Chapter 5 "Sailing"

Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream…it was a dream of a day, the day the brothers and sister went row boating and sailing at McCaine’s house. Cappy earned his name that day, as he was the captain of McCaine’s sweet little row boat. He rowed the sisters around the pond while keeping their imaginations attentive on his stories and the explanation of the art on his upper left arm. On the distant shore, Flex and McCaine were receiving instructions on how to properly put together the sailboat.

After Cappy parked the boat, he and Flex blissfully sailed around the pond reminiscing on past sailing excursions and of future ones. Meanwhile, the sisters had made their way up to McCaine’s bedroom. One could gather much about her life through the glossy memories held in wooden frames on her desk and the childhood artwork that hung on the wall. Dusty passes to space camp leaned up against Jane Austin novels and trinkets from childhood. The sisters danced around in McCaine’s tobes, long pieces of material women wrap around themselves in the middle east. Their excitement for their future endeavor swelled as they pictured themselves roaming dirt roads draped in bright colors near their new home.

May glanced out the window and was excited to see the brothers pull to shore. She and Red were anxiously awaiting their first sailing experience, and their first deeper conversation. Red’s sparkling topaz eyes glittered against the water as her red hair blew in the breeze while they sailed away from the shore. May was bundled in a sweatshirt and a little nervous that she had no idea how to sail. She was in charge of the sail and Red, in charge of the rudder. It was not long before May and Red ran into the side of the bank. Flex and McCaine came jogging over to assist them in their positions. After much laughter and a pep talk, the sisters were off again.
May confided in Red during that adventure. She knew Red was a loyal friend later, when Red could have offered some interesting information, but held it in her heart to protect a sister. With much laughter May and Red finished their sailing adventure and cruised to shore for dinner.

The brothers and sisters ate burgers, cheese balls, and beans. After the meal Flex stood and made a toast. It was a sweet toast followed by the clanking of glasses. Flex continued to make toasts, each one a little more uncanny then the last. The brothers and sisters conversed under the moonlight that seeped between the branchy fingers of the oak tree limbs above their heads. Later, they danced in McCaine’s living room and conversed over brownies and coffee.