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He reached up and helped me get into the boat,

"What is this?" I asked, looking over the strangely shaped boat, "It looks like a giant bullet."

Thatcher laughed. "It travels that way. Its a Magnum 80 with a top speed of seventy-four miles an hour. Those are twin eighteen-hundred-horsepower engines. It sleeps ten." he said, then shifted and shot off before I had a chance to say a word. In seconds, we were bouncing over the water so hard I screamed, The spray flew up around me.

"I'm not dressed for this!" I shouted.

"Just hold on."

I can't deny it was very exciting, so much so that it took my breath away.

The way this boat was customized, it cost about a million, eight hundred thousand." Thatcher explained when he slowed us down. "Not bad. huh?"

"It's like an airplane on water."

"Yes. Here." he said, putting me in charge of the controls, "Take it for a spin."

"Me?"

"Why not? Try it," he urged. I shook my head. "C'mon. Willow, take some chances. Once in a while, it's fun to challenge fate."

The way he looked at me, fixed his eyes intently on my face, made me think he knew everything,

With great hesitation. I changed places and listened to his instructions. Moments later. I could feel the boat humming beneath me, its power and size impressive. It was like riding a whale. I thought being a passen

ger was exciting, but having some control of it was twice as thrilling.

"You're doing fine." he said. "Give it to her,"

I shook my head, but he accelerated, and we shot forward, hitting the waves so hard I thought my heart was going up and down like a yo-yo inside me. After a while, we slowed again and just cruised calmly.

"I know a great spot for lunch," he said, taking over

I sat back. The fingers of the wind had played havoc with my hair. but I didn't care. The salt spray, sunshine, and warm air were beguiling. I truly felt as if I had stepped onto a magic carpet.

"Do you do this often?" I asked him.

"I used to do a lot of sailing, but lately I haven't been out on the water very much. I can't remember the last time I did something like this on a weekday," he added, his eyes twinkling at me.

"Maybe I'm a bad influence." "Maybe you're a good influence. You heard Bunny. I work too hard."

"Where's this wonderful place for lunch?" I asked as we continued farther out to sea and the shoreline began to disappear. "Cuba?"

"You'll see," he promised.

After a few more minutes, he cut the engines and dropped anchor.

"I don't understand," I said. "Why have you stopped?"

"We're here." he declared, and held out his arms. "Can you find a prettier, quieter, more private place? This happens to be my favorite spot," he said, and started down the steps. "C'mon, help me bring up lunch,"

I followed him to the galley, where there were breads and rolls, meats, cheeses, bottles of wine, and fresh fruit,

"Well?" he said.

"It's a banquet." I declared.

We fixed our sandwiches and platters of fruit, and then he brought up the wine. Sitting at the table with the wide expanse of ocean around us, far enough out so we could no longer see the shore. I did feel we were in a special place. Occasionally. we caught sight of a sailboat, but it was as if there were invisible walls between us and the rest of the world. No one came very close.