Part Fourteen

The sky was already filled with color as Peggy boarded the ferry at 5:15 a.m. Pink and yellow clouds floated high overhead, while to the east the sky was a raging orange.

She didn't take her usual seat, mainly because she knew Raoul would not be there. Peggy figured it was a good opportunity to wander about the boat, especially since the morning promised to be sunny and colorful.

In the forward part of the main cabin she walked past the food concessions and smelled coffee and pastries, and it made her insides cry out for tea. Beyond the cabin was the forward deck with the stairs that led to the upper deck. She climbed up and stood near the rail and poured herself a cup from her Thermos. The air was chilly. The water churned far below, turning into white whirlpools from the rotation of the propellers that was necessary to keep the boat wedged against the dock while cars loaded. Suddenly the engines were cut and the waters stopped churning. It meant they were about to pull away. She heard the back propellers kick in as the boat eased slowly out into the Harbor.

Peggy returned to the main cabin by a different route and found Kelly Finn engaged in conversation with a gray-haired man who wore a bright red shirt and very pointy black shoes with silver buttons on them.

"Morning, Peggy," said Kelly.

"Good morning, Kel."

"Where's Raoul?"

"Working at home today," she said. She knew that because they had started exchanging email messages. On the day of the motorcycle ride he had given her a card with his home address, phone and email address. She found his address on Mapquest and saw that it was in the Rolling Bay area of the island, close to the water. She was extremely curious about what his house was like, and how he lived, and what he ate. Eventually, she knew, she would find out those things.

"This is Ferdinand. He's a drummer with a local jazz band."

They greeted one another and then Kelly resumed the speech he was making about the contested governor's election that had recently been settled in court. "It's high time people wake up to the fact that if you want a functional voting system then you have to invest in it. It doesn't just happen by itself." Ferdinand was nodding his head sort of mechanically, the way everyone did when they were on the receiving end of one of Kel's speeches.

At that moment they heard the faint sounds of strings being tuned; it came from the back of the main cabin. Then Peggy heard the sound of a violin.

"I'm going to go listen," said Peggy.

"I'll join you," said Ferdinand jumping up.

As they walked away, Kelly leaned over to a young man sitting in the next booth and said, "Have you heard the latest on the monorail project? It's going to cost billions more."

Upon entering the large seating area at the rear of the cabin, Peggy and Ferdinand came upon two women, one with a violin and the other with a cello, playing an arrangement of a tune that Peggy recognized. It was one of J.S. Bach's two-part inventions. Taylor had listened to a harpsichord recording of the Bach inventions for years, and Peggy could not help thinking how much her late husband would have enjoyed hearing it with the cello and violin each taking a part. Peggy closed her eyes and heard a single instrument; the women rendered so seamlessly the interweaving lines and syncopation.

Ferdinand tapped his foot. Peggy noticed many passengers thoroughly engrossed in the playing. It was a scene Taylor would have enjoyed, and it made her homesick for the life they had shared together. They were regulars at many chamber music concerts; Taylor especially loved the small, intimate venues where you could sit very close and hear every scratch of bow across string. They also went to the larger halls, like Benaroya, to hear symphonic and the operatic works. Peggy had to turn away and dab her moist eyes with a tissue. She wondered if Raoul would be listening to the music if he had been on board. In some ways she wished she had not met Raoul; it would be so easy, she thought, to simply live her former life as though nothing had changed, as though Taylor were still there. And he was there, in spirit, everywhere she looked. His ghost never left her.

Peggy was startled by the ringing of a cell phone and then realized with embarrassment that it was hers. She jumped up and ran to the other side of the cabin so as not to disturb the music. Who could it be at this hour of the morning? She answered. It was Raoul.

"My body clock has taken over," he said. "I couldn't sleep past 5:30 so I thought I would call and say good morning."

A smile broke out on Peggy's face. "I was listening to an impromptu violin and cello concert right here on the ferry."

"And I'm missing it! Figures. The one day I choose to stay home."

"Do you like that sort of thing?"

"Very much. I play recorder with the Merry Pranksters Renaissance Band," he said. "Perhaps you would like to go to one of our concerts."

Her jaw dropped. Raoul was full of surprises.