Edgar woke up first in the morning around 8am. He carefully snuck out of bed trying not to wake Alex. He stepped outside to smoke a cigarette then came back in to brush his teeth and put on some deodorant before quietly heading back into the stateroom. He grabbed her phone again and, lying back down beside her, he snapped a picture of them together. He put the camera on video and pushed record. "It's about 8:15 on a beautiful Sunday morning," he spoke quietly. "I'm laying in bed next to this fine lady, waiting very impatiently for her to wake up..."
"Who are you talking to?" she yawned and stretched.
"Say hi, Alex." She opened her eyes and saw the screen pointed at them.
"What are you doing?" she laughed.
"Recording us so you can watch it later and laugh."
"Thank you." He set the phone down where it could still record them as he leaned down to kiss her.
"Morning, Alex."
"Good morning, Edgar." He began kissing her neck and shoulders so she reached over and turned her phone off.
"You don't wanna make a dirty video?" he asked between nibbles on her earlobe.
"No," she laughed.
"You wanna have sex with me anyway?"
"Absolutely."
Once they managed to get out of bed for the day, they squeezed into the tiny shower stall for a quick wash down. She stepped out first and let him finish washing while she dried off and started getting dressed.
"Can I use your deodorant?"
"Sure. It's in the cabinet. Use whatever you need."
"Thanks." He turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She handed him a towel and leaned in to kiss him. "I'm gonna wash Sig's bedding."
"Why don't you leave it for now? I'll take care of it later."
"Oh. Okay. What's the plan for today, speaking of later? You gotta get home or do you have other things to do?"
"Well, first, I wanna take you to breakfast at Portage Bay Café... It's only like two-and-a-half blocks from here so we can walk. Then we can go to the Nordic Museum if you still want to go."
"Cool! Hey, do you think the Cornelia Marie is in Elliott Bay right now?"
"Should be. Lemme check." He found his phone and dialed someone while she pulled on her socks and sneakers. "Hey Josh, it's Edgar. Great, how are you? Good! Hey, just wondering if the Cornelia is tied up in Elliott Bay right now? Yeah, I wanted to take my... lady-friend there to see her if that's cool with you... Yeah man... she's awesome. Oh, can you? That'd be great! 11 o'clock? Perfect! Thanks, man."
"She's there?" Alex smiled.
"New plan! Breakfast at Portage Bay... then we'll head to Elliott Bay. Josh is gonna give us a tour of the CM. Then we can head to the museum after. Sound good?"
"It sounds awesome... So..." She approached him and loosely draped her arms over his shoulders. "I'm your lady-friend?"
"It was what popped into my head when I determined that girlfriend might scare you away," he chuckled. She knew he didn't actually mean girlfriend.
"You're so cute," she sighed happily then leaned in to kiss him.
Edgar finished getting dressed then he and Alex began the short walk to Portage Bay Café. He held her hand the whole way then he opened the door for her. Once their breakfasts were placed before them, he brought up another of his plans for the weekend.
"So, I was hoping you could stay tonight too."
"I wish. I have to work tomorrow."
"Can you call in sick? Can I call in sick for you?"
"What?" she laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I thought we could spend tonight together, have breakfast at Sig's house tomorrow, maybe go to the zoo?" She saw the seriousness on his face as she thought about how to respond. "We still need to walk Green Lake too."
"Can I at least wash my laundry tonight so I have clean clothes tomorrow?"
"Absolutely! Hell, I'll buy you a new outfit and whatever you need."
"I don't want you to do that, Edgar. You already paid for food and drinks yesterday and the space needle..."
"I'm just saying that I'm willing to do whatever it takes so you can stay tonight. I'm just not ready for you to go yet."
"You're sweet... I suppose it wouldn't kill me to text my boss and tell her I can't make it in. She'll get over it."
"Really?" She smiled and nodded. "Awesome!"
Throughout the day, Edgar asked people to take pictures of him and Alex together everywhere they went. Josh Harris, one of the owners of the Cornelia Marie, took them on a tour of the boat and they had their pictures taken there. He took selfies of them with each of their cell phones at the Nordic Museum.
He'd asked his brother if they could come over for dinner that evening and Sig agreed. Edgar drove his truck and Alex followed him the thirty minutes from Market Street in Ballard to Sig's house outside the city. He convinced her to leave her car there overnight to ensure she wouldn't get any tickets or any other kind of trouble by letting her car sit for 2 ½ days. She pulled into the driveway next to his truck and he scurried to her door to open it for her. By now, Sig was standing on the front porch waiting to greet them. Edgar took Alex's hand and helped her out of the car. Pulling her up to meet him, he smiled and kissed her softly.
"Okay," he began. "Let's introduce you to Sig!" He led her hand-in-hand up to his big brother. "Hey Sig."
"How you doing, Edgar?" The two men shook hands.
"Great! Sig, this is Alex. Alex, my brother, Sig." She held out her hand and he shook it.
"So great to meet you Sig. I know I don't know you but I feel like I do from watching the show for so long."
"Oh, you're a fan of the show..." he looked at Edgar like he was questioning this girl's genuine interest in him.
"Sure. How could anyone not like it? It's fascinating as hell!"
"That's true. Well, it's nice to meet you. Come on in, guys. Juna's in the living room."
Edgar introduced Alex to Sig's wife, Juna, and the girls seemed to hit it off. Sig tried desperately to remain skeptical of Alex's intentions with Edgar but the more he watched and listened to them together, the more he realized that she was not trying to take advantage of him or "fan-girl" him in any way... and Edgar was definitely doing the pursuing.
The four of them sat in the living room after dinner just talking and laughing. "Can I get you another drink or anything else, Alex?" Edgar offered.
"I'm good but thank you."
"You sure?" he smiled and she nodded. He sat down on the couch beside her and took her hand in his.
"What the hell have you done with my brother?" Sig laughed. "I haven't seen that look on your face or that level of attentiveness... maybe ever!"
"Yeah," Edgar chuckled then looked at Alex. "This girl's something special." She had already thought that maybe this could be more than a two-night-stand but now, with that loving look in his eyes, she knew. This was going to be something, possibly something big.
"When do you have to go back to Portland?" Juna asked.
"Tomorrow. I'll probably have to leave town by about 4 to try and beat all of the traffic."
"Next time you come up, let us know. We would love to have you over for dinner again."
"Thank you! That sounds great. Oh, Edgar thought maybe I should leave my car here overnight so it's not just sitting on Market Street in Ballard... Is that alright with you guys? I made sure it's not blocking anyone in out there."
"That's fine," Sig answered. "Good idea."
Alex hugged Sig and Juna goodnight and Edgar shook their hands. They left their house around 7:30pm and headed back toward the boat.
"Do you need anything while we're out?"
"Nope. I'm good. Do you need to go anywhere?"
"Nah. I just wanna get on the boat so we can relax. We did a lot of running around today!"
"We did but it was a lot of fun. Josh was super nice, Sig and Juna were great... the museum was cool." They walked down the dock then he helped her climb onto the boat.
"It was a lot of fun. I have really enjoyed spending the past couple of days with you, Alex. Truly."
"Me too. I've had a really great time with you. Oh hey, can we stop at Ballard Locks tomorrow? Just for a second?"
"Absolutely. Anywhere you want." Once inside, she sat on Sig's bed and pulled up the photos on her phone. He sat beside her and looked on with her. "I love that one... and that one."
"They are really cute," she smiled.
"New Facebook profile picture?"
"Is that okay?"
"Sure. Why wouldn't it be?"
"Well, I know you're still technically married... I wouldn't wanna piss anyone off."
"You're not gonna piss anyone off. Here, lemme pick one." He took the phone from her hands and chose the photo he liked best. He set it as her profile picture and handed it back to her. "There. That's the one."
"I love it." She smiled at him and he leaned over to kiss her.
Monday morning, Alex threw Sig's bedding into the washing machine as Edgar made a quick breakfast. Once the laundry was in the dryer, the two of them left the boat and headed for Ballard Locks. Alex snapped the photos she wanted and they took some selfies with the beautiful scenery in the background.
A good amount of Alex and Edgar's time on Monday was spent at Green Lake and the zoo taking pictures, holding hands and chatting. They both tried desperately not to think about it but they were each dreading the time they'd have to part and, unfortunately, that time was drawing closer. Neither of them had felt this worry-free and had so much fun in a long time.
They drove to Sig's house around 2:30 that afternoon and Juna served coffee and pie. Alex got to meet their daughter Mandy and her husband Clark. The six of them had a really nice time talking and getting to know each other a little more.
Once 3:45 rolled around, Alex knew she had to get going.
"It was so nice to meet you guys and, Sig and Juna, thank you so much for the hospitality." She shook their hands.
"Nice to meet you too!" Juna said as she handed her a piece of paper. "That is my cell number, please call when you're in the area again and we'll get together!"
"Thank you!"
"I'll walk you guys out," Sig said as they walked toward the door. The three of them walked out to Alex's car and, while Edgar thought it was a nice gesture that Sig had come out with them, he wished he'd go back inside and let them say goodbye alone. "I gotta tell you guys, I was very skeptical about you two when you said you were a fan of the show..."
"Sig," Edgar rolled his eyes and tried to stop him.
"Lemme say what I gotta say." Edgar put up his hands in surrender and let his brother go on. "I was gonna say, before my brother so rudely interrupted me... that I was skeptical about you and how you got him to fall for you so fast... but after spending some time with you guys? I like you together. You seem like a good kid and I can tell you're genuinely interested in him and not just his status on some TV show."
"Kid? You know I'm only like 10 years younger than you, right?" she chuckled.
"You know what I meant," he laughed.
"I know. I appreciate what you're saying Sig and I totally understand why you'd be skeptical. I'm sure you guys get 'love letters' and marriage proposals and all kinds of weird stuff in the mail and in-person left and right!"
"Yeah, that does happen. Anyway, I'll leave you guys alone but I just wanted to say that."
"Thanks Sig," she shook his hand again. "It was really an honor to meet you and thanks for having me over and introducing me to your family."
"Any time, Alex. We'll see you again soon, I'm sure." Edgar waited until his brother was walking away before saying anything to her.
"I wish you didn't have to go."
"Me too. But I do have to work tomorrow!"
"I know. Well, you got Sig and Juna's numbers and you have my number... you'll keep in touch. Right? Like a lot?"
"Absolutely." Pulling her close, he kissed her lovingly making sure she could feel what he felt for her.
"Call me or text me when you're home safe tonight?"
"I will." He opened the car door for her and once she was in the seat with her belt buckled, he leaned in to kiss her one last time.
"See you soon, okay?"
"Okay." He watched her pull out of the driveway and waved as she drove away. Sig, who'd been watching out the window, went outside to check on his brother.
"You good?"
"Yep," he sighed sadly.
"Be careful, Edgar. I don't know exactly how long you've known this girl but I know it hasn't been long."
"I know."
"You're also still legally married..."
"I know," he let the ounce of irritation in him be heard in his tone. "I'm gonna take off. Thanks for having us over."
"Anytime, man." Edgar left and headed home to seriously ponder his immediate future.