My First Captaining Experience (feat. Marriage Proposal)
by Leah Cook
It was a Sunday morning just like any other Sunday morning in the slow season at the Marina. One of the days that drags on forever because literally nothing happens.
Suddenly, the phone rang and broke the silence lurking in the store.
“Resort Boat Rentals, this is Leah, how can I help you,” I answered as I have so many times at this job. What came next wasn’t entirely unlike anything I’ve ever dealt with. The man on the phone wanted to rent a boat on which he could propose to his girlfriend in about a week and a half. I went through the motions of getting him set up to make the rental when he freaked out saying that HE WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DRIVE THE BOAT! How was he supposed to propose to his girlfriend if he had to drive as well? How silly of me for even thinking to suggest that. No, he wanted to rent a boat and a person to captain that boat for him, a service we really should offer, but due to technical reasons don’t. The desperation in his voice was tangible when I explained that to him. “I’ll pay you two hundred dollars and pay for the boat rental and we’ll only need it for 15 or 20 minutes,” he pleaded with me.
Being a young adult living on my own with bills to pay, and the fact that the day he wanted this captain service was my day off, combined with my delusions of someday becoming a captain, lead me to say the only thing I could say. Yes!
Thus it was arranged, and can I just say this is probably as close as I’ll be to being part of a proposal again and boy was I excited. There were to be only four of us on the boat. The guy, his girlfriend, the photographer, and me. There was no way she could say no. Unless she did.
The day of the proposal dawned clear and crisp. The lake shone like glass reflecting the trees still vibrant in their fall finery. It was clear and bitterly cold even though the sun was doing its best to provide some warmth, but the air snatched it away long before it made it through the stratosphere. Light bounced harshly off the udderly still surface of the water making everything dissolve in a shatter of dark spots. Honestly, what more could you ask for? It was a perfect day to be out on this lovely lake. The four of us piled into a 22’ speed boat and set out for our twenty minute tour.
If it had been up to me we would have taken a nice jaunt around the lake and come to rest in a nice sheltered cove where the view was prettiest. The guy had different ideas. As soon as we cleared the “no wake zone” and started picking up speed, splitting the water like a silk curtain, he got down on one knee and said what I can only assume was “will you marry me?” With the noise of the engine I couldn’t hear. I imagine it was the same for the photographer. That act probably made the whole proposal more epic. The white spray from the boat framing them as we streaked through the peaceful water.
It was all over in a matter of minutes. She said yes and I was instructed to turn the boat around and head back to the rental store. As sad as it was to leave the beauty of the lake behind, it was a relief to know that I would be able to warm my hands up from the numbed state they’d gotten to from fifteen minutes cruising the lake. We arrived back at the store and I wished the couple all the happiness in the world and then sent them for a nice walk around the Boardwalk to see the bridge. It was a beautiful day.
At least that’s how it would have happened, if I hadn’t gotten sick, and it hadn’t been raining, and the girlfriend didn’t fancy romantic horse rides over romantic boat rides. That’s right, only the first part of that story is true, the rest I had to make up because c’mon I need something interesting to write about these days. The guy let me know (day-of) that they’d decided on a horseback ride (I kind of agree; boats are cool but horses are way cooler) and a different day (which turned out to be perfect and not rainy, like boat ride day would have been).
There you have it. My epic not-so-much-of-an-adventure-into-sort-of-being-kind-of-an-almost-boat-captain-for-some-people-who-were-going-to-get-engaged.
The End
