First mate's log:

May 1, 1972

I saw a boat accident in the Blenford Harbor! Worst of all, it happened to one of the Brady boats! No one was hurt, but it was still real upsetting, for me and them.

It was ten minutes before the ferry was supposed to leave and I was just taking a quick stroll along the beach, thinking about how much had changed there since the days of Dr. Boris Balinkoff. I looked out at the water and saw two boats crash into each other. They were luckily both going slowly, so there was just some minor damage to one stern and one bow. Both boats were able to dock without having to be towed. I recognized the Bradys' boat. I wanted to stick around and find out more, but I had to leave on the ferry.

I did find out later in the day, from Alice, that everyone was OK, just shook up. And Mrs. Brady got herself and the kids home without further accidents. But I haven't talked to Mrs. Brady or those three kids yet.

Carol Brady's diary:

May 2, 1972

I was in my first boat accident! Well, obviously not counting the shipwreck eight years ago, which definitely wasn't my fault.

I'd gone over to Blenford for groceries that aren't sold at Garst's General Store, and which will survive the trip back to our island. (Nothing that needs to be quickly refrigerated.) Alice usually gets our day-to-day groceries, including of course meat from Sam's butcher shop. I took Marcia along because she's fifteen and I want her to learn how to take care of a household. Yes, she's a modern girl and might have a career, but it's still an important skill, or set of skills.

Cindy wanted to go, too, because lately she wants to be treated like a "big girl." Bobby was an unlikely companion, but when I told Cindy that we could go to Haskell's Ice Cream Parlor, he wanted to tag along, promising to carry as many grocery bags as he needed to.

I knew better than to go get ice cream first. We went to the supermarket first and then loaded up the boat. Marcia and I both skipped the ice cream, even though Mr. Haskell said that we're both lovely and it wouldn't hurt. I do my best not to eat sweets, especially before dinner. Marcia was tempted but she takes pride in her clear complexion.

She did admit to me, on the way back to the harbor, "I would be very tempted if I worked in a place like that."

"That would be my dream job," Bobby said.

"Me, too!" Cindy exclaimed.

We were all in good spirits, but as we started to head out, Bobby and Cindy got into an argument about him dripping his ice cream on her. I checked in all directions before I got too far, maybe even more than I would in a car, because I'm still a little nervous about boats after all this time. (And, yes, the shipwreck and Tim's death in the Navy haven't helped with that.)

Then a boat came out of nowhere and rear-ended, or I guess stern-ended, our boat. We're lucky that we weren't hurt, although obviously I was scared for the children. If anything had happened to them, I would never forgive myself for inviting them along. My stern was dented but the boat looked still seaworthy, and the other boat seemed much the same, but at the front, or bow.

I and the other driver, or captain or whatever you want to call it (we use the terms sort of interchangeably locally), Mr. Duggan, steered our boats back to the harbor. So at least he wasn't a hit-and-run captain. He was an older man but not elderly, maybe in his fifties, and if the Skipper is still a fine captain at around his age, I didn't think that was a mark against Mr. Duggan. (My Grandmother Connie is about eighty but she still insists on driving her tractor and truck. I worry about her sometimes, but she's always been a stubborn and independent lady.) Mr. Duggan and I exchanged contact information, and I silently wondered what would happen with all this. For one thing, Mike was obviously going to be angry when he saw the boat, even though it wasn't my fault.

Then Mr. Duggan said, "Actually, Mrs. Brady, rather than you worrying your pretty little head about it, why don't we just keep it simple and both report the accident to Blenford Nautical Insurance? And then we can pay for our own repairs. That's the fairest thing."

I didn't like being condescended to and I was tempted to point out that the really fair thing would be for him to pay for all the damage he'd done. But I didn't want to make a fuss in front of the children. So I agreed and we shook hands.

The children and I were mostly silent on the way home, until Bobby said, "Well, now I don't feel so bad about the slingshot at the dive-in."

Cindy told him, "Don't make Mommy cry!"

Marcia hushed them both.

I didn't cry, although I felt like it. I had to hold it together in front of the children, especially since I still had to get us back home. And, yes, it was tempting to just take the groceries off the boat and catch the next ferry, but just because I'm a "woman driver," that doesn't mean I'm weak. And I'm certainly a better driver than Mr. Duggan.

We got safely back to our island and I docked in the lagoon. I distributed the grocery bags and we started walking back to the house.

Marcia asked, "What are you going to tell Dad?"

"Your father's a fair, rational man and I'm sure he'll understand something so minor."

Marcia looked dubious and Bobby and Cindy said they were going to finish their homework quickly so they could see their father's reaction when he got home from his meeting with Mr. Howell.

Mike was actually calm about it, no yelling, when he saw the boat. But he said that just to be on the safe side, we won't use this boat until it's repaired, in case the internal damage is more serious than it looks. Greg is disappointed, since he was hoping to borrow my boat to go to the dive-in this weekend. I thought I heard him mutter something like, "Between women drivers and destructive kid brothers, I've gotta get my own boat," but I chose to ignore that.

May 3, 1972

I got a chance to hear Bobby and Cindy's side of the accident, because their poor mom is going to be sued! The other driver, or captain, was on the ferry yesterday, although I didn't realize it was him until I heard the kids describe him as a kind of heavy bald man with a mustache. He told Mr. and Mrs. Brady that he had to take the ferry because of the serious damage to his boat.

Like I said, I didn't see that much of the accident, or the aftermath, but his ship looked ship-shape to me. Well, he took his vessel to the Blenford Shipyard to get it checked out, while the Skipper looked at the Bradys' boat last night and said that, while he doesn't have time to repair it himself, it shouldn't be too bad.

I offered to fix it, for free but Mr. Brady said, "I appreciate that, Gilligan, but I'd better take it to a professional."

I was a little offended, because in the old days on the island, he probably would've let me, and I was a lot more accident-prone back then. Still, yeah, it's not really something I'm trained in, except for real simple boats, like canoes.

Anyway, Mr. Duggan told Mr. and Mrs. Brady that his boat will cost $295.11 to fix! And he expects Mrs. Brady to pay for it, because he says she caused the accident! When she said it was his fault, he threatened to take her to court.

Bobby and Cindy are worried because they didn't see their mom watch for approaching boats.

"What if I have to testament against my own mommy?" Cindy cried.

"Have you told her what you saw? Or didn't see?"

Bobby shook his head. "She was already pretty upset about what that guy said."

"You'd better talk to her. She deserves to hear the truth, especially about something so important. Even if it's not easy."

They looked at each other and then at me and nodded.

I don't know if I'll have to be a witness, since I didn't see much, but I kind of want to be a character witness. Even if it was Mrs. Brady's fault, she's a good person and she didn't mean any harm.

May 4, 1972

Well, things did not work out with Mr. Duggan like I'd thought. He came over a couple days ago, after I wrote in here, and he wanted to talk to Mike "man to man" because I'm a "woman driver, and women are even worse on ships than in cars." Even when I came into the room, he continued to talk directly to Mike as much as possible. And he wanted Mike to pay the damages to his boat, which he claims come to almost $300! He insisted I was at fault, which I was sure I wasn't. He threatened to sue, and Mike threatened to toss him out!

It wasn't until yesterday that Bobby and Cindy reluctantly confessed that they didn't see me look for other boats. Mike and I always encourage our children to tell the truth, but now I'm doubting myself. And I don't know if I can make my own children testify, especially against me. Maybe we should just settle out of court.

Then today things got even more complicated. It turns out that Marcia did see me look for other boats. I don't know what to believe, or what to do. But if this case does go to trial, it'll be weeks away, and Mike and I will talk about it more and figure out how to handle it.