me do it, but I’ll never forget shivering streams of
water against that gull-plastered post over there. This
old bastard never did come back for me; he just kept on
sailing away from what little was left of our life as a
family.

Not that I’ve ever let Leo get me down — beyond the
shedding of a few therapeutic tears, that is. I haven’t
knocked around the world for nothing the way he has.
Along with the degrees and diplomas, I’ve accumulated
a lot of experience dealing with dinosaurs like him.

Unlike him, I insist on getting something out of what-
ever I put my mind to. Not that the method in my mad-
ness is all that obvious this morning. I mean, how does
one rationalize subjecting oneself to yet another spiri-
tual flogging by this impossible man? ‘Step lively now,
ma petite sorcière! Time to shove off!’

Just like always, I feel him taking control of every-
thing around me. As if summoned, the freshening wind
catches hold of the flapping jib and flings it billowing.
Frantically, I slip the aft mooring line free of its bollard
and leap aboard. I trip over a sheet-block and lurch
drunkenly into the cockpit. Just barely, he catches my
forearm in the steel grip I remember so well. He looks
at me like I should feel grateful he just saved me a trip
to the orthodontist. ‘Let go of me, Leo! What the hell’s
wrong with you anyway, casting off like that?’

‘Hell, you’re bleeding all over my deck, and we’re
not even out of the harbor yet!‘ He draws a first-aid kit
from under a cockpit seat and tosses it at me. ‘So much
for Philippe’s tales about how you’ve gotten to be quite
a sailor down under! It’s high time you got yourself
back on your sea-legs, ma sorcière.’

‘Leo, you know I’ve never liked you calling me that.
So why do you do it?’

‘You might just as well ask me why I breathe.’ He
turns away dismissively and starts unlimbering the
mainsail.