The Dinner Cruise

Jeff watched her walk down the steel gangplank, her shoes tapping hard as if she was in a rush. She slipped a little as she stepped off the end. He wondered at a woman who would wear high heels on a dinner cruise. Not just because of the damage to the decks, but the rocking if the waves got a little rough out on the bay. Clearly, she had overdressed.

He finished coiling the line in a neat circle around the cleat and stood up, smiling at her. "I've got a pair of flip flops I can lend you," Jeff said ingenuously as she grabbed onto the handrail, righting herself.

The way she responded to his comment would tell him everything he needed to know about her. She rolled her eyes, which were beautiful above her mask. "I could use a pair of shorts, too," she said. "I was running late from work. Actually, I was hoping I'd miss it. But my boss likes us to show up if we can, and, of course, it's limited to twenty people and..."

Her voice trailed away. She swept up her long blond hair into a high ponytail, dislodging her mask, which she stuffed into her purse. "The afternoon southerly is picking up," she said. "I'd much rather be out sailing." They both watched the last few stragglers board the party boat.

"I was just about to head out myself," he admitted, indicating the Catalina tied up to the dock. "I'm Jeff, by the way."

"What a beautiful boat!" she said wistfully. "And I'm Katy. What is she, a 42 foot?"

"You know your boats," Jeff said, nodding.

"Are you coming, Katy?" A young woman leaned over the bowrailof the party boat and waved a wine glass in their direction. "We're about to leave."

Katy hesitated for a moment.

"Unless, of course, you'd like to crew for me. My sister couldn't make it," Jeff said.

"Oh, God, I hope you didn't think I was trying to wangle an invitation..." She reddened a little with embarrassment.

"I would never think that about you, Katy," he said solemnly. "Why don't you climb aboard?"

She slipped off her high heels and stepped nimbly onto the deck. "I just wish I wasn't wearing this stupid dress."

Jeff slowly looked her up and down. Katy's simple black dress hugged her figure, revealing just the slightest swell of cleavage. "Stupid isn't exactly the word I would use to describe it," he replied.

Katy blushed again.

"My sister usually leaves a couple of bathing suits in the aft cabin. See if something fits you."

As Katy debated the merits of two miniscule string bikinis, Jeff started the engine. By the time they had pulled away from the dock, she had emerged on the deck.

"Take the helm, would you?" Jeff called, watching her. She seemed to be completely comfortable maneuvering the large sailboat. He noticed that his sister's bikini was a bit small for Katy, but that really wasn't a bad thing. "I've got to go up top and retrieve those fenders."

Jeff clambered back down to the cockpit. "I think the jib's enough for today, don't you?" Of course, the single sail would make for a less exciting ride. But he didn't want to scare her.

She shrugged. "I wouldn't mind if you put the mainup, too. This should be fun. The wind's really howling."

"As long as you're up for it..." He hoisted the mainsail, too. The canvas caught the wind and the boat heeled, skimming past the jetty towards the bay.

"You can wait the whole summer for this kind of breeze," Katy said blissfully.

Jeff just smiled. He was thinking that you could wait your whole life for a girl likeKaty.

A wisp of August fog began to roll in and they watched the Mendocino coastline disappear. The wind started to lay down. "How about we drop anchor for a bit?" Jeff asked as he lowered the sails. "I'm starving."

She followed him down into the galley. "I'm just going to put these steaks on the grill," he said, digging into the refrigerator. "And I think this Merlot will pair perfectly with the filet mignon. That is, if you like Merlot."

"Wandering Giants?" Katy asked. "I've heard it's good."

"Really?" Jeff said. He handed her the bottle, along with a corkscrew and two glasses. "I hope you enjoy it. The brand is my family business."

She set the glasses and the wine on the console in the cockpit. Jeff lit the grill, which was mounted on the stern, and sat down beside her. He poured the wine, handing her a glass.

The bouquet was fruity, like dark, red cherries. Katy swirled her wine in the glass and took a sip. "I think there's just a hint of vanilla," she said thoughtfully.

"Do you like it?" Jeff asked. He stared into her eyes. They were the softest shade of gray he had ever seen. "Are your eyes gray?"

"It's the gray sky and water. And the fog. They probably looked blue earlier."

"How extraordinary," he said. Jeff found it impossible to look away.

"Not really," she replied. His steady gaze unnerved her. "It's just a reflection. But yes, I like the wine." She swallowed the rest of the wine in her glass.

"And I like you, Katy." He took the wine glass out of her hand and set it down. Jeff pulled her into his arms and kissed her very gently. "I'm so glad you didn't go on the party boat."

He switched on the autopilot and they motored slowly back towards the marina, trailing behind the party boat, enjoying the dance music that waftedacross the water. Jeff discovered that he couldn't stop kissing her, and Katy quickly learned that she didn't want him to stop.

"It's a good thing you wore those idiotic spike heels," he said. "I might never have met you otherwise."

"If I had my way I'd wear a bathing suit and flip flops all day long. But the partners might frown on it. Particularly in the courtroom."

"What kind of law do you practice?"

"Copyright law, trademark infringement, royalty issues for musicians and writers, that sort of thing. It's pretty dry stuff."

Jeff stared at her in astonishment. "Then our meeting might be even more serendipitous that I thought! Let me show you something."

He disappeared down into the main cabin and returned with a bottle of wine. He flipped on the cabin lights. "I brought this along to show my sister. She works with me. Tell me if this looks like the same bottle as the one we just drank."

Katy examined the bottle. They certainly appeared to be identical. The orange and black graphic of a redwood tree was the same. Then she looked a little more closely. "That's strange! This one says Wandering Giant. No S on giant."

"Good eye. It's a bootleg bottle. One of my retailers received a case the other day and called me on it. I spotted the logo right away. But he had gotten a few customer complaints. If you know your Merlot, well, the taste of this one is too tart. Almost makes you cringe." He uncorked the bottle and poured her a few ounces.

Katy cautiously tasted it. "I'm no expert but it's clearly not the same Merlot."

"So what's my first step? Our reputation is at stake here."

"Did your retailer use adifferent delivery channel?"

"He said a new distributor came in with better pricing. It wasn't one of my guys. Unfortunately, wine salesmen are a dime a dozen. He didn't realize there was anything unusual."

Katy dumped the counterfeit Merlot over the side. It had left a bad taste in her mouth. "You may be surprised to hear that there seems to be a rash of this going around. One of the owners from another California winery was in my office a few days ago about a fraudulent Pinot. I have a hunch someone is relabeling an inferior brand and trying to pass their wine off as the good stuff. They'll make a bigger profit.

"I already have investigators working on it. Of course, if this is an international trade issue, then we have a whole different set of problems. If you stop by at my office tomorrow we can do some paperwork."

"Excellent," Jeff said. "Let's nip this in the bud. Ad then maybe I can take you out to dinner afterwards."

Katy smiled. "I was hopingyou'd ask."

Jeff cut the engine to neutral. "Well, this is my mooring. Can you hop up to the bow while I maneuver? The current is a little tricky here."

"Aye, aye captain!"

Jeff watched Katy admiringly as she reached over the bow to grab the pick up stick and deftly secured the lines. When the boat was tied down, Jeff went down below to call the launch. "Wandering Giants calling for a pick up!"

"Someone will be alongside shortly," came the reply.

"Wandering Giants out," said Jeff.

"What a perfect name for your boat," Katy told him as he shut off the radio.

"Boat names are very special," he said. "Like company names. I'm sure you understand why this is making me so angry."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Katy promised.

Jeff smiled down at her. He couldn't believe his good fortune in bumping into this beautiful, brilliant woman.

"Jeff? Do we really have to go in right away?" Katy asked, slipping her arms around his waist. Her voice was low and sultry. There was no question what she had in mind.

"No...not at all." He picked up the mike and called to cancel the launch. Reaching around her back, he slipped one finger into the knot of her bikini top. The two tiny triangles of fabric dropped to the deck. "You are truly spectacular," Jeff murmured as he lifted Katy into his arms and carried her into the fore cabin.

As the moon sank into the night over Mendocino Bay, Wandering Giants rocked gently in the mooring field. There was barely a ripple in the water. Inside, Jeff poured Katy another glass of the superb 2018 Merlot. "I think this will always be our drink," he said, lightly tapping her glass with his.

"Always is a long time," Katy said, a twinkle in her eye.

"I'm counting on it," replied Jeff.

THE END