Gilligan's Island

Margarita is her name. Captain is her title. She is from a long line of fisherman and tourist boat captains. She grew up in the Tampa bay and it's smaller tributaries. Her dark hair has been bleached by the sun since girlhood. Her caramel skin made bronzed by all her hours outdoors. Her father, a native Floridian, was inspired to name her Margarita after his favorite Jimmy Buffet song, "Margaritaville." Margarita hated her name growing up. She grew tired of drunken men teasing her about it. She insisted that people call her Ariel, like the Disney princess. She often thought she was secretly a mermaid. She never tired of the water, and was a strong swimmer.

As soon as she was old enough her mother taught her how to steer a boat. By the time she was thirteen, she was taking friends out on her mother's boat with no adult in sight. She had warmed to her name by then. It got her attention from her peers who were curious about alcohol and smoking. Margarita especially liked going to a tiny, unincorporated island the locals referred to as Gilligan's Island. She and her friends would pull up on the beach with a cooler full of soda and Cuban sandwiches from Janie's Island store. It was Margarita's favorite place. No one but herself and her friends, trekking about looking for whatever treasures the Island might hold. Sometimes she would find jewelry left behind, or coins. Most often they found trash. Margarita brought along trash bags every time they visited Gilligan's Island. She would rally her friends to clean up the trash, and was sure to leave nothing when they left.

By the time Margarita was 18, she had completed Captain school. She now chartered her own boat, taking tourists and locals on ecology tours. She knew where the best spots were to spot manatees and dolphins. She knew this water intimately. She had scooped up seahorses and hermit crabs and held them in her hands. She was happiest near the water and it's creatures. She dated a bit in high school, but most of her potential boyfriends found her too intense.

Early one morning Margarita was out on the water when she saw a small boat pulled up to Gilligan's Island. She fondly recalled all her trips there as a young teen. Curious, she steered closer to the boat. Captain Morgan's Eco Clean Up was painted on the side of the boat. She laughed to herself that there was another boat Captain named after an alcoholic beverage. She pulled up and put her anchor down, climbing carefully out of her boat. She saw a young man, about her age, using a long pincer to grab trash and put it in a bag. He heard her approaching, and turned his face towards her. She felt a spark of recognition then, as did he. "Jack?" Margarita whispered. "Margarita!" he yelled back, and quickly walked closer to her.

He dropped the bag and pincer and opened his tan arms to embrace her. Margarita felt a strange excitement over seeing her old friend. "What are you doing here Jack? I thought you moved back to Minnesota when we were in ninth grade?"

Jack's smile was warm when he spoke, "I did. But after all of our trips to clean up Gilligan's Island, I decided marine biology was my passion. I am going to school here now, and started my own clean up business!" Margarita had never noticed how handsome Jack was before. Now he stood before her as a man, whose eyes were as clear and blue as the water of Siesta Key. His eyes were like her own. From that day on, Captain Margarita and Captain Jack Morgan were never apart. They spent all their days and nights together, loving each other and the water they lived on.