The Do-Over(80)

“Some people really went all out.” I was amazed at the intricacies of what people did.

“Well, I definitely worked up an appetite decorating ours today. That was a load of work.” Wes looked at the menu.

“No dessert,” I mentioned. “We’re going to have it later, on the boat.”

“Buzzkill.” My daughter looked at me with a smile.

I turned to Wes, shaking my head, “What happened to my sweet kid? I swear I raised her with better manners than this.”

Emerging from the restaurant, sated and relaxed, the temperature had dropped significantly in the past few hours, the night air taking on a seasonal chill under clear, dark skies adding to the ambiance created by the holiday lit boats.

“Wow. That’s invigorating.” I leaned into Wes for warmth.

Scarlett ran ahead to the information board, to see if the results were posted. “We got an honorable mention!” she called out.

“No kidding,” Wes was excited as we read the results. “Pretty darn good for a couple of first-timers, don’t you think, Princess?”

“Really good. There were a lot of boats entered and after first, second and third there were only two honorable mentions and we’re one of them.” She was clearly proud of the award.

“Let’s go take a look at the winning boats and see if we can figure out what all the people voting liked,” Wes suggested.

“Great idea.” Scarlett was all in.

As we went from boat to boat, Wes and Scarlett dissected each one’s decorations.

“Okay, here’s what I’m seeing.” Wes pointed to one of the boats. “All of the winners lit their mast to the top. So, that is a must for next year. And look how good the lighted garland looks wrapped around the rails. So, we’re going to need to pick up some of that. I think by adding those lighted effects, we’ll have our basics.”

“Yeah, I think so, too,” she agreed. “And it really does look better that way.”

“Well a lot of these people have been doing this a long time. So, I think we really kicked butt for a couple of newbies, Princess.”

“Yeah, we were like literally one of the top five.” She smiled up at him.

“I’m so proud of you guys. I think The Do-Over looks beautiful,” I said, as we climbed on board our winter wonderland themed boat. “I’m going to go make some hot tea for all of us. I’m freezing.”

While they stood on deck and talked to passersby about the decorations, I went below, grabbed a sweater and then started to make the tea. Pulling out the plates and utensils, I set the cake in the middle of the table and stood back and smiled. Grabbing some of the ornaments I had purchased earlier, I placed them around the cake plate to give our dessert a festive look.

Had I really seen that old lady smiling at me today? What had she told me so long ago – that I needed to communicate and forgive to lighten my aura? Well, I had certainly done that in my relationship with Wes, so I wondered what colors she saw today. Maybe lighter ones and that’s why she was smiling at me.

“Hey you two, dessert’s ready,” I called up to them.

They were still discussing boat decorations as they came down the companionway.

“That cake looks great,” Wes commented as I handed him a slice.

“It’s Chef Winston’s famous Christmas Cake,” I explained. “I went to get a Key lime pie, but he convinced me that I needed to get this instead.”

“Good choice.” Wes was enjoying it.

“Am I legally allowed to eat this?” Scarlett was smiling and shoveling the cake down fast, before I could reconsider and take it away.

“You can eat rum, just not drink it,” I assured her as she reached for a second slice.

“This stuff is killer. They were definitely not stingy with the rum,” she commented.

“I think the proper way to make this, which is probably what they did, is to actually bake the cake in the fall and then feed it alcohol like every two weeks, kind of like watering a plant.” I had read that in a magazine.

Wes was helping himself to a second slice. “This is amazing, T. Perfect end to a great evening.”

“So, why did some of the boats have Bitter End Yacht Club flags?” Scarlett asked.

“From what I understand, if a family comes back for a second year, they get a flag. So, next year we’ll have a flag,” Wes explained.

“Oh, that’s cool. We need to come up with like literally the most badass theme for next year. And then with the lights, we’ll totally have a winner.”

Sipping my tea, I sat back and listened to the two of them toss around ideas for next year’s competition. The irony didn’t escape me, that if we were sitting here with Frank, my stress level would be catapulting off the charts, already fearing that whatever plans he was making with Scarlett would never come to pass. And that she would once again be heartbroken and made to feel marginalized. But with Wes, I could just enjoy the excitement and energy at the table, because I knew, with my entire being, that one year from now, we’d be sitting right here and the two of them would be bouncing off the cabin walls celebrating their first, second or third place victory. And that throughout the year, he would be surprising her with accessories he found for their project.

There was no doubt in my mind that Wes Bergman would not be disappointing my little girl.