you'd rather be in Mexican custody."
"You have no idea."
"Try me."
The soft sincerity in his voice got my attention. For the first time since we met, I actually took a good look at him. He was probably in his fifties, dressed in sailboater attire of shorts, tee shirt, and baseball hat. Tall and thin, he sported the mandatory sailor-guy gray beard. Until that moment I'd just lumped him in with all the other men alone on their boats.
I gave him a smile. "You wouldn't happen to be a priest, would you? I need an exorcism performed on my boat."
He laughed. "Don't we all? My watermaker upped and quit."
"No, really. I need someone who can purge evil."
He gave me a wary look. "Hetta, this is none of my business, but are you, like, okay?"
"You mean, like, sane?"
He smiled. "No sane person takes a boat to Mexico. Look, we hardly know each other, but I'd like to help if I can. I'm no priest, but I do have good friends here who helped me out when I needed it. I have a few minutes, then I gotta go to a meeting."
"Meeting? Jeez, I thought we came down here to get away from those."
"AA, Hetta."
"The car club?"
CHAPTER TWELVE
Alcoholics Anonymous?
Who knew they had a group in Puerto Escondido, Mexico? And that so many of the fleet attended meetings. Because I had a serious problem brewing, so to speak, on my boat I confided in Robert, telling him of Lil's decades of prescription drug and alcohol abuse, along with failed stays in rehab, and that I'd removed all drugs and booze from my boat.
He frowned and looked as though he was struggling with what to say after I'd unloaded on him. "That might not be the best idea. Going cold turkey for someone of her age, and with her history, might be dangerous. She could die."
"Really?" I tried not to sound hopeful.
He grinned. "I'm sure you don't want that."
"Of course not. If the old sot ups and dies on my boat at anchor, the Mexican police will toss me in jail until after the autopsy."
He shook his head at my flippancy. "Uh, perhaps you might not be the best caregiver for the old lady. I'm detecting a severe lack of empathy here."
"Empathy? This old bat has spent the past…well, her entire life, making everyone as miserable as she is. She's jealous of my mother's good looks, and family. She interferes whenever she can. If she could, I'm sure she'd have broken up my parents' marriage long ago. Luckily my father kept taking jobs overseas, probably to get away from her. Lil is a master manipulator. In Texas we call that a shit disturber. As a matter of fact, I cannot think of one nice thing to say about her."
"Why did she come here? She must know you can't stand her."
"Because I am the one person she hasn't been able to control. I gotta give her credit, though, she never quits trying."
"I think you need medical help here."
"No thanks, I'm a little upset, but feeling okay."
Two hours later, my fondest wish came true. Aunt Lil was off the boat, and en route, thanks to my newest bestest AA buddies, to a small clinic run by nuns in Loreto. I would tell you who my new friends were, but they prefer to remain anonymous.
Lil, who was still raving when I got back to the boat, pitched a real hissy when I informed her she was headed somewhere for help, but settled down the minute I hinted they'd probably give her Valium to calm her nerves, which she sure as hell wasn't going to get on my boat, as I was running low.
I also didn't tell her the people taking her into town were voted least likely to stop in a local bar on the way, which I'm sure was at the top of her agenda once she got away from what she called my hell ship.
As soon as I waved bye-bye, I retrieved my bar stock from Denny, and Po Thang and I spent a blessedly peaceful late afternoon swimming, sunning, reading and napping, free of the witch we'd been saddled with. Every once in awhile, Po Thang or I would let loose a contented sigh, just happy to have each other for company. I mixed a Margarita, but fell asleep
"You have no idea."
"Try me."
The soft sincerity in his voice got my attention. For the first time since we met, I actually took a good look at him. He was probably in his fifties, dressed in sailboater attire of shorts, tee shirt, and baseball hat. Tall and thin, he sported the mandatory sailor-guy gray beard. Until that moment I'd just lumped him in with all the other men alone on their boats.
I gave him a smile. "You wouldn't happen to be a priest, would you? I need an exorcism performed on my boat."
He laughed. "Don't we all? My watermaker upped and quit."
"No, really. I need someone who can purge evil."
He gave me a wary look. "Hetta, this is none of my business, but are you, like, okay?"
"You mean, like, sane?"
He smiled. "No sane person takes a boat to Mexico. Look, we hardly know each other, but I'd like to help if I can. I'm no priest, but I do have good friends here who helped me out when I needed it. I have a few minutes, then I gotta go to a meeting."
"Meeting? Jeez, I thought we came down here to get away from those."
"AA, Hetta."
"The car club?"
CHAPTER TWELVE
Alcoholics Anonymous?
Who knew they had a group in Puerto Escondido, Mexico? And that so many of the fleet attended meetings. Because I had a serious problem brewing, so to speak, on my boat I confided in Robert, telling him of Lil's decades of prescription drug and alcohol abuse, along with failed stays in rehab, and that I'd removed all drugs and booze from my boat.
He frowned and looked as though he was struggling with what to say after I'd unloaded on him. "That might not be the best idea. Going cold turkey for someone of her age, and with her history, might be dangerous. She could die."
"Really?" I tried not to sound hopeful.
He grinned. "I'm sure you don't want that."
"Of course not. If the old sot ups and dies on my boat at anchor, the Mexican police will toss me in jail until after the autopsy."
He shook his head at my flippancy. "Uh, perhaps you might not be the best caregiver for the old lady. I'm detecting a severe lack of empathy here."
"Empathy? This old bat has spent the past…well, her entire life, making everyone as miserable as she is. She's jealous of my mother's good looks, and family. She interferes whenever she can. If she could, I'm sure she'd have broken up my parents' marriage long ago. Luckily my father kept taking jobs overseas, probably to get away from her. Lil is a master manipulator. In Texas we call that a shit disturber. As a matter of fact, I cannot think of one nice thing to say about her."
"Why did she come here? She must know you can't stand her."
"Because I am the one person she hasn't been able to control. I gotta give her credit, though, she never quits trying."
"I think you need medical help here."
"No thanks, I'm a little upset, but feeling okay."
Two hours later, my fondest wish came true. Aunt Lil was off the boat, and en route, thanks to my newest bestest AA buddies, to a small clinic run by nuns in Loreto. I would tell you who my new friends were, but they prefer to remain anonymous.
Lil, who was still raving when I got back to the boat, pitched a real hissy when I informed her she was headed somewhere for help, but settled down the minute I hinted they'd probably give her Valium to calm her nerves, which she sure as hell wasn't going to get on my boat, as I was running low.
I also didn't tell her the people taking her into town were voted least likely to stop in a local bar on the way, which I'm sure was at the top of her agenda once she got away from what she called my hell ship.
As soon as I waved bye-bye, I retrieved my bar stock from Denny, and Po Thang and I spent a blessedly peaceful late afternoon swimming, sunning, reading and napping, free of the witch we'd been saddled with. Every once in awhile, Po Thang or I would let loose a contented sigh, just happy to have each other for company. I mixed a Margarita, but fell asleep
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