Reality and fiction blur in this laugh-out-loud first novel by performing songwriter, Sparkie Allison. When Dr Alexis Wolfe leaves the hectic pace of the Emergency Room for a visit to her grandfather in the Catskills her world is thrown into reverse and her two small dogs, Sonnet and Spirit, lead her into a sharp turn.
Moon's Embrace
By Sparkie AllisonAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Sparkie Allison
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4490-1515-2 Chapter One
There's just no easy way to say it. He dumped her. Plain and simple. Boys and their toys, as they say. His mother told her it would happen but yes, love is blind and deaf. Bea had her eye on the big guy since high school. He was a big guy then but more of a lady's man. After his four year stint in the Navy he evolved into an even bigger guy with a paunch that entered the room two minutes before he did. What's there to say? He learned transferable skills in the Navy. He could now command a ship and drink lots of beer. That got him the admiration of his buddies because Mother Dutram ran the family with an iron fist when he was growing up. He towed the line and never once slacked off for fear of her wrath. Her punishments were more brutal than his father's. In a town the size of Teabag you couldn't get away with much. It's not like he was completely out from under Mother's watchful eye but he was far enough away that she couldn't see how far he's slipped from the overly responsible son to a playboy with expensive play toys. He loved his boats more than anything except for Bea. In 1978, he professed her love for her in front of the entire town.
Both Bea and Big Guy were 24-years-old, wild and restless when they tied the knot on the town common. The entire town, a whopping population of 342 people, attended the ceremony and reception at the Farina Marina on Lake Windsor. Aside from the Dutram Tavern, the Marina was the only other dining establishment large enough for the town party.
Of course, if the sun was shining the town common was a great place to lay out a spread and a few kegs but the day they married a snow storm snuck across the Catskill Mountains and blanketed the entire county with about eighteen inches of heavy snow. Big Guy's best friend, Handsome Cal, had a construction company and brought out the plow and the bucket loader to clear the way for the celebration to go on despite the weather. Handsome Cal cleared the main road and the entrance to the marina, plowing the snow into a large mound on the marina boat ramp while the kids busied themselves building a mountainous snow fort that he later plowed right into the lake.
Twenty-eight years later townsfolk still remember the day the bride and groom climbed to the top of the snow fort to pose for pictures before throwing snowballs at the guests. They looked like the statues on their cake until they returned to the dining hall caked themselves with snow from an illustrious jocular battle with the wedding guests. Bea lost both of her shoes in the mound of snow and Big Guy had to be extra careful carrying her back inside since her wedding gown was frozen. Her bridesmaid, Lola, had to thaw the wedding dress with a hand-held hairdryer so it could be removed without tearing or breaking off the fine lace. The dress had once belonged to Bea's grandmother. Thankfully Grandma Jenkins wasn't there to see the frozen satin and lace.
Over the years Bea and Big Guy tried to be wild and impetuous but with so few opportunities in the area, they dutifully took over the family businesses. Big Guy worked the three hundred acre Turkey Hills Farm his grandfather left him while Bea took over the operation of the one hundred-forty-seven year old Dutram Tavern with Mother Dutram's lead in the hearth cooking.
As the years went by Big Guy started buying old boats, restoring them on the weekends. They'd take them to the antique boat shows and make a nice profit to sock away in a retirement account. If they were ever going to live like the people they saw on television they would have to move closer to the city or be creative.
The local folks will swear that there is much more beauty, history and lure to New York State than just the Big Apple. Upstate is such a large, rural area and the Catskill Mountains cover over six counties, more than 6,000 square miles of rich farmland and forested hills. Aside from the Hassidic Bungalow communities, it has become a retreat area for the rich and famous as well as those who truly love exploring the mountains, caves, biking, camping and fishing as well as a host of winter recreational activities for those who can withstand the hearty near-freezing days and below-freezing nights. The grip of winter can hold steady for at least four unforgiving months. Fortunately this year it eased up a few weeks early from a mild winter. Although Spring was officially announcing itself on the calendar, the valley temperatures were still below freezing at night. New England was already in bloom according to the national newscast on cable television. Sunny Hudson Valley was just beginning to thaw, teasing residents with a glimpse of brown lawns, barren fields and the urge to get back out on Lake Windsor. Bea and Big Guy had uncovered their 58 foot McKinna Motor Yacht and were in the processing of checking out how it held up from the brutal winter ice and wind.
This boat was one of three that Big Guy owned. He loved being out on the water as much as he loved farming the land that had been owned by his family for over 200 years. As the oldest child and only son he had inherited everything. It was all he ever knew until he returned from the Navy in 1975 and brought with him a new found love of the water. Over the years he stuffed away as much savings from the crops as they could afford and starting buying old beat up boats to repair. He purchased bigger and better boats until he amassed a collection for use on the lake nearby. They'd take them to the boat shows where they'd sell them and make a nice profit to sock away into a retirement account.
The Pilothouse McKinna Yacht was one of his favorites. The largest of his fleet, it stretched 58 feet with a seventeen foot-three inch beam. Not a trawler, this yacht could hum at 24 knots. The Caterpillar T-800 HP engine quite simply purred from all of the care and attention that Big Guy put into it. Given that Lake Windsor is nearly 70 square miles, the McKinna would have plenty of room to roar without having to be trailered to the ocean where it would certainly enjoy less confinement than the lake. The 32' Tiara was much slower but still quite the weekend toy until he could find a buyer. He held a special spot in his heart for his restoration of a 1962 Century Resorter, an antique wooden boat with the V8 engine in the center covered by a box.
Of the many boats that Big Guy restored and sold, he was particularly fond of the 1958 18-foot Chris Craft Riviera. All of the wood was original and the 120HP "KLC" engine was rebuilt by one of his Navy buddies who had worked on ship engines. He sold the boat at a hefty profit along with two others he had poured time and sweat into. It afforded him the opportunity to buy the $1.3 million McKinna, a boat he would never have thought to purchase until he and Bea were invited for a weekend trip up the Hudson River with the original owners. It only took one weekend for Bea to insist they find a way to purchase it for use on Lake Windsor. She rarely insisted on such expensive purchases and Big Guy was only too willing to make her happy. He was pleased with himself for negotiating the $850,000 price but he still had to take out a loan for the balance. It would take quite a few more restored boats to pay off this toy.
Bea made the rounds starting with checking the roomy salon near the aft deck. She loved to sit on the leather sofas and admire the handcrafted teak woodwork. Unlike her pre-Civil War era tavern, which she now called home, with many of the original...
