Chapter 25

Friday, April 9, 2004

0500 EST

Suite 1493

Ritz Carlton Hotel

Pensacola, Florida

AJ was up and dressed before daylight. He had called, and was lucky enough to book a charter boat, but they had to be at the dock in forty-five minutes. Reaching over for the second time, he shook Sarah.

"What? AJ, we didn't make any plans for this early," grumbled Sarah, rolling back over and pulling the pillow over her head.

Lifting the pillow from her head, he replied, "I did, Sarah. We're going deep-sea fishing. I chartered a boat, and we have to be there in forty-five minutes. Now, haul ass, Marine, or we're going to be late."

Raising her heard, Sarah pleaded, "Please, AJ, I don't want to go fishing. I don't know how. You're the fisherman. You go and I'll stay here and go shopping. We still have the charge cards Clay gave us, and I promise not to spend much."

"Sarah, Darlin', we're suppose to be seen together as a happy couple," replied AJ. "Besides, you'll love the charter boat. Bring your swimsuit and sunbathe. Sleep, in the cabin while I fish and they will even feed you, Darlin'."

"What about the cell phone? Will the signal reach as far out as the boat will go?" frowned Sarah.

AJ got up and slipped the cell phone in his pocket, "Yes, Sarah, it'll reach. The batteries are charged, and the signal will reach way beyond where we'll be fishing. Please, Sarah, get up and get dressed so we don't miss the boat. I really want to go fishing."

"All right! But I get to pick what we do tomorrow. And you can bet it won't be getting up in the middle of the night to go fishing."

Crawling out of bed, she grabbed her clothes and a bathing suit and walked into the bathroom. She came out twenty minutes later to find AJ pacing back and forth, waiting; sure they would miss the boat. He really wanted the chance to do some serious fishing.

"Aren't we going to eat first?" asked Sarah, looking longingly at the closed restaurant.

"We'll pick up a sandwich at MacDonald's and they'll have food on the boat," explained AJ, helping her get into the car.

By the time they made it to the pier, it was almost dawn, and the crew had everything loaded. The boat "The Blue Dolphin" was owned and captained by Ben Sebastian. He met AJ and Sarah at the dock to help them onto the boat.

"Mr. and Mrs. Bayer, we're glad to have you aboard today. It looks like clear weather and we hope good fishing," smiled Captain Sebastian.

"We hope so, don't we, Darlin'?" grinned AJ.

"Yes, I can hardly wait to drag in a whale," said Sarah, adjusting her beach bag.

Captain Sebastian smiled, "Then you'll be out of luck, Ma'am, because we aren't equipped to hunt whales."

"Oh, all right. Do you have any food aboard? I'm hungry," asked Sarah, wrinkling her nose at the smell coming from the docks.

"The cook will be ready to start as soon as we're out of the harbor. We're ready if you both have all you need," said Captain Sebastian.

"We're fine, Captain, and I'll take my wife below until the sun comes out. There's a nip in the air and I don't want her getting sick," replied AJ, helping Sarah below deck and taking a seat at the table.

"Are you warm enough, sweetie?" asked AJ.

"Yes, it was a little cool, but inside here, it's quite comfortable. These charter boats are nice, AJ. I never would have dreamed they would be so big. Almost like a small yacht. And so clean," smiled Sarah, happy she had come now.

After they were on the water for a while Sarah fell asleep on AJ's shoulder. She had forgotten about being hungry, for a change, and snuggled up next to him. Strange. He wondered if she was coming down with something, still it was nice having her warmth cuddled next to him. The boat stopped, and the Captain came to tell AJ they were ready for him to start fishing. This woke Sarah up, and she asked, "Can we eat now?"

"Yes, Mrs. Bayer. Just tell the cook what you'd like to have, and I'm sure he'd be pleased to fix it for you. Mr. Bayer gave us a list of your favorite foods when he called to charter the boat. Now if you both will excuse me, I want to keep an eye on our new fish finder, so Mr. Bayer can take home a nice trophy," smiled Captain Sebastian as he tipped his cap and left.

To be continued….