"This is my way of telling you this was a bad idea. I'm not sure what you had in mind but ask next time."
"I would have loved to but I couldn't. You won't return my calls. When you do, it's ten seconds of hi, how are you then you have to go."
"You were going to ask if you should set the houseboat adrift in Budd Bay?" Jamie said, raising her eyebrows.
"If you really want to know, I set the houseboat adrift in Budd Bay so I could ask you something."
"Ask me what?" she said, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets as the wind picked up, stirring her hair.
"Why don't you come onboard so we don't have to shout?" Dana said, waving her over.
"Ask me what?" Jamie didn't move.
"Ask you why you won't talk to me. Don't you think it's time you tell me why?" Dana stood at the railing, waiting for Jamie's reply.
"I told you, Dana, I've been busy at school. The first few weeks of the semester are always busy."
"I don't believe you. I think there is something else. And I think it has something to do with that afternoon we spent on your sailboat. Something happened between that afternoon and the next. I don't know what but it must be important. Now I want to know what it is."
"Nothing happened."
"Are you going to come onboard or not?" Dana said, scowling over at her. "Because if you aren't, I'm coming over there." She grabbed the post and climbed onto the railing.
"Dana, wait. You're going to fall overboard," Jamie said, reaching across and grabbing her legs. "Get down."
"No. I'm going to stay right here." She wrapped both arms around the post and looked down triumphantly. "At least I've got your attention. That's more than I've had in a week."
"Please, get down and we'll talk."
"But I like it up here," Dana said, looking across the bay at the lights from the marina. "I've got a great view."
Jamie started to laugh. Soft at first. But it grew louder.
"I guess I shouldn't tell you what to do, should I? You're a free woman, free to make your own decisions."
"Yes, I am. For the first time in four years, I can stand on the railing on this boat and no one can tell me not to."
"You've always been able to do that. You just didn't realize it."
Dana took one more look around and smiled down at Jamie.
"Would you help me down?"
Jamie took her hand and helped her back onto the deck.
"Jamie, if I said or did something to upset you, I wish you'd tell me."
"It isn't you, Dana. It's me. I'm worried I may have said something to influence your decision to break up with Shannon. It wasn't my place to do that. I had become personally involved and that meant I could no longer be objective. That wasn't fair to you or to Shannon. What we did on my boat was wrong if it in any way changed your decision. I feel very guilty about that."
"Jamie, I had already made up my mind what I was going to do before I came out to Boston Harbor to see you that day. I knew I had to end it with Shannon. I think I knew it a long time before that. Maybe from the moment I moved out of her apartment. I just had to get it through my thick head. Like you said, I think I was taking the path of least resistance. It was easier to give in than to stand up for myself. And yes, you helped me come to that decision but in a good way. You let me see I could be on my own. You showed me how to start over," Dana said, shaking her head. "Let's just say, thank my lucky stars I did. I hate to think where I would be if I hadn't. You didn't make the decision for me. You let me make it. And I love you for it," she said fondly. Dana
leaned over and kissed Jamie, the two of them leaning across the gap between the boats. Just then the houseboat moved, throwing Dana into the railing.
"Are you okay?" Jamie grabbed for her.
"Yes," she said, holding onto the post. "What was that? Did we hit something?"
Jamie checked the other side.
"No. But I need to drop another anchor to keep us from spinning on the anchor chain. Be right back."
"I have to go in for a minute." Dana disappeared inside while Jamie set the anchor and checked the lines. When Dana didn't return after a few minutes, Jamie tilted the searchlight into the living room of the houseboat.
"Are you in there?" she called, scanning the light across the windows. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," Dana said, stepping back out onto the deck. She had on Jamie's blue chambray shirt and nothing else. Only the bottom button kept it from falling open. The top was open, exposing her bare cleavage down to her navel. The cuffs of the shirt were turned back and the collar was up, standing seductively close to her chin. "I'm right here," she said coyly.
Jamie's jaw dropped. She looked Dana up and down, slowly pulling a smile.
"I'm officially a liberated woman," Dana said, placing her hands on her hips. "I just thought you'd like to see what one looks like. What do you think, Dr. Hughes?"
"That shirt never looked that good on me," Jamie said, unable to take her eyes off of Dana's youthful figure.
"I forgot to give it back. Would you like to come get it?" Dana said as she ran her hand down the opening, pulling the shirt open slighdy.
"I was going to let you keep it," Jamie said, flipping the searchlight to dim and hopping over the railing. "But maybe I should reclaim it," she grinned.
"By all means. Anything you see that you like, you should claim it," Dana said seductively.
"Are you sure it's mine?" Jamie said, unbuttoning the bottom button and slipping her hands inside the shirt.
"Maybe you should try it on," Dana said, stepping closer. "If you like it, it's all yours."
"Oh, I like it," Jamie whispered, taking Dana in her arms. "But do I deserve it? That's what worries me. I'm just an old professor. You're a gorgeous sexy woman."
"You really shouldn't worry," Dana said, hooking her arms around Jamie's waist and looking deep into her eyes. "From my point of view, you are one sexy professor, Dr. Hughes. And I can't wait to show you how much." She grinned up at her. "Kiss me, professor."
Jamie kissed her, lifting her off the ground.
"Wait," Dana said, suddenly pushing her away. "I need to do something first." She ran inside, leaving Jamie on the deck with a confused look on her face. A minute later she returned with the key ring. "We have some unfinished business."
"Are we still discussing who was at fault for knocking that thing overboard? Okay. I take the blame completely."
"No. We are discussing how deep the water is here. If I dropped it here, would you be able to find it and get it back for me?"
"No." Jamie laughed. "It's forty feet deep. With ships coming and going through the channel I'd never find it. So be careful with it."
"Oh, I will." Dana wrapped her fingers around it, securing it in her hand. "I want to put it where I'll always know where it is." She walked to the railing and threw the key ring as far as she could into the darkness. All they heard was a plunk. She brushed off her hands. Then, she threw herself back into Jamie's arms. "There. I took real good care of it."
"Is that the beginning of your new life as a liberated woman?"
"Yes."
"What's the first thing you're going to do?"
"I don't know yet," Dana said, twirling a lock of Jamie's hair around her finger. "Any suggestions?"
"I do have something to tell you, in case it matters."
"What's that?" Dana said, draping her arms around Jamie's neck.
"I love you madly?" Jamie said, kissing the end of Dana's nose. "I never thought I'd find love again but I absolutely have. And it's completely your fault."
"I'm so glad. I love you, too, Jamie. Could I interest you in a tour of my houseboat?" Dana whispered. "I'd like to start with the loft."
"I thought you'd never ask." Jamie took Dana's hand and followed her inside.
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