“What is that?”
“It’s kind of an unofficial tradition. Each year, people who own small sailboats deck them out with lights on every square inch of the rigging, the rails, the hull, everywhere. Then they sail real slow a few hundred yards offshore, back and forth, for about an hour or so. It’s relaxing and mesmerizing.”
“OK. It sounds very safe and a little bit.… romantic.” She let her last word hang in the air, arching her eyebrows, but didn’t get quite the response she expected. Instead of the salacious look that would come from most any man, Carson kind of looked rueful, as if he had done something he regretted. What’s it going to take?
“I suppose so,” he replied, slightly subdued. “They do a bonfire after the boats are done and people just kind of hang out in the vicinity and enjoy the experience. I have a couple of beach chairs in the car for us.”
“How thoughtful,” Katie replied. “How long will it take us to get there?”
“We should probably leave now so we can park and get a good spot.”
“OK.” She glanced at the dishes piled in the sink. “I’ll deal with those later.” Katie grabbed some cheap summer sandals and a sweater. A few minutes later, they were cruising south in the fading sunlight.
The parking lot was pretty full, but there were spots available. They each grabbed a beach chair from the trunk and made the short walk down to the soft sand of the beach. There they found about 150 people staking their claims all around a monstrous pile of wooden pallets and old dock pilings that would clearly serve as the bonfire.
Carson walked straight ahead as if to claim a spot fairly close to the wood pile, but Katie angled more to the south, towards a spot with fewer people and, subsequently, fewer eyes, noting that Carson followed her lead. They would still be close enough to enjoy the bonfire – if not the heat, then at least the visual aspect. But being further out would give them a little more privacy.
When she put her stuff down, Carson glanced around several times, as if he wanted to say something. She ignored him, positioning her chair so it faced the water before taking her seat. Dismissing whatever objection he might have, he put his chair down and joined her.
“I was waiting for you to turn in a circle three times before you sat down,” she teased before turning her attention out to the water, and her next words were reverent, almost dreamy in nature. “Oh, wow… that’s beautiful.”
Carson followed her gaze out to the multitude of boats drifting offshore. The hulls reflected the warm yellow of the sun, providing a dramatic contrast between the light-colored hulls and the darkening sea. It reminded Katie of a painting she’d seen years ago, where a single oak tree was bathed in late-day sunlight while an approaching thunderstorm, its clouds dark and menacing, built up behind it.
“It is,” Carson agreed. “And you haven’t seen the good part yet.”
“When do they turn the lights on?” she asked.
“The exact moment of sunset.”
“Which is?”
“8:01.” He looked at his watch. “About eight minutes from now. They’ll wave a flare from up there” – he pointed to a rise in the dunes – “and when it disappears, everyone will hit the switch.”
“Sounds dramatic.” Katie moved her hand to rest it on Carson’s arm, relieved he didn’t pull away. She knew he was too smart to miss her romantic overtures, so his acceptance of this little touch was not only encouraging, but provided comfort as well. Even though there was no wind, the rapidly-fading sunlight provided no warmth, and Carson was like a human heater. She could imagine snuggling up next to him during a snowstorm, luxuriating in their own little cocoon built for two.
Carson turned in his seat, looking almost directly behind them at the glowing disc as it dropped below the trees. Katie kept her eyes forward. The boats were mesmerizing and, with darkness spreading, this view wouldn’t last long. She could see the sunset another time.
She caught a bright, pink light out of the corner of her eye and felt Carson settle in his seat. “Here we go!” His voice had an anticipatory tone he hadn’t used before – at least not around her.
“Admiral, I dare say you are growing quite giddy with excitement!”
He shrugged. “How can I not? When else do you get to see something like this,” he swept his hand towards the fleet, “such art, created out of nothing by the minds of men and women like us?”
“A poet, too? You didn’t tell me you were such a Renaissance Man.” Every time she saw a new side of Carson, she wanted him more. Please just be playing hard to get.
“Nah,” he said, shaking his head. “Not me. Beautiful things are just rare, and I like to appreciate them when I can.” That guarded look, the one he had mastered and maintained during most of their time together, dropped away for a brief instant, and in his eyes she saw a glimpse of the tender soul she had long suspected was there.
Wow.
He jerked his eyes back to the boats. “OK! Ready… ready… now!” The light went out, and for a second the whole world seemed to hold its collective breath and nothing moved. Even the gentle waves seemed to pause, and then the ocean became a glorious kaleidoscope. Thousands of points of light exploded across the water at the same instant. Blues, whites, reds, greens, pinks – the hues intermixed and reflected in the water until it looked like a jeweled blanket had been laid out and stretched to the horizon.
Katie’s jaw fell open as she drank in the raw beauty, and she felt the shimmer of a tear collect at the bottom of each eye as her emotions overwhelmed her. The barely-audible undertone of gasps
