Coquina Hotel - 7. Chapter 7

Arriving back at Coquina, Jon wanted to know all about the trip after welcoming me home in a most delightful way. Three hours later I told him about my trip. I mentioned I saw an old flame, and he didn’t recognize me. Jon wanted to know about Joe, so I told him. His response was, ‘his loss.’ I smiled. That’s my Viking.

I discussed the information I had brought back with me. Jon didn’t think it would have been a good investment since it appeared that the Lodge was on a downward trend. I agreed, the investment would have involved a significant loss since their bookings did not cover their costs.

“You know we could make it into apartments and sell them off.”

“I wonder how many people would be interested in something like that. I don’ts think the weather would be an inducement. We should invest here.”

“I think you have something in mind.”

“I do. We have a lot of local people fishing off the pier as well as some of our guests. I thought we could buy a few fishing boats for some deep-sea fishing.”

I just looked at him. Here I go traipsing after another hotel, and now he mentions a fantastic idea. “That’s a great idea. We can start with one boat, and if demands increase, we can add another. We will need a captain and crew, plus equipment. Why don’t you make that your project?”

He didn’t need to answer. He showed me his excitement another way.

Over the next few weeks, I notice our mail contained a lot of information on fishing boats and fishing gear. Jon was happy, and if he was happy, so was I. As I walked around the Hotel, I would catch him talking to the ground crew, and I’d bet they were talking about fishing.

We were lying in bed about a month later, “Roge, I found a boat I think we should buy. The three of us could crew it, and it comes with a derrick in case we want to use nets.”

“The three of us? I don’t intend to be a member of the crew. I’ll go fishing to design a brochure for the hotel and advertisements in the magazines we subscribe to. This is your project. We will name the boat Viking in your honor as Captain.”

Jon is so easy to please, and when he is pleased, he makes sure I’m pleased as well. I must have counted my lucky stars a million times that I found this hotel and the money which allowed me to buy it and renovated it. The trip to the lodge and the stopover gave me the break I needed from Joe. I kissed Jon as I went to sleep, with a smile on my face.

Over the next few weeks, the staff was talking about the fishing boat. I’d catch Jon in the kitchen talking to Diane. Then for lunch, we would have something different from the usual lunch menu. When I mentioned that to Jon, he said they would provide food for the fishermen when they took the boat out.

I told Jon to go ahead and order his boat and equipment. “Have the papers list the Hotel as the owner, and we can add it to our insurance policy." I had one happy man.

Jon wanted to go and inspect the boat before it was delivered to the Hotel. He took one of the maintenance crew with him. I knew if the boat passed his inspection, it wouldn’t be delivered. He would sail it home.

I was walking home one afternoon when I heard a boat horn. I heard them before being on the coast, but this boat sounded closer to the Hotel and a few kilometers away. I headed back to the Hotel and walked to the gardens behind the Hotel, and there on the sea, approaching the pier, was Jon, waving as he spotted me. I had a feeling he would sail that boat home. I waved, and he held up a fish. He not only sailed the boat, but he fished as well.

Using the tunnel, I went to the beach and the pier. I watched as Jon docked the boat. His smile would light up a dark cave. I had to hear all about the boat, and I needed a tour. Jerry was in the bow cleaning a fish.

“You fished on the way back?”

“Jerry did. He said since he was going be part of my crew, he needed to know how to fish.”

“How many did you catch?”

“Just two, we’ll have them for dinner tonight. I’ve invited Jerry to have dinner with us.”

I was okay with that. Jerry was a local boy. He had completed school, but going to a university wasn’t in the cards for him. He worked hard, and I think Jon was his idol. I’ve watched them when they were working the grounds together.

For the rest of the evening, I heard all about the boat. “I’m going to name the boat the Drake.”

“Drake? Why Drake.”

“Drake was a class of a Viking longboat. It was a good boat and handled well on the seas.”

I knew there was another reason, and I would find out in time. Jon reminded me of stories I heard of the Vikings. He looked like a Viking, tall, blond, and had blue eyes. When I saw him on that boat, if he had furs on, he would look like a Viking, my Viking.