A Nautical Tour

[st_clare]

Julianna liked the water.

In London, she used to walk down by the Thames, even in the dead of winter when the weather was frigid. It was not frigid in Nevada, even though October was more than half over, but it was only in the upper seventies today, which made it pleasant. The sky was a clear, cloudless blue. She had a room booked for the rest of the weekend so she could work on a paper. It wasn't precisely the same thing as visiting the countryside, but it was quieter than the city and the rates were reasonable. It might even be a good place for a tryst.

The day's outing had been planned by the teaching staff at UNLV, and Julianna had decided to go after some deliberation. It might be easier for her to socialize on the deck of a boat than at an event at the school where she was tacitly expected to be in costume. So far, she'd succeeded in making idle conversation, even without a drink in her hand.

The Watcher drifted away from the knot of people she'd been conversing with, stepped towards the helm of the boat. In the summer, the temperatures would soar again. She would walk down by the water's edge when the sun went down, once everyone else was gone. It would remind her vaguely of home.

Comments

Re: A Nautical Tour

[cian_oneill]

Cian's eyes darted to confirm that the waving glass was just holding a clear liquid, water from what his nose could detect, rather than a cola beverage that would make for a sticky mess if she lost a grip on it.

"Been here f' a good few years now, ma'am, but m' heart lies wi' m' family back home," he told her, aware the clients, especially the ladies, liked that sort of sentiment. Even though it was basically the truth.

He saw Sylvia waving to catch his attention, signalling she'd made him a plate of food and was putting it in the fridge for him when he was ready to eat.

"Have y' been here long y'self?"

Re: A Nautical Tour

[st_clare]

Julianna had stuck with water because the only other beverage on offer was soda, and she didn't care for the sweetness of it. She didn't take her tea with a lot of sugar either. Sweets, she felt, should be limited to desserts.

"I'm actually freshly emigrated," she told the man at the helm. "A colleague of mine said a teaching position had just opened up at the university, and that I'd be on the fast track to tenure if I was able to get in. They needed someone well-traveled, with experience with native cultures. And published, of course."

She shouldn't bore the man. She was playing Place The Accent, trying to figure out what county he was from. The smell of the lake was fresh in the slight breeze. Yes, it was a fine day for a sail.

Re: A Nautical Tour

[cian_oneill]

Cian threw a very quick glance outside as the large houseboat swung a little on the mooring, the view outside shifting slightly to show a different part of the private, deserted cove to any who were looking outside, or sitting up on the upper deck.

"So what is i' y' teach?" he asked, trying to remember which school of the university had booked the social cruise, but not able to recall.

Re: A Nautical Tour

[st_clare]

"I'm in the linguistics department," she replied, watching idly as the view changed. "Apparently these cruises are a regular occurrence, but since I've only been with the school a few months this is my first outing on a boat like this."

She should have read up on Cottonwood Cove before this, but she hadn't been ready to discover things she liked about the area when she first arrived. It would have been an excellent place to come for swimming in the hot months.

"This must not be your first time at the helm," she said, noting the practiced way he guided the boat. "Have you worked for the resort long?"

Re: A Nautical Tour

[cian_oneill]

"About a year," he told her after a brief moment of thought. "But I've b'n working on boats for a few years," he volunteered, studying the woman for a moment as he spoke. Skylark. The name of the casino and the opening party he had attended suddenly leapt to mind, and the scene on the rooftop was where he'd seen her before. His face betrayed nothing of his realisation, as he finished listing the types of vessels he had skippered.

"I usually skipper the university's trips," he continued, "but this is th' first one I've seen where there's no open bar," he added, wondering still what was going on with that.

Re: A Nautical Tour

[st_clare]

"I was surprised at that myself, but the woman who took charge of the planning this time is a bit of a tee-totaler, which is why there's no alcohol today. Not all professors imbibe, I suppose. If I had been arranging things, it would have been different. That must come with being around longer."

The longer Julianna talked to the Irishman, the more she got the feeling that she'd seen him somewhere. Not terribly recently, and they hadn't spoken before this, but it was nagging at her. He was too old to be one of her students. It wasn't as if Las Vegas was lacking when it came to good-looking men. The Watcher took a contemplative drink of her water.

"I'm having the strangest sense of deja vu, and I have no idea why."

Re: A Nautical Tour

[cian_oneill]

"Well, we always carry a fully equipped bar, if anyone changes their mind," Cian slipped in, then shook his head. He had heard the exchanges between her and the two younger ones with her that night on the roof of the Skylark, especially when she had said the name 'Rhiannon', but she had been engrossed in her young companion and the verbal battle with the other two, and the bar, so knew there was very little chance she had seen him there. And she hadn't said it was him she recognised, just that she had a feeling of deja vu.

"If y' haven't been here on the lake before then I can't say," he replied, "perhaps y've been on a boat like this back home?"

Re: A Nautical Tour

[st_clare]

"That could be it," she said, her tone slightly dubious. "Water travel is less common than it was when I was younger, but I did take a longer cruise about ten years ago. It was a larger craft, of course, but..."

She was distracted when Clarissa, her teaching assistant, tapped her on the shoulder and offered her a plate of food from the buffet. Julianna thanked her for taking the trouble, nibbled on a piece of French bread as she turned back to face the skipper.

His fair hair had just caught the sun, turning it an even lighter blond, and the memory clicked into place. She'd seen him from the dance floor at the Skylark, standing head and shoulders above most of the women and some of the men. The 'a-ha' moment caused her expression to relax and become more open as the mental knot unraveled.

"I was right. I have seen you before."

Re: A Nautical Tour

[cian_oneill]

"Have y'?" he replied, picking up his bottle of water and taking a swig from it.

Re: A Nautical Tour

[st_clare]

It occurred to her a split second too late that if he'd been at the hotel's opening, he might have witnessed the spectacle she'd allowed Holiday to make out of her, and that was more of a source for potential embarrassment than the fact that she'd attended the event with someone young enough to be her son. Etiquette, especially in public, was very important to her, possibly too important. If she called attention to the fact that he might have seen her behaving badly, would he think her foolish?

"Yes. It's your height, it makes you quite noticeable. I haven't known many Irishmen, but the ones I have were short and bandy-legged." A pause while Julianna ate some more bread.

"If you saw me at the same event, I'm afraid I was not...at my best."

Re: A Nautical Tour

[cian_oneill]

Embarrassing clients was a definite no-no, and Cian wasn't about to do anything like that. He shook his head, smiling. "We all have moments in our lives we wish 'd gone diff'ren' t' what they did," he offered, "I know I have."