Thin Slice of Life

Chapter 17

A gloomy, blustery dawn revealed the inconspicuous landmarks that marked the entrance to Cedar Bayou. As an unofficial passage (not even a passable passage according to most), no official markers indicated the narrow cut that divided Matagorda and San José Islands. But Charlie recognized the shape of some high dunes near the channel and located the exposed rigging of a sunken trawler that marked the entrance to the bayou. Charlie and Raul could see huge waves thundering onto the shore, rushing right up to the base of the sand dunes that normally rested a hundred yards back of the surf. Charlie knew that if he miscalculated his approach to the mouth of the channel the Ramrod would run aground and be flipped onto the beach. If he wanted to survive he would have to thread the needle and be damn careful about it. “Are you ready for this, chavo?” Charlie asked Raul. The young boy eyed the ill-omened mast of the wrecked boat that revealed itself between the mountains of water that lay before them, wondering what had happened to the crew of that boat. He looked away, shrugged, and raised his hands, palms up, in the classic expression of Latin fatalism, as if to say “It is in God’s hands,” or perhaps more appropriately, “What fucking choice do we have?” CHAPTER 17 105 |17 Charlie grabbed the wheel of his boat, clinched his teeth and pushed the twin throttles forward. The boat pitched violently in the massive swells and he struggled to keep the bow heading up into the narrow slot that pierced the barrier island. They flinched involuntarily when the horizon vanished from their view as the boat dipped into a trough of water, and then their breath returned when the soggy shore reappeared once again, a little closer than before. Twice they felt the keel of the boat slide across a sand bar, but within minutes (an eternity) they traversed the split and were slowly and carefully piloting the Ramrod through the winding Cedar Bayou channel. Charlie slapped the console with his hand. “Still a hell of a boat!” He looked at Raul and winked. “Pretty nifty, eh hombre?” “De veras, Capitán,” said Raul smiling. He exited the cabin and retrieved the long bamboo sounding pole from below decks so he could help the Capitán navigate their boat through the tricky stretch of water. Johnny’s brother had cojones alright—just like Johnny did. He braced himself against the rail on the bow and began pushing the long pole into the muddy white-capped water, sounding the depth, grinning the entire time. Once they were safely out of the snaky bayou and into Mesquite Bay, Charlie turned the wheel over to Raul and went back to inspect the outriggers, mast and cables. He looked back at the giant storm, and through the hazy daybreak he could make out a towering wall of cumulonimbus clouds poised at the edge of the Gulf, dark purple where the wall met the sea, and then a menacing gray all the way up to their billowing silver tops. The dog reappeared and relieved himself near the scupper hole, and then he sat down next to Charlie and looked up at him reproachfully. “Scared the pee out of me too, Ringworm.” It was gusty and getting rough in Mesquite Bay as they approached an imposing oil and gas service platform en route to the Victoria Cut. The platform was fastened to a forest of heavy creosote pilings in the middle of the bay. On the roof of the metal building that capped the platform a long row of seagulls strained against the offshore gale. Padded pilings lined the loading dock on the lee side of the structure and a steel mesh staircase climbed up to the corrugated tin structure on top. “Raul?” “Si, Capitán!” 106 17| “What were you planning to cook us up for breakfast on this fine fall morning?” Stress always produced a ravenous appetite in Charlie, and after the previous night’s run to shore he felt like he could eat an entire feral hog. “All we have left is that snapper fish I catched yesterday. And a can of some colored greens,” Raul responded. “Collard greens, and an old stinky fish. That’s what I thought. With the hurricane coming, it could be a couple of days before we find a store...