Haven: PreSeries: Cape Coming Home

[amichan]

 

“Come on,” I shake her shoulders. She grumbles, sleepily from the other side of the bed from where I would have slept and hides her head under the pillow, “You need to get dressed. We're almost at Halifax harbor. This isn't a hotel. There's no 11 a.m check out. We're landing. You get off.”

“It's barely six, asshole,” she mutters.

“That's a good way to have to leave without the gang plank,” I counter, “I already got paid,” I climb up off the bed and find her shirt and toss it towards her.

“You're gonna act like this after what I did for you last night.”

Let's not even go there.

“You should give me--” she starts.

“I'd be careful,” I warn her, “It sounds like you're about to compare yourself to a prostitute but I could be being an asshole still,” I throw her her pants as well, “Get dressed. I have other places I need to be, and I don't like being late.”

“You're a son of a bitch,” she retorts, finding her bra and pulling the shirt on as well.

“Tell me something I don't know,” I answer, “Your bags are already in the state room. I'll pull us into dock, and get the gang plank sorted.”

“Don't strain yourself,” she mutters as I close the door and head back up to the Ursa's cock pit.

I have to be careful with pulling in given we're towing the beast that is the Cape Rouge but it goes fairly smoothly and she's actually out on deck and watching me petulantly before I have the plank to the ground.

I get the reverse victory sign waved my way as she walks down the dock while I'm pulling back the plank. Oh, so charming.
 

The Ursa and I gently nudge the Cape back out of the harbor, around McNabs Island and back out into the Atlantic, so we can head back south into American waters. I sail as fast as I dare while towing and once we actually make it to level with Bar Harbor I put a call into the Haven harbor master to request docking for tomorrow morning, then anchor, use the gang plank to brace across to the Cape and anchor her too, one of the few things that's working 100% efficiency is the anchor and then back, eat a sandwich and some mango pieces, shoot up and sleep given I wasn't about to do that while she was on board. 

 

Morning comes with around three with a needle and some chilling on the deck with the guitar until I'm willing to navigate between the boats again to raise the Cape's anchor, and pull up the Ursa's too and get underway again. We make good time not turning in until I can see Isle Au Haut and in the distance beyond Vinalhaven and Little Tall, and then we bank down the center between the Isle and Matinicus towards Haven Harbor, talking with the harbor master as we come in to dock.

It takes a while of careful coaxing to pull the Cape alongside the anchored Ursa to make for easier transportation of things from one to the other and back again, lash the boats together as best and safest as I can considering the size difference and anchor the Cape.

Then it's back to find the notepad I was assessing repairs and things on so I can continue taking stock of her, and also writing out alterations, where to put hiding spots—if she already has hiding spots (if I can find them), and all the rest of it.

The exterior is mostly cosmetic damage, needs repainting, and re-paneling around the bridge and two windows could do with replacing between seals and cracks. She's an old lady, but she's in relatively good shape, but she'd been sitting. Inside the bridge itself there are things that need to be upgraded, badly upgraded.

The engine needs an overhaul so she can do more than just coast along at trawling speed and there's re-wiring that needs to be done in a few places inside.

She has a lot more storage space than the Ursa that's for sure, but it would be really weird if she didn't.

Two bedrooms, one bath, large area that can be the state room, kitchen still not huge, but bigger, of course so that's a plus. It's a debate if I'll bring the Ursa's stove over or sell both of these and get a newer one, who am I kidding here? It's gonna be see what deals can be finagled, and basically rearrange this list into what's most urgent. Floors aren't so bad, but all the cabinetry is vile and set up for dysfunction, seriously—whoever set that up, well, they're probably dead already.

I need to run all the plumbing and see what's going on with that though, last thing we need is some horrible back up.

Was that a voice outside?

I come back out of the cabin and on to the deck of the Cape and look down to ground level. Is that? She's lookng at the Ursa, of course and calling towards it, dark hair, jeans, t-shirt, jacket and back pack, but no one else would be likely to give a shit...though the fact that she actually still apparently does and managed to find out I was here already and come down on what must be a school day after I've been here...oh, it's after three but still...she still.

I'm achy stiff. I need to move some stuff over to the Cape later. Later. Fuck.

“Hello, down there!” I call, popping the kinks out of my shoulders and neck.

“Oh!” she turns, surprised, of course, that my voice is coming from the other side of her, “Duke,” she says, “Hey, I, uh...” she points to the Ursa.

“Yeah,” I double check the railing before swinging over and then making my way back across to the Ursa's deck, “How were you to know?”

“Yeah,” she echoes, “Whose is she?”

“She's mine,” I reach the gang plank and lower it down to the dock so that Julia can come up.

“Really? You're doing well to buy another boat then.”

“It's luck, really. I won her.”

She drops her back pack on to one of the crates as she sets foot on the deck, and eyes the Cape with greater wonder now that she's a prize.

“She needs some work but once she's running smoothly she'll be better for work, more cargo space, faster speeds.”

“Once she's running?” Julia queries, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah. Right now she can only trawl for the most part, but it's not...well, it doesn't look like too complicated of repairs. Touch wood,” I knock on the side of the Ursa's cabin door.

“So, she's not running now?”

“Not so much,” I laugh, “but hey...projects keep me out of trouble, right?”

She gives me a skeptical look, “Somehow I doubt that.”