Sailing Under the Stars

Aydan surfaced with a spluttering gasp, shoving waterlogged hair out of her eyes. She treaded water as she watched the boat slowly circle around to pick her up again. Even from this distance, she could hear the faint sound of her father’s laughter on the wind.

As the boat drew level with Aydan, her father called out, “Having a nice swim?”

Aydan scoffed. “You did that on purpose.”

“Me? Never.”

Aydan rolled her eyes and reached up to grab the boat railing. She let herself be dragged for a few feet before hauling herself in, making sure to splash her father as much as possible with the movement.

“After all,” her father continued even as he tried to avoid the water, “it’s not my fault you were hanging practically halfway out the boat and I needed to make a sudden turn.”

“Mhm.” Aydan glanced around at the ocean around them, empty of other boats or hazards, before returning her deadpan stare to her father.

“Glad you agree,” her father said with a grin, reaching out and ruffling her hair. Aydan could tell he regretted the instinctive gesture as her hair dripped seawater down his wrist and dampened his sleeve. “Anyways, how about we call it here for a bit and dig into whatever goodies your boy sent us with?”

“Oh my god Dad.” Aydan leaned over the side of the boat to splash her father properly. “He’s not my boy.”

Her father laughed, holding up his hands in surrender. “Whatever you say kiddo,” he said indulgently. “But you also never answered my question.”

“Sure.” Aydan turned away to dig out a towel to dry off. Just because it was plenty warm out didn’t mean she wanted to be sopping wet for forever. “Surprisingly, getting dumped in the ocean makes me hungry.”

“Alright, cool the sass.” Her father killed the motor. “I’m sorry. That make it better?”

“Maybe.” Aydan shot her father a humorless grin.

“Note to self, don’t let Aydan drive us back in unless I want to go overboard at some point,” her father muttered lowly. Aydan just laughed in response.

~

The sun had just dipped below the horizon and the first stars were beginning to show in the sky by the time they finished their picnic. Aydan’s father sat back with a content sigh. “I’m telling you Ay, either you date that boy, or else I’m gonna find some way of adopting him.”

Aydan rolled her eyes as she packed the remaining containers back in the cooler and closed the lid. “Dad, you do know you can just ask and he’ll cook for you, right? No need to resort to kidnapping or matchmaking or any other weird idea you have.”

“Just thinking of the big picture here,” her father defended himself.

“And big picture is that he’ll never say no to cooking for anybody, unless he’s asleep, and even then I’m not entirely sure he wouldn’t wake up just for that,” Aydan countered. She paused as a thought occurred to her. “Please don’t test that out.”

“Noted.” Her father reached out and ruffled her hair, then fell silent, gazing up at the slowly darkening sky. Aydan followed his gaze, watching as the familiar constellations appeared before her eyes.

For a long while, the only noise was that of waves softly lapping at the sides of the boat. Unsurprisingly, Aydan’s father was the first to break that silence again.

“Still remember all that astronomy your mom taught you?”

Aydan smirked, then pointed up at the night sky. “North Star over there, along with Ursa Major and Minor. Then there’s Aquila,” she moved to point out the constellations as she named them, “Cygnus, Hercules, Lyra, and just coming up over the horizon is Mom’s favorite, Andromeda. Also in the time we’ve been sitting here, we’ve definitely been drifting southeast.”

“Don’t act like it’s the end of the world, you know we’ll make it back alright,” her father said with a smile.

“I’m just saying,” Aydan replied. “Mom made absolutely sure that when you inevitably taught me to sail, that I’d be able to find my way home no matter what.”

Her father laughed softly at that. “Can’t argue with that,” he said.

Aydan hesitated, then nudged her father’s side. “Hey Dad?” she asked. “Which constellation is your favorite?”

“What makes you think I have a favorite?” her father responded.

“Because I somehow doubt Mom wouldn’t drag you out stargazing with her, and that she wouldn’t ask you which one’s your favorite,” Aydan said.

Her father chuckled and ruffled her hair fondly. “Right on both counts. Well, if it were your mom asking, my answer would be Perseus, because if I remember correctly, they’re linked somehow, and your mother thought it was cute.”

Aydan muffled a snicker behind her hand.

“But,” her father continued, either not hearing her or choosing to ignore it, “my actual answer is a lot more boring. The North Star, for navigation and because it marks my way home.”

“I’m sure Mom would have found that answer just as sappy,” Aydan teased.

Her father let out a soft huff of laughter. “You know, you’re probably right. But, we can still say Perseus is my second favorite, for aforementioned sappy reasons. What about you?”

Aydan paused, leaning against the side of the boat and looking up at the darkening sky. “Can I say I don’t have an answer off the top of my head?” she replied.

“Fair enough.” Her father shrugged easily. “Was just curious what you might say.” He let out a long sigh, then began the arduous process of getting back to his feet. “Well, we’d better be getting in before it gets too late. You’ve got an early day tomorrow after all.” As Aydan sat up, he waved her away. “You can stay there kiddo. I’ll only need your help once we’re docking.”

Aydan nodded and sat back against the side of the boat again, returning her gaze to the stars her mother had once loved.