Chapter 7: A New Season Dawns
The Cornelia Marie had been busy repairing and buying new gear that month. The Harris brothers wanted to be well-prepared for the dangerous Opilio season that started in three days.
Sarah Hansen had been in town that day talking with other skippers and buying some last minute goods for the Northwestern crew. After dropping the supplies in the boat, she decided to go for a walk down the docks. She paused when she came across the Cornelia Marie. She hesitated for a moment, and then climbed aboard.
"Anyone here?" she called as she walked down the deck towards the wheelhouse.
"Who wants to know?" snapped an irritable deckhand.
"The captain of the Northwestern," answered Sarah as she stopped beside the door that led down to the galley.
The deckhand whirled around, guilt and fear in his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry," he mumbled, "Um…do you want to talk with the skippers?"
Sarah smiled slightly, "That'd be great. Where are they?"
"In the wheelhouse," answered the sheepish-looking deckhand, "They're plotting our course for later this week."
"Thanks," said Sarah as she climbed the stairs that led up into the rather large wheelhouse.
As she walked inside she saw the brothers standing over a map and mumbling to one another. She cleared her throat to get their attention.
"Hey!" exclaimed Josh, "Look who's here!"
"Hey, Sarah," said Jake, "What's going on?"
"Not much…just wanted to stop by and see how you guys were doing."
Jake and Josh exchanged knowing glances.
"Not much?" repeated Josh, "So dating the captain of the Maverick is 'not much'?"
Sarah sighed and looked away for a moment. During the month they had off, she and Rick continued to see each other, much to her crew's disgust. She had tried her best to explain her reasoning to Andrew and Alex, but they did not want to hear a word of it. Jake Anderson had been more understanding, but still disapproved of the whole thing. Amy and Jon were too into each other to pay her any mind. Her parents, Edgar and Jack, completely disapproved. She tried to explain it to them too and they tried to be understanding, but they still were not happy about it.
Sarah came to the realization that she could not make everyone happy. She had listened to Jake and thought about it for a long time and decided to follow her heart. Rick made her happy…they made each other happy. He was sweet and kind and completley different from what the others had said about him and his father.
"I know it's none of our business," said Josh, "But your crew can't be too happy about it…am I right?"
Sarah sighed, "You're dead on, unfortunately. They don't seem to understand that the son is not the father."
"Yeah," said Jake, "Well, I'm on your side as always! I think what you and Rick do is your business and I agree that judging him based on Blake is wrong."
Sarah smiled appreciatively.
"Just be careful," warned Josh.
Sarah sighed in exasperation.
"It's like I have a horde of big brothers out here!" she exclaimed with a smile of amusement, "All of you keep telling me to be careful!"
Josh grinned and put her into a head lock.
"Well maybe you should try taking our advice?"
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Meanwhile, on the Maverick…
"So, Rick?" asked the deckboss, "You still hanging out with that Northwestern chic?"
Rick grimaced and gave the deckboss an irritated look.
"Yeah…if that's alright with you," he snarled as he began to walk up the stairs to the wheelhouse.
"Hey, I'm just sayin," retorted the man, "I wonder what you dad would think about this?"
Rick froze in mid-step. He had not seen his dad since he was eighteen and moved out. His dad had not changed much since he took Jack Hansen hostage all those years ago. He had become an almost constant drunk and barraged Rick with curses and insults. Rick grew up feeling like his dad thought he was a failure and that had left an emotional scare that would never truly go away.
"Frankly, Rob," snapped Rick, "I really could care less!"
"Well he did leave the boat to you," chided Rob, "Wouldn't you think he'd expect you to maintain the old ways…you know, just as he left them?"
Rick glared down at the deckboss with fury in his eyes.
"You mean continue the rivalry and hurt other Northwestern deckhands?" he said angrily, "Sorry, Rob, but I'm not my father nor will I ever be. This is my boat now so we are going to go by my rules, got it? I don't care what my dad said…that doesn't matter anymore. Things have changed and if you don't like it, you're welcome to leave!"
With that, Rick walked into the wheelhouse and slammed the door behind him. He put his head in his hands and wiped his tired, blood-shot eyes.
Suddenly, the radio above him began to beep.
"Attention all Bering Sea Fishing Vessels," said a male voice, "This is the official Alaskan Fish and Game Service. The opilio crab season will be opening within the hour. Due to bad weather conditions threatening the area, we recommend that skippers use caution in decided when to leave port."
Rick gaped in surprise. The opilio season was not supposed to begin for another two days! He grabbed the radio and began to talk to his deckhands below him.
"Guys, we gotta move and we gotta move now!" he shouted, "The season's opening in less than an hour! Secure those pots and get below deck, now!"
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Meanwhile, on the Northwestern…
Sarah had just received the call regarding the opening of the season and the warning of the weather to come.
She called the deckhands up to the wheelhouse to discuss the situation with them.
"I wanted to talk to you guys about the weather conditions," said Sarah once everyone had gathered around her.
Alex had his usual displeased look on his face and frowned irritably. Jon and Amy exchanged concerned looks, each one worried about the other. Andrew shot his new friend Alex a look and mimicked his disapproving stance. Jake remained quietly neutral and attentively listened to his captain.
"They're predicting thirty-five to forty-foot swells by mid-day tomorrow," continued Sarah, "We can head out now before the storm hits or we can stay here and let it blow over. If we do that though, we'll be behind and risk not catching our quota. But I thought I'd get your opinions first before I make the final decision."
"I'll give you my opinion on something else if you'd like," sneered Alex.
Sarah shot him a glare but chose to ignore his comment.
"I think we should go for it," said Jake, "We've had worse. And we don't want to be behind the other boats and miss our quota."
"But wouldn't it be safer to stay in harbor?" asked Jon, hesitantly.
"I think we should go too," said Amy, eliciting a surprised glance from her boyfriend, Jon, "I mean why not?" she reasoned, "I bet that the others are going out too."
"Well, I guess that settles it," said Sarah, "We're leaving. Check the ties and get below deck! It's gonna be a bumpy ride!"
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