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“Nope. We have an appointment. It’s right this way.” I held her hand and marched her down one of the side streets toward the harbor. On this sunny day, the water was busy with boats, large and small, cruising around. This was one of my favorite parts of Boston—I loved that the city’s big buildings bordered the water and that the peacefulness of the ocean was always a few feet away.
We headed toward the Boston Yacht Haven. Jenny let out a low whistle. “Yachts, huh? What’re we doing?”
“We’re yachting.” I grinned at her. “I thought going out for a few hours would be fun. You know, maybe even see a seal or two. Or a whale.”
“A whale?” Jenny’s eyes lit up. “I’ve never seen a whale before!”
“Today might be your lucky day.” I didn’t share her enthusiasm, but Jenny’s love of animals was one of the many things about her that I found endearing.
We entered the club, and Captain Chase met us on the dock. He was looking smart in a pair of khakis and a white cap. “Mr. Bryson.” He saluted me. “TheAurorais ready for you. You must be Ms. Jenny.” He bowed to her. “It’s a pleasure. I’m Chase, and I’ll be your captain this afternoon. I’m going to take you to an area where there’s been a ton of whale and porpoise activity lately.”
Jenny put a hand over her heart. “Whalesandporpoises?”
The captain grinned. “Yep—this has been our best season yet. I’m going to take us out to Stellwagen Bank. It’s the best spot right now; there’s been a ton of sightings. So follow me. It’s a beautiful day for it. Thank you for this opportunity, Mr. Bryson. We haven’t been out in a while.”
“I know,” I lamented. “I’ve been busy with work, and the team’s needed a lot of support.”
“I saw they won last night,” Chase said. “Love it.”
He led us down the dock to the end, where my yacht, theAurora,waited patiently. She was a gorgeous boat, about forty meters long. The crew of twenty waited for us on the deck, all smiles.
Jenny turned to me. “You have ayacht?”
I shrugged, feeling a bit sheepish. “Technically, it’s a super yacht.”
“A super yacht.” Jenny pulled her sunglasses down and looked at me skeptically. “You have a super yacht.”
“I don’t use it very often,” I said, a bit defensively.
“Well, we are absofuckinglutely going to change that.” Jenny turned and smiled back at the crew. “I’m Jenny, and I love whales. And dolphins. And seals. Are we going to have a great day, or what?”
Of course, the crew cheered.
The Stellwagen Bankdidn’t disappoint. The whales turned out and gave us quite a show, which I could only attribute to them wanting to impress Jenny. She was like Snow White, with birds, bees, iguanas, seals, and whales following her wherever she went.
The crew loved her. In less than an hour, she was on a first-name basis with the young women who worked for me. I still had no idea who anyone was, but that was fine with me. I didn’t own the super yacht to make friends. I owned it because Icouldand because it was awesome.
“Oh my goodness, Cole! Look at them. They’re spectacular!” Two humpback whales crested the water, sailing into the sky. Jenny and the whole crew whooped and clapped as they watched. She reached for me and pulled me close, hugging me as the whales splashed back into the water. “I think they’re having fun.” Jenny had the biggest smile on her face; it made my heart feel like it might burst.
She hugged me. I hugged her. Then I kissed the top of her head and said, “I love you.”
She beamed up at me. “I love you, too, Coley.”
“You do?” I felt like I might cry.
“Of course I do.” She buried her face in my chest and hugged me tighter. “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”
Now, I was certain I was about to cry. “You’re the best thing that ever happened tome.”
“Nah.” She sniffled. “You have a super yacht. I have… big hair.”
I hugged her tighter. “And I love your big hair. Don’t ever forget it.”
“I won’t ever forget any of this, Coley,” she said. “I won’t.”
We hadstrawberries and champagne out on the deck. We saw porpoisesandseals. “This is the most sea life we’ve ever seen in an outing!” Chase exclaimed on the ride back to Boston Harbor. “It’s incredible.”
“It’s Jenny,” I explained. “Animals love her. It’s like they’re showing off for her, you know?”