The Boy Who Wore Boat Shoes

24⎜The Boat

           No matter what type of condition it was actually in, if this was the type of thing that could momentarily drain all the gloom from Ari Remon, then I was all in favor of it. I had never witnessed her look more alive—not even when she was with Scott. There was something about the boat that had some magical effect on her, and I really hoped that it wasn’t temporary. It sounded absolutely crazy, but seeing Ari happy made me happy. Stupid, right?

           “Tom, Eli, Ari, Mel,” Ari said, not directly talking to me, but more being part of this blissful trance as she communicated with herself and anyone bothering to listen, “TEAM.”

           It took me a few seconds to replay her words and figure it out, but when I did, the name of the boat made sense. “TEAM” was an acronym for what I thought to be each member of her family. Like she had said: Tom, Eli, Ari, Mel. The first letters of each name spelled out “TEAM.” Though I wasn’t entirely aware whether or not it was normal to name boats, it was definitely a creative name for this particular one. I just had to assume that the “TOMMEL” part was “Tom” (her brother, probably) and “Mel” (her mom).

           “I miss you,” the ecstatic girl said, her rainy voice temporarily going back to a place of grief. I saw a tear escape from the edge of her eye, but I wasn’t sure if it was the normal Ari tear of unidentified sorrow, or of the exuberance that she was feeling just seconds prior.

           Then, she climbed onto the boat. Since it was Ari, she possessed more grace than should have been allotted to one girl as she did so. The action was so easy for her. She somehow managed to slide on, so that her feet were planted firmly on the floor of the boat. I was still standing on the dock, admiring her elegance and elation (and, uh, maybe her legs, too). She just looked as if she was in her element—like I did whenever I played football. I couldn’t think about anything but the game itself, and I was happy. Just like Ari right now.

           “Eric Wilson, are you getting on, or what?” she finally decided to address me.

           I laughed, and then admitted something that only few knew about my past. “Believe it or not, Ari Pomegranate, but I’ve actually never been on a boat before.” As I said the words, I walked closer to the water vehicle, my body parallel to that of Ari Remon’s.

           “You?” she gaped, unsure if she should be shell-shocked or laugh. “The boy who wore boat shoes just about every single day of his life has never been on a boat. Wow.”

           “Who says that I wear boat shoes every single day of my life?” I questioned, instinctively glancing down at my beloved shoe choice. Boat shoes. They were comfy, preppy, and I was pretty sure that actually going on a real boat with them on had the serious potential of ultimately ruining them. I definitely wore them a lot—that was for sure.

           “That’s why I said ‘just about,’” Ari said, defending her careful way of speaking. I acknowledged her response with an amiable nod. “So, you’ve never been on a boat?” I shook my head. “Not even a cruise ship?” I shook my head once again, and then decided to explain.

           “My parents prefer flying.”

           She was silent for a long while that probably wasn’t actually as long as it felt, and then finally a single phrase that I always longed to ask her exited her mouth: “Why?”

           “I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I didn’t live near the water growing up, and, uh, have never been on a boat.”

           “Well, prepare to lose your boat virginity,” she announced, smirking as she grabbed hold of my hand from inside the boat, and pulled me towards it. Contrary to her compact size, Ari was actually pretty strong, and managed to pull my torso towards the boat, though my feet remained planted firmly on the dock.