Smooth Sailing

July 29, 2018

July 29, 2018

Sunday arrived too quickly, and after everything that had happened at the dinner Friday night, I knew that Véro and I had to win the regatta. It was the only way that my family would accept me again. My parents were pretending as if the whole incident had never happened and that Véro and I weren't together, and I knew that Grandpa would never forgive me. I wasn't quite sure what Grandma thought about all of this, but she probably didn't approve either. Everett, of all people, was the only one who didn't seem to care that I was gay. It was still crazy to think that he had kept my secret for all of those years, and I appreciated him for it. Everett could still be a jerk sometimes, but he was at least kind enough to ask how Véro was doing the morning after the dinner. Sometimes, I realized, the best people could come from the most unexpected places.

When Sunday finally arrived, I got up early, barely able to sleep. Clearly, Véro had the same problem. I found her in her hammock at seven o'clock in the morning, and when I came over to her, she said, "I'm so nervous. I can't believe that it's the last race."

"Me neither, and I'm nervous too," I said. "I think we'll win though."

"I hope so," Véro said. "Your grandfather called my parents, by the way."

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He just said that we were together," Véro said. "My parents told me that they're happy that I'm dating you, but I can tell that they would like it even better if I was with a boy or if I wasn't dating yet. They think that I'm too young and don't know what love is."

"You're not too young," I said.

"My parents don't think that," Véro said. "Anyways, I'm really sorry about everything that happened on Friday."

"It's not your fault," I insisted.

"If I hadn't been there, then your family wouldn't have found out about us," Véro said.

"We would have had to tell them eventually," I said.

"We could have waited longer, and I know you wanted to do that," Véro said.

"I did," I said. "There's nothing that we can do now though."

"You're right," Véro said. "It's all over now."

"We should focus on winning the regatta," I said. "Maybe my family will treat me better if we win."

"I hope that we can win," Véro said as she and I headed out to the pier. We spotted a family of ducks swimming next to the pier as both of us entered the boat. Véro and I then set sail toward the starting line, where there were already a handful of boats.

I found Eden's boat and waved to her, and she smiled and waved back. I hadn't yet told her about what had happened on Friday, and now wasn't the time. I would probably have to tell her the next time that I saw her though. Brooke didn't seem to be paying attention to me or Véro - she was too busy steering the boat. By the time the race began, I was focused and ready to go too. I had nothing on my mind but the race, and I was certain that I could win.

I steered toward the starting line and crossed it before anyone else. From the start, Véro and I were in the lead, and we were working in perfect harmony again. We zigzagged across the lake, far ahead of our competition. As the wind rustled through my hair, it felt as if nothing could stop us now.

I looked back for a moment during the second leg of the race and saw that Eden and Brooke weren't that far behind us. Véro pulled in the sail to help us go faster, but I shook my head and said, "Don't worry too much. We're far enough ahead that they won't catch up."