Calico Pennants by David A. Ross

put on the table was overly generous, and given a set of uncertain alternatives, Julian was not disinclined to being bought out.
    Here on his boat, amidst a tangle of ropes and hooks, he recapped the rather hideous highlights of a luncheon held in his honor the day of his so-called retirement.
    After several rounds of drinks and a catered meal, his fellow employees presented him with the rather extravagant gift of a Rolex watch. Each co-worker offered congratulations, their own professional insecurities obvious in their barbs. Julian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
    “You’re a lucky dog,” said Denny Jackson as he handed him the watch. “Now you have all the time in the world!”
    “Easy for you to say,” Julian returned good-naturedly. “You still have your job.”
    “Look, Crosby, next year it’ll probably be one of us. And they won’t be offering us the sweet package they gave you!”
    Julian remembered telephoning Kevin Miles once he’d left the luncheon.
    “Taking the afternoon off?” asked the broker.
    “I may be taking the rest of my life off,” said Julian. “The guys at Palisades gave me a retirement party this afternoon.”
    “I didn’t know you were retiring early,” Miles said.
    “That makes two of us.”
    “So you’re not entirely happy about it?”
    “I really don’t know how I feel yet, Kevin.”
    “A pat on the back and a boot in the ass, eh?”
    “And a pretty sizable check, too,” said Julian.
    “These days it’s SOP, my friend.”
    “I know. But it doesn’t make it any easier.”
    “At least money’s not a worry,” Kevin consoled.
    “I guess time is the real enemy,” Julian stammered.
    “That’s the truth,” Miles agreed.
    “I’m too young to be cast away.”
    “Of course you are, Julian. But perhaps you have to embrace this as an opportunity! Tell me something you’ve always wanted to do,” said Miles. “Something you never imagined you’d have the guts to follow up!”
    “How would I know?” said Julian. “Choice is a rather novel idea in my life.”
    “I’m serious,” his friend persisted. “What’s the first thing that comes to your mind?”
    “I suppose I always wanted to buy a boat,” Julian confessed.
    Julian could hear that Miles was preoccupied with another task as they spoke, and the lack of singular attention irritated him. “You never seemed much like the boat type to me,” said the broker. “But who am I to question your dreams? You’ve got the money.”
    “I could buy a houseboat or a cabin cruiser and dock it at Sausalito Harbor. After all, why should I tether myself to this place?”
    “Or you could head over to Hawaii,” Kevin suggested. “Have you ever been there?”
    “No, I haven’t,” said Julian.
    “Ten years ago I got a great deal on a condo. I’ve been over there dozens of times, and I’m telling you, Julian, you’ll come back a new man—that is, if you come back at all!”
    How odd that an off-the-cuff conversation had turned into reality, detail by detail! Though Julian Crosby was certainly harboring no regrets. On the contrary, he felt grateful to Miles for rekindling his fantasy. And as the first fiery rays of morning light engaged the new day, Julian rose slowly from recapitulation and assessment to discover his anchor was gone. 

    ALL REFERENCE POINTS now receding, and balance and dimension in serious question, Julian kept track of the days and wondered just how the Scoundrel had been set adrift. He saw not a single ship on the horizon, though he thought he might have heard the hopeful sound of an airplane’s motor, circling. He continued searching the sky for fifteen minutes after the sound faded. Nothing. Except a solitary Calico Pennant dragonfly. If he thought he’d known loneliness before, the overwhelming magnitude of abandonment now settled over him like a cacoon.
    “Captain Crosby, I’ve learned that a threat of mutiny is circulating amongst the crew,” revealed Buenaventura.
    “But