"Look at this thing! I can't believe Rufus just…has a sailboat and who do you thinkLenora Leighis?" Rude asked.
"Lenora Leigh? Is that this boat's name?" Tseng questioned.
"Yep, Lenora Leigh…it's right here." Reno said pointing to the side of the boat below him. Tseng laughed.
"Wow, he must be more serious about her than I thought."
"Huh?" Rude questioned.
"Lenora? You've never heard Rufus talk about Lenora? If I were to guess Lenora will be Mrs. Rufus Shinra within the next year." Tseng said.
"How do you know this stuff? Of course, Rufus talks to you. He looks at me and Rude and is just like what the hell do you two want? Shouldn't you two be doing something?" Reno said. "Elena, do we need to help you?" he asked her.
"Nope, I got it. I'm going to untie us from the docks and we are going to head for open water. Oh, there is a rule though. Even though it's Tseng's birthday, no one gets hammered at sea!" Elena said putting her hands on Tseng's shoulders. Oh god! Why the hell had she done something stupid like that! She wasn't even thinking! He was just sitting there and…boom…there went her hands. Damn it, damn it….why couldn't this have been Reno or Rude sitting here….it just had to be the boss!
"Ha! We're on a freshwater lake…now can we get hammered?" Rude asked trying to get Elena on a technicality.
"You know what I mean, stupid! There's a bottle of Pinot Noir in the fridge in the cabin…one bottle! That's all anyone gets until we get off the water. Once we're off the water we can drink however much Reno brought." Elena cautioned.
"My god, you three outdid yourselves." Tseng said shaking his head.
"Shit Tseng, you work non-stop and this is a long weekend. You deserve a break!" Reno said.
"Aaaand look at that…my hands are still on your shoulders…" Elena said laughing nervously. She quickly pulled her hands away and walked to the back of the boat to unfasten the ropes. She threw them on the deck and made her final preparations.
"Elena how the hell are you gonna sail this thing? My god, you weigh like…a hundred pounds and this is…I don't know a lotta boat." Reno said.
"For your information, Reno. This is a thirteen foot schooner which isn't all that big and I weigh 120 pounds!" Elena said leaning over the side of the boat and directing it out of its slip.
"Ooooh it's that extra twenty pounds that's really gonna give us that added piece of mind." Reno said sarcastically. Elena started the engine that would get them out of the idle zone and into the open water. She laughed at Reno.
"Shut up, I know what I'm doing!" she said.
"If you know what you're doing then where is the wind? You said today was a perfect sailing day and I feel no wind, Elena." Rude said. Wow, these two knew how to be annoying.
"God Rude…the wind is going to beat you to death when we get to the open water which won't be long. This is a cove, winds are knocked down in coves." Elena explained as she turned the boat and headed it out of the cove. She stood toward the back of the boat as she eyed the mainsail and prepared to kill the engine when the wind caught the sails. It was true that as they approached the mouth of the cove the white caps on the lake were evidence of a perfectly windy day. Normally sailboats didn't reach high speeds but with winds like these they would have a good cruising speed. Elena could feel her heart beat faster as the boat crept toward open water. "Listen, you all need to hold on because the winds are going to grab us hard. You will get hit with overspray but that's part of the rush of sailing. Now, when we turn this thing its going lay over like you wouldn't believe but just hold on and we'll straighten out quickly." Elena warned.
"Elena, are you sure you know how to do this? That water looks rough out there." Reno said skeptically.
"Not much longer. Hey Tseng, you ever been on this lake before?" Elena asked as she kept a close eye on her timing. She wasn't nervous anymore. She was in her comfort zone, manning the ropes and about to hit the freedom of open water.
"No, never. I've heard so much about it though." He answered her.
"If you really wanna feel something go to the front seats." She said referring to the bench seat that also served as storage at the bow of the boat. "But if you're gonna go you better do it now." Elena instructed him.
"Well, okay." Tseng said not seeing any reason why he shouldn't be at the bow of the boat. Elena could feel her heart beat even faster, she knew what a wonderful feeling it would be when the wind broke.
"Get ready, get ready." She warned.
"Oh shit, we're all gonan die. Tseng…it's been great knowin' ya. God, you're an idiot to be sittin' all up there at the front of this thing." Reno said gripping the side of the boat for dear life. It was only a matter of time before he screamed like a girl. It seemed Tseng was the only one in the boat right now that trusted Elena because Rude was so nervous that he had jammed his glasses into his pocket and was also gripping the side railing until his knuckles turned white. And then, Elena killed the engine as she released three sets of ropes from the stern. The wind hit hard catching the sails and lunging the vessel forward quickly. Elena smiled, delighted at the sights of the tree lines in the distance and nothing but open water in between.
It was marvelously sunny and windy and the lake was sprinkled with other boats. Water splashed up around the sides as the boat broke through white caps. Elena felt nothing but excitement overcome her. She moved from the back of the boat to the middle to adjust the sails. The wind rushed through her short blond hair and teased her dress. She couldn't have looked more nautical, like a true captain and this was her fleet.
"Wow…" Tseng said mostly to himself as he leaned forward and put his hands on either side of the railing at the front of the boat. He was entranced by this feeling, like flying on water.
"Whoa…this is some cool shit." Rude said as he loosened his grip on the side railing and relaxed.
"Yeah…I've never done anything like this before." Reno said a bit taken aback as he looked around the open waters before him. Once Elena had all the sails out she made her way to the front of the boat, climbing over rails and the beams of the sails. She untied two ropes along the way and pulled them taunt. She stepped around Tseng and tied her ropes in their respective places. She took another rope and stepped up behind him wrapping it around her wrist and tugging on it. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her free arm.
"Where did you ever learn how to do this?" Tseng asked her loudly over the wind noise. Elena looked over her shoulder. Oooh what a sight he was. He had never looked so carefree and work was the farthest thing from his mind out here. All that beautiful black hair being haphazardly blown around with every gust, the fine taste he had in high-end label clothes, and that strangely intoxicating scent that was reminiscent of fabric softener…the good kind…not the kind you found on sale in the front display that no one wanted…as if that weren't a perfect combination enough Tseng squeezed her arm ever so slightly. "Elena?" he said to see if she had heard him. She felt her heart jump into her throat as his fingertips brushed against her skin. She was also pretty certain that she nearly made a mess in her panties.
"Uh…oh…right….yeah…um…let me turn this thing so we can head for the main marina and then I'll tell you." Elena said regaining her composure once more. "Hey! You two! We're turning that way so get ready." Elena warned Rude and Reno. She danced her way to the other side of the boat with the rope still wrapped around her wrist. She tied it near where Reno was. He watched her make what he thought was a pretty damn intricate knot.
"You have pretty feet." Reno said out of nowhere.
"That is the creepiest thing you have ever said to me." Elena said laughing.
"Yeah, I feel creepy telling you. But sometimes the truth is creepy." Reno said. True Elena was barefoot and it was a wonder that she really could handle this boat considering how seemingly dainty her frame was. But she was quick on her delicate feet and that's what made her so skilled around a boat.
"Here we go!" Elena announced as she tied the sail and stepped up to the edge of the boat as lake water showered her legs. She held on to the mast as the winds shifted their direction. The weight shifted to the point where it felt like they would turn over for sure.
"Check this out, I can touch the water."Rude said letting his hand skim the surface. Elena leaned out as far as she could over the edge of the boat as they made the turn. She was truly the queen of the waters and the summer sun kissed her skin as she waved to other boaters that they passed while making the turn. "Elena, you're the coolest girl I've ever met. I can't believe I doubted you in my mind." Rude said. She laughed at him.
"Alright, it's time to straighten out and we'll reduce speed going in to the marina and we'll drop anchor there." Elena said untying another rope and running back to the bow.
"Am I in your way?" Tseng asked her.
"Nope, stay right there. I'm just going to tie this and we'll be headed for the marina. Tseng watched as she changed the direction again with merely the tying of a rope. "There we go. All done until we get to our spot." She said. "Now, you were asking how I learned to sail?" Elena said sitting on the bow across from Tseng with her hands on the railings on either side of her. He had his back against the mainsail mast.
"Yeah, how did you…my god this is…I'm really speechless here. This is amazing, so how the hell did you learn to do it?" Tseng asked in his utter captivation. Elena blushed a little.
"Well, when I was a kid my dad bought a sailboat. I was ten and my sister was twelve. And he made both of us take sailing lessons from this guy that was an experienced captain. My sister hated it; she hated everything about that damn boat. And of course, there was nothing that my sister wasn't good at…except sailing. It was the only thing I was ever better than her at and I loved it. So, I kept taking lessons and I got better and better until pretty soon the boat became mine. My dad never operated it at all actually; I always did it every time we took it out." Elena explained. Tseng just realized that he had only heard half of what she said and what he had heard her say he couldn't remember now.
"So…you like this, then?" he asked even though he had a hundred other questions he could have asked her instead.
"It's wonderful. The feeling of being on the water, the rush of the wind in the sails and not to mention you meet some wonderful people on the docks. It's fun to swap stories and learn from other boaters." Elena said. She had a spell on Tseng and she didn't even know it. The marina was coming in to sight. It was time for her to slow this schooner down as to not create waves as they entered the marina. She stood up and made her way to the starboard side. She untied one of the ropes and pulled one of the sails in. She did the same to two other sails, slowing the vessel down substantially. "I'm going into the cabin to get the anchor." Elena said to both Rude and Reno.
"Reno, how many women do you think we could get to come join us from over there at the marina?" Rude asked.
"Man, we're in the middle of the water the only woman we get is Elena and she doesn't count. But hey, if we were closer to that marina and they knew we had alcohol I'd bet that we could make it a very happy birthday for the boss if ya know what I mean. Not to mention we'd find us a brunette and her friend and show them one hell of a time." Reno said.
"Let's get Elena to take us over to the marina and we'll make Tseng give her his credit card and we'll tell her to come back at dark." Rude said. Reno laughed.
"Wait…Tseng's credit card?"
"Well, hell you know his credit has to be better than yours and mine put together. She could heat that thing up in one of the boutiques in there while we heat it up in here." Rude said. Reno laughed.
"God that is a great plan. Unfortunately, today is not our lucky day, man." Reno said. Elena returned with the anchor. She dropped it in the floor and pulled two more of the sails in, thus slowing the boat down some more.
"Hey, I thought you had jobs for all of us." Rude questioned Elena.
"I do once we get anchored." Elena said as they drifted into the marina harbor. Elena leaned over between Rude and Reno and dropped the anchor, letting it drop until she could feel the bottom. As it dug into the bottom of the lake, the Lenora Leigh came to a halt. "We made it. I should probably pull another sail in so we don't pull loose from the bottom." Elena said.
"I'm impressed, Elena. I doubted you but you got us here without killin' us." Reno said. Tseng moved from the bow over to where Rude and Reno were sitting. She laughed.
"Okay, now that we're here. I want one of you to go get everything out of the fridge and someone else needs to go get everything out of the sink and bring it up here." Elena said.
"Why do you have stuff in the sink?" Rude asked standing up to fulfill Elena's request.
"So it wouldn't slide everywhere while we were traveling." Elena answered him.
"Oh, that does make sense." Rude said.
"Stay put Tseng. We're gonna get your weird birthday food." Reno said.
"It's not weird I promise. It's just bruschetta and a few other things." Elena said sitting beside Tseng on the side of the boat.
"I can't believe you did that. It's one of my favorites…even though Reno hates it." Tseng said trying not to look her in the eye. Instead he caught sight of the diamond on Elena's right hand. He picked her hand. Elena's entire body was suddenly paralyzed.
"That's a beautiful diamond. How may carats?" He asked rubbing his thumb over Elena's fourth knuckle. Even though her entire body felt lifeless, she somehow managed to answer him.
"Two."
"Who put it there?" he asked still examining it.
"Well, I did. Took me eighteen months to pay for it but it was worth it. Why do you ask?" Elena wondered.
"It just looks like something your boyfriend would have put there." Tseng said. He was still holding on to her hand. Elena laughed.
"I don't have a boyfriend." She said.
"Hmm…" In his mind Tseng wondered what the hell a woman like Elena was doing single.