7. Sail

sail

. . .

S ail floated. Well, technically, his sailboat floated. And bobbed back and forth while he stared at the sky, watching the clouds move over head into odd shapes and forms. Each one sparking some type of visualizing moment for him. Was that an elephant? Flower? An archer? His imagination ran wild with ideas. This had been a game for him and his brothers, anytime they went out on their boat as a family. His mother would have the boys lie down, by age, and tell her what they saw. He supposed it wasn’t a game after all but a way to keep their minds occupied when the boat was anchored.

The alarm on his phone sounded. His body shook. Startled from the screeching sound that interrupted his calm. Blindly, Sail reached for phone and brought it over his face, blocking his view of the clouds, to shut off the alarm. He then dropped the phone to his side and sighed heavily.

Ever since his return, which was going on a couple of days now, his parents had been out of town. He hadn’t bothered to text them he was home. Not that it mattered because they hadn’t checked in on him. Out of sight, out of mind. Except, his parents were coming home this evening, and he wanted to be there. Mostly because he didn’t want his younger brothers breaking the news Sail had been kicked out of school.

Nope, the news of his epic failure rested solely on his shoulders. The thought of telling his parents made his stomach roll. He could already see the distress in his mother’s eyes and hear his father’s tone shift from the happy-go-lucky pitch to one of parental gruffness. The only saving grace was Jack Carter didn’t cuss. He didn’t yell or even raise his voice because he wouldn’t need to. Jack would, however, demand answers. He’d also expect Sail to change his ways.

An errant tear dripped from the corner of Sail’s eye. He scoffed at his inability to even cry normal. Who only shed a single tear, from one eye?

Me.

Sail tried to clear his thoughts, but as he gazed at the moving clouds, all he could see was his mom’s face and her eyes shedding their own tears when Sail told her he’d been kicked out of school.

It was time to face the music, so to speak. To come to terms with his future. Or as his brother Dune will undoubtedly say later, “Shit or get off the pot.”

There was only one thing to do: work his ass off.

As much as he wanted to stay out on the water—the one place where nothing else mattered—he had to come to terms with what needed to be done. Sail got up, pocketed his phone so it didn’t go overboard, and took the necessary steps to get him and his boat back to Seaport. If he believed in luck, which he wasn’t entirely sure he did, maybe Galvin would still be on the park bench. It was unlikely though. She had a life, and it wasn’t like they were overly friendly. They’d gotten off on the wrong foot and his weak attempt at flirting fell extremely short. He couldn’t recall a time when he had to put in any effort to woo the opposite sex. It could be she wasn’t into him. Again, something he hadn’t experienced, but would respect.

When he came into port, the marina bustled with activity. He waved as one of Blue Lobster Adventure boats cruised by, earning a “What the heck are you doing home?” from Speed as the boat motored past him. Sail waved again as the adventure seekers all turned to look at who Speed spoke to through the headset. Hopefully, Sail would be able to hang out with him and Wilson later, if he were still alive after confessing to his dad.

After securing the boat and making sure everything was closed up tightly, he disembarked and made his way out of the marina with his head down. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to talk to people, he wanted to get home and get things off his chest.

Growing up, his friends always made comments about how they wish Jack and Pearl were their parents. Most kids found their friends’ parents to be better because of how said parents presented themselves.

Except for Jack and Pearl.

They were amazing people, parents, and community members. What you saw, was what you got when it came to them. Sail didn’t fear punishment. He feared the sheer disappointment his parents would feel at his failure. They had given him every tool to succeed, and he’d squandered it all away.

Sail also cared about how the people of Seaport would look at his parents. He didn’t care if the towns people had beef with him. They could pound sand. Sail only cared how they treated his family. They had far too much at stake and he needed to remember that.

As much as he tried not to look for Galvin, he found himself staring at the park benches to see if she was sitting there. He was very tempted to go back to Carter’s to see if she was working but he couldn't put off facing his parents any longer. Word spread quickly in a small town. Sail needed to be the one to tell his parents he was back.

Thankfully, he made it to the parking lot without running into anyone he knew. It was out of season, which mean the lack of tourist meant more locals walking around in what they referred to as “Local’s Summer.” Now was the time for the people of Seaport to get out and enjoy their lovely island, amazing beaches, and delectable restaurants.

Even though the island had less tourists, traffic hadn’t subsided, and Sail found himself tapping his fingers against his steering wheel impatiently. Of course, the one-way, single car roads weren’t helping matters. It wasn’t like he could pass the cars in front of him or turn up a side street because then he’d head in the wrong direction.

By the time he reached the end of the road where he could turn and drive toward his parents, his nervousness was at an all-time high. He should’ve never gone out on the water—even though that was where he felt calmest—and stayed home, sitting on the couch like he used when he knew the principal or one of his teachers planned to call and speak to his parents. They had a rule: tell us before we hear it from them. This usually meant a less severe punishment.

Sail had his fair share of waiting back in the day. As had his brothers. His was mostly for missing homework or the one time he punched some kid for harassing one of his female friends. Overall, the Carter boys were well behaved.

He pulled into the driveway and breathed a sigh of relief. No one was home, not even Tidal or Crew. Sail had asked they make themselves scarce to give him some privacy. The plan was to text them the “all clear” if he was still alive.

Yesterday, he cleaned the house. The boys had done a number on it, between the sand they didn’t brush off before coming into the house, to the party they threw. The latter blew Sail’s mind. Someone was likely to say something that would get back to Jack. Pearl would brush off any such comment because she thought her boys could do no wrong. Jack was no dummy. Probably because he had been a teen once and knew exactly how boys were.

Sail parked, made his way into the house, and gave it a once over to make sure nothing was out of place. The dishes were done, the floor swept, the laundry put away, and the garbage taken out. He opened two windows in the living room and two in the kitchen to allow a cross breeze, and the paced. Even if he wanted, he couldn’t sit. He had so much nervous energy coursing through his body, he felt agitated and on the verge of doing something dangerous.

You’re about to tell your dad you wasted his money and got kicked out of school.

The sound of shells crunching under tires had Sail’s heart racing and his palms sweating. Not in a good way, either. He sat down on the couch, then he stood and walked into the hallway, and then he considered going outside to help his dad carry their bags in. Nothing sounded right, so he stood in the hallway and waited for the front door to open.

Pearl’s voice carried through the window. Sail smiled. Her voice had a way of putting him at ease. He loved his mother more than anything and it was those feelings that ripped his heart into minute pieces. Knowing he messed up and how she would feel gutted him.

The door opened and he stood tall. Pearl laughed at something Jack said about Sail being home. As soon as Sail meet his mother’s gaze, tears fell from his eyes.

“Sail, what are on earth are you doing home?” his mother asked as she came toward him. He towered over his mom and peered down at her. Her thumb brushed his tears away. “What’s wrong?”

“I messed up,” he choked out the sentence.

“Okay,” she said as she took his head. “Let’s talk about it.”

Sail offered her a weak smile and then looked to his father, who stood there waiting his turn. “Are you in legal trouble?” Jack frowned as he asked his son.

Sail shook his head.

“All right, let’s go sit down.” Jack motioned for Sail to follow Pearl into the living room. His mom patted the spot next to him. Despite his age, he needed her. He sat next to her and cleared his throat.

“What’s going on?” Jack asked as he sat in one of two the wingback chairs. They rarely sat in the living room, unless they had special company, or someone needed some peace and quiet. The kitchen or family room was where they congregated.

Sail ran his clammy hands over his shorts and cleared his throat again. “I . . . uh . . .” This needed to be like ripping a bandage off. No matter how badly it was going to hurt, the faster he did it, the quicker the pain would subside.

He cleared his throat for the third time. “I was suspended for the semester,” he mumbled the words, but had no doubt his parents heard him clearly. Pearl’s noticeable intake of breath was a dead giveaway.

“Sail,” his mother said softly, while his father barked out, “What happened?”

Cutting to the chase was going to be the only way to move forward. While he wanted to look at his mom where he knew he’d get sympathy, he sucked in a breath and faced his dad.

“Last semester I was put on academic probation and I didn’t take it seriously. I started the school year under probation and I had been warned. I ignored the warnings about my grades, attending classes, and the parties. Dean Holmes suspended me. I can go back in January.”

Not once did Sail look away from his father’s hardened gaze.

“Sail,” his mother said his name softly, which brought another round of tears to his eyes.

“Do you know how much money your tuition is?” Jack asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“How do you plan to pay it back?”

“I’ll work,” Sail said. “Wherever I’m needed, and then when I go back in January, I’ll double up on classes, so I graduate on time.”

Jack said nothing for a long moment. “The car needs to be unpacked. Do you think you can take care of that while I speak with your mother?”

Sail nodded and stood. “Dad . . .”

“Not now, Sail. I need a minute.”

Sail made his way outside, pulled his phone from his pocket and texted his brothers with an update. He hoped nothing went wrong in their day because he wasn’t sure if Jack could take anymore disappointment in one day.