Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Galvin walked toward the park and stopped to peruse a couple of the vendors near the entrance. The cotton candy truck interested her, but also, she liked the idea of having fried dough. And she still had the caramel apple in her refrigerator.
She walked through the park, toward the rock wall where Pearl said she’d be sitting. She approached the group, with a tentative step. Pearl, she felt comfortable with. The others with the group, she didn’t know. And Caroline wasn’t with them.
“Galvin!” Pearl pulled her into a hug right away. “Come meet everyone.”
Before she could protest—as if she’d even try—Pearl pulled her toward the group of women. She introduced each of them. When she came to Margaux, she smiled.
“Oh, we met,” Galvin said as they shook hands. “How are you?”
“Just lovely. How are you enjoying Seaport?”
“I love it. It’s really such a beautiful place. I’m so happy I moved here.”
“So are we,” Pearl said as she squeezed Galvin’s hand. “Come on, we’re right over here.”
They left the group of ladies and walked a little way down the sidewalk. Pearl had three chairs in a semi-circle, with a table in the middle.
“This is us,” she said as she sat down. “Caroline will be here shortly, and the cooler is full of different drinks and snacks. I think the guys will be by after Sail’s first race.”
“Sail said he used to do this in high school?”
“He did,” Pearl said. “He and Jack would travel all over for the competitions. He was very good. And now Crew does it. Next season, I’ll travel with him and Jack because Caroline is taking over most of the day-to-day operations for our business. I’ll still put in time but won’t be so afraid to leave.”
“That’ll be great for Crew. My dad said hiring his foreman was the best thing he’d ever done. It gave him freedom.”
“It’s important, especially when you have kids.”
Galvin smiled. Eventually, she wanted to get married and have a family. Even though she saw herself as a career woman, a luxury of her the field she planned to go into, allowed for her to work from home.
She smiled at a few people who walked by. She’d recognized them from the diner. When there was a gap in the crowd, Galvin glanced toward the pier. The usually full docks had been cleared of all boats. Now, judges or race officials stood there or sat a table at the end of the docks.
“I think Sail’s nervous.”
“It’s good to be nervous. Jack says it’ll keep Sail aware.”
Pearl handed Galvin a can of soda. “Thank you.” She opened it and took a drink. “How does this all work? I didn’t ask Sail because I wanted him to focus on his training.”
“I don’t know how many are in the field, but they’ll race twice today. If he wins, he gets one point, second place gets two points, and so on. The sailor with the lowest points wins.”
“So, the scoring is like golf?”
Pearl nodded. “Exactly. But they will have tiebreakers as well if needed.”
“How many races in total?”
“I believe the minimum is five, but there can be up to twelve. It’ll all depend on the standings.”
Galvin nodded in understand. She turned her attention to the bay, the place where Sail took her yesterday and smiled. Everything they’d done—everything he’d shown her—made her love the area she was in. She didn’t feel like an outsider or someone just bidding her time. Sail had made Seaport her home.
Of course, he was a huge part of why she felt the way she did. He was the difference maker in her life. And for the better.
Yesterday, at family dinner, the Carters had made her feel like she’d always been a part of their family. They didn’t bombard her with too many questions, and when it was time to set the table, Pearl handed her plates as if she’d been there a million times over.
During dinner, they laughed, told jokes, and shared something about their day that made it special. When it was Pearl’s turn, she said, “Having Galvin at our table.”
This warmed Galvin. She didn’t remember much of her mom, just faded memories that she lost more and more of each year.
Caroline arrived, in all her glitz and glam. Her oversized bag was bigger than Galvin’s suitcase. But she didn’t look out of place. In fact, she blended in well with the other women who were in town.
“How’s the baby?” Pearl asked as she gave Caroline a hug.
“Reminding me that it’s there every morning.” Caroline sat down. “I love this little pea though, puke and all.”
“I only had morning sickness with Dune,” Pearl said.
Caroline rolled her eyes. “Of course, it was Dune.”
Galvin tried not to laugh, but Caroline’s exaggeration was . . . well very exaggerated.
“I’m sorry you’re not feeling well. Is there something I can get you?” Galvin didn’t want Caroline to think she was making fun of her.