I was a kid, sure, I would have thought this was a castle. But I’m not a kid. I’m thirty years old—tomorrow—and I bust my ass at work, so I have a beautiful place to live in the city and comfortable accommodations on the road. This is the furthest thing from what I envisioned for my get-together with my best friends.
“Mr. Artega,” I say, trying to keep my voice level. “What happened to all the really nice boats my grandfather had? You know, the ones that were three stories with slides and big swim platforms?”
“Oh, yeah, I remember. They were nice, for sure. He fixed ’em up and sold ’em to make way for new fixer-uppers. He liked to tinker, you know. Had a lot of time on his hands.” The older man scanned the boats. “A shame, really. He passed away before he had time to start on these.”
That was just like Grandpa. Buy shitty boats, fix ’em up, and sell them. He made as much doing that as he did the rental business.
Someone squeezes my arm. Chloe, wearing a sympathetic smile.
Right beside her, KT nods, always seemingly in control. “It’s all good,” she says, then gets a playfully evil glint in her eyes and adds, “Give me a few hours with her, and she’ll feel like a yacht.”
I break out in laughter. I laugh so hard, I double over and tears spill from my eyes. I’m resting my hands on my knees when I get control of myself again, and everyone is smiling.
“Sure, okay, fine.” What the hell do I care? All I want is to be with KT and Chloe. I turn to Mr. Artega and walk him toward the parking lot. “Thank you. Will you be around this week? I’d like to get together with you and go over the condition of the property.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart.” He squeezes my hand and gives me a warm smile. “Sure thing.”
When I return to the girls, KT’s got her arms crossed, her brow furrowed. “How’d these boats get their names?”
I smile. “They’re all named after one of my grandfather’s many girlfriends.”
“That is your first order of business,” KT says. “Change these old-lady names.”
“Oh,” Chloe says, “we should totally give them amazing names, like Trinity and Sat Nam.”
“Sat what?” I say.
“Don’t ask,” KT says. “Just don’t ask.”
4
Levi