Holiday Drama - 7. HD Chapter 7

I burst out laughing at this news, shrugged my shoulders and returned to the office. Leaving the door open to listen to whatever was going to happen next. About twenty minutes later, I heard Grant groan, “Guys, can you put those things away before you poke someone in the eye with those monsters?” I heard my son say, before I heard him walking up the stairs. I just smiled and continued reading my emails and responding to some of them. Ten minutes later, there was a knock on my office door. “Hey. Wow, nice office, bro. We… err, seemed to have upset Grant. We are sorry for that. We saw the pool and just wanted to check it out,” Ashton said as he was drying his hair with a towel, both now fully clothed. “Yeah, we are sorry, I guess we forgot to ask if it was ok to skinny dip, since we have no idea where our swimmers are at the moment,” Jonah added.

“Ok, I guess we will need to sit down and discuss a few things like that. We do have a housekeeper who comes in four times a week, so maybe none of that on days that she is due to be here, or if visitors are coming, for that matter, which will be happening tomorrow afternoon, as I have some business to discuss with my two good friends. Now, on another matter, Grant mentioned in his shocked state that you are both different, that you are not circumcised. While Grant and I are. I think it might be best to stay clothed when at home, especially when Grant is home, as he seems to be a bit uncomfortable with that now,” I said to my twin brothers, and they nodded in understanding.

The following morning, I was up early and working in my office, preparing for the meeting with my friends later in the morning. Mrs Greenwell was due to arrive at 7.00 am to prepare breakfast for all of us, and I was busy typing when I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. “Good morning, Dad. What time are Uncle Ali and Uncle Hugh coming today? Are we going sailing today? Grant said as he entered my office and gave me a sideways hug. Grant had started calling my best friends Uncles after the funeral of his mother, and they seemed to like the sound of it.

“Good morning, son. Yes, they are coming today, but only for a business meeting. We will go sailing, possibly on Sunday morning,” I replied. “Ok, can I go to the Tickera Farm on my mountain bike, please?” Grant asked me, knowing that he often took long-distance bike rides, just to enjoy the environment and to relax. “Well, since you have just returned from a long-distance flight and it is the start of the weekend, I see no problem with that. I will let Margo know that you are on your way,” I replied, smiling. “Awesome, more tasty jam and cream scones,” Grant said to me before he headed to the garage.

Margo was a retired school headmistress who had been the caretaker of my 8.3-acre coastal property for the past 4 years, since I bought the property. The small farm has a 3-bedroom house with one bathroom and overlooks the Spencer Gulf, and it is where Margo has quietly been oil painting most mornings each day as part of her retirement. The property has a small herd of Angus cattle that she manages, and we share the profits. About half an hour after Grant left on his bike, riding up the gravel Hopgood Road, which is mainly used by the locals and the occasional tourist, I heard the door open to the twins' rooms across the hallway.

I closed my computer and stepped out of the office, where the twins were approaching the door to the kitchen area, and I followed them there, where Mrs Greenwell was busy preparing breakfast. “Good morning, all. Mrs G, these two brats are my twin brothers, Ashton and Jonah. Grant has gone off bike riding for the morning, not sure if he will be back in time for lunch,” I said as I stepped in. “Yes, thank you, I found a note from Grant on the bench. I have already spoken to Margo to coordinate his meals,” Mrs Greenwell replied. “Also, Alistair and Hugh will be here for a meeting and some lunch too, please,” I added.

“That’s not a problem, those two are wonderful to have here,” Mrs Greenwell said to me, smiling, before handing me a cup of white tea and a small plate of toast, lightly smothered with the Marmite spread that I love. “Now, what would you two boys like for breakfast, and also, I need you to write down a list of foods that you are allergic to or don’t like,” she added as she faced the twins. “We are not allergic to anything, and we will eat most foods… except maybe whatever my brother is eating, that looks horrible,” Jonah replied, and that made me laugh. “Bro, can you show us how to use the washing machine, so we can do a load of clothes, please?” Ashton asked me.

“Just leave it in the laundry basket in the laundry and I will get it done today,” Mrs Greenwell responded, “Actually, we would prefer to do it all ourselves, thank you,” Jonah replied, “Very well, straight after breakfast, meet me in the laundry, that is located diagonally opposite the stairs, if you haven’t found it yet,” Mrs Greenwell said, and both boys nodded their heads in understanding, just as my phone beeped with a text message.

“Package has arrived early, we will be arriving at the main marina today at approx. 11.30 am, A & H,” the message read, and I smiled at this good news. I sent a thumbs-up response and finished my breakfast, before rinsing my plate and cup and placing them in the dishwasher, before returning to the office.

I sent a text message to Grant. “Can you be home by 10.45 am, please, as today’s plans have changed, Dad?” and moments later, I received a thumbs-up response from him. I looked at my watch, which read 8.15 am, and knowing that it usually takes Grant an hour to ride up to the farm, he would be back home with plenty of time if he only stayed up there for a short while. At 10 am, I was too curious and impatient to wait until 11.30 to see the yacht for the first time, and I just called out to anyone in the house that I was just going out for half an hour and would be back before my guests arrived, and grabbing my vehicle keys, I set off towards the boat ramp at the main marina. From there, I walked along the seawall and looked out to sea, where, in the distance, I saw a large sailing catamaran heading in this direction.

About half an hour later, the catamaran approached the coast. Instead of entering the marina canal, the yacht approached the sailing club beach, just south of the sea wall, and just north of the ferry ramp, dropping the anchors metres off the beach with the aft showing the yacht’s name – ‘Adelaide’. I saw Alistair and Hugh standing on the main deck, shirtless and smiling, as a crew member lowered the small boat and headed directly towards me. “Good morning, sir. My name is Chad Perkins. I am the deckhand & steward. Please climb aboard so we can have a look at your wonderful yacht,” the young man said to me, who looked to be in his early twenties, dressed in long shorts and a pale blue shirt. “Thank you, are you the only extra crew onboard?” I responded, “No, sir, my b… best mate Kingsley Fraser is the chef,” he replied, and I smiled at the change of wording and chuckled.

“I hope that you and your boyfriend are enjoying working on the yacht?” I asked as we motored towards the yacht, and I saw the young man blush deeply. “Yes, sir, it is a dream come true for both of us to work on a sailing yacht,” Chad replied. When we arrived at the swim platform of the yacht, I saw Alistair in a Captain’s uniform and Hugh in an Officer’s uniform, with another young man in a Chef's uniform standing in line at the aft of the main deck, as I boarded my new yacht for the first time and looked around. “Hey guys, well, she looks magnificent,” I said to my best mates, who gave me a group hug, which made me groan, and they laughed in response. I was given a full tour of the yacht, and I was even more impressed as I was shown around, with my owner’s cabin being very comfortable.

As Ali, Hugh, and I sat down in the main lounge area on the main deck, I pulled out my mobile and sent a text message to Mrs Greenwell. “Plans have changed. Please don’t prepare any lunch, just bring Grant and the twins down to the Sailing Club Beach carpark at 11.30 am, we are going sailing for the afternoon. Myles.” A few minutes later, I received a response, “I will bring the boys down, but I will not be able to join you as I have plans for later in the afternoon, Mrs G.” I was a little disappointed that my housekeeper would not be joining us, but at least we would have an enjoyable family and friends sailing trip.

At 11 am, I received a text message from Grant, “I have arrived home, and Mrs G has mentioned that you have organised some plans. Do you want us to prepare for anything?” and I sent a short message back. “Just you and the twins, and bring an overnight bag each and your swimmers, as we will be going sailing for the rest of the day,” I responded, and I received a thumbs-up in response. I mentioned to Ali and Hugh, who have been lounging on the Fly Deck lounge area, that the boys would be arriving in half an hour, and Ali asked if I had any ideas for a destination. I suggested across the gulf to Cowell, and Alistair said that it is a perfect destination. It is just 40 nautical miles across the gulf, and the trip would take about 3 ½ hours.

I handed Hugh my vehicle keys and asked if someone could collect my overnight bag from behind the driver's seat, which Chad said he was happy to do. My overnight bag was a small suitcase that had a few days' worth of clothes and personal belongings, so I was well prepared for a few days on board the yacht. Alistair, Hugh and I were relaxing on the Fly Bridge when we saw Mrs Greenwell’s vehicle arrive at the car park, and I wasn’t surprised to see that Grant, like me, had a small suitcase in his hand, while the twins had a backpack each. They stood there staring at the yacht in shock, and we watched as Chad and Kingsley came out to greet them. I walked downstairs to meet them, and as they boarded the swim platform and climbed the stairs to the main deck, they stopped and looked around, stunned.

“I bet it was the two Uncles that found and organised this?” Grant asked me, and I smiled and nodded my head yes. “They have a slice of ownership this time. Yes, they found this wonderful yacht, which I saw and boarded for the first time about an hour ago. Now that you are here, we can set off for our destination, which is Cowell. Where we will stop overnight, before making a return journey tomorrow afternoon,” I announced to my son and twin brothers. “Well, bro, this is a real surprise,” Ashton said, “Firstly, a huge canal home and now this!” Jonah added. “What about the other yacht?” Grant asked, “Another yacht?” Jonah squeaked.

“Yes, our good friend here owns a much smaller yacht, which is 32 metres long; this one is 46.5 metres long, and it has much more accommodation for crew and guests,” Alistair informed the twins. “You mean the one parked in the canal in front of the house?” the twins asked at the same time, and Alistair burst out laughing.