Re: Of Course It Hurts (Judy/Saya)

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

I suppose not every animal can have higher intelligence, Saya commented. I know I spoke of it before, but...perhaps I might try a bite, if we catch any.

Saya watched Kyo set Bridge back on the deck and the corgi go to Judy for attention. She shook her head at how Judy spoiled him, not realizing her own hypocrisy in treating Alieth essentially the same way.

Kyo answered Judy with a shake of his head as well, saying Bridge tried to take a swim. While he may not mind the cold water, I don't really relish the idea of going in after him.

[Judith Eastman]

[Boat]

"Sounds like something my sons would've done. Heck, it sounds like something I would've done," Judy answered. "I've told you about my wild teenage days, but I was even more ridiculous as a toddler."

This brought a smile to Judy's face. She had no memories from 50 years ago, but she had stories, pictures, and memories of her own kids.

"I can't imagine what the grandbaby will be like, with a quarter of the genetic load coming from here."

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

It took Saya several moments to realize that Judy hadn't actually made an abrupt change in topics from dogs to children, but decided to ask for clarification. Are you...comparing your children to the corgis?

[Judith Eastman]

[Boat]

"Yes," Judy answered, as she gradually realized that she'd been unclear.
"The dogs absolutely act like children, or maybe it's the children who act like dogs."

She chuckled, quickly looked out at the blue waters ahead, made a slight course correction, and then continued.
"Pets and kids are both bottomless pits of attention, too."
The brief look she shot Alieth's way said everything there was to be said about the nature of the last statement.

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

Saya followed Judy's gaze to Alieth and a small smile touched her lips. Indeed, they are. Glancing back at Judy, she asked a question that had occurred to her before, but that she'd not felt comfortable asking before. How long had you been married, before you decided to have children? Saya shot Kyo a very quick sideways glance as she asked.

Kyo froze at the question, unsure if Saya was asking for her own future reference or just out of curiosity, but he was rather interested in the answer himself. Though he was an only child, he came from a large family and was used to seeing families with many children.

[Judith Eastman]

[Boat]

"Took us about six months," Judy answered. "Then again, we were on the slow side, as far as relationships go. We'd been together for two years before we married. Come to think of it, that... hesitation should've been a red flag."

Judy's voice grew a little shaky towards the end, a sure sign (for the corgis, too) that she needed a little comforting again. That marriage remained a difficult topic for her.
Both dogs came close, and she patted them both.

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

I'm sorry, Saya said contritely as she caught a hint of Judy's emotions, both empathically and visibly. I shouldn't have asked.

Turning to look ahead of the boat in the direction they were traveling, Saya changed the topic, Where are we stopping?

Kyo had shifted uncomfortably when he realized Saya had actually asked something rather sensitive. He wasn't privy to everything about her marriage that Judy had told Saya. He, too, turned to gaze across the water.

[Judith Eastman]

[Boat]

Judy was absolutely relieved at the change in the conversation. She supposed she'd make her peace with what had happened someday, but she wasn't there yet. Who knew, maybe someday she'd be ready to open up again, but she doubted that would happen for a very, very long time.

"Mouth of the Kennebec river, right over there," she answered, gesturing at some headlands up ahead. "Shouldn't be too long now."

Judy gradually, gently, accelerated the ship even more, until they were cruising as fast as she was physically comfortable going.

"Did you feel how smooth and quiet that was?" she asked, seemingly amazed.

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

Yes, it's quite nice, Saya replied. I might have to get my hands on the engine some time before we leave. She offered Judy a teasing smile along with the implied threat of taking the boats engine to pieces.

Kyo added his own comment, I've never been in such a smooth-running boat. When we went fishing at home, it was always in a rowboat or something with an older-style engine.

[Judith Eastman]

[Boat]

"I've tried rowing in the past," Judy answered to Kyo. "I enjoyed it a little, but it's not really for me. Only once on a fishing trip, though - it tires the arms out a little too much to hold a fishing rod for hours afterwards."

There had been so much kvetching that day, that they vowed to never do it again.

"I think we're in a pretty good position now," she remarked, killing the engine, and then flicking a switch.
"We've got a little on-board computer guiding the engine right now. An autopilot. It adapts to the currents, and keeps the boat in place."

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

Nice, Kyo exclaimed. Much better than having to mess with an anchor. And causes less disturbance of the fish, I'd imagine.

My older cousins always made me do the rowing because I had the longest arms and they told me it meant I didn't have to work as hard. I'm pretty sure they were putting me on, he said with a self-deprecating laugh.

Saya giggled at Kyo's story and confessed, I enjoy rowing. One of my favorite holodeck programs is of Bajoran lakes. I simply row to the middle of a lake and relax or meditate or read. Just whatever fits the moment.

And with that, I will leave the two of you to your fishing. She moved toward the back of the boat where Kyo had left the food bag and pulled out a bottle of water, squirting some into her mouth then offering the bottle to the others.

[Judith Eastman]

[Boat]

Judy laughed heartily at Kyo's story.
"I think it's actually the opposite," she quipped as she stood up to get a fishing rod. Then, she cast it down.

"You know, this is likely to be the best-smelling fishing trip you could ask for," she remarked. "Imagine how poor Saya would react if we tried chum?"

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

Kyo took the water bottle and took a couple quick gulps, closing it and setting it on a seat close enough for he and Judy to reach. Picking up the other pole, Kyo looked over the mechanics for a moment, then cast, finding it not much different than the poles he'd used on Bajor.

Saya shuddered and grimaced at the thought of chum, You have my eternal gratitude for that fact, she quipped as she settled along one of the benches, corgi leashes trapped under her bum so the dogs couldn't get too crazy. She took her PADD and settled in to catch up on some engineering periodicals while Judy and Kyo fished.

[Judith Eastman]

[Boat]

"I never cared much for that sort of fishing, anyway," Judy replied. "Sharks aren't kosher, and I much prefer to catch fish I can cook."

She leaned on her cane. She could definitely get used to it - it was classy.

"We probably won't be out for too long," she remarked. "My hips aren't what they used to be, or what they ought to be in a few weeks."

Then, she felt a tugging.

"I think I got one!" she exclaimed.
She rolled up the fishing line and, lo and behold, a striped bass.

"Rockfish," she identified it. "Kosher. Gonna want to put it down now."

Judy walked a few steps over, to the box, and retrieved a small knife.

"It's more humane than it looks," she stated as she stabbed it through the brain. "Now, for the disgusting part. We're gonna want to bleed it out. Kyo, can you get the bucket?"

[Ozu Saya]

[Boat]

Saya glanced up in surprise when Judy caught a fish so quickly. She'd expected it all to take much longer than that.

As Kyo set aside his own pole and carried the bucket over, Judy's words registered in Saya's mind and she wasn't able to look away quickly enough before she stabbed the fish. Saya gagged, and as the older woman continued speaking about bleeding out the fish, she leaned suddenly over the side and lost her breakfast.

Her shifting released the leashes she'd been sitting on and the corgis found themselves free to move about the whole boat instead of the limited area they'd had access to.

Oh, damn, Kyo said, stuck between continuing to help Judy and going to Saya.