to remind myself I’m eighty-eight years old.”
Mac looked at me and said, “Meggie, I want you to use my boat anytime you have a chance. You know where I hide the key. You can run that boat as well as I can. You should take your friend out clamming when she gets here.”
“I’ll take you up on it, Mac. When you feel better, maybe you can come down and I’ll take you both for a ride up the pond.”
Mac smiled and said, “That will give me something to look forward to.”
Mac asked Ian how the lobstering had been, and they talked about that in detail. After a while, Ian stood up and said, “Well, you should probably get some rest. We don’t want to wear you out.”
Mac asked, “Are you two going out to dinner?”
To my surprise, Ian immediately said, “Yes.”
Mac waved cheerfully. “Enjoy your dinner.”
When I bent down to give him a kiss goodbye, Mac winked at me. I knew exactly what my old friend was up to. I told him I would come by sometime tomorrow to check on him.
As we walked to the truck, Ian asked, “Where would you like to go, Meggie?”
I said, “Ian, Mac put you on the spot back there. If you have other plans, don’t worry about me.”
He said, “I would like to go to dinner and we both have to eat. Now where would you like to go?”
“This is your neck of the woods. You know more places than I do.”
“I know a great place. Are you sick of fish by now?”
“Are you kidding? I could eat fish every day of the week.”
“My kind of girl.”
The restaurant was pretty crowded, but they had a table for us. We ordered an appetizer of fried calamari to share, and we both ordered the seared sesame tuna with soy and wasabi for our entrées. The waitress opened the bottle of wine that Ian ordered and poured us both a glass.
We each took a sip.
Ian asked, “Do you like teaching?”
“I basically decided to be a teacher because I really didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do. I’m not passionate about it like some of the other teachers I work with. I work with some amazing people. I’m not a bad teacher. I try and make the classes fun and informative for the girls, but my heart just really isn’t in it. The main draw to teaching for me was having the summers off. I thought a lot about changing careers this past year. To be perfectly honest, I’ve enjoyed working at the marina this past month more than I’ve enjoyed teaching these past few years. I love being by the water and not being stuck in a classroom all day.”
He said, “I know what you mean. When I got out of college, I went to work in a shipyard as an engineer. It was a good experience and I learned a lot, but I love being out on the water, and I like working for myself. When my dad decided to retire, I jumped at the chance to buy the business. I think it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to do that, but I felt I should have another work experience just to make sure. I also missed Rhode Island. Maine is beautiful, but it’s just not home.”
“You were very lucky to grow up here. I know my mother misses Rhode Island.”
“They say when you’re trying to figure out a career path, you should try and think of where you want to be in your life ten years down the road. I knew this is where I really want to be. What do you see yourself doing in ten years?”
I thought about it for a minute and said, “As far as a career, I don’t have a clue. I do hope that by that time, though, I’ll have a family of my own. I definitely want to have kids.”
“I was an only child. If I ever have kids, I’d want more than one. I would want them to have each other.”
“When I was a kid, I sometimes wished I were an only child. My brothers could drive me crazy; it was always two against one. I could bore you all night with tales of how they terrorized me. They were very creative and I never knew when they would strike. Those two were pretty slick.”
He laughed and said, “If you remember, I got in on a
Mac looked at me and said, “Meggie, I want you to use my boat anytime you have a chance. You know where I hide the key. You can run that boat as well as I can. You should take your friend out clamming when she gets here.”
“I’ll take you up on it, Mac. When you feel better, maybe you can come down and I’ll take you both for a ride up the pond.”
Mac smiled and said, “That will give me something to look forward to.”
Mac asked Ian how the lobstering had been, and they talked about that in detail. After a while, Ian stood up and said, “Well, you should probably get some rest. We don’t want to wear you out.”
Mac asked, “Are you two going out to dinner?”
To my surprise, Ian immediately said, “Yes.”
Mac waved cheerfully. “Enjoy your dinner.”
When I bent down to give him a kiss goodbye, Mac winked at me. I knew exactly what my old friend was up to. I told him I would come by sometime tomorrow to check on him.
As we walked to the truck, Ian asked, “Where would you like to go, Meggie?”
I said, “Ian, Mac put you on the spot back there. If you have other plans, don’t worry about me.”
He said, “I would like to go to dinner and we both have to eat. Now where would you like to go?”
“This is your neck of the woods. You know more places than I do.”
“I know a great place. Are you sick of fish by now?”
“Are you kidding? I could eat fish every day of the week.”
“My kind of girl.”
The restaurant was pretty crowded, but they had a table for us. We ordered an appetizer of fried calamari to share, and we both ordered the seared sesame tuna with soy and wasabi for our entrées. The waitress opened the bottle of wine that Ian ordered and poured us both a glass.
We each took a sip.
Ian asked, “Do you like teaching?”
“I basically decided to be a teacher because I really didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do. I’m not passionate about it like some of the other teachers I work with. I work with some amazing people. I’m not a bad teacher. I try and make the classes fun and informative for the girls, but my heart just really isn’t in it. The main draw to teaching for me was having the summers off. I thought a lot about changing careers this past year. To be perfectly honest, I’ve enjoyed working at the marina this past month more than I’ve enjoyed teaching these past few years. I love being by the water and not being stuck in a classroom all day.”
He said, “I know what you mean. When I got out of college, I went to work in a shipyard as an engineer. It was a good experience and I learned a lot, but I love being out on the water, and I like working for myself. When my dad decided to retire, I jumped at the chance to buy the business. I think it was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to do that, but I felt I should have another work experience just to make sure. I also missed Rhode Island. Maine is beautiful, but it’s just not home.”
“You were very lucky to grow up here. I know my mother misses Rhode Island.”
“They say when you’re trying to figure out a career path, you should try and think of where you want to be in your life ten years down the road. I knew this is where I really want to be. What do you see yourself doing in ten years?”
I thought about it for a minute and said, “As far as a career, I don’t have a clue. I do hope that by that time, though, I’ll have a family of my own. I definitely want to have kids.”
“I was an only child. If I ever have kids, I’d want more than one. I would want them to have each other.”
“When I was a kid, I sometimes wished I were an only child. My brothers could drive me crazy; it was always two against one. I could bore you all night with tales of how they terrorized me. They were very creative and I never knew when they would strike. Those two were pretty slick.”
He laughed and said, “If you remember, I got in on a
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